Boom Blox Bash Party

Overview

Regarding the original Boom Blox. Boom Blox Bash Party contains more polished gameplay, increased multiplayer components, and over 400 new levels venturing into both outer space and underwater.       
The sequel keeps the core gameplay of the first intact, while adding a new slingshot mechanic, and removing some of the shooting mechanics. New blocks, tools, actions and characters have also been added, along with the addition of user-generated content. All of which is able to be browsed, uploaded, downloaded, and rated through an integrated system, although these levels must first be filtered by EA for inappropriate content before being made available for download. Some of these levels will be made internally at EA, even including one made by  Steven Spielberg himself. Some of these levels will be levels from the first game, and will be free to download.

Boom Blox Bash Party has also done away with Nintendo's friend codes, and doesn't feature support for the Wii MotionPlus as access to the needed development tools wasn't given early enough.  It works merely off a system that EA has created for the Nintendo Wii.   

Production

The original Boom Blox was released in 2008 as part of a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and EA Games originally announced in 2005. Boom Blox was the first (and so far only) project to come out of this collaboration. Though a sequel was not originally expected, due to relatively weak sales of the original, it was said that Spielberg himself kept coming back to the developing studio with new ideas to possibly implement in the game that couldn't be fit into the first one. Thus, work began on a sequel.
 
This sequel was first announced January 28th, 2009, and released later that year. Though the developers tried to include features such as headtracking and Wii Motionplus support, limited time for development meant these couldn't be included in the final product. The developers kept the reception to the original in mind when developing the sequel, and so the shooting mini-games (by most critics mentioned as the worst part of Boom Blox) were mostly absent in this sequel.
 

Gameplay

The gameplay of Boom Blox is centered around a series of Jenga-like block towers, with the game making heavy use of physics to control the movement of blocks. Using the Wii Remote's built-in accelerometers, players must (usually) throw balls at the blocks to create chain reactions and accomplish the levels goal. In other levels, the purpose can be to take a tower apart block by block. The player can use mechanics such as throwing, blasting, and grabbing blocks to proceed through the level. Through the realistic physics modeling, this can be attained indirectly as well as through direct action. 
 
The game has various single- and multiplayer modes, and one that lets you build your own Boom Blox Bash Party levels and share them over the internet. The singleplayer-mode has you playing through various themed or story-based levels, attempting to get either a bronze, silver, or gold medal. In the multiplayer-mode, you can compete against up to 4 friends in a variety of competitive Boom Blox-levels. Players can be scored on being the fastest to finish a level, scoring the most points in destroying a level, or using the fewest moves to finish a level.
 

Worlds

The adventure-mode of Boom Blox Bash Party has four distinct worlds. They are as follows:  
 

• Space - This world has you blow up the blox in an environment with no gravity, which calls for a different kind of strategy.
• Pirates - Pirates like explosives, so you'll be using a lot of Bomb Blox.
• Heroic - As a Heroic pig, save the citizens of this Boom Blox town by getting all these annoying blox out of the way just before they collapse on them.
• Show Time - combines theatre and movies for lots of action-y, explosive levels.
  

Types of Blox

Blox from the original Boom Blox

Blox	Purpose
Point Blox	These Blox have a certain numerical value written on them; make them fall, and you get the amount of points written on the side of the block.
Chemical Blox	When two of these Blox hit each other, they explode. Usually colored green.
Vanish Blox	When you hit one of these Blox, they vanish. Usually colored purple.
Fireworks Blox	Fly up into the air when hit/triggered.
Gem Blox	The most basic of the Blox; hit them to make them fly up and disappear.
Bomb Blox	Hit these to make them explode.

Blox new to Boom Blox Bash Party

 

Blox	Purpose
Virus Blox	When one Virus block touches another one, all the regular blox linking the two are 'contaminated' by the virus and destroyed.
Push Blox	When another block or object hits one of the Push Blox, it'll be pushed away.
Change Blox	Could serve any purpose; they randomly go through various possibilities and only 'act' when they're hit.
Conveyor Blox	Allows you to move Blox from one side to another side of a level.

 
 

Soundtrack

1. Boom Blox Main Themes
2. Hum Stutter
3. Blockland
4. Mellow Fun Blockade
5. HIstorical Swagger
6. Powdered Wig
7. Defend Thy Honor
8. Volcano Artifact
9. Tiki Sacred HOnor
10. Extreme Volcano
11. Blocks Up Hoe Down
12. Spastic Hoedown
13. I Got My Cowboy Hat On
14. A Dusty Afternoon
15. Mutato Mansion
16. Feeling of Anxiety
17. Fear Anytime
18. Ready, Set, Edit
    

 

Reception 

  Like the original, Boom Blox Bash Party failed to set the charts on fire. Though total sales are unknown, the game sold a mere 23,000 copies in its first month. Critics have responded more positively, though: the game currently holds an 86 on Metacritic, based on 48 reviews. For comparison, the original Boom Blox scored an 85 on Metacritic.