CGOTW: Blow

January 8th, 2009

Every week I sit down at my 360 and download any and all new community games I find on the XBLM. Every week, I play at least five games that range from mediocre to terrible before finding one I find to be worthy of promoting. This week’s entry, Blow, has apparently been hiding right under my nose since November 17th, and I’m truly sorry I didn’t stumble upon it sooner. This game is everything a good community game should be. The presentation is superb with simple, but charming graphics, and the soundtrack consists of well written and relaxing music. The objective of the game is to guide a steady stream of bubbles from their entry point in the level to the exit, passing them over flowers and flames along the way using a series of fans. Once you have your line set up, you call for the King Bubble (a bubble with a crown on it) which will then follow the path of the bubbles, and grade you on your fan placement. As elements like heat, cold, and wind are introduced to the levels, it becomes increasingly challenging to get your bubble from point A to point B. It’s not a fast paced or action packed game. It is, however, relaxing, and intellectually stimulating, as finding the best path to guide your bubbles to the end of the level often requires some planning, thought, and attention to detail.

With 70 hand crafted levels, and an infinite number of procedurally generated levels, Blow will keep your attention for a good long time. At 400 Microsoft points, Blow should be purchased by anyone with thumbs and an Xbox 360.

-Mike Kurz