Blinx: The Time Sweeper

"Xbox platformer A-go-go"

Blinx is a good game, sure. Blinx enters into a market saturated with the bad, but which has some rare gems. Platformers, for the most part, are usually great or terrible; but Blinx manages to be good without being extraordinary.

Graphics: 9/10

These graphics are really amazing. The large environments, with many things in each one manipulatable-- are very well rendered. Blinx, as well, looks marvelous. However, although there are no flaws with the graphics, and the framerate is superb, there is nothing here that will blow you away. Actually, Blinx only looks so good because of the relative simplicity of the objects. It has no amazing grass like in RallySport, no high-poly enemies like in Halo, and no fantasic water like in Mario Sunshine. [It does have really good water, though]. Basically you have a game with no flaws in graphics, but nothing truly breathtaking.

Control: 8/10

The controls work well, but are not perfect, in my opinion. Despite what many other reviews say, the camera system really works quite well. My only gripes with the controls are: 1) When you vacuum something up, you cannot move. This hurts the flow of the game and makes vacuuming more of an onus than anything else. 2) You can only vacuum/shoot in the direction you are pointing. I would have much prefered something akin to Smash TV-- where you can use the right analog stick to control the direction of the vacuum and the left for movement. Despite these gripes, the control really has no glaring errors, thus the 8/10. [Oh yeah, and the double jump, is, in my opinion, the best thing to have ever been invented in video games. So that's awesome]

Sound: 6/10

I really can't stand the music. Come on, old Sonic team members! Most of it is Disco/Punk craziness, and although it does convey a sense of hurridness, it's still really annoying. A personal soundtrack feature would have saved this score. All the other sound effects are very well done, and even the language the cat's speak is believable.

Gameplay: 6/10

Good, but ultimately not as fun as it could have been. Basically, the fun platforming sections from classic mario days are rare and far-between; they instead fill the game with the same suck/shoot action. And, with vacuuming being so laborious, and shooting only in the direction which you are moving, the game gets old. Bosses, especially, are boring. The time effects are good, and a welcome twist on the genre, but don't provide enough of a difference to save the game. I especially like the 10:00 timer, and the fact that you have to kill every enemy in every stage, but I would rather the stages were hard to get through due to platforming and puzzle solving-- instead of sucking/shooting. My final gripe is that the levels are completely linear; if the game doesn't want you to jump on top of something, you can't--even if you should be able to.

Replay: 10/10

This game has some really hard segments, and some really tricky puzzles. With the uber-expensive outfits and bonuses, you can stay busy.

Overall: 7/10

The gameplay is what really hurts this game. It adds fun new elements, but forgets that these are just elements that are added to platforming. It needs to stick closer to the genre it is a part of. Also, platformers should involve more dexterity than repetition for completion, and Blinx fails to realize this. A solid rental, but not really a purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/14/02, Updated 10/14/02