I just wrote a review today on Boom Blox and I gave it a perfect 10. I love this game. Only game I've sat down and play end to end on in a while. Which says a lot. Penny Arcade is the only other game I've done that with in a while too.

People you need to buy this game, especially if you have kids. So easy to pick up.

It's pretty high on my "to buy" list, so expect that number to climb to 60,001 by the end of the year. :)

I can't find the quote, but an EA rep announced that Boom Blox was only being advertised during kids' shows. Advertising via the web was unnecessary because the kinds of gamers who comb through blogs and message boards for every nugget of game info should have been very aware of this game. I see two issues off the bat:

1. The game was marketed directly towards 6-12 year olds, but the commercials (I've seen a couple) really fail to address what the game DOES. There are blocks and they fall down. Why should little kids find that interesting over, say, SpongeBob? This game is a family game and should have been advertised outside of the children's block. Marketing departments and analysts claim that the Wii is just a kids' machine, but could it be possible that there is a greater audience out there and that they would have shown more of an interest had they been exposed to some commercials tailored to them?

2. Relying on gamer blog citizens for that golden "hardcore" market was a gamble from the beginning. You can check out the comments from Kotaku, Destructoid, Joystiq, etc. when Boom Blox was first announced and you could FEEL the distaste in the air. Look at the game. Look at the art style. It LOOKS like it is for six-year-olds. How do you generate an interest in such a game among gamers who like to form rock-solid opinions of games in development just from a couple of screen shots? Every new piece of info that came out was met with harsh criticism from all those gamers who weren't following every step the game took. The game was released, the reviews were posted, and still there were gamers who were scratching their head as to how this "kiddy shovelware" could be garnering reviews? And ? Who'd spend that much on another party game? PASS.

EA really dropped the ball big time. They failed to do a good enough job generating interest among dedicated gamers and they failed to expose the game to the mass market. It has nothing to do with the quality of the game because as we all know low-quality games can garner huge sales or not if the marketing is there.

Anyway, this was month one. This game may or may not have slow burning sales. I do believe Carnival Games had something like 30,000 sales in the first month, but now look at it. Could Boom Blox make that jump? I doubt it, but the chance is there. And really, is a game a failure if it doesn't sell a million copies? Very few games in history do that, and if that was the only measure of success then this industry would have been finished years ago. A lot of games do just fine hitting 200-300K. Think about that.

I picked up a copy, and I can say I'm pleased. Although the game is absolutely geared towards kids, it has that simple, elegant feel that is evident in games like Desktop Tower Defense and Line Rider. It takes a concept and expands on it, and although some of the modes should have been left out, they are, for the most part, good.

The game isn't without its shortcomings, however. The art style is definitely geared towards kids. The characters in the game are cheesy, blocky animals who make funny noises when struck with objects. They were amusing at first, but are very shallow and lose their charm quickly. The biggest issue I have with the game is the controls; however, I don't think the game is at fault. Many of the game modes in Boom Blox require precise aiming and motion, which the Wii cannot deliver. The game employs mechanics to help alleviate the imperfections of the Wii remote, but can't fix everything. I can't help but wish for a mouse and keyboard controller attachment.

All-in-all, the game is easily one of the best third-party titles for the Wii. Had they released this game at launch, I have no doubt that it would have been a top seller.

This game is probably easily lumped in with the rest of the crap shovelware that is helping to define the Wii. The average consumer won't notice this title amongst the huge selection already available.

That said, if I were to buy a Wii today I'd buy this and Super Mario Galaxy along with it.

1.
I want it, but frankly, I have NO IDEA what the hell the game does/is about.

2.
Because I don't know what it does/is about, I find it hard to spend 50 bucks on it. I'm sure I'll buy it once it reaches the 30 dollar range.

my wife rented it with some friends because we were intrigued (by the writeup here i believe) and we have since bought it and love it!

that said, I'm still trying to figure out how to turn off the horrid wii music but keep sound FX - am i some sort of tool? or can you just not do that? I'd much rather play boom blox while listening to bloc party or the boomtown rats ;)

@manischewitzbac on: Good call on the Bloc Party!