First off let me state I'm not a very big fan of wave the arm style of motion controls. I do like the Instant Aim aspect of the Remote for FPS and Lightgun games, but have reservations of flapping my arm to move something on the screen. That said, here is a game that really works well with Motion Control.
CRTGAMER wrote:I hate Motion Controls in games, however I always like new ways to play a game. The reason why I converted a Twinstick for GEOMETRY WARS or use a Trakball or Mouse for REZ. For all the gamers that refuse to try motion controls, BOOM BLOX could be the game that will change your mind.
Controls
Nunchuck Stick - Rotate camera
Nunchuck C and Z - Camera zoom
Remote 1 and 2 - Raise and lower camera
Remote B button - Hold while moving Remote to move camera
Remote A button - Hold to aim then throw with a swing of the Remote
Choose your Weapon
Each Toy has a different charactersitic in bringing down a tower of blocks.
1. Baseball - Basic destruction
2. Sticky Hand - For grabbing a block
3. Cursor - Creation Tool
4. Garden Hose Nozzle - Flush out the blocks
5. Bowling Ball - A heavier toss or roll the ball
6. Ray Gun - Zap the blocks
7. Bomb - Toss bombs like Bomberman
8. Red Ball - Rubber ball for bounce shots
There are more toys that unlock as you complete different game levels.
Basic Destruction
Who would have though such a simple concept of a childhood game can be made into a fun game. Knock a tower of blocks without having to waste time restacking them. The idea is knock down the blocks in a minimum number of throws with your baseball or other throwing toy. Careful, there might be characters on the screen that throw stuff back at you. Sometimes there is a bomb block that when hit, blows up the surrounding blocks. There are levels that require two blocks falling on each other to produce a chemical reaction explosion. Some block towers require only certain blocks knocked down. Wait till you see the EA Wall to vent your frustration!
A well placed shot can knock down multiple stacks like dominoes.
Angle Bounce Shots
The rubber bounce ball is used here. Knock down the blocks in an enclosed multi level shelf unit. This is where setting the camera view angle really helps in setting up the shot. Almost a Pool Table affect in getting the bank shots.
Shooting the Targets
Shoot targets with the Ray Gun. This is where the Wii really exemplifies the Motion Control, the instant aim to shoot at the blocks flying by in rapid succession. An Analog stick or even a mouse could not keep up.
Jenga Level
Yes there are Jenga levels! Instead of destroying a wall of blocks, you try to keep the stack of blocks standing as long as possible. Grab a block by holding on to it with the A button and carefully drag it out. It helps to rotate the view around so the pull the piece is straight down or to the side.
Grab a block and carefully slide it out, swing then the whole tower crashes.
Missile Command and Ripoff Arcade
Really! There are levels that remind me in a qwirky way of the Trakball Arcade and the old Vector Space Arcade. In a reverse of perspective view, you are in the sky and the enemy is "tracking" towards your castle on the ground. Protect your crystal blocks from getting "Ripped Off" by the game characters by lobbing bombs at them.
Multi Player
Destroying the other opponent's castle. A well placed throw will cause more blocks to tumble. There are also Hockey or Shuffleboard style games. Hit your blocks to slide into the other players goal posts. You can Knock the other player's blocks off the board by sliding your blocks into them.
Hit the "keystone" blocks at the base to cause the most damage.
Alternate Control
A shame this Easter Egg got dropped, or did it?
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/15/head- ... -boom-blox
Head-tracking feature pulled from Boom Blox
At the Nintendo Media Summit, Boom Blox senior producer Amir Rahimi confirmed that the final version of the game will lack the head-tracking mode. We understand that it was always an Easter egg, requiring gamers to set up Wii Remotes as cameras, and hacking together their own IR LED glasses. But you didn't have to go to TED to see the promise, and we're disappointed to see it removed.
EA wouldn't go on-record to say exactly why the mode was cut, only just confirming it again through public-relations channels. An email statement noted, "Head-tracking was something we considered including as an Easter egg in BOOM BLOX however, we did not end up including it in the final version of the game. ..."
Perhaps EA feared that we'd hack together a candelabra helmet as an IR emitter. They should have; we totally would.
Headtracking Home Brew Hack
Custom Levelshttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/23/get-y ... r-display/
While other people use the Wii for its intended purposes (playing party games and bludgeoning loved ones), Johnny Chung Lee sees its true potential. You might remember him as the guy who used a Wiimote to set up a Minority Report-esque finger tracking system, or the one who used the same peripheral to turn any surface into an an incredible multi-touch interactive whiteboard.
Further proving that Lee is a reverse engineer from the future, his newest video shows what might just be the next big thing in gaming -- immersive virtual reality displays using, you guessed it, a Wii remote. While this may conjure up bad memories of massive, plasticky helmets and unresponsive controls, Lee's method seems extremely functional, and only requires you to wear a pair of LED-infused safety glasses (which for all we know is the hip style in the futureworld Lee comes from). Seriously, how 'bout it, Nintendo?
- Wii Headtracking Hack.png (165.91 KiB) Viewed 12594 times
Adds to replay value. Unlike a lot of custom level creators in games, Boom Blox is very easy to manipulate. You don't even have to stack the blocks neatly. Simply toss objects piled up in a room, choose your block destroying toy and have at it. You can also add objects that you have won from beaten levels. The only downside is no easy way to download user levels. Possibly one could get custom levels from a downloaded game save. The sequel Boom Blox Bash Party reputated as not as good a game, but it does have user custom level downloads. There is also a game by Majesco called Blast Works that also has user made levels for download, I'll review later.
Build - Destroy - Build - Destroy. Easy to do with a Wii Remote.
Get This Game
Don't be fooled in thinking this is just another shovel ware carnival style game, it is a lot of fun! Even if you adamantly hate "Arm Waving" games, get this one and see why sometimes a motion control game can be enjoyable.
Hats off to Steven Speilberg, I think he really looks at making movies and games with the open eyed wonder in a child's point of view. Brings out the kid in us, in this case something as simple as just demolishing stacked blocks!
And the signature block bashing mode is pretty fun but I really don't like the marble hitting or slingshot modes.
