Blinx: The Time Sweeper

"A bland platformer for the Xbox."

The XBOX is the one console that is lacking in the platforming department and I must say it's one of my favorite genres and I was really wanting to play one. Sadly I picked up Blinx because it was so cheap and boy oh boy do I regret that. It isn't the worst game ever but...

Blinx is one of the cat time police. Or something like that. Anyway, the evil pigs come and mess up time, kidnap a princess and now it's up to our furry feline friend to save them world from being destroyed. It's a rather silly story, no background history, no character development. Nothing here but an opening and an ending. A let down for me...

Graphic wise I must say that Blinx is still impressive in early 2006 despite it coming out within the Xbox's first year. Blinx and friends look amazingly detailed in the CGI scenes. The fur, the hair, the skin, it all has detail and you just don't see that all that often. Level design is kind of bland and can leave you wanting a lot more. Enemies are kind of boring as well. Bosses look nice though. I didn't run into any slow down or anything.

I found the game truly lacking in the sound department. Music was so forgettable that I played the game less than a half hour ago and don't remember any music, not been the main title screen. That's just kind of sad. Voice acting is either all Japanese or a made up language. Yes, I know it's sad that I can't tell but I suck at those types of things. Sound effects are nothing special and kind of lacking.

Control wise the game is a smidge lacking. Moving around is easy with the analog stick and it's rather responsive. Jumping and double jumping is easy. Sucking and shooting is also easy and despite the fact that both actions are on the same button I never ran into a problem. My problem was with the camera. While it's easy to move, it's a pain and gets caught on some things or just blocks certain things from view which really hinders game play at times.

I think the game's biggest problem lies right here in the game play department. The game is made up of 8 or 9 worlds and then a final world which is just a boss level. Each world has 3 levels and after beating the first level you each world you get access to the shop to buy items. Also, there is a boss stage after beating the three stages in each world. The stages are all themed. City, ancient ruins, snow, lava ect. Nothing really new here.

The actual gameplay of Blinx relies on the vacuum that Blinx uses. Have you played Luigi's mansion? It's kind of like that but crappier. You suck up objects and shoot them at enemies. The enemies all have life bars that are visible. Most take 2-3 hits. Your vacuum can only hold X amount of items but better vacuums can be bought that hold more. The items range from fridges, to trash cans, to bombs. My problem was that some times the game just didn't give you enough items to work with or really hard to use items in a cramped space. Imagine a tiny square room where you're throwing a bomb at 3 enemies and have to wait for it to load. An aim feature may have fixed some of these problems I guess.

Each stage has a time limit of ten minutes, even though it never tells you any such thing. Now, in the stages are little items, they are different colors and shapes. You have a 4 or 5 spot for collecting them. Gain 3 of the same at once in your box and you will get a time power. These are used for solving puzzles. make a clone, freeze time, slow time, ect. I found that the early part of the game rarely required you to use these. It kind of just felt tacked on for the most part and nothing is more annoying than not having the one you need and searching the level for it but then running out of time.

Now, you can buy new hearts in the game, this gives you more "life" but it isn't like your normal life bar. One hit and you auto reverse and you lose a heart. This just sucks and again, it seems unfair. Why give me these things that seem like life but are really lives? Why not just let you have X amount of lives. The worst part is that they don't respawn after beating a stage. beat it with one heart left and you'll have to run to the store and buy more.

The game is of decent length but nothing to write home about. The game does have many cat medals hidden in the game. Sadly, your reward for getting them all is lame. Most are little 10 second skits that just aren't funny. Later on you unlock concept art and stuff but it just didn't seem worth it for the most part.

Is Blinx worth buy? No. Is it worth renting? No. I have to say that I really wish I had never bought this game and while I would trade in a game I didn't like, the first 2 worlds are fairly good. Not great but I could maybe go back and play those when I need a quick fix. I have yet to find an Xbox only platformer that is worth owning but it does have a few multiplatform titles to check out.

Story - 5/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 5/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 5/10
Replay Value - 3/10

Final Score - 5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/03/06