Gamertell

Today, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens in America, signaling a return to form for superstar director Steven Spielberg, master of the summer blockbuster, the action flick, and the American box office in general. I probably won’t be in the movie theater tonight because I’ll be far too busy with another Spielberg creation – the small, unassuming, and utterly fantastic Boom Blox on the Wii.

It’s strange, and sort of amazing that what is potentially the least cinematic game in history (heck, even Tetris could go Hollywood!) has come from the mind of filmmaking’s most successful, talented figure.

The game is an action-puzzler that tasks players with knocking down towers of blocks, or rearranging them Jenga-style to complete objectives. It’s deceptively simple, wildly addictive, and satisfyingly challenging. In fact, it’s truly one of the best games on the Wii (including first-party software), and aside from a few wacky cut scenes starring the cute animal blocks, it strays entirely from narrative altogether.

It all seems a bit ironic. When gamers found out that Spielberg was getting into the games business, I think most of us pictured AAA titles with deep, engaging stories and photorealistic graphics. I imagined something along the lines of a souped-up WWII shooter a la’ Medal of Honor (which itself apes Spielberg’s own Saving Private Ryan) or maybe an adventure right along the lines of Indiana Jones. A cutesy, physics-based puzzler? With characters that look like the unfortunate love children of Lego Star Wars and a half melted play mobile set? How could this game be good? How on Earth is this coming from the guy who gave the world Jaws and Shindler’s List?

Put very simply, he understands entertainment. The game’s designers (Spielberg included) clearly knew how to create a fun, engaging experience, in this case, one tailor-made for the Wii’s controls. This is one of the purest examples of solid, intuitive gameplay and the ever elusive “easy to learn, tough to master” factor that developers dream about.

As it becomes increasingly normal for games to incorporate cinematic elements, a portion of titles have gone (or more accurately, stayed) the other way – sticking to gameplay rather than story. It’s a design choice that recalls the retro, though when implemented with new tech (like funky physics engines and motion controls) it becomes a decidedly new-school approach to gaming. Boom Blox merely represents the road less traveled by the industry’s big guns, and its all the more refreshing for it.

Read [Gamertell review]

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