There’s a new flubbery Blobster on the block and he could be the secret to saving Blobtopia from the so-called Big and Powerful Corporation.
All this little red goo ball has to do is maneuver through beautiful and brightly colored worlds collecting pollution that threatens to ruin the world. The objective sounds simple, but saving Blobtopia also means evading enemies, avoiding pitfalls, only swimming in water features when you have a power up, and much more.
At its core Blobster is a simple game, but Chillingo does this game right with great stylized graphics, super power ups, and easy but innovative controls. You can send Blobster jumping by pressing down on him to create a rubber band effect, tap on either side of the screen to control his corresponding direction, and even zoom out for an entire screen view with the grey binoculars located on the screen.
In this way Blobster feels intuitive and fun, but every now and again the required two hand experience can get in the way, as do those semi-transparent goggles that send the screen scaling as opposed to taking Blobster to the left side of the screen.
What’s nice about Blobster though, is the fact that although each level is essentially simple to beat, not every level is easy to master. You can send Blobster careening around the screen until he’s sucked up by the finish line pipe or collect every globule of pollution along the way, the choice is yours.
Advance further into the 40 level game and the developers gradually ease you into new enemies, cooler power ups, and much more. For example, in the beginning essentially the only trick up Blobster’s sleeve is his ability to get bigger (and therefore jump higher). Keep playing though and soon you’ll have invincibility bubbles and water rafts with timed oxygen tanks.
There were times when the constantly changing camera angle made me feel carsick, but all said and done this is a fun game with enough innovation to feel new but enough familiarity to feel like an instant classic. Perhaps part of that has to do with the fact that our little red blobster friend moves and sounds strikingly like the characters from World of Goo (which is, by the way, a better game that’s also more expensive.)
Bottom Line: Download Blobster and prepare to fall in love with his ooey gooey movements and sounds. Besides the rapid screen movements, this game is one of the best in its category.
