Review: 'Splosion Man
I think it’s safe to say that summer is now officially over. The children are going back to school, the once crowded beach of my home town is now deserted, save for the lone shambling man armed with a metal detector, and as I gaze out of my window I see tempestuous storm clouds gathering on the horizon. Yes, summer is over. So I suppose now is the perfect time to reminisce about the recently concluded Xbox live Summer of Arcade promotion on Xbox Live. For the second year in a row, Microsoft have digitally distributed a number of top quality titles to help stave off the traditional Summer gaming drought. This year saw the release of the bizarre platformer ‘SPLOSION MAN, the frequently requested beat ‘em up MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2, the exceptionally long titled TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: TURTLES IN TIME RE-SHELLED, an addictive motorbike stunt game (or as I like to call it Death Defying Crash Simulator) TRIALS HD, and the espionage laden side scrolling SHADOW COMPLEX. Phew. Check below for the newbreview verdict on this plethora of pleasure. Don’t forget that each of these games have a trial version available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Game: ‘SPLOSION MAN
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Twisted Pixel Games
Publisher: Twisted Pixel Games
Let me be blunt. ‘SPLOSION MAN is a difficult game. ‘SPLOSION MAN should come with a warning saying “WARNING! THIS IS A HARD GAME! IT MAY CAUSE YOU TO RIP THE HAIR FROM YOUR HEAD, SCRATCH OPEN YOUR CHEEKS, AND ROLL AROUND IN THE DIRT”. But my god, is it satisfying when things go right!
“The brightly coloured protagonist, 'Splosion Man
With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get down to the specifics of the game. You control the titular ‘Splosion Man, who has just escaped from confinement in a scientific facility, and must lead him though 50 painstaking levels, to earn his freedom. The story is minimal to say the least. You’re never told if ‘Splosion Man was ever a normal human once, or even if he were just created in a lab. All you’re told is that ‘Splosion Man is a man (thing), and that he explodes. And that is it in terms of story. There’s very little in the way of dialogue; aside from the scientists screaming in terror, you’ll only ever hear Spolosion Man gibbering to himself, or making aeroplane noises as he sprints down the corridors of the facility.
As for the details of the gameplay, it is best described as a 2.5D platformer. Any physicists reading this will doubtlessly be screaming “YOU CAN’T HAVE HALF A DIMENSION! FOOL!” at their monitor, yet this is the only way to describe it. By 2.5D I mean flat levels in which you can only move forwards or backwards, or up and down, with 3D characters. The opening levels are simple enough examples of the platforming genre, requiring you to jump a gap, or hit a specific target, but as you progress deeper in to the game the jumps, puzzles, and traps require you to have more specific timing. When you reach the later levels in the game they require such precise timing that if you are even a millisecond out, then you will fail.
“An example of some of the simpler jumps in 'SPLOSION MAN”
The controls are exceedingly simple. Use the left stick to move Splosion Man either forwards or backwards, and then press A to make him jump… by exploding. The X button also makes him explode, as does the B button, and, quelle surprise, the Y button too. You can string together three explosions in a row, creating a triple jump, before you have to take a rest. Have no fear, exploding will not cause you any harm although if a hapless scientist gets caught in your explosion, he will turn in to a shower of meat based products. If at some point you find yourself stuck and unable to continue, you can hold the right trigger to make him kill himself. It’s fast pace, and reliance on complicated jumps are rather reminiscent of the old Sonic The Hedgehog games on the Mega Drive, except the difficulty has been cranked up to 11.
'Splode through a crowd of Scientists and watch the meat products fly”
The game also includes a co-op mode that supports up to 4 players, as well as time trials, although the multiplayer mode will require a lot of communication, as some of the jumps are fairly precise and require some real co-ordination. If you have not got a working headset then you can hold down the left trigger to initiate a countdown, letting the other players know that you want to perform a jump. Each level in the single player and the multiplayer game features a collectable in the form of a floating cake, which ‘Splosion Man will gobble with glee.
While I have prattled on about how difficult the game can be, it remains compelling because you can usually see why you failed a specific jump – be it down to pressing the button too early/late, or just heading in the wrong direction. I often found myself saying “I CAN DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS! ONE MORE TRY!” after each catastrophic failure, even after multiple humiliating failures. That says a lot about the charm and charisma of the game. It is genuinely pleasing to look at, and for the most part, a lot of fun to play.
REVIEW ROUND UP:
GRAPHICS: 4/5 Bright, colourful, expressive graphics, and nice looking levels. Only minor issue is that on occasion the camera will pull out far away causing your character to become minuscule. While ‘Splosion Man does glow, sometimes he gets a bit lost in the bright colours of the background.
SOUND: 5/5 The Team behind the game wrote a number of songs for the game, including the gloriously catchy Donut Song. Voice acting for the characters, while minimal, is entertaining, especially the random noises ‘Splosion Man makes as he bolts down corridors. If you ever beat the game, the song that plays over the end credits will stay with you for a long time.
GAMEPLAY: 4/5 The game can be unforgiving, and frustratingly difficult, but when things go well it is a very satisfying experience. Despite the fact that you are really only ever pressing the same button over and over again, there is enough variety in the types of jumps you are required to perform that is rarely gets boring.
LONGEVITY: 4/5 As well as the 50 Single player levels, which are also playable in time trials mode, there is separate co-op mode that supports up to 4 players. However, it’s best to play this mode with someone you know, as making your way through the game can often be frustrating when you’re on own, and the last thing you need in co-op is some joker that thinks its great fun to jump up and down aimlessly.
OVERALL SCORE: 4 ‘Splosions out of 5. Words that describe this game: Funny, Charismatic, Addictive, and Frustrating.
[starreview tpl=16]
So glad you liked the game. I know the game is a bit like marmite for some and not everyone will like it but I adore this game, in fact Twisted Pixels last effort “The Maw” is brilliant too but for slightly different reasons.
Anyone know if they’ve patch it yet? Because the online multiplayer was just so laggy and glitchy..it was unplayable.
The multiplayer worked fine for me online, no lag at all. Although I understand that some people have been having issues with lag.
Really? No multiplayer lag at all? Everyone I know (literally) who has the game won’t play multiplayer yet because it is so badly full of lag and bugs, which for a game such as this…renders it unplayable.
Yep, out of the four or five times I tried playing online only one of those occassions had any noticable lag. The other times weren’t a whole lot of fun becuase the people I was playing with were just randomly jumping around, laughing, and doing anything but solving the puzzles! Definately a game to play with friends.