PixlBit

This week for a bargain bin game is a little something different. To talk about this game is to talk extensively about it's deeply engaging gameplay...not in a traditional sense. No this is more about the dream of creating a game. Giving you the tools to create a Shoot em up style game is probably a dream most of us have wanted to do. Well with this weeks game you certainly could do so. This week I present to you- Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy. A game I bought for $4.00

 

User created content has quickly become popular in the industry. Take a look at Minecraft. Allowing players to create and share the their creative labors of love is certainly a great idea that many PC gamers have enjoyed for many years. Only until somewhat recently have developers come up with new ways to share this wonder and joy on home consoles. Ever since the realization that console gamers could also enjoy this ability to make and modify their own content too, several games have jumped on the make-your-own-experience bandwagon. Whether that game be as simple as Super Mario Maker's level editor or as deep and engaging as this latest entry I am talking about... User created levels and games are becoming more and more common, due to the likes of kickstarter, Indiegogo, or perhaps promoted through Steam.

When players can create their own content, it can feel like the actual game has been developed solely around their ideas. This is an often rare feat in games. By allowing you that freedom...it can create a vast new opportunity. Now don't get me wrong, The single-player experience of Blast Works is incredibly short. It takes roughly an hour to breeze through. With only fifteen short levels, the single player mode seems only to serve as a guide on to how to control your ship and show various gameplay mechanics

This isn't to say that Blast Works  isn't satisfying or difficult. On the contrary, the higher difficulties alongside the one hit and you're dead gameplay will see to that quite often. Blast Works provides an excellent horizontal shooting experience. The tiny ship that you control is quite different between the likes of say Gradius. Shmups such as Gradius usually force players to skillfully navigate through hordes of enemies with seemingly erratic firing patterns and bullets flying everywhere...a term associated with the genre is commonly referred to and known as "Bullet Hell". Blast Works still allows for this kind of gameplay, but doesn't completely rely on it.

 

Here is where Blast Works sets itself apart. Whenever a ship is destroyed it will break into pieces and fall from the sky. You are then able to catch the debris to add onto your ship. They essentially serve to function as both a shield and a weapon upgrade. Destroying and collecting more and more ships while playing through levels to make some godly abomination of a Frankenstein-esque monster ship is quite satisfying and makes the gameplay feel incredibly fresh. Most levels play out  in this manner. You start off small and then end up with a mass of random ship parts spewing bullets upon anything that happens to try to share the screen with you.

 

Once you have a screen-filling ship, the game does get easier, but getting to that point can often be rather challenging. Catching debris requires timing, as the placement and direction that it is pointing can be very important. Weapons facing the wrong direction will not help during firefights, but can be shield fodder in a jam, If enough pieces become damaged  and continue to break away, you'll leave your ship exposed. As mentioned before it's one and done for your tiny vessel. You get continues. But the game can be very unforgiving later on. Even on the game's easiest difficulty setting, creating an imposing hunk of death can be difficult to accomplish.

 

After you quickly beat the game's limited single-player, Blast Works' editing tools will keep you busy for many hours to come. You are given the ability to create and edit just about everything in this game. Enemies, backgrounds, ships, weapons, and entire levels can be created and/or tailored to each player's distinctive preferences. These editing tools are deep, allowing extremely creative individuals and junior programmers to develop just about anything imaginable. If you want to recreate the Death Star, feel free. Do you miss playing R-Type, Gradius, or Thunderforce? Just create a level that mirrors those classics. You can even do a vertical style akin to Ikaruga, Radiant Silver Gun, and Capcom's 1941 by just changing your enemies' behaviors.

 

There are so many interesting things that can be done with this game's editor that it boggles the mind. The only major drawback to this is the amount of time it will take you to learn how to use these tools properly, and the effort spent bringing your ideas to life. Learning the ropes in the editor can take quite a bit of trial and error, along with occasional frustration. While it may be somewhat difficult to just pick up and start using, within an hour or two  under your belt it becomes quite intuitive. If you're willing to put forth the time and effort, Blast Works' editing tools allow for some extremely interesting creations.

 

Now when it was still viable online, less creative/lazier gamers out there could still reap unforeseen benefits. If one of your levels didn't turn out how you would have liked it to be or perhaps you just didn't want to spend the time creating your own content, there were still other players out there creating fantastic levels. Blast Works allowed players to utilize the Nintendo Wi-Fi Wiiconnect24 to download and share user generated content. While you may not have helped to create this content, you could still download and enjoy other people's hard work. No matter how you used the in-game editors, they thankfully succeeded in adding much needed content to an otherwise very short gaming experience. While the game itself was incredibly short, the deep editing tools kept Blast Works from being a mere shell of a game. However, continuous content is now no longer guaranteed. As anyone who is anyone knows... Nintendo took down the servers for Nintendo Wi-Fi and thus any game that utilized online functionality such as Blast Works is missing a part of the game that made it stand out.

Despite this, anyone who likes old school horizontal shooters and virtually limitless customization should definitely pick this game up. However, if you are not committed to making your own content then you may leave it well enough alone. And unfortunately, the game is missing it's biggest feature in user created content to share with others. This of course, leaves you to be left with a meager-sized game, some editing tools, and your own imagination. You can still get the inspiration for Blast Works completely free to download on your PC though. The original Tumiki Fighters, Torus Trooper, rRootage, and Gunroar from Kenta Cho and ABA games are unlockable in Blast Works through beating the various difficulties and stipulations, but if you have the means to do so on your PC I'd recommend that as well.

Personal Opinion- 8/10 - I enjoyed this game a hell of a lot.

 Critical Opinion-7.8/10 - A simple single player mode, with a highly interesting and engaging developer level editor

 Without Nintendo Wi Fi Opinion- 6.8/10 - The community sharing and created content may have been small, but damn was it awesome...Some good memories. R.I.P. Nintendo Wi-Fi

Overall Determination- 7.5/10 - What a Bargain!