For those of you who don’t know, at last year’s E3, Steven Spielberg went around playing all the new game systems and started working on a separate project for each system. The games for the other systems have been kept tightly under wraps and then he revealed this monstrosity of cuteness for the Wii. I looked at this game and said to myself that this would be a kiddie game, a total waste of time for someone my age and that even its multiplayer would become boring after a time. Then I saw all the great reviews this game was given.
My fellow trusted reviewers had convinced me to give this game a chance and since I still had two weeks before Wii Fit was coming out, I gave it a shot. When will I learn not to go against my gut instinct? Let me just say that this game will probably be wonderful for anyone under the age of 10. The basic concept is to take the classic game Jenga to a whole new level by adding different kinds of blocks and powers that you can do, all the while trying to beat challenges and a lackluster story mode. The characters are cute beyond belief and the challenges would probably rack the brains of a 10 year old. For a 23 year old professional though, this game was a breeze and I beat the adventure mode in about 2 hours. Even the multiplayer could not save it. Playing with friends my own age added a slight bit of excitement, but we soon bored of it for games more at our level. The create a level mode was also a nice feature thrown in a la Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but still not enough to save this title. Again though, if I was half my current age, I would probably enjoy this game a bit more because it would probably (hopefully) add a little more challenge. I respect Steven Spielberg for wanting to create a game for his family, but unless one of the greatest directors in movie making history is not adapt at problem solving, I do not know how any adult could sit down with anyone and play this for a long period of time. A valiant effort, let us hope Mr. Spielberg sticks to a more mature audience for his other two upcoming titles.
Rankings based on a score of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
Graphics: 9.0: The graphics are solid for the title. The characters are purposely made to look like blocks (or Blox) and the backgrounds are painted beautifully in that classic cartoony look. All the colors are strong and bright and would be perfect for any 10 year old child and even pleases my older eye.
SFX/Music: 9.5: The SFX are great in this game. The explosions, the blox characters you have to save crying for help, the sound of whole “buildings” collapsing, all well done. The music is very fitting as well. A more haunting melody for the graveyard level, a more western theme for the frontier level, etc., etc.; even the option select screen has a fitting upbeat tune behind it that pleases the ears.
Replay Value: 5.0: Here is where the game begins to suffer. Even with all the challenges and levels it throws at you; even with the multiplayer and build a level options; I will probably never play this game again. The only reason this gets even the ranking it does, is that for a younger audience, it would probably stick better than for someone my age.
Plot/Plot Development: 3.0: What plot is there? The levels are broken into three parts with a short cut scene in between each one. The game is primarily driven on the fact that you are playing a version of Jenga on steroids. Other than that, there is nothing else to it.
Gameplay: 7.5: The physics of this game is one of the aspects that it shines in. Depending on where you throw a ball at the tower and with the force at which you throw it, really varies on what happens to the respective tower. Even the blocks that are taken out, how they bounce around before shattering or disappearing, really do so with a great deal of realism. The game lacks though in how sometimes the sensors fail to properly detect your throw or when you try to remove a block from a tower with your pincer fingers and you cannot get quite the right angle to see what would be the best way to pull it out. Very sensitive controls take their toll as well as the slightest shake can be felt by your pincer fingers in the game. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. You try holding a Wiimote perfectly still and see how well you do with it.
Overall: 4.5 (not an average): Unlike many of my counterparts, I really disliked this game. I thought it was just too simple. I appreciate that for 10 year olds and younger this would excel, but the game was advertised as fun for everyone and that is why it gets a low score. The music and graphics were solid and the physics, although glitchy at times, were mostly spot on so I can appreciate how tight that part of the game was. This game is not worth anything more than a rental though because you can beat the whole thing in a day or two. Unless you have an elementary school child, leave this game in the stores.
-Ray Carsillo
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