http://www.deblob.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Blobhttp://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/deblob/index.htmlthis is a new'ish game for the Wii that we just got and there's a lot of goodness going on with it. but wait, you might say, arn't you biased and just a blob shiller? who better to assess a blob based game than another blob? yes I am predisposed to blob games more than most, one might say an expert in such matters and for that you should shuttings up about my partisan leanings and enjoy my expertise on the matter.
de Blob is somewhat of a creative game, you are liberating a monochrome regime by flagrant usage of splattering colours on stuff. the environment and trimmings are lush, the music is fabulous and it builds upon itself as a game mechanic: the more you accomplish or the bigger the roll you are on, the funkier the music gets and objects act somewhat as instrument triggers; you are conducting the music with your movements sort of like a winamp visualization.
the gameplay is ridiculous and intuitive, *after* you get used to it. flicking the wii mote in any direction is good for actions or attacks and the num chuck controls directions, both when you are rolling and when you are jumping and attacking. the camera is a bit wonky and needs centering now and then. the characters are hilarious, a combination between Bob & Weebl and the Neverhood voiceovers that use thankful subtitles to make sense of their gibbering. whatever you do in the game is persistent, paint trails and whatever you coloured structures remain as long as you are in that world, even if you loose a life.
my main beef with the game is the save feature, or lack thereof. you have to complete a fairly large zone before you can save your state and if you missed anything you have to complete the level fresh to end. the game encourages dysfunctional completists by rating the percentage of how much of the world you painted ( I frequently have got 99%, both a good and irksome score ) along with medals and awards for how many trees, billboards, or other challenges completed. polishing those off is offputting and once I've done a level I'm not as interested in repeating it as continuing on with the game.
something I frequently do in games is give myself 'style points' if I can get to a certain ledge or platform, I'll verbally announce 10 style points or something. this game has style points and in many different ways! getting to hard to find locations gets you actual styles, which are textures for when you paint, and the stylish way in which you splat your way down the street can increase your score as well.
this is a very unique game experience, combining player created visuals and audio in fun and squishy gameplay that is well worth the look. there is a freepaint and multiplayer mode which look for fun more casual play then the timer based, challenge driven story mode. this is of interest to Aquaria players in paticular for it's attention to a highly polished visual world, unique game play mechanics and a music experience influenced by the player's actions. sound a bit familiar? now you add blobs to it and it had me at hello!
