Developer: Twisted Pixel Games
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Xbox LIVE Arcade
Rating Guide: How I Review Games
Screenshots: Available Here

Review:

Fools they were, to tread where knowledge should stay forbidden. For what emerged was not a man – it was Splosion Man.  “And all who saw him were ’sploded, for he was the fire and they were but meat.”

There comes a time in every man’s life when he just wants to explode on someone or something.  You know those times when you just want to blow yourself up repeatedly and have fun doing it?  Twisted Pixel Games obviously reached that moment and so I present to you your chance to explode while having a blast!  Ladies and gentlemen I give you Splosion Man for the Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Warning: Do not read or play if you’re allergic to laughing and having fun.

Gameplay, Graphics and Sound

Splosion Man is pretty simple.  There’s only one button to worry or rather one way to play.  Each of the buttons (A,B,Y or X) explodes your character, Splosion Man, into various surfaces in an attempt to reach the end of the level.  That may not sound like it’s that much fun or challenging but let me tell you that it is!  The little ’sploding man’ is just crazy to control and look at while he’s blowing up.   You have to watch how many times you explode while trying to navigate throughout the game because each explosion takes a little fire out of Splosion Man.  I think he can explode up to 4 times in succession before he has to regain his fire.

He blows up, down, sideways, diagonally…you name it and I’m pretty sure you can manage to explode in that direction.  You can explode off of walls, into glass, into scientists…hell you can even blow yourself up! (hold the R trigger down)  As I mentioned above though, the trick is to have enough juice left to explode all the way to the top of a particular obstacle or explode just in time to land safely on that moving platform.

There are 50 levels of fun that are simply mind bottling.  Some of the levels are very tricky especially those with the air compressors that cool you off and prevent you from exploding.  The animations are great when this happens as you try to explode and get nothing but a puff of smoke.  The design in Splosion Man carries a very distinct sense of panic that fits perfectly with such a zany character.  I sometimes just sat and watched Splosion Man do his jumping jacks or his little marching dance.

You can even blow yourself up alongside three other friends.  Splosion Man is 4 player co-op!  I prefer to play alone though because you get a really good feel for the level design and you get to experience all the different angles the ’sploding man’ gets to travel in.

Xbox LIVE Extras

The fun doesn’t stop with the single player campaign.  You can play Splosion Man with up to three friends on Xbox LIVE.  There is no Deathmatch (would’ve been crazy though) or Team Domination mode.  There’s only Quick Match with other players through your levels and Time Trials but that isn’t a bad thing.  Time Trials are a race to beat your best time on any given level.  If you don’t want to do that, then do either public or private matches through your levels.

The options are limited but everything can’t be perfect.  And I’m not really sure if this game even needed anything beyond what it has.  I can imagine though the craziness that would’ve happened had there been exploding battles.

Conclusion

Splosion Man brings back fun times to the Xbox LIVE Arcade.  When the Xbox LIVE Arcade was first imagined, it was supposed to be about games that you could download and have some immediate fun with.  That’s exactly what happened with Splosion Man.  From the opening events, you know you’re in for a wild ride.  The best part about this game is that I expected it to break my points bank but it’s available for only 800 Microsoft Points.

Twisted Pixel Games have delivered to gamers across the world an absolute winner with Splosion Man.  I never knew that exploding myself could be this much fun.  I think it’s safe to say that any XBLA title of the year talk should start with Splosion Man.