nintendo media summit, boom blox, ea, impressions, original, preview, wii

Boom Blox, Steven Spielberg's Shoulder Murder Simulator Impressions

The combination of EA, Steven Spielberg and casual Wii gaming targeted at children and retirees may not instill much in the way of hardcore gaming fervor, but there is something unquantifiable about Boom Blox that makes it so appealing. On display on just one monitor at last week's Nintendo Media Summit, the Spielberg production—not unlike a virtual game of Jenga played with a cannon—had a consistent crowd of press and PR surrounding it, some of whom were repeat Boom Blox-ers regularly returning for another taste.

Boom Blox's main gameplay draw lies in the ability to knock down towers of inconsistently shaped blocks with the toss of baseballs, bowling balls, whatever, all of which adhere to an accurate physics model. Simply line up your shot, after a careful panning and scanning of the camera, then whip the Wii-remote at the screen to start knocking blocks off. Special blocks and multipliers pile on the tactics, but gamers of any skill level can compete from the get-go.

If any game needs to be bundled with the Wii Remote silicone safety condom, it's Boom Blox. Players may be encouraged to violently whip the Remote at the TV, adding extra force to their throws—and extra muscle strain. It's not entirely necessary to give it your all with dramatic, forceful throws, as side pitches and underhanded tosses were just as, if not more, effective in toppling blocks efficiently. A more measured flick of the wrist recommended, as is a tight Wii Remote wrist strap.

Spielberg's first collaborative effort with EA may not have been what you were expecting, but there's something indescribably fun about deconstructing the pre-built levels with up to three other Wii gamers. The only downside to four-player competitive Boom Blox-ing is often the long wait between turns, as your rivals can take an extended period to plan out their shots as you watch. They'll be taking all the good shots, too, or so it seems as you're left with nothing but clean up duty.

The concepts behind Boom Blox may not sound like much, but the impressive number of puzzles and game modes, combined with a deceptively simple mechanic, may warrant more looking into.

5:30 AM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Michael McWhertor
9,807 views
34 comments

Comments

landonweber at 05:43 AM on 04/15/08
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haven't Spielberg and EA already collaborated together for the Medal of Honor games?
pandafresh at 05:48 AM on 04/15/08
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i have a feeling the idea for the game was around before spielberg collaborated with EA.
49er_477 at 05:49 AM on 04/15/08
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Lol. He should stick ta movies.
majortom1981 at 05:49 AM on 04/15/08
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Tetris is deceptively simple also and lots of people love that game.
foxwarrior88 at 05:51 AM on 04/15/08
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majortom1981 is right. Just stick to Tetris.
Kazzahdrane at 05:59 AM on 04/15/08
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I'm more interested in the "other" project that's currently in production as it's described as an action-adventure epic befitting Spielberg's name. Should be good, especially as with just over a month to go until Indy IV I'm practically worshipping anyone involved with the movie for making it happen. Bloom Blox looks pretty fun though!
peAr_nectAr at 06:24 AM on 04/15/08
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@Kazzahdrane: Link, please? I'd never heard of another project.
majortom1981 at 06:29 AM on 04/15/08
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@foxwarrior88: I meant that tetris is simple also but is a great game. This game could be the same thing. HEck peggle also is like that.
osiris83 at 06:33 AM on 04/15/08
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@peAr_nectAr:

There you go ..

[kotaku.com]
jayntampa at 06:48 AM on 04/15/08
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Connectedness Index: 385

I'm getting Boom Blox for one major reason -- it's the first game to use Johnny Lee's headtracking technology for the Wii!

[procrastineering.blogspot.com]
adrian783 at 07:04 AM on 04/15/08
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not anymore...

[www.nintendowiifanboy.com]
jayntampa at 07:09 AM on 04/15/08
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Connectedness Index: 385

@adrian783: That's weird that EA said it was never confirmed for inclusion -- Lou Castle, the producer, confirmed it at GDC.

Well, they just lost one sale if they took it out ...
kwant at 07:09 AM on 04/15/08
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yeah joystiq is reporting the head tracking easter egg is getting pulled. I was really hoping that it would be implemented just so people could see how cool it is and demand that games use it in actual gameplay!
StocDred at 07:40 AM on 04/15/08
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Well, if this game is just as good as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures The Game and Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs The Game, they can consider me convinced.
merck at 07:56 AM on 04/15/08
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Behold EA's mighty new shiny marketing GUN
Steven Spielberg!!!

Now go buy it all of you BUY BUY BUY
Pinhead at 08:24 AM on 04/15/08
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Unless Boom Blox is in black and white except for a single red block, I have no idea why Spielberg would be attached to this game...
KirbyMorph at 08:26 AM on 04/15/08
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You'd think Steven Spielberg would be involved in a game that had, you know, a story or some kind of dramatic / cinematic presence other than glorified Jenga. Sounds like it should be a fun game, but I don't think Spielberg really had anything to do with it's creation. Sounds like a Tom Clancy style "we bought the name so you'll buy the game" type of deal.
Wazza85 at 08:27 AM on 04/15/08
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Well at least he didn't do a wii version of Schindlers list. god knows what you'd have to do with the wiimote.
liquid_kore at 08:46 AM on 04/15/08
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Damn, I was hoping there would be minimal waggaling in this. I finally dusted off the ol' Wii to play No More Heroes, ad the constant waggaling completely thrashed my shoulder after one day. I'm not in bad shape either, I regularly exercise but something about the waggaling isn't healthy for joints.

I hope they add an option just to use the wiimote as a pointer and push buttons instead of swinging your arms.
sitsalot at 09:10 AM on 04/15/08
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LOL, no more heroes hurt your arm? thats pathetic. i never exercize and that game had no effect on my arm whatsoever.
liquid_kore at 09:20 AM on 04/15/08
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@sitsalot: Yea well i'm probably more prone to shoulder injuries. For some reason I've always had really crappy joints (my wrists, ankles, shoulders, hips all suck). I use to skateboard too and that pretty much made everything in my body permanently 10x more broken.
dunnace at 10:06 AM on 04/15/08
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Man I want this game, everyone forgets, this is the one with VR head tracking. That's got my interest alone...
Drake Lake at 10:21 AM on 04/15/08
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@dunnace:
Did you read the comments, m'boy? No head tracking, it seems.
mariospants at 11:11 AM on 04/15/08
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This collaboration reminds me of Electronic Arts and Activision back when they were first formed: real game designers developing unique titles with gameplay first and foremost. Let's hope they keep it up.
JokesJokes at 11:11 AM on 04/15/08
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I want this game so much. I really hope headtracking is still in there though. I haven't heard anything from any of the bigger sites about it being cut out so I'm still hopeful. (Sorry nintendowiifanboy.com! It's not you, it's me)
karl_hungus at 11:41 AM on 04/15/08
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sounds a little like daruma 7 on unbeatable banzuke
JokesJokes at 11:58 AM on 04/15/08
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Joystiq said head tracking is gone too. They had a quote from the game's director saying as much. I'm really really dissappointed.
planetidiot at 02:40 PM on 04/15/08
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I think it's funny the amount of interest in this game is centered around the head tracking. Why on earth would they remove it? That was most of the reason I was buying it.

It still looks pretty cool, but my excitement for the game pretty much died with the loss of head tracking.
Swizzler121 at 04:09 PM on 04/15/08
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I really hope they are paying some kind of credit to the creator of Toblo who came up with this in the first place, this is kind of cruel for Steven Spielberg to put this kind of smudge on his name.

link to Toblo game info/download:
[www.digipen.edu]
AtomixIGN at 06:06 PM on 04/15/08
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It's obvious Boomblox is VERY different than Toblo. It's also ridiclous that NST has been marginalized and do many digipen projects and alumni aren't supported and developed into full fledged games. Portal came out of Digipen alumni. Nintendo had dips on the people and the project and Valve stole them away
JaXs at 07:59 PM on 04/15/08
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BOYCOTT EA!
It is the only way to make them stop fucking us over.
Sabre_Justice: Okay,... at 09:37 PM on 04/15/08
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So this game is about throwing things at things to break things?

Every kid in the universe, including me, needs it.
Number41 at 08:08 AM on 04/16/08
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I don't think the headtracking feature will show up in any games on Wii. I mean, think about it: you have to point the Wii remote at yourself and wear the sensor bar on your face. It's just too damn obtuse. The wearable sensor bar alone would have to be included as a separate peripheral.

We're much more likely to see headtracking on PS3 using the PlayStation Eye, as has also been demoed. I wonder if the Xbox Live Vision camera is also capable of pulling off the trick?
ssh83 at 08:48 AM on 04/16/08
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he should be collaborating with RPG makers, or at least casual games that can benefit from having a movie director in the staff. Pointless casual games isn't exactly his forte as a director. Hah.