Joystiq's Top 10 of 2009: 'Splosion Man

When Twisted Pixel first announced 'Splosion Man, we all thought it was a joke. The press release, received on April Fools' Day, described a man made of explosions. Specifically, the release noted, "Yeah, lots of 'splosions ... like a guy made out of 'splosions, and he'd be like 'splode 'splode 'splode! and then things die," and it continued, "He'll 'splode people, and they'll blow up into big steaks and ribeyes and stuff." The Joystiq team dismissed this announcement as a prank, which seemed appropriate for the studio that brought us The Maw. The following day, Twisted Pixel sent Joystiq another press release, assuring us that 'Splosion Man was indeed real.

And from that ridiculous premise came one of the best 2D platformers in years. 'Splosion Man has just one button, the 'Splode Button, which accomplishes all tasks in the game. It's 'Splosion Man's attack, his action and, most importantly, his triple jump. Sending this point home, players can attempt to customize the controls from the options menu, only to find that every face button is mapped to the 'splode function. (You actually get an Achievement for trying to remap the controls.)

Using this very simple control scheme, players 'splode enemies, solve puzzles and plow through fiendishly clever racing sections. Throw in a brilliant, four-player co-op mode that literally has everyone jumping off one another and 'Splosion Man easily becomes one of the most refreshing experiences of 2009. Oh, and don't forget the donut song: