Product Description

Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy challenges shooter fans to a frenetic geometric battle exclusively for Nintendo Wii. As you destroy enemies, you’ll catch their parts and use them to make your own ship bigger and stronger. Then, unleash your creativity with the easy-to-use Blast Works editor where you can create your own ships, enemies and levels. Finally, trade these creations directly with friends or share with the entire Blast Works community at BlastWorksDepot.com. With bright, abstract graphics and fast-paced, dynamic action, this “sticky” shooter based on Kento Cho’s Tumiki Fighters online game will suck you in for the long haul.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8388 in Video Games
• Brand: Majesco
• Model: 01495
• Released on: 2008-05-06
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Dimensions: .36 pounds

Features

• Create ships from scratch in the ship editor and test them out in a real level
• Supports multi-player gameplay for 1 to 4 players
• Design your own levels with the level editor
• Retro geometric graphic style lends this shooter a unique look
• Finish the game to unlock the original Tumiki Fighters online game

Customer Reviews

Lame Title, Rad Game
This game is freakin' rad.

There are two elements to this game that make is incredibly fun to play.

One - you can build and design your own ship to use in combat. This isn't like a cut and paste job, you can literally make shapes/guns/wings ANYTHING and put them anywhere on the ship. It's like the drawings that you made when you were a little kid on scratch paper brought to life. You can literally spend HOURS designing ships and not even realize the time has gone by. It's awesome.

Second - as you rip through enemies, blowing them up with your sick, self designed ship, you can grab the defeated enemies and add them to your core fighter as extra weaponry/defense. Essentially, whatever you kill makes you stronger. And it depends what angle you grab the enemies at. They fire their weapons corresponding to that angle. It's like Galaga on steroids.

You can upload your fighter designs to other people and share/swap them.
This sharing process is ridiculously easy. You literally just push "Send"

Not only that, you can design your own levels, enemies, and other random parts of the game. You don't have to share this with only your friends though, there is a website where they post everyones uploads. You can just grab those, or share your designs there.
I can't tell you how great this is. You can basically invent an impossible level and share it with your friends and laugh about how hard it is. Or you can design a ridiculous enemy and see how your brother tries to deal with him. When you do a particularly good job, you can post it on the website and see how total strangers deal with your creations. I am so excited to keep playing this game I can't contain myself. It's like Lego's + your backyard x video games except the lego's are whatever shape you want, your backyard is the entire internet, and then, turn that all into a video game. This game is MIND BOGGLINGLY AWESOME.

When I was a kid we used to play "picture wars" where you'd draw stuff like this, and then imagine the battle. Well, that game has been modernized like a mo-fo.

I just want to say, after you design your own cool ship, you start grabbing dead enemies and the entire screen is filled with firing weapons and approaching enemies, and the action gets ramped up and it's just fun. Sometimes it gets so intense you just start laughing at the devastation.
This is a great game for anyone who has ever played a side scrolling shooter game (like defender or xevious) or anyone who ever drew spaceships when they were a little kid, or anyone who likes video games - diversionary games that you play just to play. No overwhelming story here.

[...]

I'm giving this a 5 out of 5 personally, but I know there are some people who just want to watch their games like movies, or throw balls with the wii-remote. This isn't the game for you if you don't like to *play*.

I'd say this game reminds you or rekindles the true spirit of play. If this had come out in 1982 the world might have imploded. It still might.

There is also no end to this game. You can design, redesign, share, compete and laugh. to me, the more people who buy this game the better. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. I think this one is a sure classic. In what has been an incredible year for video games, Blast Works is currently the far and away favorite in my house. (Dethroning Boom Blox and GTA 1V).
Originality A
Fun A+
Replayability A+ * 10,000

Not for the casual crowd.
The first reviewer highlighted all the good aspects of the game, and I agree with that review. Now take some time to consider the bad.

You better be a seasoned side scrolling shooter vet before picking this one up because even on the easiest setting, this game is hard. The dead enemies you collect and add to your ship will soon get in your way since they rarely land where they are any use to you. You will die with just a few blows to your fragile contraption and once your lives are exhausted, it's all the way back to the beginning of the level since there are no checkpoints. I like a challenging game but they should have toned down the difficulty for the rookie setting to make this game fun for beginners. My 10 year old cousin played it for over an hour and could not get past the first level. Yes, he fully understood the controls and he plays lots of video games. So if your a hardcore side scrolling shooter fan, this one is for you. If not, you've been warned.

Katamari Juggling in Space!
Blast Works is a simple shooter (aim right, blast everything, dodge bullets) but with a strategic twist. Enemy weapons, missiles, even enemy ships can be added to your ship on the fly. As your fighter shoots them down, you can swoop in and touch those same ships and they stick like glue to your ship. Their weapons keep on firing, often in random directions, but some have homing missiles or simply shoot forward. And as such, your ship gets bigger and bigger with more and more firepower.

At the core is your very small fighter, but when you pick up debris a shield is built around your ship. Meanwhile, bullets from enemies can blast off newly aquired parts, so you're constantly juggling your ever changing inventory of shields and weapons. All this with just one controller button. No inventory screens to sift through, no pausing to make changes, it just sticks and shoots.

It's very satisfying blowing a giant cannon off of an enemy boss ship, only to mount it on the front of your ship and finish them off with it.

The gameplay is very simple, but fun. As with many space shooters, the difficulty ramps up quickly as you find yourself facing a screen full of bullets by only the second level, as such inexperienced gamers beware.

Easy to play, but with lots of depth for ongoing play value. And you can trade ships with friends via a massive create mode! Great budget game, but I find the $40 price tag a bit much for casual gamers.