de Blob 2 (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

After the original concept, created by a group of student game developers in the Netherlands, was snapped up by THQ to be turned into a fully fledged title, De Blob gained critical acclaim when it arrived back in 2008 exclusively on the Wii and while it didn't sell millions, it garnered a considerable cult following big enough for the developer and publisher to bring about a sequel, this time spreading the love across multiple platforms rather than keeping it Wii exclusive. With the loss of exclusivity, can De Blob 2 on the Wii still stand up to the quality of its predecessor?

Gameplay

As a direct sequel to the original, De Blob 2 presents itself as a surprisingly open game whereby no prior knowledge of the events of the first game are needed to enjoy what enfolds here. Truth be told, the actual story unfolding as you progress through this game carries similar weight and plotlines to that of the first game. Led by an initially unknown assailant, who is later revealed to be the none other than Comrade Black the antagonist from the first game, the Inkt Corporation have drained all of the colour out of Prisma City and are now looking to do the same with the entire world. It's up to you as Blob, along with his crew of characters and sidekick Pinky, to put a stop to Black and his oppressive ways and return Prisma City and beyond to its rightful vibrant palette.

Following the template of the original game closely, gameplay will be very familiar to those who played that game. You'll progressively make your way through a series of 12 expansive levels, each with a primary objective to complete before you can finish and move on to the next, which usually involves colouring a target Inkt building and loosening their grip on Prisma City. Along the way, you'll take part in various platforming actions, such jumping across buildings and taking on Inkt forces and their traps, all the while painting the buildings of each level with paint gained from pools or paintbots to return them to their former glory. The mixing of the paints this time around plays a big part in the gameplay as many of the secondary quests you'll be asked to complete will require you to mix certain colours and think logically to complete the tasks with as little trouble as possible.

While all of this extends to a large scale 3D landscape, the developers have implemented some 2D side scrolling sections as well this time around. Here, you'll go down a man-hole cover and paint locations underground and take on forces as you try to gain access to the interiors of buildings and restore them and the landscape around them. While they try, and do to some extent, stick to the game's formula, they feel rather lacklustre in comparison to the main digest of the game and really only act as a slight deviation which you'll race through to get back to the main exploratory and free action.

One issue with the levels in the first game was that you could end up spending an hour in a level but it would only save at the end and so if you hadn't reached this point and had to turn off, you'd have to start all over again once you resumed the game. Now, a generous save system has been implemented into levels which will allow you to pick up progress where you left it after turning off. Another issue was that things did get repetitive and while this can still be the case here, it's less so thanks to the inclusion of the 2D sections, new power-ups and enemies which keep things interesting until later in the game.

With a total of 12 levels, each with a main quest and a healthy number of side ones to complete alongside or after you've finished the main task, De Blob 2 can deliver a lengthy experience provided you're willing to spend the time in the levels to track down the collectibles and unlock the little extras that the game has thrown in for you. And considering that each of the levels themselves can keep your attention for an hour or more and still leave you with more stuff to do, it's evident that the more hardcore platformer fans definitely have a treat on their hands and plenty to seek out and it is worthwhile and enjoyable.

More fleshed out multiplayer options have been worked into the game this time around. Through the main campaign, there is a drop-in, drop-out co-operative play option where as second player can jump in as Blob's sidekick, Pinky, and help in the obligatory tasks such as collecting items, painting and even defeating Inkt forces. There is also a separate mode, titles Blob Party, where up to 4 players can co-operatively play through a series of challenges, akin to those you'd find in the main campaign but with a much more confined time limit requiring you to work as a team to get them completed. These offerings are a nice aside to the main campaign and provide plentiful enjoyment.

Controls

One of the major sticking points of the first game for some of those that played it was that jumping required you to make sudden flicks of the Wii-mote. Over a short period of time it was ok but for prolonged play it was a bit of a nightmare. Thankfully, the developers have taken this complaint to heart and while the majority of the control options remain unchanged, with the Wii-mote and Nunchuk being your methods for controlling just as in the original, jumping has now been mapped to the A button making jumping both easier in the game and easier on the player. It's also resolved a few of the platforming issues that the flick gesture brought, as it's much easier to make use of the Z-targeting jump as well as wall jumps. With this small change, the controls finally feel perfect for the game and work extremely well in both the 3D and 2D portions.

Graphics

The same mixture of dystopian greys and whites accompanied by a plethora of bright and vibrant colours creates the centre point for the visuals here just as it did in the original. Large scale 3D environments, mixing cityscapes, industrial and almost island paradise areas, make up the gist of what and where you'll be playing through, with some fantastic level design in place to make them all blend together and flow effortlessly. There's been some crossover of assets, with the same sort of simplistic architectural design for buildings when using the dystopian and more colourful palette as seen in the original, but there is definitely a great variety in the locations and the bigger buildings you'll encounter. The 2D sections continue the 3D work, however due to their more confined nature, the interiors you'll explore don't look as good as the exteriors.

Visual effects have taken a step forward as well, with water showing more refraction, and looking nicer than before, and heat haze and fire looking great. However, be it as a result of more effort being placed on the effects or the larger scale of the levels, the draw distance takes a hit and you'll notice quite a bit of draw in as you move through the levels. Textures also carry a slightly blurry look and there are occasional frame rate drops, although the game generally runs at a rock solid frame rate.

Sound

As with before, the audio in De Blob 2 is decidedly laid back, mixing a variety of genres in a pleasing arrangement that makes prolonged play a joy. The layering of music also remains, with genres such as Jazz, Funk or Pop being assigned to specific paint types and being layered with each level's main audio when you start throwing some paint around to keep things aurally interesting. Sound effects are as they were previously, remain largely untouched, however they still manage to provide some humour, particularly through the gargled musings of the Inkt forces.

Final comments

Acting as a refinement of what came before it, De Blob 2 builds upon the gameplay foundations laid in the original and adds just enough new content and ideas to keep things wholly enjoyable throughout the run of the game. Sure, the 2D sections don't quite come off as well as the developers might have hoped for, feeling like an additive to try and break up the progress through each of the levels, but the expansive and engrossing 3D areas remain a joy to play within, captivating and providing you with hours of great platforming action as you seek to paint everything in sight and collect every hidden collectible.

Pro: Colourful visuals and audio, gameplay remains as engrossing as ever, levels have taken a notch up in scale
Con: 2D sections are a slight let down, occasional frame rate drop, some may find it a little repetitive and easy
Final score: 8

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