'Splosion Man

Overview

The 'Splosion Man franchise is comprised of two games: 'Splosion Man and Ms. Splosion Man. Both were developed by Twisted Pixel for the Xbox Live Marketplace. Both play pretty much the same even though the second game in the franchise, Ms. Splosion Man introduces new gameplay mechanics as well as a new character.

General Concept

The 'Splosion Man games are all about splodiong: you play as an experiment gone wrong in a facility full of zany scientists. Your objective is to escape. Plot is secondary as both games start with the same premise. There is no spoken dialogue (apart from one liners which come out of your character's mouth from time to time) and killing scientists does not have any impact on the game's plot. The games present themselves under a cartoony art style and pushes the player to destroy as many objects as possible and to kill scientists. Scientists die in horrible grotesque ways but thanks to the cartoony feel of the game, none of the death is shocking. Scientists can be disintegrated, decapitated or have their throat slit. Despite this harsh punishment, there is no blood, as meat bursts out of the scientist's wounds. The game's plot is sometimes told through FMV cutscenes starring the game's developers.

The 'Splosion Man games are at heart platformers. Only you do not jump, you explode from platform to platform. Your character can do up to three different explosions in a row before he has to recharge. Recharging can be done by not exploding, which means you can recharge while running or while sliding down walls. Apart from exploding, your character can only do one other thing: commit suicide. Every button on the controller is used to explode except for left trigger which is used to kill yourself. Your goal is to guide your little exploding buddy to the level's exit while avoiding obstacles such as lasers and robots that can only be killed from behind. The games also feature boss fights at the end of each world.

Difference Between the Two

Released in 2009, the original 'Splosion Man had players control 'Splosion Man, a lab experiment gone wrong more focused on eating cakes than escaping. 2 years later, Ms. Splosion Man was released and had you play as a lady experiment who seemed more focused on shoes than escaping. Both characters controlled pretty much the same except that Ms. knew how to do certain things that Mr. did not. Ms. Splosion man introduced rails that could be slid on, rockets that could be ridden and weights that had to be used to solve puzzles. Ms. Splosion Man also featured a world map similar to those found in the Super Mario games and malls that can be visited for bonus content. Ms. Splosion Man also has a plethora of new gameplay mechanics that make for new puzzles.

Ms. Splosion Man also featured a new song, that focused on love instead of eating donuts. Ms. also seems to know more about pop culture than Mr. and both are universally feared by the scientists.