Can you escape the madness of this laboratory? ‘SPLODE your way out!
You’re playing as a character, named ‘Splosion Man. Your job is to escape from the facility, where he was “born” because of an experiment that went wrong. Along the way you’re facing obstacles as scientists with props is trying to stop you from escaping – you have to puzzle together on how to fool the scientists. Scientists who don’t use props are running away from you, screaming like little girls – the sound and animation of ‘Splosion Man is definitely this games big one-up.
There is 50 levels in the single player campaign, and there is 50 levels for the multiplayer – the multiplayer levels is different from the single player ones, so all in all, there is 100 unique levels in this game. There is quite many hours in playing time – especially if you’re going for all the achievements in the game. In the levels, you have to puzzle together on how to trick the scientists that uses turrets, lasers, missiles, spikes, acid and water in attempt to stop your escape. Along the way, you’re facing three boss fights, and how to beat them is different. My sentimentality for old 2D platform games is definitely triggered when I play this game, especially when I’m in a boss fight.
'Splode to victory!
It’s amazingly fun. I can’t decide which sounds from ‘Splosion Man I like best and the different animations while jumping are even harder for me to decide which are most fun to watch. Is it the windmill, the superman or the flying bat position? You can only “splode” up to three times in a row, but ‘Splosion Mans’ fire is recharged quite fast (1-2 seconds). Wall jumping/sploding is one of ‘Splosion Mans forces that you’re going to use a lot in this game to avoid the upcoming water, or the closing walls. Oh, the thought of getting squeezed to a 2D character rather than being the comfortable 3D character…
There are also 47 cakes to collect in both single player and multi player campaigns (all levels, counting out the boss levels) – in the single player they are rather hidden sometimes, but in multiplayer they are quite easy to find – reaching the cake is another talk.
While the single player levels can be done alone, you’re totally dependent on your teammate(s) to get the cake and complete these levels. Double jumping and sploding is a must, all players have to know what’s going on. The possibility of counting down by pressing a button is a big help, for those who are playing online, but don’t have microphone.
Splosion Man is definitely one of the funniest games I’ve ever been playing from the marketplace arcade selection, it tops the list. I was playing 2D platform games as I was growing up, which made me hooked on gaming and that can have something to say about me being a huge fan of 2D games. The voice acting is well done, and is really making this game stand out from other games. The ideas behind the character are very unique, and I’m sure the guys at Twisted Pixel had much fun in spite of the short time they had to make the game.
Great game design
Two words: Nice job. The smoothness and fun in this game is top notch. The voices, the effects sound and background music is getting together in serenity. This game is full of humor, which I have discovered that are Twisted Pixels trademark. Can’t wait for their next one *cough*Comic Jumper*cough*. The fire effects from Splosion Man himself, the acid green light from lakes you have to cross and the ideas behind the design and look of the levels are truly unique, colorful and makes the game vary just enough to prevent you from getting bored.
The boys at Twisted Pixel have done a marvelous job, especially as they only had 6 months to make the game. Looking very closely, the game could have had more to it (for example better and longer movie sequences, more props, more characters) but it’s a very decent game for that price and I only experienced glitches once, which was my machines cache and clearing it solved the problem.
During boss battles, the game tends to zoom very much out because the boss character is so big compared to Splosion Man. This makes Splosion Man small, and I experience being a bit off being in total control of the character, and on top of that, the last boss drops minibosses which occasionally pushes you, and you can easily die by this, counting in what else happens in the fight.
