Boom Blox Bash Party (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

Released a year ago, the original Boom Blox title for the Wii was well received by both the critics and those that purchased the title at market. While it may not have reached the same success as other EA stalwart titles, such as the FIFA games, it did significantly well. As a result, EA has seen fit to produce a sequel, providing more puzzles and a better integration of online so as to push the brand further. It's been exactly a year since the first title, so are gamers remise in thinking that Boom Blox has fallen foul of the yearly update? Well the short answer is no.

Gameplay

Those who have previously played the original title will be instantly familiar with what is on offer here. The same physics based puzzling returns in a new slew of levels, ranging from the simplistic to the downright difficult. And while many of the original mechanics make another appearance here, there are some new toys for you to play around with this time which shake up the gameplay even more than before, such as the virus blox which when hit, infect nearby or touching blox resulting in them being destroyed or becoming infected themselves with the ability to pass on the virus should they themselves be hit. And as with the new toys you can use, the gameplay remains as infectious as ever, providing a large selection of levels to play through, all of which are set within a different theme. While it may initially seem like these levels merely take the place of an expansion pack for the first title, you'll soon see that they are much more than that. Completely new environments change up the way in which the physics for the blox work. While in a park or metropolis setting, the blox act as they would in those respective settings but in the two new ones, underwater and space, things really change up. In the water levels, blox are always sinking and so in many of the levels, you'll be tasked with making sure they reach the surface. Likewise, with a new underwater setting comes a new peril that would be associated with it. Some of the levels will require you to work as fast as possible to prevent the blox structures from being destroyed completely by an octopus that'll appear. It'll barge into the structure, sucking up pieces and start throwing them around and so it adds a new dimension to the gameplay.

And speaking of new dimensions, there is also the new space area where the physics are even more complicated because all of the objects float as if they were in space. It means for missions where you have to get a certain number of gem blox out of the gridded area, things don't always play out as they would in the Earthly settings. Where a bomb ball or an explosion may send blox flying in that scenario, in space the blox move slower and are affected by the laws of physics much more. This means even more consideration must go into figuring out how to complete the tasks with this new style of gameplay. As I've already said, many of the previous mechanics and toys return but all of the stages are brand new, designed specifically for the game so there are no carry-overs. The game masterfully mixes the easy with the extremely difficult in terms of the stages and some of the designs are ingenious and will really have you scratching your head. Many of the stages are available not only in the single player but also in co-op or competitive co-op which is a nice touch in terms of pushing the series as a community title.

Another new implementation this time around is an achievement system where you're given trophies for certain obligatory tasks. These include things like getting 50 gold medals, getting 20 gold medals in a row, or throwing 500 baseballs. It's a simplistic achievement system where everything is almost achievable, with only the so many gold medals in a row achievements being particularly difficult. The creation tool returns and is in a more refined state and is incredibly easy to get to grips with. While it is simplistic in its use, it is the coming up of ideas for stages that will prove the real challenge as you set your own parameter and rules to comply with. And all stages you create can be uploaded to the EA servers where players from around the world can try their hand at them and rate them. At the time of writing, there is a considerably large amount of stages available, with EA having stepped in and provided some themselves, ranging from all kinds of tasks. The possibilities are endless with the mode and as a result, even if you aren't great at designing things, there'll always be something to check online.

Controls

The same controls as the first game return here, with the A button being used to lock your cursor and a flick of the remote being used to throw. As with the first title, it works well enough but the gesture could have perhaps been mapped to a button for better control as the throwing gestures aren't always detected. But as the saying goes, if it's not broken don't try to fix it. And EA have done just that.

Graphics

The graphics engine didn't really need much of an improvement because it did the job well. The overall engine has been improved and frame rate issues that resulted from large amounts of things happening on the screen at once have been minimised although they do still crop up occasionally when the physics engine is being worked hard. The new areas that have been introduced to this game provide the best of the new art and design work, with some nice backgrounds and background detail, but overall, everything has been improved and looks crisper and cleaner than the previous title. It's hard to see whether the engine can be improved more than it already has but perhaps the issues with frame rate will finally be eradicated come the inevitable next title.

Sound

Again, as with the previous title, this isn't going to be one of the main points for the game. Yet while the developers have clearly focused more on the overall package and getting things to run as smoothly as possible, online and off, the music does step forward and above that of the previous title, being soothing and cheerful which is the kind of tone you'd expect. The same sound effects return and again, these fit in with the whole cheerful visage.

Final comments

It's hard to complain about a sequel to one of the Wii's best puzzle titles. EA has crammed the disc full of new content, such as new levels, scenarios and toys to play with as well as putting a much bigger focus on user created content with a more refined creation tool and a much improved online system. The main game has plenty to keep you coming back to but the added bonus of new levels almost everyday from players around the world is what will really pull the gamers in. With only minimal issues, Boom Blox Bash Party is about as perfect as the series can get right now and only time will tell whether or not EA have the creativity to continue to improve on what they've laid before themselves.

Pro: Incredibly fun puzzles, huge amount of content, creation mode and online are superb
Con: Still some frame rate issues, can get considerably difficult at times
Final score: 9.2

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