Blasto

"My most regrettable purchase"

Blasto was a much talked about game. 10 years ago I rushed out to buy it. I sold it soon after but recently bought it hoping my bad memories were just some sort of dream. Is Blasto actually good or is it just a really bad game after all? Read on!

Blasto is your average space hero but oh boy does he love his busty babes. Now some evil alien scum is kidnapping the babes and Blasto will have none of that. So it's up to Blasto alone to save the busty babes. The plot is rather basic and it never really advances from the start of the game. Even the ending did nothing for me. The dialog can be humorous at times but a lot of the time it just falls flat.

I might be reviewing and playing this game a bit late but I must say that it is rather bad to look at. Under detailed levels, really bad draw distance. You can barely see in front of you most of the time. Enemies look cool though but they all look the same. Other items like gun towers and stuff look very bland.

The sound in the game is a mixed bag. It's nice that Phil Hartman is providing his voice for this game but I'm not a fan. Some may play this game just for that. Sound effects sound cheap as if Sony really didn't put any thought into it. Your blaster sounds okay though. The music in the game was rather bland and forgettable.

The game has very awkward controls. You pretty much just jump, shoot your primary and your special weapon and that's it. You're able to strafe which is nice. The problem is that jumping and camera movement is a bit stiff and in the later levels it really causes a problem.

Blasto is your typical 3rd person shooter action adventure title. The game is made up of 12 or 13 levels. They are rather wide open but the draw distance is horrid and really takes away from the levels themselves. I found the levels to feel more random than anything.

Within the levels are babes to rescue and aliens to kill. The babes tend to be placed in areas where you may fall to your death. The aliens on the other hand are mindless drones. They stand and shoot every couple of seconds. They don't really react to you at all.

The game uses both lives and health. It's very easy to fall and lose a life and they aren't all that easy to come by. Enemies also tend to do a good amount of damage to you as well.

My biggest problem is with the weapons. You can pick them up and they work as your secondary weapon. Fine idea but every weapon looks the same on he ground. Some are near impossible to aim and some are so destructive that there is no reason to aim. If you find the rocket launcher type weapon during the last boss fight he dies in 2 hits. That's just absurd. No gun in a game should be that powerful.

The game is actually rather long. The babes add an extra reason to replay the game I guess but really, why would anyone?

To be honest I hated Blasto way back on release day and I still hate it today. I should actually just get rid of my copy since it's one of the worst PS1 games made. It ranks right up there with The Mummy and Deathtrap Dungeon.

Story - 2/10
Graphics - 4/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 6/10
Game Play - 4/10
Replay value - 3/10

Final Score - 3/10

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 08/22/07