BLINX: THE TIME SWEEPER (XBOX)




Time flies when you throw clocks

By WILL BARKER

When it comes to innovative, original games, the Xbox hasn't really blossomed. That's understandable in a console's infancy, but the 'Box is getting on a little now, and most popular genres have been explored - many to great effect.

So when a title is voted as one of the standout games of E3 (2002), you have to take notice, particularly when it's a stylised platformer of sorts.

Blinx: The Time Sweeper follows the adventures of Blinx. Fancy that. But the janitorial cat is a feline on a mission...

Someone has been messing around with the space-time continuum and Time Factory - your employer - needs you to find out who. They suspect that porcine Tom-Tom gang is behind it, but only time will tell (pardon the pun).

As a time sweeper, it's your job to enter areas that have been adversely affected by time. If a hole in time occurs, then monsters appear, and basically you have a set time limit in each level to clear out the baddies.

You do this by sucking them in your Time Sweeper 2000. It's an ecclectic cross between a vacuum cleaner and guitar and allows you to suck up inanimate object and shoot them as projectile weapons, used to destroy monsters.

Blinx has other moves at his disposal, largely evasive, like cartwheels, double jumps and backflips. But the 'piece de resistance' in this title is evident after you destroy enemies. They leave behind time crystals, of which there are six types.

When three or more of one crystal are collected, Blinx can activate time controls, such as pause, rewind or record. If you get enough to pause the flow of time, everything in the gameworld stops - except you.

The idea behind this clever use of the Xbox' hard drive means you can defeat tough boss monsters a little easier, but also solve puzzles by being able to rewind and fast forward at will.

It may sound a little sketchy, but the execution is perfect and Artoon deserve a pat on the back. Had it been just a stock-standard platformer, the game would have been interesting, but not entirely engaging. With these elements, it becomes a much more interesting play.

The controls are pretty straightforward and most seasoned gamers will have the hang of it in 20 minutes or so. Early on, the game is pretty easy, even a bit boring. But the fun kicks in when there's only certain ways to progress - such as using the record time to defeat tough enemies.

Such a situation requires a lot of ass whupping, so you basically go through said area until things get too hard - recording all the way.

The game utilises the Xbox' hard drive and actually records this, and allows you to go back to where you started recording.

This essentially gives you double the firepower as your pre-recorded self takes out the enemies you previously bumped off, allowing you to concentrate on other matters.

While this aspect of the game is really funky, to have a good platformer you need a charming or funny hero, and Blinx ain't either of them. He does have a few one liners, but they're nothing exceptional. Still, despite his lack of personality, the gameplay on offer is well above the norm for a 3D platformer.

Graphically, the game is a bit hit and miss. Some sections will have your oculars doing the hokey pokey, and the monsters look awesome, using the stretchy, morphy skin mapping effect.

The boss monsters are pretty cool to look at too, and many of the time altering tools at your disposal have tasty effects.

The crappy bits are probably a result of the art director taking a sick day when specific levels were created, as they're pretty mundane.

Blinx' animations are very smooth though, and the way the blobby, organic monsters move about is eerily realistic, not to mention downright bizarre.

So, what's the verdict, then? Blinx is good. It could have been a little more polished in terms of level design, but the old-school platforming action combined with the innovative use of the Xbox hard drive to alter the flow of time is a seriously groovy concept.

With some 35 levels, a smorgasbord of weird monsters to slay and a supernatural, cartoony graphical style, you could do a lot worse than Blinx: The Time Sweeper. And now the Xbox has at least one cool platformer.

ORIGINALITY 95%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 75%
PLAYABILITY 80%
ADDICTION 80%
ENJOYMENT 90%