DrinkBox Studios’ blob platforming series arrived on the scene early last year with the puzzle platform Tales From Space: About a Blob. The follow-up brings the series to the Vita just in time for its launch.
What’s It About?
Starring a new gelatinous blob, DrinkBox Studios’ Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack greatly tones down the puzzle elements that were a big part of their last game on the PS3. The puzzles that you will run into are mainly focused around the game’s touch mechanics that ask you to move platforms to help your blob get around or push objects in the direction of the blob so he can ingest their mass to grow in size. To give you a break from the normal platforming levels, Mutant Blobs Attack also offers tilt control levels that are a bit of a mix between Labyrinth and its Katamari-style object consumption mechanics.
Why Should I Care?
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack is just a great platformer that is very efficient with what it’s trying to do so that there’s no fluff that doesn’t belong here. The levels are much shorter than what you may have seen in About a Blob on the PS3, so you can get through them in about five to ten minutes with the scoring system encouraging speed runs for the best score and leaderboard position. Mutant Blobs Attack has the same weird 2D art style that About a Blob had, which looks really nice on the Vita’s screen. The soundtrack is basically the exact same one that About a Blob offered, so it's pretty good, though I was more inclined to just turn off the music this time since I tired of it very quickly.
The physical button controls have a nice feel to them with the only issue happening when trying to jump right off of the edge of a platform, which usually results in a drop rather than a late jump. The touch controls can be a little weird when you’re trying to rush since it can be a bit unresponsive when you need to drag from a specific spot and the rotating platforms can sometimes move more slowly than you’d like. The other weird thing about the touch controls is that your blob grips to some moving platforms well and others are extremely slippery, so you’re never quite sure if you can move platforms quickly without your blob flying off into spikes or if you need to be slow and steady.
The Vita's beautiful OLED screen makes the tilting controls work really well since there won't be any issues with being unable to see what's on-screen due to tilt angle.
Why Is It Worth My Time And Money?
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack is the perfect type of digital launch game for the Vita that you can play in short bursts without having to spend a lot of money on at its current $7.99 price tag. With 24 levels, you can reasonably get through the game in about three or four hours with a bit more time required for getting gold medals and the last few collectibles to earn the remaining trophies. Sony is off to a good start with its PSN offerings on the Vita, which will be a crucial way to help fill in the gaps in the release schedule after the launch.
Title:
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
Platform:
PlayStation Vita
Publisher:
DrinkBox Studios
Developer:
DrinkBox Studios
Genre:
Action
Release Date:
February 21, 2012
ESRB Rating:
E10+
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack Review
DrinkBox Studios’ blob platforming series arrived on the scene early last year with the puzzle platform Tales From Space: About a Blob. The follow-up brings the series to the Vita just in time for its launch. What’s It About? Starring…
DrinkBox Studios’ blob platforming series arrived on the scene early last year with the puzzle platform Tales From Space: About a Blob. The follow-up brings the series to the Vita just in time for its launch.
What’s It About?
Starring a new gelatinous blob, DrinkBox Studios’ Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack greatly tones down the puzzle elements that were a big part of their last game on the PS3. The puzzles that you will run into are mainly focused around the game’s touch mechanics that ask you to move platforms to help your blob get around or push objects in the direction of the blob so he can ingest their mass to grow in size. To give you a break from the normal platforming levels, Mutant Blobs Attack also offers tilt control levels that are a bit of a mix between Labyrinth and its Katamari-style object consumption mechanics.
Why Should I Care?
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack is just a great platformer that is very efficient with what it’s trying to do so that there’s no fluff that doesn’t belong here. The levels are much shorter than what you may have seen in About a Blob on the PS3, so you can get through them in about five to ten minutes with the scoring system encouraging speed runs for the best score and leaderboard position. Mutant Blobs Attack has the same weird 2D art style that About a Blob had, which looks really nice on the Vita’s screen. The soundtrack is basically the exact same one that About a Blob offered, so it's pretty good, though I was more inclined to just turn off the music this time since I tired of it very quickly.
The physical button controls have a nice feel to them with the only issue happening when trying to jump right off of the edge of a platform, which usually results in a drop rather than a late jump. The touch controls can be a little weird when you’re trying to rush since it can be a bit unresponsive when you need to drag from a specific spot and the rotating platforms can sometimes move more slowly than you’d like. The other weird thing about the touch controls is that your blob grips to some moving platforms well and others are extremely slippery, so you’re never quite sure if you can move platforms quickly without your blob flying off into spikes or if you need to be slow and steady.
The Vita's beautiful OLED screen makes the tilting controls work really well since there won't be any issues with being unable to see what's on-screen due to tilt angle.
Why Is It Worth My Time And Money?
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack is the perfect type of digital launch game for the Vita that you can play in short bursts without having to spend a lot of money on at its current $7.99 price tag. With 24 levels, you can reasonably get through the game in about three or four hours with a bit more time required for getting gold medals and the last few collectibles to earn the remaining trophies. Sony is off to a good start with its PSN offerings on the Vita, which will be a crucial way to help fill in the gaps in the release schedule after the launch.
Written by: Chris Selogy
Date published: 03/25/2012
4.5 / 5 stars
by Chris Selogy
The physical button controls have a nice feel to them with the only issue happening when trying to jump right off of the edge of a platform, which usually results in a drop rather than a late jump. The touch controls can be a little weird when you’re trying to rush since it can be a bit unresponsive when you need to drag from a specific spot and the rotating platforms can sometimes move more slowly than you’d like. The other weird thing about the touch controls is that your blob grips to some moving platforms well and others are extremely slippery, so you’re never quite sure if you can move platforms quickly without your blob flying off into spikes or if you need to be slow and steady.
