Joystiq impressions: Blast Works (Wii)

by Andrew Yoon { Mar 16th 2008 at 10:30AM }

User-generated gaming is all the rage these days. PS3 has LittleBigPlanet and Unreal Tournament III; Xbox 360 has Xbox Live Community Games; Wii has Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Boom Blox, and now Blast Works.

This upcoming Wii-exclusive shooter from Majesco is based on Kenta Cho's Tumiki Fighters. With your mega-powered spaceship, you can blast away at polygonal enemies, and incorporate them into your ship, Katamari-style. Fifteen levels are promised to ship in the final retail game, and each promises to be a unique experience. One level we saw on display had players taking control of a paper airplane, fighting other paper airplanes and origami enemies. The entire world was rendered in black and white, with the environment seemingly made of paper. Another level we saw featured a barrage of colorful, wacky enemies: ducks, frogs, bees, boats. The eclectic mix of enemies all had one purpose: to destroy us.

While romping through the included stages may be fun, the most appealing aspect of the game had to be its creation content system. All the levels in Blast Works were created using the in-game tools. Players can create their own ships, enemies, bullets, levels -- and if they so choose, can create their own bullet and AI patterns as well.

Gallery: Blast Works (Wii)

The creation tools seemed easy and intuitive to use. A click and drag interface allows simple shapes to be manipulated and combined into complex figures. Predetermined patterns can be combined, or edited to create something new. The developers are promising to release instructional videos on their website, detailing each step of the process, hopefully lessening the learning curve a bit. Once levels are created, they can be shared via WiiConnect24, or through the Blast Works web site. The developers are promising a good amount of content will be available on day 1, and they'd like to continue supporting the project by adding more content over time.

If the Wii community embraces this under-the-radar title, then there's the potential for a never-ending supply of original content for players. Hopefully, Kenta Cho fans will rally and support Blast Works -- the inclusion of four of his games (rRootage, Gunroar, Torus Trooper and the original TUMIKI Fighters) should be enough of a lure to draw the shmup hardcore. Blast Works is planned for a May release.

Tags: blast-works, kenta-cho, majesco, tumiki-fighters, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

playwhutyalike @ Mar 16th 2008 10:51AM

*Peter Griffin voice* Friggin Sweet!

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Mar 16th 2008 11:18AM

The gameplay, dunno, but the editor tools look sweet.

I'm a bit concerned though, since I myself can't create much 3D with a mouse. It looks more technical than some creation tools, like for Spore's.

playwhutyalike @ Mar 16th 2008 11:41AM

You would think that the creation tool would be intuitive with the Wii-mote, tilting and spinning wise. I didn't read the article to see what it's all about, I think I'll check that now.

Tiptup300 @ Mar 16th 2008 12:53PM

meh, give me a keyboard and a nice IDE. Not drag/drop garbage.

Game Maker 2.0 for Wii CONFIRMED!

Fernando Rocker @ Mar 16th 2008 11:43AM

It looks very interesting. =p

Schoon @ Mar 16th 2008 3:18PM

Joystiq - Thanks for giving Kenta Cho some credit for his inspiration of Blast Works! : )

As far as I've been able to tell, most (if not all) of the press this game's been getting barely mention Kenta Cho (if at all). Even though he programs in the obscure D language, he still deserves more credit for this than he receives at times!

Andrew Yoon @ Mar 16th 2008 3:26PM

I'm a huge fan of Kenta's works -- I actually helped him out with some web space back in the old, old days. I think the inclusion of his games is worth the cost of entry.

J.Goodwin @ Mar 16th 2008 12:21PM

I wish that Santa Claus would erase the word "intuitive" from the memory banks of the Nintendo clone army.

Tumiki is one of Kenta's more interest games visually, but it doesn't have the same kinetic play fury that his vertical shooters do for me.

playwhutyalike @ Mar 16th 2008 12:48PM

Yeah, um, I find myself saying that most of the time.

Deleted...

Maximilian Lockwood @ Mar 16th 2008 1:41PM

PS3 camp wins this round. Thank you, LittleBigPlanet.

vdeogmer @ Mar 16th 2008 1:44PM

Looks like it includes some of Kenta Cho's other games, just keep in the original music for them and I'll be happy.

DemonGSides @ Mar 16th 2008 2:23PM

Its Way harder than it looks. I played a beta version of it. The video makes it seem easy.

Blazur @ Mar 16th 2008 2:43PM

That looks kinda lame to me.

ill trooper @ Mar 16th 2008 2:44PM

Man, for a second I thought I had read "Blast CORPS" and I was excited...

Co @ Mar 16th 2008 3:14PM

lmao i said the same thing last time Joystiq posted an article about this game. DAMN YOU NINTENDO/RARE get that damn game on the VC NOW!!

Covarr @ Mar 16th 2008 3:34PM

I'm buying it just for Gunroar. Blast Works is just a sweet bonus.

Madster @ Mar 16th 2008 4:10PM

Oh yes. Dreams do come true!

Million dollars please!
*waits*

Tre @ Mar 16th 2008 4:56PM

We can blast away Polygamist enemies?
Oh wait, polygonal.

Kidding, kidding...
I played Tumuki Fighters awhile back. It was friggin' awesome. This game is going to be friggin' awesome.

Mabui @ Mar 16th 2008 5:02PM

That looks pretty awesome, more creating your own stuff and sharing it then anything else.

Darth Abe @ Mar 16th 2008 9:13PM

Okay, Live Community isn't in the same league as the rest of those examples. It isn't even in the same game. It's like comparing building with legos and building with concrete and steel.