After what seemed to be a bit of a shipping snag with BlastWorks: Build, Trade & Destroy—even though we got the press release saying it "is now available" on Tuesday, my preorder didn't arrive till Thursday—the game is now in my hands and others', and there's already hundreds of pieces of user-created content available on BlastWorksDepot, ready to be queued for download to your Wii.
The quality varies, of course. One level in particular that I tried yesterday seemed relatively easy until I came upon a final boss whose bullet spray was so thick I couldn't find a place to hide when he let loose. But BlastWorks is already beginning to show its promise, above and beyond the sticky-ship mechanic it took from the TUMIKI Fighters it is based on. Players are already creating both works in-progress like this one:
As well as smile-inducing enemy designs like this guy, who "throws" round shots at you:
While the included campaign modes and sample levels are both well-designed and challenging, the real strength of BlastWorks lies in its editor suite, which certainly packs more tools than I think have ever been on a console. Mixed in with the BlastWorksDepot sharing system, which lets any user improve on any other user's design, I feel like BlastWorks is for the first time delivering on the user-created content dream on consoles. It led one GAF poster to proclaim "It's like LittleBigShooter".
If you're interested, Circuit City has a deal this week where you can pick up the game for its suggested retail price of $39.99 and get a $10 gift card with purchase, bringing the net cost down to $29.99. Of course, much of its long-term value depends on how active the community remains, how skilled they become, as well as the longevity of the game's core mechanics; but I can easily see BlastWorks paying off.
The quality varies, of course. One level in particular that I tried yesterday seemed relatively easy until I came upon a final boss whose bullet spray was so thick I couldn't find a place to hide when he let loose. But BlastWorks is already beginning to show its promise, above and beyond the sticky-ship mechanic it took from the TUMIKI Fighters it is based on. Players are already creating both works in-progress like this one:
As well as smile-inducing enemy designs like this guy, who "throws" round shots at you:
While the included campaign modes and sample levels are both well-designed and challenging, the real strength of BlastWorks lies in its editor suite, which certainly packs more tools than I think have ever been on a console. Mixed in with the BlastWorksDepot sharing system, which lets any user improve on any other user's design, I feel like BlastWorks is for the first time delivering on the user-created content dream on consoles. It led one GAF poster to proclaim "It's like LittleBigShooter".
If you're interested, Circuit City has a deal this week where you can pick up the game for its suggested retail price of $39.99 and get a $10 gift card with purchase, bringing the net cost down to $29.99. Of course, much of its long-term value depends on how active the community remains, how skilled they become, as well as the longevity of the game's core mechanics; but I can easily see BlastWorks paying off.