‘Splosion Man
Developed by: Twisted Pixel Games
Published by: Twisted Pixel Games
Platforms: Xbox 360 – Xbox Live Arcade
Players: 1 (Singleplayer) 2-4 (Multiplayer)
Rated E for Everyone (10+)
The Breakdown
This ‘splodetastic XBLA platformer has scientists, style and a whole lot of ‘splosion. Oh, and it has cake!
The Important Stuff
‘Splosion Man is the newest release from Twisted Pixel, the same people who brought us the much acclaimed XBLA title “The Maw” back in January. At heart, ‘Splosion Man is your basic platformer game and is presented in what’s known as “2.5D” due to the simulated depth of background environments even though the game is really a side-scroller. You are tasked with completing various levels by ‘sploding your way through all obstacles in your path. Featuring 100 levels of gameplay split between single and multiplayer (50 each), as well as a few humorous boss fights, ‘Splosion Man offers plenty of gameplay for its 800MS pricetag.
You have only one ability in the game. You can ‘splode yourself, which in effect is basically a jumping action. ‘Splosion Man can ‘splode himself three times in a row to propel himself to greater heights before his ‘splodeyness must be recharged by either touching the ground for a brief moment or by sliding down a wall you’re attached to, which takes a few seconds. Engaging in these acts of ‘splodification can also allow you to blow up/bounce off of explosive barrels, deflect incoming projectiles, activate levers, destroy robots and also to ‘splobliterate pesky scientists….. who ‘splode into nicely cut choice pieces of meat.
Oh, and you can carry around a fat donut guy and listen to an amazing song about donuts.
Tips and Tricks
‘Splosion Man is mighty before he ‘splodes, and not so much afterwards. Avoid being hit until your ‘splode rejuvenates.
Donut Guy can help you get past machine gun turrets, but doesn’t fair so well against missles.
‘Sploding off an enemy can sometimes give you a needed boost to an unreachable area.
An easy way to get the Omaha Steaks achievement is to stand with the Donut Guy in front of a machine gun turret.
Reaction
I’ll be honest here. I can’t remember the last XBLA game that I seriously had this much fun playing. Twisted Pixel has a great sense of humor and has released a platform game that is not only funny, but offers a new take on the ability to jump by substituting it with the protagonist’s ‘sploderific talents.
Also it’s worth mentioning that Twisted Pixel has SERIOUSLY thrown down the gauntlet to the folks over at Valve in regards to their epic song at the end of Portal. Once you beat ‘Splosion Man, towards the middle of the credits you will be treated to the most awesome, most cheesy, most ‘splodegasmic song to ever be featured in a video game. If you don’t plan on beating the game then treat yourself to watching an actual music video of the song over at YouTube. I’ve had it stuck in my head for days now.
http://www.youtube.c…h?v=MsKjxErG5rg (Starts around 0:15)
I’ll leave you with this thought. Seriously. Take a step back and think about it. If you couldn’t actually jump from one ledge to another, what better way is there than to actually friggin ‘SPLODE yourself there!? Don’t think on it too hard, or your head might ‘splode!
