Cheat Code #2 - Boom Blox Bash Party

What do you do when you want to play video games with your kids, but there isn't a game that fits for you and your younglings? If you're Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, you talk to EA, and coproduce one of the more comically violent and challenging puzzle games to come along in some time. Although this game was released back in Spring 2009, it's still a fun title that I'm sure Erini will be able to understand and play along with soon. The controls are a little tricky for her to figure as of right now, but she really enjoys the number of characters and the general chaos of things exploding.

While some reviews cite that this version has some new features and does not include some of the less than stellar features, this is the only version I have played. The challenge of the level is matched by the variety of tools to destroy the blocks. Colour balls change the colour of blocks allowing for matches of three or more blocks to score points. Once the block disappear, the physics engine takes over. Sometimes the bottom of the playing area is not flat, and sometimes the blocks will land wrong and fall out completely.

The grabbing hand makes for some tricky balancing exercises. At times it feels like Jenga, only with exploding blocks. And sheep. Stupid sheep.

Erini's favourite area is the Pirate Bay, and she quite enjoyed the cannon battles. Yet she kept asking to go to the Parrot section, which involved more blowing things up.

The most fun I ever had playing this game was with my brother-in-law in Calgary. He and I were the only ones in a group of six guys who had played it previously, but it was still a heap of fun. We ventured into a space battle, in which you had a certain amount of bombs to throw in a certain amount of time. Eventually, we got the idea to gang up on one person, but that backfired, since you get bonus bombs if you get hit a significant amount.

We also played a version of mini golf, only it was pucks instead of balls, slingshots instead of clubs, and there were elevators. But you did have to hit a red flag! At first it was a joke. Straight away shot, and boom, 100 points. But it got more and more complicated, you had to judge the power you put into the shot, and hope that the other players were not feeling ruthless.

It's fun when my wife gets in on the action too. She doesn't pick up a controller, but she does give me tips on what to do. Once she figures out the level creator, I'm sure she'll have a ball with it though!

I was most interested in this game when I read an article on That Guy With The Glasses featuring the Top 6 Games to Play on a Date. Most of the games I was quite familiar with, but then the final game mentioned caught my attention with earnest. I can't say that I've had the same experience as detailed in the article, but it is one of the games that I has been a great investment.