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Tales from Space: About a Blob Review


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On 02/25/2011 at 02:03 PM by Andrew Clark

A charming platformer that pays homage to its roots.
RECOMMENDATION:

A charming homage to '50s and '60s sci-fi movie monsters, About a Blob is well worth the purchase price for platformer fans and kids alike.

Sometimes a simple gameplay mechanic can pigeonhole an entire game. Take Tales from Space: About a Blob, for example. Within 30 seconds of the first level, comparisons started pooling in the back of my mind like little gelatinous blobs of reasoning. Is it Katamari Damacy? I mean, you roll around collecting stuff with the goal of making yourself big enough to collect even larger items, so that assumption should be safe, right? But the fact is, About a Blob doesn't just pull its inspiration from one game - it pulls from a lot of them. From Little Big Planet to the old NES version of Strider and every good to decent platformer in between - About a Blob pays homage to its roots.

As the title suggests, this PSN downloadable follows the adventures of a very goal-oriented organism as he makes his way to...well, that's not exactly specified - even in the silent cutscenes that follow each level section. Basically our blobby friend has escaped from his confines at a mad scientist's lab and is now officially able to run amok on planet Earth. What follows is a platforming escapade that uses physics and puzzle elements for challenge, but occasionally fall prey to typical frustrations that reside in every platform-hopping game.

And this is to be expected, as our unshapely protagonist squeezes through tubes, squishes in-between gears and hops over dangerous pools of radioactive waste to make it to the finish line - all the while collecting increasingly larger items to meet a size goal to access the next area. You'll envelop backyard barbecues, forklift, screws, pencils and - in an appropriate nod to the monster movies of yore - tanks and helicopters. It starts out easy enough, but after you collect permanent power-ups that enable you to magnetize to things and sap/deliver electricity, the real challenge begins.

And this real challenge, unfortunately, is also what hurts About a Blob - not because it's too hard, necessarily, but because the controls for these power-ups don't always respond like you'd want them to.

In one section I was tasked with using my magnetize ability to flip in-between pipes hanging over a dangerous laser field, but every time I'd try to switch between attracting and repelling magnetism my blob would limply flop onto the instantly deadly laser and force a checkpoint restart. It got frustrating enough to make me /ragequit more than once, and it wasn't the last time I was snagged by unresponsive controls, either.

Yet, the control faux pas are the only complaint I have - seriously. The rest of About a Blob is a charming romp through '50s and '60s sci-fi suburbia and beyond, with razor sharp graphics, a Theremin and surf-guitar heavy soundtrack and appropriately gushy and wobbly sound effects, sure to suit any jelly fan's discerning tastes. I also couldn't help but fall in love with the last couple levels of the game as they fulfilled my every dream of being a sci-fi movie monster. I won't give away the endgame entirely, but I will tell you it was worth the frustrations I endured to get there.

All in all, Tales from Space: About a Blob is a great addition to your PS3's hard drive. It makes good use of the established tropes found in the genre, which should sate any platforming junkie, plus it does it with a charismatic style that kids can get on board with, too. Just make sure you're handy when they come to a particularly hard part or boss fight.

Review Policy

In our reviews, we'll try not to bore you with minutiae of a game. Instead, we'll outline what makes the game good or bad, and focus on telling you whether or not it is worth your time as opposed to what button makes you jump.

We use a five-star rating system with intervals of .5. Below is an outline of what each score generally means:


All games that receive this score are standout games in their genre. All players should seek a way to play this game. While the score doesn't equate to perfection, it's the best any game could conceivably do.


These are above-average games that most players should consider purchasing. Nearly everyone will enjoy the game and given the proper audience, some may even love these games.


This is our middle-of-the-road ranking. Titles that receive three stars may not make a strong impression on the reviewer in either direction. These games may have some faults and some strong points but they average out to be a modest title that is at least worthy of rental for most.


Games that are awarded two stars are below average titles. Good ideas may be present, but execution is poor and many issues hinder the experience.


Though functional, a game that receives this score has major issues. There are little to no redeeming qualities and should be avoided by nearly all players.


A game that gets this score is fundamentally broken and should be avoided by everyone.


 

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