Did Blinx The Time Sweeper deserve to be Forgotten?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- I love cats, and I also love Blinx... to a degree. Microsoft's try at making their own cute Jump N' Run mascot to rival Sonic or even Mario! Is it actually a diamond in the rough or a total failure, through and through? That's what I wanted to find out about and here's my observation...
#gaming #blinx #retrogaming #xbox - เกม
Being in my 30s, this game was a big part of my childhood. I collected everything there was to collect in the game, and the fabulous soundtrack still gives me nostalgic vibes. The moment when Blinx finally saved the princess is a memory that will forever stand out in my gaming life.
i used to play blinx as a kid but man i dont remember anything past that lol
I loved Blinx as a kid 🎉
Hey! This video taunted me for so long, because I was on vacation and I couldn't really watch it till... well, now.
Month ago I've FINALLY bought the original X-box (and I love it, it's perhaps my favorite console of that generation, even when I've been PlayStation kid my whole life), mainly to finally play Blinx - the game that taunted me since its release in 2002 (and to play Crimson Skies - fantastic game, it's hard to believe that it was a launch title). Even though I read about it a lot (I mean... a 2-page review in a magazine made me want it really bad) and I've watched some videos about it, I too was quite unprepared for what it really was.
The game... is a mess and nearly everything you've said is certainly true. It feels more like a proof of concept with its mechanics (and some of them are actually improved in the sequel... but it isn't too great either) and the game is really clunky. I remember reading about time mechanics (and how the game was marketed as "the first 4D game", which... isn't true at all, obviously. From the top of my head there's game made in NetYarozee - Time Slip that did the whole "record and playback" thing MUCH better) and how my tiny brain couldn't comprehend how they would do it... and I suppose it was just that: a gimmick to be sold. I mean, it's still kinda cool and makes the game memorable... but it is so underused and underdeveloped that it also misses its point. Then again, if you stripped the game of it... it would be just a really generic platformer. The art style is really cool, though! And yeah, I agree - levels and enemies just... don't fit and it makes the game much more otherworldly than it really is - which is the part of its charm I guess.
It gets so hard later that I actually laguhed. It is beatable though. Am I proud that I've done it? Nah, not really, but I like the feeling of "closure", I guess.
Overall... the game is a mess. The review I've talked about before gave it 7/10. If I had to rate it using numeral scale I would give it 5 or 6, but with a recommendation to check it out. It's still really interesting and I'm glad that I've bought a console just to play it like I was in 2000s again (well, not only for Blinx but... mostly for it, haha). it's more of a interesting gaming history piece than a fun game... but hey, it's something. X-box sadly didn't have too many games like this, so I can see why it was so revered. By the way, X-box games are really finicky when it comes to the emulation, so I highly encourage trying to play them on the original hardware! They really look better that way.
I could see myself enjoying it years ago, but then again, I still did to some degree.
Also... 1:28 - we're in Europe! There's no "Tomba", he's called "Tombi" here, you coward (let's ignore the Japanese name)!
I have to call it Tomba to cater to my American audience because it's like 80% of it, I'm sorry to my European friends for not calling it Tombi... (Which I have tried once upon a time but didn't quite get the whole 2.5D thing and bounced off of it really quickly so I have to give those two games another chance one day, maybe if the remasters are good).
Just like how Blinx would have maybe deserved another chance, if they could have ironed out some of its problems, which they probably didn't with the second game since it also didn't got the best reviews. But maybe a third game would have done it, since third time is the charm, or however people say that! Still a fairly charming game at least and was worth checking out, even if it frustrated me to no end at times...
And yeah, most of the exclusive original Xbox games I always wanted to play and that I have on my list to check out don't quite run well enough for me to be able to make a video about it because it wouldn't be fair to them, luckily Blinx worked well enough after fixing the FPS drops. Xbox games still have relatively low prices for the most part, with some exceptions like the Otogi games so maybe I should get to it before they explode eventually... Why can't money just grow on trees?
@@Vanserchan I dunno, I think that our regional name change is kind of charming and it is quite interesting topic (with consensus being that it was changed around here because Tomba in Italian means "grave", which wouldn't be too good looking in a game targeted to kids... even when we have "Tomb Raider" which is nearly the same thing...). And don't forget your glorious European roots! Be proud of them! (joking)
Eh? What threw you off of it? It's quite standard platforming affair and it's decent at that. Both games are really interesting and I haven't really found anything like them in my gaming career. You COULD say they''re metroidvanias, but... that wouldn't really do them justice. And they are beautiful (especially the first one) with wonderful music. Really, you should give them a chance. Remakes are looking to be pretty much just a bit better looking and optimized ports with remade music (in the community we even joke that every single bug ang glitch will be present in the "remade" version). It's SUCH A SHAME that first game has so much cut content. I mean... sure, it's nice and mysterious, but... also really depressing when you see how much of the original vision was sacrificed. Second game is much more complete and all around I would say is a BETTER game (some events in the story are also EXTREMELY unhinged and I love it).
I would recommend both games whole heartedly. ...though, I might be biased as I'm stuck making ~5-6h video series about them since January... OH WELL. GOOD GAMES. GIVE THEM CHANCE (pls).
It's... bit interesting with Blinx's sequel. It improved a whole loth things (even if slightly) and added a lot more stuff, and yet... the core changes weren't BIG enough (like Crash 1 > Crash 2) and added stuff made it feel more like a... sidestep instead of step forward. Added multiplayer (both competetive and co-op) was cool, so was adding a second side of the story (where you play as one of the pig gang who uses "space" instead of "time"). But it doesn't matter when the game isn't just good enough? I think that if the original formula was BETTER from the start, the sequel would be FAR more beloved. It was also released VERY late into the console's lifespan, when most people were preparing for X360. Blinx2 goes in the other end of the spectrum - it's pathetically easy. ...also, it's funny that it's called Blinx, yet you don't really play as him: you create your own Time Sweeper.
Mmm, I would say that the rule of two is better most of the time. If the concept isn't working after polishing it up (sequel), most of the time it really isn't worth pursuing. Paradoxically, from what I've seen, third parts tend to be worse than their predecessors. Again, look at Crash 2, Tomb Raider 2, Spyro 2, Metal Gear Solid 2 (I'll DIE on that hill)... they are GREAT, taking what worked in the original game and cranking it up, while throwing off the chaff. Crash 3 or Spyro 3 were great too! ...but they weren't that much of an improvement and watered the core experience down with gimmicks. ...which third (and further parts) tend to do. Of course, we have situations like Jak 2, which was a COMPLETE departure from the original formula, feeling more like a sidestep. In case of sidesteps I would say that giving more chances is valid.
Sorry for ranting too much.
@@Hodyna I didn't stop playing it because I thought the game was bad but more like, "Hmmm... not feeling it right now!" and just played something else. Sometimes games just give me that feeling, it's hard to explain. That's why I wanna re-visit them both one day again, to really give them the chance they deserve this time!
Creating my own Blinx?! Now I gotta play it, I can have my own Blinxsona... Funny that you mention the rule of 2 and most of those are your favorites with the 2 in them, when most of the mentioned franchises peaked with 3 for me, especially Crash and MGS (Never really played much of the Tomb Raider games because they scared me as a kid). Yeah, Spyro 3 and Crash 3 may have a bit too many gimmicks at points but somehow I just love them more than the others...
It's kinda crazy to me how the perception of Jak 2 changed so much nowadays. I remember being a kid and people loved Jak 2 lots, tons of great reviews, etc. and the only thing hated was the difficulty. Nowadays it feels like it's looked down upon and people prefer the first one instead while back then it felt like a fine charming Jump N' Run but nothing more. Sometimes I wish I could wake up the next day and see Sony going back to their roots with those games a bit again... A new Jak, a new Sly Raccoon, a new good Ratchet and Clank and especially a new Ape Escape... Sadly I don't live in Dreamland.
And no need to apologize for ranting, rants are great! Also good luck on the videos, my head would start spinning if I tried to make such long ones...