GameDaily spoke with EA's Louis Castle about the Spielberg-headed block-toppling game BOOM BLOX, getting a little bit more information about the gameplay as well as a weird statement about the famous filmmaker's nebulous involvement with the game: "It's actually Spielberg's concept. He was inspired by his play session with Miyamoto on the Wii and came to us, since we had an agreement to work with him on multiple titles, and said, 'I'd really like to make a game that I can play with my kids for the Wii since it's just a fantastic system.'" So Spielberg's concept was ... a Wii game? Maybe that was just the prelude to the development of the concept.
As for the gameplay, it consists of four modes: multiplayer, creation (in which you build structures using various kinds of blocks), a puzzle mode with over 300 levels ("a very contextual series of levels that Spielberg helped to create and imagine where there's four different themes"), and some kind of "explore mode" whose goal we can't figure out -- it seems to be some kind of adventure mode crossed with creation. In all the modes, you're given tools including a hand for manipulating and building things and a "blast" for
When the game was last shown at E3, it was an underwhelming throwing-stuff-at-blocks game with little point. Now it's got these neat-looking puzzles and adorable characters, and it's actually starting to look like something. Yes, certain elements of the Wii Fanboy staff haven't fully jumped on board, but the new trailer (above) may do something to sway DO NOT WANTERS to DO NOT NOT WANT status.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-07-2008 @ 10:52AM
Zack W. said...
It actually looks kind of fun. Hopefully it will not cost $50.
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2-07-2008 @ 10:56AM
Sisyphus said...
That's the same thing I was thinking. Looks interesting for $20-30, but not $50.
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2-07-2008 @ 11:59AM
ejamer said...
I wasn't impressed with this game intiially. The name is obnoxious, graphics are very simple, and the style is cute enough to make you puke. Spielberg's involvement made me even more skeptical that this game could possibly be enjoyable...
...but then I watched the gameplay trailer. You know what, this little puzzle game actually has some real potential. That doesn't automatically mean that it will be worth owning -- but I'm interested enough now to watch and find out.
(On a side note, it's nice to see development that is tailored to the Wii system. And did I hear that BOOM BLOX has a custom built physics engine for the Wii? Even if the game doesn't fly, at least they're trying something different and putting real effort behind it.)
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2-07-2008 @ 12:11PM
JKAntwon said...
well I think this looks lame. I'm way more excited to see Spielberg's other project...
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2-07-2008 @ 12:16PM
Grimes said...
I also think this looks really very good. It also seems to quietly offer a lot of the same fun as Little Big Planet, maybe.
Although that title may turn out better because of the wise choice of sticking to 2d, which will vastly reduce the chance of camera problems ruining the game, and will simplify both the camera system and gameplay itself, which will ratchet up the pick-up-and-play quality of it.
We shall see, friends. But for now, I'm looking forward to this.
As long as Spielberg doesn't make it all be about one of the blox's long quest to reunite with its mother, or shoehorn divorce in there somehow.
Man, that Spielberg loves to make things be about divorce.
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2-07-2008 @ 12:20PM
Rocketboy said...
So it's Jenga, but in reverse?
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2-07-2008 @ 12:46PM
iMarc said...
I like the looks of this one. :)
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2-07-2008 @ 2:50PM
Habb said...
This will be a $20 purchase for me, but no way for $50.
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2-07-2008 @ 4:23PM
SoshiKitai said...
When I first heard about it and saw some of its previous movies on it... I was really really unimpressed.
...for crying out loud... creation-games beat that game out of the water!
but now... after seeing that traier... I actualy want to get that game! I could tell they heavily improved it. :D
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2-08-2008 @ 1:43AM
ThomasJay said...
I'm intrigued. I'm not too sure what the game's about yet, but I'm really liking the idea of building things with virtual blocks and then blowing them all to hell.
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2-08-2008 @ 4:40AM
Micah said...
I'd comment, but the video isn't even working right for me. No sound for one thing, and the video stops after playing for a few seconds.
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