The Splatters

stubbymite Wed May 30, 2012 9:54 am

The Splatters
XBLA
Microsft Game Studios – SpikySnail Games 800msp

The aim of The Splatters is to move goo filled splats or blobs around the screen in a way to make them blow up placed bombs on the screen. This sounds simple but believe me it is not.
Much like other games that are in the genre, (Angry Birds and Cut The Rope) I can see this becoming very addictive. The game works with a star based system much like other games where you have to attain three stars for that set level. Completing certain goals and targets helps you towards the three stars. The more stars that you attain, the more levels that unlock. I found this a good little addition to the game as you don’t find yourself having to go and redo levels as much.
I found myself playing the game like I do angry birds, just one more go and don’t give up, then three hours go by and I forget what I was supposed to be doing.

The aim of the game is to throw, splat and crush these little gooey friends into bombs that then coat them with all your slime. The slime that coats the bombs has to be the same colour and then they will light up as they are covered. The only gripe I had with this is sometimes the slime does not quite go far enough and I feel hard done to!
The way in which the game plays is simple but plays really well and the developers have worked this in well.

Within the game there are three main levels the first being become a talent. These levels serve more as a tutorial for the game and help you through the first few levels and give you a great introduction to the game. The second is the combo nation game mode, this mode helps you in becoming better at the game and racking up the combos needed to achieve those pesky three stars. The last mode in the game is the master shot levels, these are the levels that are the hardest on the game and require you to be at one with these little balls of goo and throw them around with skill and ease. Trust me these levels are hard and I can see myself maybe using you tube on some of these!

The Splatters Gaming_the_splatters_screenshot

Controls

The controls for the game are pretty simple. Only a few buttons are used at a time. The controls mostly revolve around you using the "A" button and the d pad. Very basic, but works to great effect. Most movements on the screen have to be timed to perfection (on some of the levels), the only thing that can be hard with this is that you can miss the point at which you are supposed to be pressing the button. There are different modes within the game that require you to move the blobs in a certain way, these are called stunts and require you to smash, throw and fly the blobs attempting to pull off combos and essentially get those three stars.

Graphics

The graphics in the game really are great. They help with how you play the game. The little blobs that you play the game with are really smooth and finished great. The way in which the levels are set up is very basic but works well with what the developers have looked to achieve. You can see most of the play area in front of you and a blurred background that changes as you progress through the game. There are also different environments that you see your little helpers within.
The one thing that I thought was great about the graphical side of the game is the way in which the little blobs break or smash up. When they hit their chosen destination; which is usually the floor, they break up and turn into water, (or what I would describe as slime), and then run off the screen. I thought this was a nice little touch as you can tell that the developers have worked hard with the main characters that you use in the game rather than the levels.

The Splatters The_splatters_screenshot_01-600x337

Sound

The sounds in the game are very simple but again work well with what I think the game is trying to achieve. The sounds are basic but work well with the animations of the exploding slime balls and how the levels play out when completing the stunts.
Throughout the game there is some basic music that is playing in the background of the levels and can become repetitive, but to be honest I was paying that much attention to the game I did not notice this too much.

Achievements

The achievements in the game at first glance look quite easy. Most of them consist of you getting three stars in set modes and performing stunts at 50, 100, 500 etc. When you start to play through the game, this is where you start to find that some of these will be harder than they look. I would not say that this is not one for the easy completionists among us, as I can see getting three stars in all levels being quite hard as I was struggling getting them on some of the basic levels at first. I would say that it may be a little grindy but defo one to play time and time again.

In short this game has been developed very well and I love the way that the game plays. The only draw back that I can see some people having is that the game can become quite repetitive and playing the same thing all the time can annoy some people. They have worked well with a title that is only quite small in what they were trying to achieve but does work well.

I would give this game 8 / 10 as this is my type of game and will be playing this time and time again. Defo one to pick up even if just to try it. I am sure that you would be hooked.