BLOWOUT - Old school 2D goodness!

[kevin_psx]

Woah - surprise! Expected this budget $5 title to be trash - it's awesome! Nintendo should make the next Metroid like this!!!

Okay gotta go back to playing

[icbrkr]

Wow.. you like it? I had people playing it during the expo at my house - it was under the "torture game" category. I tried to like it but.. the controllers on the GC version are whonky as hell, and I spent forever trying to find the first key..

[goatdan]

Wow.. you like it? I had people playing it during the expo at my house - it was under the "torture game" category. I tried to like it but.. the controllers on the GC version are whonky as hell, and I spent forever trying to find the first key..

I really enjoyed it on the GameCube.

If you want wonky control, try it on the Xbox. The control scheme they used is impossible to learn -- it used EVERY button on the controller, including both joysticks and the d-pad.

[Ed Oscuro]

Say NO to Blowout.

When I see kids pick up this game at stores, I warn them off it (and yes, there's a ton of copies left over, at more than one store).

Yeah, at $5, it might do it for you. Personally, I can't see it, especially after paying full price after being recommended this garbage by another Forumer back when it first appeared. I'd rather save my money for the good games than throw it around on garbage that's come down in price. $5 of, say, Killer 7, is a lot more than $5 for this game. That's really true for most any other game.

It would be nice that Majesco saved this one from the bin, but as a result what could've been an awesome side-view 3D shooter in the style of Contra SS is a chopped down waste of talent, given an insanely high print run given the effort. There's no oomph to it at all.

It's just this game where you run around and waste things. No platforming (your jetpack always is handy, and there's no pits besides), and the shooting isn't exceptional. Puzzles are terrible "find the key" affairs that send you throughout identical corridors and blast open the occasional section of damaged bulkhead here and there.

That's really the main issue I have with the game. The only thing the game offers is the shooting, and for a game to be really classic the shooting must be challenging, or there must be a secondary gameplay mechanic (i.e. platforming, for Contra).

No, I'm not going to throw the game away, or even consider selling it, but if I were told that one of my games must be sacrificed to the god of floods, I'd choose this one.

Get Dead to Rights instead - it's not nearly as nice graphically (not even in the same generation), but the game's a pretty solid PlayStation-era third person action game with an unusual story that actually was fleshed out, as Blowout's was intended to be.

[pacmanhat]

I like this game a lot, too...I have a strangely hard time finding an Xbox copy that isn't faded from sunlight. But I digress...this game reminds me a lot of the FANTASTIC PC abandonware game 'Abuse'. Check it out if you like Blowout, or even if you don't.

[goatdan]

Say NO to Blowout.

Ed, did you get the Cube version or another version? The Cube version's control scheme is streamlined a ton, and it makes up a TON of ground for the rest of the gameplay shortcomings, in my opinion.

Get Dead to Rights instead - it's not nearly as nice graphically (not even in the same generation), but the game's a pretty solid PlayStation-era third person action game with an unusual story that actually was fleshed out, as Blowout's was intended to be.

Dead to Rights is a very good game from the little I've played. Is the sequel good? I got it for $7.00 recently in a green tag, buy one get one free sale at Toys R Us

[Ed Oscuro]

But I digress...this game reminds me a lot of the FANTASTIC PC abandonware game 'Abuse'.

Oh, shit. You did NOT just say that.

Now I'll have to burn my copy...

Yes, I've got Abuse...shrinkwrapped, at the moment (as it will stay as I'll probably just find the thing at an abandonware site).

So, what's the similarity? Both have unending gray corridors (I think abuse has some jungle stages in there too, though)?

For my money, Duke Nukem: The Manhattan Project is a much better use of $5

[Ed Oscuro]

Say NO to Blowout.

Ed, did you get the Cube version or another version? The Cube version's control scheme is streamlined a ton, and it makes up a TON of ground for the rest of the gameplay shortcomings, in my opinion.

I got the GameCube version. It's nice that the controls work well, but I need a game on top of that, not a brain-dead killfest!

Get Dead to Rights instead - it's not nearly as nice graphically (not even in the same generation), but the game's a pretty solid PlayStation-era third person action game with an unusual story that actually was fleshed out, as Blowout's was intended to be.

Dead to Rights is a very good game from the little I've played. Is the sequel good? I got it for $7.00 recently in a green tag, buy one get one free sale at Toys R Us

Dead to Rights is a very average - even sub-average, actually - third person game. Yeah, it's not horrible, and that sort of pure action game isn't too common these days. If you're hard pressed for a third person action game you need not look much farther. I'm not going to be too hard on the game as it does quite a bit with the formula.

DTR II (a prequel, despite the numbering...do these clogs know what they're doing?) and the PSP DTR: Reckoning aren't considered to be as good - in the Sony PSP title, it's considered to be quite a bit worse.

Personally, if bullet-time jumps and disarms were tweaked and the graphics given an xbox 360 overhaul, I'd be a huge fan of the series in a heartbeat. As it is, though, it's merely a slightly updated Syphon Filter (the originals) with bullet time.

[Kamino]

I thoroughly enjoyed BLOWOUT.
Spoon would back me up here too.

hardcore \m/ . It's no contra but it's still good!

[kevin_psx]

the controllers on the GC version are whonky as hell, and I spent forever trying to find the first key..

Question - If you can waste 40-50 hours required to beat a typical modern game

- Why can't you spend extra 15 minutes to adjust to new controls?

????


Yeah control was different. So practiced running around & blowing stuff up. Now it feels as natural as Super Metroid's control

- left d-pad = run left or right
- right control stick = aim your crosshairs

Nothing complicated. Just takes open mind & patience to learn. And the game shows you where to find the first key. Follow the blinking light. Easier than Super Metroid's first key!

[pacmanhat]

But I digress...this game reminds me a lot of the FANTASTIC PC abandonware game 'Abuse'.

Oh, shit. You did NOT just say that.

Now I'll have to burn my copy...

Yes, I've got Abuse...shrinkwrapped, at the moment (as it will stay as I'll probably just find the thing at an abandonware site).

So, what's the similarity? Both have unending gray corridors (I think abuse has some jungle stages in there too, though)?

The atmosphere is the same, as is the "move one way, shoot in another/Robotron with platforms" feel. I'd say this lends itself better to PC controls in this case, and Abuse's weapons and enemies are much more memorable. It's a cool title. I should also add that I liked Abuse a lot more than Blowout, for these and other reasons. Both good games, though.

[DigitalSpace]

I thought it was okay. I played through the first two levels, then I put it off because there was another game or two that I had more interest in. I'll finish it someday.

[djbeatmongrel]

i had the gamecube version and it was horrendus. i honestly cant pinpoint why it sucked it had all the elements to be a decent game but they didnt fit right. basically saying it sucked...

[s1lence]

I was going to pick it out at TRU today, but I hadn't heard good or bad about it.

If they still have any maybe I'll pick it up tomorrow.

[sabre2922]

I had Blowout for the GC and thought it to be a good game not great but not bad and thought the controls were fine no issues there.

I see to appealing mainly to old-school 2-D gamers and thats about it.

[Ed Oscuro]

Keep us updated on what you think about the game, folks.

Personally, I'm chalking it up to a bit of desperation on the part of 2D gamers

Believe me, you wouldn't do badly to download the demo for DN: The Manhattan Project.

On the subject of the GC Blowout's controls, they're great. Again, this is why I think the game's so tragic: most of the elements necessary for a great game were ready, in the technological sense, but the actual game ended up being incredibly cut down from the original concept. Weak weapons and all that.

[icbrkr]

the controllers on the GC version are whonky as hell, and I spent forever trying to find the first key..

Question - If you can waste 40-50 hours required to beat a typical modern game

- Why can't you spend extra 15 minutes to adjust to new controls?

It's not worth my trouble to learn to "like" a game I hate from the beginning. If I spend 40-50 hours playing a typical modern game (which is rare for me), I have to actually *like* it.