Blinx: The Time Sweeper

"Blinx. Mario killer...no, good game...yes."

Each round consists of 4 stages and a shop. The first 3 stages are just normal levels, while the last is a boss fight. Then there is a shop where you can buy new vacuum cleaners, life, life holders, time holders, weapons, etc. I’ve yet to try a new vacuum but I have read you can get ones that shoot fire and other cool affects. You can buy your life back (it doesn’t recharge after each battle.) The life holders and time holders are self-explanatory. The weapons are bombs and stuff like that.

The controls are easy to get used to and make sense.
A=jump, twice for double jump
B=control time
X/right trigger=suck of held, shot if taped.
Left stick=movement
Right stick=camera movement.

Gameplay: The first round is EASY as hell. You shouldn’t have a single problem. It just shows you the ropes. Then in the second round you will begin to see what the game is capable of. The third round is where the game shows you how it can be challenging. I died over 25 times in the round compared to once around in the first 2. The game play is simple, yet fun. You will run around each level a bit slow, that’s one of my complaints. It’s a very minor problem but its still takes away. Basically you will suck thing up into a vacuum. Most things seem to be suckable. You can hold up to 5 items which you will use as projectiles. You will use those to kill enemies or to open doors. You can also suck up (or just run into) time crystals. There are 5 different crystals each with its own time manipulation feature. You got 4 slots to hold the crystals and to get the time move you will need to fill up 3 of the 4 slots. If you manage to fill all 4 with the same crystal then you get 2 time moves. You can only have 3 time moves at a time, however, you can buy more in the shop. You buy things in the shop using currency that you will find throughout the level. This is a very good thing in my mind. I just love being able to buy and upgrade my equipment. Each level has its secret areas or items. This adds some replay value. I must admit I have a strange and strong urge to get those secret already. This brings me to my biggest complaint about this game's THE TIME LIMIT. I HATE this feature, not only in Blinx but in all games. I think it’s the worse idea. You will find yourself many times looking across that a place that you’d love to explore and check out but no you must move on with the level because you only have a minute left. Also I have fun out of time only to be a few feet away from the exit. One other thing that is bad is what they do when you die. They rewind a number of seconds, this gets annoying when you’re dieing again and again. Also it doesn’t seem to help but more it just sets you up for the same mistake. The only time though that it was unacceptable was when I though a bomb in a big field of bombs. Well it killed me every time. It would rewind so I could die again. All in all this is still a very fun game, so in the gameplay I’d give it a 9/10

Graphics: The graphics in this game are very nice. This game has beautiful textures and backgrounds. The character himself is clear and nicely detailed. His still is not up to xbox specks though so don’t expect too much. Its still a very nice looking game though. The animation is excellent. I love the look of the different objects being sucked up. Also the looks the different enemies and Blinx himself are very nice. I’d give the graphics a 7.5/10

Sound: The sound in this game is decent. I haven’t heard anything that just stood out as really good or bad. The voices are in a fictional language so there’s really no voice action to talk about. The sound affects sound good and on key. Non-have becomes repetitive or annoying yet. I’d give the sound an 8/10

Value: I think this game as a moderately high value. It’s got some replay and a lot of extras to find and unlock. Value is a 7/10.

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 7.5/10
Sound: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Overall I’d give the game an 8.7. Id recommend a purchase if you like these kinds of games or loved Mario (this is better then Mario IMO) otherwise you might want to rent it first. Even with the time feature its still a platformer and that’s not going to change.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/28/02, Updated 10/28/02