Video Game Reviews
Issue 239 / November 2008 More from this Issue
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de Blob
Blue Tongue
Wii
Street: 09.22.08
Lights up on Chroma City: a colorful metropolis, autopia bathed in every shade on the spectrum. EnterI.N.K.T., an adorably evil army of Nazi-esque blackand-white ink people (stay with me, it gets better).I.N.K.T. descends on the unwitting masses and makesshort work of Chroma City, sucking up every drop ofcolor and imprisoning every once-radiant citizen inshackles and colorless work camps (like I said, they’reNazis, but like Pixar Nazis). Your job, as the surprisinglybadass blob of goo named, well, Blob, is topaint the city—every inch of it, in all the radiant colorsyou exude. De Blob is a third-party release and wasoriginally a free PC game, both of which make it all themore impressive that it’s great fun to play.
The game is no port—it’s been reinvented on the Wiiwith admirably smooth cut scene rendering, tight controls,and an all around stellar presentation. Everythingin this game is so goddamn cute and funny you justwant to explode. If you can’t stomach the cutsie, thenfuhgheddaboudit, but the majority of Nintendo fanswill really dig this title. On the console market, it’s allabout the huge, anticipated blockbuster releases, soit’s always great when you stumble across a gem youweren’t expecting.
To enjoy de Blob to the fullest, I’m sure you’ll agree it’sbest to be in a state of mind where painting the worldwith colors, patterns and music might be at its mostappealing, whatever that may mean for you.–Jesse Hawlish
4out of 5 Splotches of Color
The Oregon Trail
Gameloft
Mobile Game
Street: 06.15.2008
Remember the good old elementary school days?Okay, maybe they weren’t all good, but there werethose days where the teachers would herd your classinto the computer lab and tell you to practice typing.Like hell! You were a kid with the attention span of acrack-addled goldfish, and dammit, you were there toplay video games! Unfortunately for you, public educationtricked you once again using a learning programdisguised as a video game: The Oregon Trail.Gameloft has not only come along and given the gamea facelift, but brought it straight to the comfort of yourmobile phone.
Everything you loved about the old game is here:hunting, traveling, cholera, bear maulings, and—everyone’sfavorite!—naming your family members afterwhomever you damn well please. I chose to name myfamily after our editing staff here at SLUG. By the timewe got to Oregon, Angela died of Cholera, Andrew hadwandered away from the trail six times, Meghann wasconstantly sick and was mauled by a bear twice (theanimation alone will put you in stitches), and Adambroke his arm. Yeah, half-a-lifetime later, it’s still prettydamn funny.
The graphics are rather good—a cute, fluffy renditionof the Wild West—and the sound design isn’t tooshabby. The game breathes new life into the old features,such as hunting, but also brings new minigameslike the fishing feature, the entrance into towns, andNPC interaction. The controls translate perfectly tothe mobile phone, allowing the games to be playedwithout difficulty. The only trouble is that the gamedoes seem to be a little glitchy when trying to boot theprogram, stating there is a "memory full error" even ifyour card is virtually empty. This could be a glitch exclusiveto the Blackberry, but something to be awareof nonetheless. Either way, the game is availableonline and through most providers, and at five or sixbucks, it’s the best way for you cheap gamers to getyour old school fix. –Kat Kellemeyer
Blue Tongue
Wii
Street: 09.22.08
Lights up on Chroma City: a colorful metropolis, autopia bathed in every shade on the spectrum. EnterI.N.K.T., an adorably evil army of Nazi-esque blackand-white ink people (stay with me, it gets better).I.N.K.T. descends on the unwitting masses and makesshort work of Chroma City, sucking up every drop ofcolor and imprisoning every once-radiant citizen inshackles and colorless work camps (like I said, they’reNazis, but like Pixar Nazis). Your job, as the surprisinglybadass blob of goo named, well, Blob, is topaint the city—every inch of it, in all the radiant colorsyou exude. De Blob is a third-party release and wasoriginally a free PC game, both of which make it all themore impressive that it’s great fun to play.
The game is no port—it’s been reinvented on the Wiiwith admirably smooth cut scene rendering, tight controls,and an all around stellar presentation. Everythingin this game is so goddamn cute and funny you justwant to explode. If you can’t stomach the cutsie, thenfuhgheddaboudit, but the majority of Nintendo fanswill really dig this title. On the console market, it’s allabout the huge, anticipated blockbuster releases, soit’s always great when you stumble across a gem youweren’t expecting.
To enjoy de Blob to the fullest, I’m sure you’ll agree it’sbest to be in a state of mind where painting the worldwith colors, patterns and music might be at its mostappealing, whatever that may mean for you.–Jesse Hawlish
4out of 5 Splotches of Color
The Oregon Trail
Gameloft
Mobile Game
Street: 06.15.2008
Remember the good old elementary school days?Okay, maybe they weren’t all good, but there werethose days where the teachers would herd your classinto the computer lab and tell you to practice typing.Like hell! You were a kid with the attention span of acrack-addled goldfish, and dammit, you were there toplay video games! Unfortunately for you, public educationtricked you once again using a learning programdisguised as a video game: The Oregon Trail.Gameloft has not only come along and given the gamea facelift, but brought it straight to the comfort of yourmobile phone.
Everything you loved about the old game is here:hunting, traveling, cholera, bear maulings, and—everyone’sfavorite!—naming your family members afterwhomever you damn well please. I chose to name myfamily after our editing staff here at SLUG. By the timewe got to Oregon, Angela died of Cholera, Andrew hadwandered away from the trail six times, Meghann wasconstantly sick and was mauled by a bear twice (theanimation alone will put you in stitches), and Adambroke his arm. Yeah, half-a-lifetime later, it’s still prettydamn funny.
The graphics are rather good—a cute, fluffy renditionof the Wild West—and the sound design isn’t tooshabby. The game breathes new life into the old features,such as hunting, but also brings new minigameslike the fishing feature, the entrance into towns, andNPC interaction. The controls translate perfectly tothe mobile phone, allowing the games to be playedwithout difficulty. The only trouble is that the gamedoes seem to be a little glitchy when trying to boot theprogram, stating there is a "memory full error" even ifyour card is virtually empty. This could be a glitch exclusiveto the Blackberry, but something to be awareof nonetheless. Either way, the game is availableonline and through most providers, and at five or sixbucks, it’s the best way for you cheap gamers to getyour old school fix. –Kat Kellemeyer
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