With ikona reporting a new title on N-Gage, I quickly plunged into my Arena Showroom to try my hands on this. Boom Blox as it is called is a very descent young unisex game which keeps you relaxed and at the same time gets your brain working. Although I had been busy with my ONE experience and also my endeavor with E66, I did manage to find some time to try this. As for now I have mixed reactions about the game. Although the concept is great, the graphics are really disappointing. Not that I expect a whole lot of change but they seemed to be on the hard side. A more soft approach could have helped considering the audience it targets. Colors too were not intelligently selected. So at present after spending an hour with the game and finishing all the levels , I have compiled my thoughts on the game. Read on to find out if this title is worth buying or not. With this quick review I have added a few screenshots as well, click on them to view larger image.

Following is the official note on the title by the N-Gage Blog (Keep a Check On this Blog for Updates on N-Gage)

Boom Blox from Electronic Arts has been released for N-Gage! It is currently available in the N-Gage application showroom. Tab over to Showroom and hit ‘Check for Updates’, then click on ‘Available Games.’

Go head-to-head with Spielberg’s BOOM BLOX! Slide on ice blocks, blast blocks with bombs, and bounce off springs to solve brain-twisting puzzles and level the playing field. Enjoy non-stop fun as you advance through forty levels and reach your target score. Master the in-game puzzles then design your own custom creations with the level editor. Blast ‘em with BOOM BLOX!

The game will be available on the Website game pages shortly and is already available on some country Showrooms.

Game Setup & Initial Loading

Let me begin by stating that the game is just over 2 Mb and is real easy to download it over the air on your N-Gage client. This by far is the best part of N-Gage and I really love it. The game when installed and ready to go loads with descent speed. There were no delays in the game selections once the initial load took place which is also a good point about the game. Thus the initial load takes a little (and i mean little) time but after that the game is superbly fast. Thus you will not be annoyed by the frequent Loading tags as in FIFA 09.

Graphics & Sound

Graphics to be honest are not very pleasing. The game has a dark horizon with bright, eye irritating colors of the foreground. At times the background completely goes dull. I agree with dark colors the battery consumption falls, but this should not jeopardize the user experience, in my case it did. Even the blocks have not been worked nicely. Looks more of a off hand project. The blocks could have been made more receptive and cute for that matter. More or less on the likes of the cute characters in Bounce , but on a whole the game still gives you its unique feel. The sound suits the game and gives you a good experience when it runs in the background. Overall I want to say is that graphics need a little improvement, same as the case in FIFA 09.

Gameplay, Concept & Controls

The concept is amazing and the application of physics with different levels is also super. This is the best part of the game as it keeps you glued to it. The game is good for play both in landscape and portrait mode. The controls are really simple and need no prior acquaintance as in the controls for Star Wars. The theme is to get points by dropping off blocks marked with a Star. Thus, as you go about it the points are added to the Star Meter on the top right. The number of chances you get for a level are on the top left. The main play area is in the center of the screen and is nicely utilized. Although we have a few blank spaces in the bottom which could have been put to use with things like level number, hints, help etc. As and when new blocks are introduced in the game, we get a prior tip on how to deal with them which is a good and helpful. You can make your own custom levels as well and the game also has a elaborate help guide. Still, I would love to see more of this game as the present version is very small and I managed to complete all the levels in just under an hour.

Final Verdict

I will keep this short and would give the game 2.5 stars out of 5. The developers need to work more on the graphics and need to elaborate the levels more, may be throw in a story mode as well. If you enjoyed playing Bounce then do try this, otherwise it can be avoided.