Blender Bros.

"Blender bros ain't bland"

What kind of freaky name is 'Blender Bros' anyway? The characters look NOTHING like the milkshake makers I'm used to seeing.
They're probably named so because of their propeller-like ears (ala Rayman) They're so cute and cuddley. There's definitely a market for stuffed toys of their likeness...and an animated series. I think they'd make a better cartoon than most current Disney cartoons. Does that give you a clearer mental picture of what the game is like?
Blender Bros. is a platform adventure game with a twist of strategy involved as you decide on which sidekick with a unique skill (called a mini-bro) to follow you on your quests. You start off with one choice of a sidekick and you can collect more as you progress through the levels. You can also trade these mini-bros with your friends like Pokemon. I think I should break the game down into different sections for analysis. Here goes:

Gameplay: (7/10) The thing I like is how you can 'buy' music for your mini-bros. Every enemy you kill gives you a 'bone', the currency of the bros apparently. Bones are also scattered around the level and these can be used to buy music from different genres. The controls aren't loose and the limited buttons are fully utilised- a different function for each mini-bro you choose. There are mini games too. Racing games. I think they're more fun than some of the levels.

Graphics: (8/10) I thought the game looks a tat cell shaded...can't really be sure since the screen is *this* small. Everything's 2D and has an anime feel to it. Levels are colorful and pretty well-designed. You won't get lost in the levels, something that irritates me to no end especially when the battery's running low and you've found all the powerups there is to find and yet you can't find the exit and save the game.

Sound: (6/10) Where's the speech? Not even the slight 'GAAAH' when you meet one of those big bad level bosses?? I know Mario never had speech either but that didn't stop it from becoming one of the best known and most liked character in videogame history but this is different. In the early days of Mario, there was no hardware to support speech! The GBA can! The sound effects are not fantastic either. Every noise made sounds the same. The only thing that works in the sound department would be the music. Because you can buy new music. I'm biased.

Overall: Sure, this ain't no Mario but it's fun. I bet the kids would love it. And did I mention it's fun? Rent it or something.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/27/02, Updated 10/16/02