Boom Blox Explodes onto the Wii

On paper, the recipe of Boom Blox would read: take one part
Portal puzzles, add the physicality and simplicity of WiiSports control, and
cover liberally with the Havok physics engine.  But
Electronic Art’s new Wii title is so much more than that; it’s a synergistic
combination of all those elements and so much more.

When we first heard that famed director Steven Spielberg was
making a game, our minds reeled. Would it have the narrative impact of Schindler’s
List or the intensity of Saving Private Ryan?  Playing Boom Blox, we discovered no storytelling
element at all, just pure, unadulterated fun. At its heart, the title engages
the primal childhood desire to build and destroy towers made of blocks.  Its simplicity and variation make Boom Blox a near-perfect
Wii game.

Players aim an on-screen reticule using the Wiimote. Once
players pick a target, they hold the “A” button. Then, players swing the remote
in a natural throwing motion, letting go of the button as they would let go of
a ball. Players also use the “B” button to spin the tower of blocks, and look
for an optimal throwing angle. Some variations have you pulling blocks,
Jenga-style, or shooting them with a laser.

Single player rounds are objective based- destroy a tower
with a single throw, or remove only point blocks. As the game progresses,
players are introduced to exploding blocks, disappearing blocks, and chemical
blocks, which explode when touched by another chemical block. Variety is the
key; Boom Blox is always offering the player something new, whether it’s
bowling balls to throw, or new puzzles to solve.
The multiplayer section of the game offers a cornucopia of
variation, from games that vaguely resemble shuffleboard with combo
multipliers, to stages that have players alternating turns destroying each
other’s block castles. With the randomness and realism of the physics model,
gameplay remains fresh and interesting, encouraging rivals to play ‘just one
more game.’

If there’s one fault of Boom Blox, it’s that the game is
overly objective based. Players either win a gold, silver, bronze medal or simply lose. We would have
liked to see some ‘score attack’ rounds where the player must defeat an endless
procession of enemies, or complete for the highest score on a round. High scores could be compared across a players friends list for bragging right.

Still, that is one small caveat against a novel,
imaginative, and moreover very fun game. Boom Blox is highly recommended to all Wii
owners.

Final Grade: A-