The Splatters
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Developer: SpikySnail Games Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Puzzle/ Arcade
Graphics & Sound: Making a mess all over, SpikySnail Games and Microsoft Game Studios have launched a fun little game called The Splatters straight from the Xbox Live Arcade and onto your television screen. The Splatters is a title having a very simple design that makes great use of primary colors in a paint-like effort to splash innovation onto each game environment. The Splatters are basically gooey little critters that have a stickiness to them which helps them stick to walls, or to each other. Made from liquid, they give a unique perspective to problem-solving over the 2D environments where they reside. Those environments are theme-based, but have their own style that differs from that of The Splatters. The music and sound fx are equally pleasant and entertaining. The blobby sound fx as you shoot your Splatters across the screen fit perfectly with the theme. The music is an interesting beast in itself, as it takes on the mood of the player, in some regards. For example, when you fail a level multiple times in a row, you will actually hear how you feel. You know that feeling... the one where you slowly feel the frustration coming out. And just as the music slows down to a depressingly monotonous beat, you clear the level and the music regains its perky self. Behind every level, you'll also be treated to an outstanding particle system that will have you wishing for sparkles throughout your real-world day. As they take on shapes from the game, they bring the whole package together.
Gameplay: The Splatters are basically gooey guys that get bonus points for making a mess all over the screen. The goal here is to explode your creatures all over the bombs on each level to set them off, and the bombs are equally sticky. Think of the bombs as a honeycomb of stickiness reminiscent of the sticky octopus that you throw at a wall to watch its slowing descent or for us older guys, the slime that was so popular with toys back in the '80s. To simplify, it's snot-like in consistency, but sticks together like taffy. Now that that's settled, you'll be shooting your Splatters toward these bombs in an effort to splash them with, um, yourself. In fact, you'll actually accrue more points by performing combos and eventually splattering your characters all over the screen, but don't forget to get all of the bombs, or none of it will count. In addition, only like-colored Splatters can disarm the bombs. You'll also learn about and obtain multiple ways to perform combo moves throughout the game, which will add to the challenge while also allowing for bigger scores. The liquid simulation (or appearance thereof) is the key selling feature of The Splatters, and the developers did a great job of doing so. As you progress and learn the new combos, you'll find new and better ways to splat your characters all over the bombs. The environments contain slides and spikes that also allow interaction opportunities. But unlike spikes in most games, The Splatters welcomes them as a way to rain down on the bombs below as you pop your characters with the gloriously sharp points. The most unique feature of the game is that you'll eventually earn the "Flip" move. Here, you'll be able to essentially rewind time while still allowing the physics engine to do its thing. What this means is that you can interact with objects, rewind time as they stick to your character, and launch both the character and the bombs across the screen for major combo points. In addition, by scrubbing time back and forth, you can control the splatter to a limited degree, at least until it fizzles out completely or you allow real-time playback again. The Splatters contains three Game Modes, but don't expect an epic title that will take you a lot of time to finish. The levels go rather quickly, in fact, which is where the game falls a bit short in terms of expectations.
Difficulty: If there was one downfall of The Splatters, it would be in the difficulty level. I can imagine that the target audience for the game was that of a wide range of gamers at all ages, including youngsters, due to the primary color scheme and ease of use. However, when it's all said and done, this is a game that everyone can enjoy, and I'm a bit disappointed that there weren't more levels in general, but also that there was a lack of "advanced" levels of any sort that would require more time and effort. It's not to say that I passed every board on the first try or anything. There were a few levels that had me retry over and over again (hence my knowledge of the aforementioned depressing audio cues). Still, the game itself felt like it could have been taken much further, to satisfy the addiction that The Splatters causes. One of the things that the game does offer up in terms of ramping up the difficulty is that in order to clear the bombs on each level, a Splatter of the same color must touch it. Sometimes this would be quite easy, and other times it would come into play as dissimilar Splatters could still interact with the bombs. The "Flip" feature actually tended to cause a mixed reaction in difficulty too. There were often times where simply rewinding back and forth across a glob of bombs would knock them all out, but there were other times where relying on this too much would work against you as your Splatter drippings would eventually dissolve (or is that, evaporate?).
Game Mechanics: The Splatters is a fun, uniquely addictive game that relies heavily on physics and does a great job at that. The simple controls allow for an easy pick up and play experience, and the different scoring combinations allow for advanced moves as you progress. The combos are, in fact, easy to learn as well, due to the simplified controls of basically using the Analog Stick, (A) button to launch, and Left Trigger for rewinding time. It should be noted that the addictive nature of the game will likely not make the initial run-through last that long. The Splatters is a pretty short game, and the three Game Modes are a bit repetitive. In actuality, the replay value of The Splatters is also pretty low once you pass every level. You can go back and replay levels to try and earn 3 stars each, but the only other "feature" that will offer replay value is the leaderboards and ability to compete against your own scores. With that said, I have nothing but high praise for The Splatters. This addictive and interesting title is more than worth the 800 points that it will cost to purchase from the Xbox Live Marketplace.
-Woody, GameVortex Communications AKA Shane Wodele
Related Links: The Splatters Official Website The Splatters on Xbox.com
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