Physics puzzlers such as Peggle and Angry Birds have a special place in my heart—there’s just something about the challenges they provide that is different from other puzzle titles. Somehow, they feel more like action titles than puzzlers. For this reason, I was keen to get my hands on The Splatters on Xbox Live Arcade.
The Splatters has a very cartoony look to it, and while the gameplay is very different, it is quite reminiscent of Peggle – even down to the slowing of time as a trick comes to fruition. Essentially, the game puts players in control a bunch of coloured blobs (the titular “Splatters,” but I prefer to call them blobs), all of whom are really keen on taking out similarly coloured bombs that are littered around the screen. Taking out these bombs involves making said blob explode and coating the bombs in the resulting blob residue, which for some reason sets them off. Why they do this is unknown, but I’m sure the bomb hatred is justified.
As the blob controller, you essentially point the blob in the direction you’d like it to go, and fire it off. From there, you have a number of special moves (dive bomb, redirect, reverse direction, and the like) that can be utilised to pull off trick shots—often these are required in order to take out those pesky bombs.
Essentially, that just about nails the whole game. Points are awarded for particularly tricky shots and combos, and completion is graded on a three-star scale; a standard for this genre. For the most part, achieving three stars is damned tricky – and if your brain is slightly sub-standard, just completing a level can be tricky enough (*admits to having a substandard brain*). The game features levels oriented around encouraging crazy tricks or extensive combos, but they all have the same kind of feel – point and shoot your blob, take out a bunch of bombs. If it didn’t work, try something slightly different. Rinse and repeat. Over time, and given the number of levels (up around 100), this can become tedious.
Just the fact that the game does get tedious made me think – Peggle, which is a similar title, is based around a single gameplay mechanic, but there’s something about it that’s just GOLD. For some reason, I can (and have) played Peggle for hours on end… Why can’t I do the same with this game? It’s something I can’t quite put my finger on – sure, it’s based on some pretty simple physics, and you can pull off some fairly crazy trick shots, but it doesn’t have the same “just one more turn” effect that Peggle has.
On one hand, this is a fun mash-up of some existing concepts – trick shots from Peggle, the slingshot physics of Angry Birds, the liquid physics of World of Goo, and the unexplainable masochistic pleasure also found in Pain; but on the other hand, it can be frustrating, and it can be difficult. Read into that what you will – I may not be good at this game, and this may have affected how I felt about it, but it should be stated that I’m not that great at ANY game, but I know what works.
That’s not to say that The Splatters is a bad game. It’s fun, it’s colourful, and it’s challenging. However, there’s an aspect of this game that frustrated me more than I would have liked. I would say this is a great choice for fans of the puzzle genre – they tend to be gluttons for punishment. For everyone else, though, make good use of XBLA trial system before you spend your MS points. You may find you like it.
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