Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space

Microsoft takes another stab at bringing a platformer to Xbox, but the result is pretty much the same as the first Blinx. Time controlling cats just aren’t as cool as Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, or the big Italian himself, Mario. Blinx 2 isn’t a bad game, but it isn’t all that great, either. Kids might enjoy it, but older gamers will get tired of it pretty quickly.

Single Player

The most surprising thing about Blinx 2 is that you don’t ever actually get to play as Blinx, the time sweeping hero of the original. Instead, you take control of a crew of customized cats and head out to make heroes out of them. The storyline in Blinx 2 is about a giant time crystal that has shattered and fragments of it are spread all over the place and you have to collect it. What makes Blinx 2 more interesting is that you have control of both the heroic feline Time Sweepers as well as their archenemies the pigs of the Tom Tom Gang. Throughout the game, you switch back and forth between the two groups. The cats control time and the pigs control space and the only way to collect all of the pieces of the time crystal is to take advantage of both of their abilities.

My favorite aspect of the game is that you can customize your characters. I’m just going to use the cats as an example, but you can create custom pigs as well. You can change their fur pattern and color, their body shape and size right down to their tails and ears, and their clothing and equipment color. I’ll admit, I’m a cat person and that is probably why I liked it so much, but creating your own team of time sweeping cats is pretty darn fun.

Cats + Pigs = Chaos

Because of the fact that one of the characters under your command can control space and the other time, the gameplay is rather different between the two. The cats control pretty much like Blinx did in the first game. You have a vacuum that can suck up objects and then shoot them out at enemies. You also have the ability to use time powers such as pause, rewind, fast forward, slow, and record to solve puzzles. The pigs are more stealth based and require you to sneak past Time Sweeper guards. Their weapons and abilities include banana peels, grenades that create black holes, warp tunnels, and a variety of traps.

Having two sides with different tactics to use is a fun idea, the core gameplay of Blinx 2 isn’t all that special. The puzzles are ridiculously easy and the solutions are spelled out for you before you have a chance to think for yourself. Unlike the first Blinx, there is no time limit here which makes the game even easier. Also, the standard running, jumping, platformery parts are just that, standard. Nothing stands out as being all that fun. The level designs are also fairly simple and on the small side compared to other recent platformers. Blinx 2 is just too small and simple and average to be much fun.

Co-Op and Multiplayer

Through most of the game you are a single character, but occasionally team based challenges pop up. This is pretty standard team combat where your team is fighting an enemy team and the last one standing wins. The AI for both your team as well as your opponents is pretty dumb, though, so these sections are extremely easy and ultimately pretty boring.

Blinx 2, also features a multiplayer component that plays very similarly to the team based combat in the story mode. In multiplayer, though, you are playing against up to three other human opponents so it is slightly more interesting. Why you would be playing this instead of Halo 2, though, is beyond me. You can use the time and space controls for slightly different effects, but it is still a fairly average multiplayer mode. Also, you can't play on Xbox Live, so this all seems like one big missed opportunity.

There is also a co-op feature in Blinx 2 and it actually works pretty well. The puzzles in story mode change slightly to accommodate two players and the result is a rather fun experience. All games, even decidedly average ones, are a lot more fun in co-op, so this is definitely a welcome addition.

Graphics, Sound, and the Bottom Line

Graphically, Blinx 2 is a nice looking that is full of standard Xbox eye candy. Shiny water and armor. Fancy lighting. And the fur on the cats looks great. The game is bright and colorful and looks good overall.

The sound is also pretty good. The music is light and catchy and some themes are actually rather memorable and the sound effects are well done. The voice acting is also fairly good, but the characters lack personality. All in all, the game sound good, but not great.

Overall, Blinx 2 is another solid attempt at an Xbox exclusive platformer, but the dull, simplistic gameplay and likeable, not loveable, cast just aren’t enough to keep you interested. I don’t think that this was intended to be a kid game, but the final result is easy and simple enough that kids are going to enjoy it a lot more than older gamers. Give it a rent or buy it for little Billy, but don’t expect much if you are over the age of 13 or so.