I know how painful it’s been in the past to want to comment on a piece of news only to have to hit the forums and carry on that discussion there. I’ve taken some time to roll out a new commenting system for the site. As of right now, you can make a comment directly from the news post. Enjoy and let me know if you find any problems with it.
Chris Rasco
New Commenting System
News / by
/ 
De Blob is one of the more unique and creative games that I’ve played in recent years. The evil INKT Corporation has invaded the city of Chroma and outlawed color and fun. Playing as de Blob, you will lead the color revolution in an effort to bring back color to the city and help the oppressed citizens of Chroma enjoy daily life again.
Playing as de Blob, you start off as a clear ball of water and smash paint cans to absorb the paint. Paint cans come in the three primary colors and can be mixed to form four additional colors. Each paint can awards you a fixed number of paint points when you absorb it. Every time you touch a building or an object it turns the color of de Blob and deducts 1 paint point. Use all your paint points and you can no longer paint objects in the city.
Chroma city is divided into several parts that you unlock as you progress through the game. Each area has various challenges and sections you can. Sections are timed, but completing challenges and progressing through levels awards you additional time to continue playing as well as points. Collect a certain number of points to open up the additional sections of your current level. As you paint the town, additional citizens of Chroma city, called Raydians, arrive with additional challenges or missions for de Blob. Challenges can be anything from painting certain buildings various colors to defeating armies of INKT soldiers.
Each level also has certain goals that you can strive to meet such as painting all the trees or rescuing all the Raydians. Meeting all of these goals results in scoring 100% on that section or level. This must be done on a single play through as de Blob doesn’t store your progress on any given level. Start the level again and you are back at the very beginning. I didn’t like this feature at all.
de Blob is a simple concept with a virtually flawless execution and the controls only serve to complement this. Developer, Blue Tongue, opted to make full use of the motion sensing features of the Wii. Movement is handled with the analog stick but jumping and any additional movement like smashing paint cans or INKY soldiers is done by flicking the Wii remote up or down. The controls can be a little difficult to get the hang of and will be difficult for younger gamers.
De Blob is an amazing game by any standard. It delivers a solid and enjoyable gaming experience. It’s a little too challenging for kids under 6 to truly enjoy, but everyone else will be fine.
ESRB: de Blob is rated E for mild cartoon violence
Plays Like: Nothing I’ve played before
Pros: Excellent story and characters; fun and original
Cons: Doesn’t preserve level progress upon completion
Musical rhythm games have been a huge hit with gamers of all ages since Guitar Hero stormed onto the scene. In the past, emulating your favorite rock star was limited to showcasing your skills on a replica guitar controller. With the release of Rock Band, that all changed.
Rock Band was initially released in late 2007 for the PS3, PS2, and the Xbox 360. It wasn’t until the summer of 2008 that Rock Band became available for the hordes of Wii owners begging for a full rock experience.
Unfortunately for Wii owners, the version that was delivered is similar to the previously released PS2 version and it lacks the some of the capabilities of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The most glaring omission is the online music store that allows gamers to purchase new tracks. As a consolation, Harmonix and MTV are releasing 20 song Track Packs for $29.99. The downside is that it becomes an all or nothing affair for gamers wishing to expand their track library. Other missing features include the lack of online play, no create-a-rocker, and a stripped down career mode. For a game that shines as a party game, these online features aren’t paramount to a good time.
Rock Band for the Wii may be missing some features that expand its playing experience, but the core gameplay is intact and it’s as fun as ever. The instruments are solid and the sleek white color of the drum set invokes an Apple-ish design.
Rock Band 2 is slated for a December 2008 release on the Wii and with improved instruments making their way to the Xbox 360 and the PS3 gamers will want to hold off on purchasing this full bundle.
Last week everyone was talking about the comments made by Epic Games president Mike Capps. In all the discussion I missed one heck of a piece by fellow Texas resident Bill Harris. Bill puts aside the fact that some of these companies are pushing the envelope in terms of mistreating their own customers and digs into the economic relationship between the new game market and the used/rental game market.
He has some great points and it’s probably the most solid piece on the topic that I can point to when arguing that these coming changes are bad for the industry as a whole. You can read Bill’s article here.
