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Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy is the Roller Coaster Tycoon of arcade gaming. This game allows you to create your own ship, playing levels, and even download the creations of others. For those who love to customize and create as well as play classic arcade games, Blast Works is a unique addition to your Wii collection.
The game itself is easy enough to manage. This 2D arcade shooter has been around since ancient gaming times and the basic idea hasn’t changed. Through fifteen different levels, your little baby ship must gun down bigger, better ships and collect pieces of their falling debris to add on to your ship. By collecting more and more pieces, your ship accumulates firing power and defenses. Be cautioned though, barrel-rolling through enemy fighters just may cause you to lose all of your additions, exposing your weak insides.
The Wii controls are well done, making this game intuitive even to six year olds. Because the controls are very tight, playing Blast Works is a breeze. Small additions like this have been overlooked by high profile games lately, but this is a game everyone can enjoy because it is so easy to pick up.
Blast Works boasts two single-player options: Campaign and Arcade. Playing through all fifteen levels can be a challenge, since most levels take 3-5 minutes to complete on average (longer if you’re a tool and hide in the corner during the boss battle). Both of these can be played as a multiplayer, but the multiplayer can end up being quite confusing as each player (up to four) creates a gigantic ship and it becomes impossible to tell who is who.
After you’ve gotten the basics down, you can start playing with the editor. The editors allow you to create a level to play in by deciding what the background will look like, how many and what type of enemies there will be, and what your own ship will look like. For master artists and gamers with a lot of patience, this feature will be totally awesome.
For most of us, using the editors takes too much time and can be very difficult. To create levels, you have to use the Wii remote. Oftentimes, I would move the Wiimote too quickly or jar my elbow, resulting in a misplaced object. To edit your own level, you have to navigate through several screens, looking for the right components to add. Luckily, for gamers who love customizing but are lazy or impatient, Blast Works has its own website: www.BlastWorksDepot.com, where you can look at other players levels and download the components that you like. The website connects to your Wii number, so you can retrieve your downloads easily after turning on your Wii. Uploading files is also very easy, so now everyone will have access to your Grandma’s 1960’s re-upholstered couch. Woot woot!
The soundtrack on Blast Works is decent, but monotonous. The graphics are fitting…almost too fitting. Blast Works looks like an authentic arcade game with its blocky objects and stale backgrounds. For the Wii version, I wish that the looks could have been jazzed up a bit.
Blast Works will be a fun diversion from everyday life, and surely will keep the kiddies occupied. If you have extra time in your busy schedule, you may be able to create the level of your dreams. On the other hand, you might want to take the entire day off if planning such an endeavor.
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