Paintin' The Town Red

There weren't a whole lot of games to speak of on the Wii side of gaming in late 2008, but there were a few standout games to speak of.  One of those games is de Blob, a colorful palette of platforming and puzzle solving that brought out the obsessive compulsive in me.  Now... impressions.

• The first thing you'll notice is its presentation.  There are lots of bright colors, griffiti-like art style, and contrasting, dull gray skylines that desperately needs a fresh coat of paint.  There's a lot of stuff going on during gameplay as ink splatters on buildings and whole sections of town explode in color right in front of you.  The graphics are pretty slick and look great overall.  Cutscenes set up the pretty basic story well enough and there are lots of unlockables to enjoy as you progress.
  
• The soundtrack is pretty good as the music varies from crazy and upbeat to chill and relaxing (also known as chillaxing.)  One of the better soundtracks on the Wii.
  
• The gameplay is pretty solid overall.  The motion controls are responsive for the most part, the camera works very well, and there are enough moves to keep de Blob from getting dull, but there are a few issues.  Jumping can be a hassle since you have to flick the Wii Remote to jump... and that doesn't lend itself to long sessions.  I wish it was a bit faster-paced at times and the flow of the game will suffer if you're looking for those last few buildings to paint.
• I've only gone through 4 levels out of the 10, but they are quite large in size and that leaves a lot of room for exploration.  You will spend up to an hour or more through a level if you're looking to pass every challenge, color every tree and building, and save all the people (or whatever they are) in town.  20 smaller levels might have worked better, but it works as it is.
• A little too easy early on as the time is normally a non-issue, but perhaps things get a bit tougher later on.
• The most important thing about de Blob is the fun factor.  Of the 4 games I bought last week, de Blob might be the one that's most fun.

Like Zack & Wiki in 2007, de Blob snuck in under the radar and brought us a solid 3rd party experience on the Wii.  If this game is missing from your Wii library, get a hold of it now.  Sure it has a few minor gameplay quirks, but de Blob makes up for it in many other ways.  I'm going right back to playing in a few minutes and I'm gonna enjoy myself for the next hour or so.  And if there's a de Blob 2, I'll be first in line.

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