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Artoon’s Blinx returns to an Xbox near you. The original Blinx was a neat platformer with some unique time-control abilities that separated it from the pack of platformers that hit the market at the time. Although largely regarded as a solid, if not enjoyable title, Microsoft and Artoon’s platformer just didn’t have the charm or personality needed to succeed in the crowded market. Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space attempts to alleviate that by providing a more thorough and balanced experience, and succeeds in many ways but still doesn’t have the “AAA” quality going for it.
In Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space, you’ll control either the Time Sweepers or Tom Tom group as they attempt to gather a bunch of time crystal fragments that were scattered when the crystal was crushed. The Time Sweepers want to do so because they want to prevent the chaos that can occur if these crystal fragments were gathered by the wrong force, while the Tom Tom group has a slightly less noble approach. Nonetheless, the story isn’t especially interesting at any time, partly due to the unappealing, generic characters that play a part in it.
Undoubtedly, the biggest change in Blinx 2 is something that very few will expect: you don’t actually play as Blinx in the game. In fact, he rarely appears in the game. As I mentioned above, you’ll have to control two groups during the game. These groups are made up of created characters, which are highly customizable in appearance although much less so in personality.
The game splits up the gameplay between these two groups as you progress. As expected, the Time Sweepers offer gameplay most similar to the first Blinx since they can control time (i.e. fast forward, rewind, stop, slow down and even record), but they also offer some basic melee and projectile attacks. The Tom Tom characters, on the other hand, lack that ability and their levels are mostly stealth-based as they attempt to get past the Time Sweepers, although they do have some weapons like grenades in their arsenal. You’ll find simple puzzles along the way as well but the game makes it frighteningly easy to get past them as it tells you pretty much exactly what you need to know.
Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space also allows you to play with other members of your group in some simple, multiplayer-like combat. Basically, you’re thrown in an arena with a bunch of power-ups and will need to destroy a number of enemies (or perhaps a boss). These areas do add a bit of variety to the gameplay, but not too much given how easy they are thanks to the not-especially intelligent AI. The game balances this out a bit since your team members aren’t exactly Einstein themselves.
In terms of multiplayer, Blinx 2 offers quite a bang as the game includes a two-player cooperative story mode. You don’t need to start a whole new game for it either, as another player can hop on at any time. You’ll even find some puzzles changed to accommodate the two characters, but for the most part, all it does is make an already easy game easier. Competitive multiplayer is also included. Up to four-players can partake in a multiplayer version of the arena-fighting I mentioned above. Not particularly deep, and not online, but it does add to the replay value.
The game’s visuals are up to standard. The environments are large, varied and include reasonably-good quality textures. Technically, the character models are pretty good, as they are detailed and animate well, although not excellently. Artistically though, they don’t stand out much. Blinx 2 doesn’t have a visual style that is uniquely “Blinx.” So while the characters do look good on a technical level, there just isn’t that expected charm for a platformer. Nonetheless a solid frame-rate and progressive scan support round off the package.
The game’s audio is beguiling, although a touch generic at times. Artoon generally does a good job of leaning toward the catchy side of the spectrum, though. The sound effects are fitting, some of them quite funny which add to the atmosphere. The voice acting is nothing special as the characters don’t come to life any more than the visuals convey.
Taken as a whole, Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space is a reasonable addition to any platforming fan’s Xbox collection. The game has solid gameplay mechanics, multiplayer support, visuals and sound, although the lack of a likeable cast and somewhat uncomplicated style of play keep it from being a true gem. -- Michael Taylor, PGNx Media
---- Nov 26, 2004
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