Do you have what it takes to get a review published right here on Kotaku? Ben does, as he hugs his blob all the way home.
Yes, that’s right, we’re now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.
And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.
This review was submitted by Ben Hauser. If you’ve played A Boy and His Blob, or just want to ask Ben more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.
A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
A re-imagining of the classic NES title of the same name (though missing the subtitle of ‘Trouble on Blobonia,’ which I think was a very good move), A Boy and His Blob is a perfect example of 2D platform puzzling done right.
Loved
Hug Button: You can press up on the d-pad of the Wii Remote to trigger a heart warming in-game hug. Though it has no use, it’s easily the best function of any button in a videogame, ever.
The Look: Everything in-game looks so crisp. The hand-drawn characters and backgrounds look, quite frankly, amazing. The lighting is something to take note of, illumination from objects like fires and lamps just go that far in adding to the overall look of the game. It may not have the best graphics technology, but it damn sure looks as good as any game I’ve ever seen.
Excellent Puzzles: With few exceptions, the puzzles are extremely well thought out, some even offer multiple solutions depending on which of the blobs transformations you want to use. Why float slowly using a blob parachute, when you could hop on a blob rocket and speed through with style?
Hated
Constant Hand-holding: The game has quite a bad habit in telling you when to use certain blob transformations, specifically when it’s painfully obvious which you need to use.
Annoying AI: The blob’s AI will constantly lag behind you, and sometimes gets stuck in place, which can only be remedied by repeatedly pushing C until he self-transforms into a balloon and floats to you.
While it’s nothing revolutionary in the world of gaming, if you miss out on the experience of A Boy and His Blob, you’ll be, well, missing out. And if you still aren’t convinced, I have just two words for you: ‘Hug Button’.
Reviewed by: Ben Hauser
You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 300 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.
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