Better start reading tutorials. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=16550 At first glance, Blast Works is just a side-scrolling horizontal shooter with a few unique characteristics not seen in other shooters. On closer inspection, you will realize that the game is actually much more of a shooter creation tool than anything else.
The core mechanics of Blast Works' gameplay involves the aforementioned side-scrolling horizontal shooting, but with a twist. As players defeat enemies they are able to attach the destroyed ships to their own ship. This augmentation activates the destroyed ships' guns, causing them to start shooting automatically. By attaching defeated ships to the various sides of your own ship, you can become a force to be reckoned with, spouting gunfire in all directions.
Unfortunately, if any of these parts on your ship are hit by enemies or their fire, they are detached from your blob. As a result players can grab enemies as shields to avoid taking a hit and losing a life, but should ideally try to keep as many enemy ships attached as possible. The bigger your ship gets, the more points you get which in turn earns more lives, a necessary step for avoiding a game over in the campaign mode.
If all you experience is the campaign portion of the game, which can be played with up to three other friends, you are barely scraping the surface of what Blast Works has to offer. The real meat of the game comes from the user-generated content within the game. Players are able to create their own ship designs, enemy designs, fire patterns, levels, and campaigns with the included editor.
When working with the provided tools, it becomes obvious that they can be used to precisely duplicate the entire single player campaign. The tool set is extremely complicated and in-depth, and will give players a means with which to realize their dreams of creating their own shooter game.
I played around with the tools for a good hour and half and barely made a competent level – meaning that working with the tools definitely requires some tutorial reading - but the functionality provided is unparalleled. Fortunately, players can upload all of their creations to the Blast Works Depot website; if you are stuck with the level designer, you can download some of the levels already created by other users and modify anything they have done with relative ease. For those not interested in perusing Blast Works Depot, the game comes with a number of preinstalled assets including the ones used in all of the campaign missions created by the development team.
Blast Works Depot is a fantastic tool, but its implementation is clunky. Players need to register their friend code on the Blast Works website in a standard browser (i.e. not through the game) and queue up anything they want in a similar fashion. After that step is complete, players need to go back to their Wii and connect to Blast Works Depot through the online menu which will trigger a download of all the queued up material.
Aside from the stellar yet daunting creation tools, the game's presentation is unique and appealing. All of the gunfire is 2D and flat while the ships and backgrounds are all minimalistic 3D. Because the game has such flexible tools, some visually impressive ships and enemies can be designed. I was able to download recreations of classic Nintendo characters such as Samus, Ridley, and Donkey Kong. The accompanying aural presentation is decently done with unobtrusive background music and well done sound effects.
Overall, Blast Works is a competent shooter that gains most of its value from its outstanding creation tools. Blast Works Depot integration is also nice; it gives players a venue to share and experience each others' creations. Anyone intrigued with creating shooters should pick this up immediately. Players only interested in the shooter aspect of the title may want to rent first or find it cheap, as there are more compelling pure shooters available in the Wii library, as well as on WiiWare and the Virtual Console.
Pros:
One of the most in-depth creation tools ever in a console game Blast Works Depot website is an excellent venue for sharing creations Sticky enemies provide for interesting strategy Visually appealing Cons: Integration with Blast Works Depot is convoluted Creation tools don’t make quick, effective level creation possible Main campaign won't hold your interest for long Graphics: 8.0 Graphically the game is unique; the ship and background designs are minimalistic 3D, and gunfire is all 2D. The creation tools allow for some really unique designs, occasionally remolding the entire presentation of the game.
Sound: 7.0 The background music isn't obtrusive but isn't particularly memorable either. The sound effects work and are fairly well done.
Control: 8.0 Controlling the ship always feels pretty smooth, but the sticky mechanic sometimes makes navigation and battling enemies cumbersome.
Gameplay: 7.0 The core gameplay of Blast Works is solid, but nothing out of the ordinary for a shooter. The campaign is challenging and well-designed, as are some of the levels available for download through Blast Works Depot.
Lastability: 10.0
The in-depth game editor alone could provide years of entertainment for the hobbyist game designer, but for the average gamer, most lastability will come from the co-op missions and the downloadable content from Blast Works Depot.
Final: 8.0
If you look at Blast Works as more of a shooter editor than a shooter, it is clear that the title is something truly special. The editor within the game is stunning and the core mechanics are unique, giving the game a bit of personality. For those not interested in the editor, the game provides a decent campaign and four player co-op along with tons of downloadable content through Blast Works Depot.
Topic: REVIEWS: Blast Works: Build, Trade & Destroy (Read 2080 times)
