Boom Blox: the Wii's best game that's truly a Wii game

When I turn on my DVR, I often notice that  the shows I know are the best ones on there are not always the ones I actually watch as soon as they're available. "The Wire," "Mad Men," "30 Rock"... these are fantastic shows I know I'll appreciate watching. But "South Park," "The Amazing Race," "Big Bang Theory"... these are the shows I usually turn on as soon as they show up because they're always fun and sometimes that's just what I want.

So it was this past week when I got my hands on "Boom Blox." I had assumed I'd put in enough time to do my review, but intersperse it with some heavy doses of "Grand Theft Auto IV." But while "GTA IV" is a great game, the fact is that once I got my hands on "Boom Blox," I always wanted to play it first. Like a good comedy or reality show, it' s a lot less of a commitment than something that's more traditionally "high quality" like "GTA." I can play it for five minutes or an hour, I discovered, and it's always a good time.

That's a long way of getting around to the fact that I just published a rave review of "Boom Blox" in today's Daily Variety. I'm not the biggest fan of many "casual games" or many popular Wii games, but "Boom Blox" easily tops the list in both categories. It's innovative, it's deep, and it's engaging without ever requiring you to commit a significant amount of time. I spent many a long night in the past week trying to get gold on every single puzzle, so much so that eventually I realized I had to stop and move on so I could play the dozens of different modes I needed to get through for a thorough review.

As I wrote, it's "the first great game for the Wii that wouldn’t be possible on any other system." That doesn't mean there haven't been other great games for the console. But the other Wii games people have loved -- "Super Mario Galaxy," "Zelda: Twilight Princess," "Super Smash Bros. Brawl," even my personal favorite "No More Heroes" -- all would have worked fine on a Xbox 360, PS3, or, let's be honest, GameCube. "Boom Blox's" interactive puzzles just wouldn't be the same if you had to use a thumbstick. The Wii-mote as extension of the player's hand is a key and integral part of the experience. For all those who have whined, with some justification, that no game has really taken advantage of what the Wii has to offer, "Boom Blox" is the solution.

Here's the intro to my review:

For his first title under his three-game partnership with Electronic Arts, the obvious assumption might be that Steven Spielberg would draw on his expertise as a visual storyteller. But the helmer went the exact opposite direction with “Boom Blox,” a charming, brain-busting and incredibly addictive game that almost completely eschews story to focus on using the Nintendo Wii’s motion-sensing controller as an puzzle-solving tool. “Boom Blox” is the first great game for the Wii that wouldn’t be possible on any other system and should prove a hit with auds young and old.

And in the interest of fairness, here's the one real problem I had with the game, which is quite possibly more Nintendo's fault than EA's:

“Boom Blox” also includes a robust level editor that lets players design new puzzles or edit the pre-made ones with all the same tools that the game designers had. It’s a bit persnickety -- making levels would surely be easier on a PC than with the Wii-mote -- but incredibly engaging for those with a creative bent. It’s only disappointing that there’s no easy way to share the results. Though it’s possible to send new levels to a friend, “Boom Blox” desperately cries out for an online community where players can rate each other’s creations and download the best.

If "Boom Blox" only had the equivalent of "Halo 3's" file share and Bungie.net, it might just be my favorite game of the year. Ah well, maybe next time.

For now, read the whole review right here.

Comments

[Scott]

Pro Evolution Wii. The best Wii game that nobody's (in North America) has played.

[Neil Young]

Glad you liked our game Ben.

--- Neil.