Metareview -- Boom Blox (Wii)

54 Comments by Alexander Sliwinski May 7th 2008 9:00PM
Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Puzzle, Metareviews, Casual

They're tiny, they're toony, they're all a little looney, and in this video game they're exploding your TV. Steven Spielberg's first foray into video games brings us Boom Blox for the Wii. Reviews have been pretty glowing or just good. Don't expect some Spielberg epic here, it's definitely a casual title designed for the Wii, which apparently uses the Wiimote quite competently.

1Up (100/100): "Boom Blox is simply a laundry list of great features and options wrapped around an incredibly fun, expertly designed, and well-tuned puzzle game. Sure, its cute veneer won't do it any favors with the more intense console crowd, but I found it charming and refreshingly cheery. It's a casual game made for a casual crowd, but it's far and away the best one I've ever played. Buy this game."
IGN (81/100): " If you're looking for a game you can play with friends and family - - one that everybody will be able to pick up and enjoy in a matter of minutes -- look no further than EA Boom Blox. It's a fun puzzler and also a game that really puts Nintendo's controller to great use."
GameTap (80/100): "In Boom Blox, however, you might complete one level that is pretty challenging only to unlock a new level that's strangely simple, which is particularly odd in a game that requires you to finish one level in order to move on to the next. ... Nevertheless, Boom Blox is still a worthy purchase for Wii owners. It's one of those rare family games that doesn't fall into the genres of minigame collection or rhythm title, and your seven-year-old kid will have as much fun as you do."

Gallery: Boom Blox

Tags: boom-blox, metareview, metareviews, steven spielberg, stevenspielberg, wii

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

Mr Khan: May 7th 2008; 9:08PM

I'm glad 1up likes it, as i've always been rooting for it, but come on, 100?

Maybe it's a residual effect from their conditioning to keep the GTAIV hundred train rolling

The Return of Moorio: May 7th 2008; 9:11PM

1up goes by a letter system, and gave it an A+, meaning it's a very good game. A+ != 100/100, though. Meta Critic does that because they turn all the collected scores to 100-based point system.

John McPoop: May 7th 2008; 10:33PM

I picked it up and its damn fun ... Kind of like Pixel Junk Monsters in a way ... Its simple, clean and fun but also can be challenging ... Nothing revolutionary but a damn fun game ... It actually received 2 or 3 100's which blows my mind ... How can you look yourself in the mirror after giving this game a 100 ... If GTA IV is the pinnacle of gaming and it got a 100 how the fuck can Boom Blox attain that same score ... Its very fun i would have to give it a 75 or 80/100 ... Very fun but simple and repetitive

Co: May 8th 2008; 12:09AM

lmao hey Poop, GTA4 is NOT the pinnacle of gaming.

I hope you were quoting some lame ass reviewer when you wrote that.

Foetoid: May 8th 2008; 5:25AM

I agree Co. It still amazes me how a game which is a HD version of a previous-gen title with a better story that gloryfies the violence seen every day in the US can topple Ocarina of Time, the pinnacle of 3rd Person adventure games, literally inventing the genre and setting the unbeatable standard. Ocarina of Time does not deserve to be beaten by the likes of a HD Ps2 game with a better story. Some reviewers out there have lost thier minds. And yes i do own and have finished GTAIV.

TheHuntIsOn: May 8th 2008; 6:12AM

Foetoid - It got 100 because there is nothing else big, expensive and new coming out. It's all recycled gameplay at this stage. We won't see another true 100% game till virtual reality or whatever it's called is amongst us.

GTA IV was never 100%. No pinnacle.

And neither is Boom Blox - just a fun game is all.

Dirt: May 8th 2008; 9:03AM

I would say anyone who gave GTA4 a perfect score is crazier than giving this game a perfect score. I'm sure both games are truly great, but GTA has an absolute ton of flaws from the controls to the glitches across all the systems.

Raikage (LDF CRAB BATTLE!!!): May 8th 2008; 10:15AM

"It's a casual game made for a casual crowd, but it's far and away the best one I've ever played."

He says this is the best in the genre, and the developer must have tried to make it the best they can... why wouldn't this be a 10?

It's no GTAIV... but what is? And that is why GTAIV has a 10, also the same reason Mario Galaxy has a 10, it's the best platformer out there, and why Bioshock has a 10 for being the best First-Person-Adventure.

That's how ratings should be, not OMG GTA IS TEH BEST EVAR, ONLY IT CAN HAZ TEN!

BrokenAbacus: May 7th 2008; 9:19PM

I can see this being like a boardgame. Your friends and/or family come over. You all play it...then it goes to the shelf untill such a time arises again.

ck: May 7th 2008; 9:20PM

This makes me even more excited for the other game Spielburg has planned and the potential for it to be good if not great.

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force): May 7th 2008; 11:24PM

Your Portal avatar is wrong. :)

ww3ace: May 8th 2008; 3:59AM

This just goes to show (in my mind) that a good movie director can also be a good video game director, even with the simplest of designs. This makes me more excited about the other Speilburg and the Peter Jackson games...

D_Average: May 7th 2008; 9:45PM

Once it drops to $30, I'll get it.

J.Goodwin: May 7th 2008; 9:53PM

Why are the screenshots 448 pixels tall and jaggy as fuck?

John McPoop: May 7th 2008; 10:29PM

your mistaken ... Thats just the Wii

t_m: May 8th 2008; 10:10AM

because joystiq's gallery system, for some unfathomable reason, resized all the images in the html.

(assuming you're using firefox) right click on the image and choose "view image" and you should see it at it's real size.. 1024xSomething...

Joystiq's gallery manages to make every game look bad.. by either scaling the pics down or scaling them up. I wonder if they think they are saving bandwidth or something...

ApolloIV: May 7th 2008; 9:55PM

Wow the 1up score probably jumped the shark.

finnith: May 7th 2008; 10:05PM

Nice to see a game scoring well on the Wii.

Helps to quell the haters.

Lynk Former: May 7th 2008; 10:18PM

I think 1UP is trying to even the field since GTA4 is the ultimate most perfect game ever made now... I think review scores will go pass 10 soon, maybe into the 11s...

kingofwale: May 7th 2008; 10:20PM

okay.. I can maybe understand (not agree) why people give GTAIV a 10, but this game? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

1up is almost as bad as XPLAY going at this rate.

Nick the Hero of Canton: May 7th 2008; 10:44PM

Have you played it? No? Oh, so then why does this post exist?

John McPoop: May 7th 2008; 11:08PM

@Nick

How in the hell do you know if the poster has played it?

I OWN the game and I have actually played it ...

The game does NOT deserve anywhere near a 100 ... IMO its very fun but 1 75 or 80 TOPS ...

What's your score, Nick? ... Oh yeah you haven't played it either so kindly STFU

Neowyrm: May 7th 2008; 11:42PM

But you see, isn't 1UP allowed to have an opinion? Granted, they should be unbiased, but if they like a game, don't they have a right to say so?

Nick the Hero of Canton: May 8th 2008; 8:41PM

No, I have not played it and that is why I did not say the game sucks ass nor did I say it is the best game of all time.

ScottyGEE32: May 7th 2008; 10:24PM

If the wii is 2 gamecubes duct-taped together...Or even better than that, then why does everything except a few look so abysmal? Shouldn't that in theory allow the wii to be as powerful as the original xbox?

I know this game is about fun and is a puzzler but I'm referring to all by a few wii games. I never looked at gamecube games with such dissatisfaction; easily being able to count pixels.

But perhaps my standards have risen with the xbox 360, despite me still playing gamecube and xbox games.

ScottyGEE32: May 7th 2008; 10:24PM

Oh and to be relevant to the topic (>_>), I'd like to try the game. just a pity that only one friend has a wii.

Foetoid: May 8th 2008; 5:36AM

This is what surprises me, when people don't know much about the Gamecube. Running with the Coppermine Cpu, PowerPC architecture, and much faster RAM, the Gamecube was equivalent in power to the Xbox. The raw stats don't show it, but the end result is a console that can push graphics as well as the Xbox no worries. It's kinda how the graphics chip in the 360 has less raw horsepower than the Ps3's RSX, but will still be more powerful thanks to its unified shader archetecture and more efficient design.

The only thing that stuff up the GC was the mini-dvds, which mean games ported from the Xbox looked compressed and ulgy. Twilight Princess looks better than Fable, and both Metroid Primes look better than both Halos. The GC consistantly looked better when it was pushed, even with less capacity. Now the Wii has twice the power, plus regular capacity disks, meaning it should not only look twice as good as the GC/Xbox (same overall graphics) but look better again with the higher capacity disks. Not to mention it uses the same dev tools as the GC, so devs should be able to push the WIi hard from the get-go. There is no excuse for bad-looking Wii games whatsoever.

Superstar90: May 8th 2008; 10:44PM

@Foetoid
Your comment was so perfect it made me cry.

drun: May 7th 2008; 10:27PM

heard that the story is bad, ironically it's a Spielberg game. but an evolved Jenga game is sure to be perfect for family and friends :P must buy. guess Spielberg is a Jenga fan?

Bluebrake: May 7th 2008; 11:21PM

Can we stop converting all scores into the 100-point system? Even if you wanted consistency among the ratings for some reason (and I really don't see why that matters here), the 100-point system is just about the stupidest one ever devised. Do reviewers really pretend they can compare two games in completely different genres with a 1% margin of error?

Jacksons: May 7th 2008; 11:53PM

That's always bugged me. Considering reviews are completely subjective, I figure a smaller 1-to-5 scale would be so much more helpful. Maybe it's just me.

t_m: May 8th 2008; 10:13AM

a 1-5 scale would put games on a similar footing to movie and music reviews.

You don't see movie and music fans arguing over the fact an album got 5/5... or fighting because 1 movie got a 3% higher score than another.

jeepgun: May 7th 2008; 11:35PM

It's the "Saving Private Ryan" of casual gaming!

Actually I don't know if that's true, going to pick it up on Friday myself.

antsmarching: May 7th 2008; 11:42PM

I just watched the 1up video review and he does point that it is the same score that GTAIV got. His point of view was that this IS the GTA of casual gaming. I think his score is legitimate as long as the review is taken in context.

John Perkins: May 8th 2008; 12:20AM

So does anyone know how much money 1UP was paid for this review?

The GTAIV of casual gaming? WTF does that mean? And how does that justify a 100%? Are they grading on a curve now? Well, yours is the best shit sandwich I've ever tasted, so I'm giving your restaurant 5 stars. Yeah that makes sense.

TheHuntIsOn: May 8th 2008; 6:18AM

So people who don't like the games you do have shit opinions?

What a twattish thing to say. If you can't understand much the reviewer was simply saying that this game will entertain casual gamers to the same degree and length as GTA IV does for the hardcore crowd. How young or retarded do you have to be to not understand that?

t_m: May 8th 2008; 10:16AM

it means its the most fun casual game out there. What'ss not to understand.

Its the same way a Nirvana album can score 5/5 even if it's orchestration and complexity isn't as good as a mozart album. Or a movie like Lord of the Rings can score 5/5 even though it's acting isn't up there with The Godfather. (and the godfather can score 5/5 even though its not as scary as Nightmare on elm street, etc..)

LilTmac2003: May 8th 2008; 12:40AM

I'm glad to see all these great reviews, but, people seem not to fully understand a 'perfect score', '10', '100/100'.

This means that the game is flawless, it means it excels in every aspect to the game. It means, that it's the best of the best, top quality with no negative feedback what so ever.

That is a 10, a 'PERFECT' score.

Boom Blox? A 'PERFECT' score? I'm not saying it's a bad game, I'm just saying, it's not a 'PERFECT' game.

I guess Boom Blox and GTA are both equally the same, since the both got 'PERFECT' scores from 1up.

Just_a_guy: May 8th 2008; 1:36AM

Here's what I have to say: an A+ is just that they did a tramendous job (got a 90 or somewhre in that range) that's all it means.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo): May 8th 2008; 3:57AM

ummm I don't think a 100 means what you think it means.

Why? Well for one. no game is perfect. So a game can't be flawless. What a 100% score (or A+ or 5 star) means is that this is as good as it gets. That even though there may be a couple problems, what's good about the game is so fun and amazing that they completely overshadow any problems. It's like with GTA. It isn't perfect, but the game is so fun that I do agree with the 10s GTAIV has been getting.

And to the people that are once again bitching about another site giving a game a "high" score, play the game first. And if you have and still don't agree, congratulations you've just experience a difference of opinion. It's fucking normal.

t_m: May 8th 2008; 10:35AM

lol at the fact you don't understand what a 100 score means... and then try and explain your surreal viewpoint to the rest of us.

Personally I score every game, album and movie out of 3. But since nothing can ever be perfect and nothing can ever be totally without merit... I have a lot of 1s & 2s...

Vanillacide: May 8th 2008; 4:08AM

"Steven Spielberg's first foray into video games" - Joystiq

'Boom Blox' is not Steven "Gamer" Spielberg's first foray into video games, try LucasArts' PC game 'The Dig' thirteen years ago in 1995.

darrel: May 8th 2008; 4:55AM

Steven Spielberg is the man who gave us Tiny Toons, Freakazoid and Animaniacs. I'm not surprised a cartoon styled game made by him is actually fun and amusing.

Foetoid: May 8th 2008; 5:46AM

I guess thats why Famitsu uses a score out of 40.

Foetoid: May 8th 2008; 5:47AM

That was meant for BlueBrake, such a sub-standard reply system omg.

Donald: May 8th 2008; 11:29AM

Famitsu uses 4 ratings out of 10 to determine the overall score.

FOXHOUND: May 8th 2008; 7:26AM

No offense to the game, since I admittedly HAVEN'T tried it. I don't like to judge a game like this, but from video alone, it doesn't cater to me and seems to be a rental at best.

And man, I'm in disbelief of that 1UP score! Either way, here's a cheaper alternative...

» m-80s & a set of jenga blocks (but most likely illegal in many areas)
» the beach bully kicking over a sandcastle
» stacking beer cups at a professional sports game
» sugar cubes over an ant hill (for 'demented fun', grab that magnifying glass and a bit of sunlight...)
» GARY'S MOD (I think it's $10 cheaper?)
» Fall asleep on a pile of(clean)laundry
» Flip the table after losing in a board game of MONOPOLY

...there's more, but it's not even 8AM here. x_x

Highlar: May 8th 2008; 9:42AM

To people complaining about the 100 scores some folks have given Boom Blox as their opinions, have you read the reviews? One of them, I think it was 1UP, I'd have to go back and check, gave the reason WHY it was 100. They said that if GTAIV is the pinnacle of its genre of gaming (the open sandbox games) then Boom Blox is the same of its OWN genre of games (puzzles/party games). It CAN get a 100 score because the score was given relating THIS game to other games of its OWN KIND. By ALL accounts, from all reviews, its a damn fun game, in both single AND multiplayer, the level editor is extremely flexible and robust, and I for one cannot wait to pick this game up.

Ghaleon: May 8th 2008; 10:04AM

Part of the review industry's problem is a game like this is never "allowed" to achieve perfect or near-perfect scores. 1UP's review system is a great example of why it's GOOD to just do letter grades.

People are brainwashed by game reviews, and expect X game with X "features" to get X score before it's even out. That's not good.

Highlar: May 8th 2008; 10:21AM

I do agree with you on that one, Ghaleon. I think that a lot of people have pre-conceived notions these days about "casual" games, and think that a puzzle game can't be as good as all that. I personally don't know yet, as I haven't tried it out yet, but I am very much looking forward to picking this up.

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