Boom Blox Bash Party

Last updated
Boom Blox Bash Party
Boom Blox Bash Party.jpg
Developer(s) EA Los Angeles
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Director(s) Steven Spielberg
Producer(s) Robin Hunicke
Designer(s) Stephen Riesenberger
Programmer(s) Stuart Capewell
Jeff Dixon
Artist(s) Elie Arabian
Composer(s) Mark Mothersbaugh
Albert Fox
John Enroth
Silas Hite
Platform(s) Wii
Release
  • NA: 19 May 2009
  • EU: 29 May 2009
  • AU: 18 June 2009
Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Boom Blox Bash Party, called Boom Blox Smash Party in non-English territories, is a puzzle video game by Electronic Arts for the Wii. The sequel to Boom Blox (2008), it was developed by EA Los Angeles and directed by filmmaker Steven Spielberg. [1] The game features more than 400 levels, and players are able to download new levels and upload their own custom-created levels to share online.

Contents

The gameplay of Boom Blox Bash Party resembles the original's, but features new mechanics. It has less emphasis on the shooting mode, which the developers commented was their least favorite mode of play in Boom Blox. It was created as part of a deal between Electronic Arts and Steven Spielberg to make three original properties, though it does not count as one of the three original properties. As of April 2012, EA has shut down the online servers, meaning players can no longer upload and download user created games.

Gameplay

An underwater scene Boom Blox Bash Party Underwater.PNG
An underwater scene

Boom Blox Bash Party features similar gameplay to its predecessor. It features a new slingshot mechanic; the shooting mechanic is less prominent than in the first game. [2] The game includes new environments (such as underwater and outer space), new block shapes (such as cylinders and ramps), and more extensive multiplayer. [2]

Boom Blox Bash Party originally allowed players to upload levels, as well as download levels made by other players and Electronic Arts. [3] Uploaded levels had to be reviewed by Electronic Arts, with any inappropriate content filtered out. [3] However, a player could download any levels made by someone on their Wii Friends list. [3] Boom Blox Bash Party did not feature Friend Codes, a common method of online play in Wii and Nintendo DS games. [4] Some of the levels uploaded by EA include levels from the original Boom Blox . [3] The ability to upload and download levels ended on April 13, 2012 when EA shut down all of the servers. [5] [6]

Development

Bash Party's development was announced on 18 November 2008 by Variety . [7] It was announced for a Spring 2009 release [8] as Boom Blox Bash Party on January 28, 2009 by EA Casual. The game was developed by Electronic Arts and Steven Spielberg, just like its predecessor. [4] It was a part of a 2005 deal between EA and Spielberg to make three original properties. [4] It was conceived as soon as the original game was completed. [2] Spielberg kept meeting with EA on Boom Blox on new ideas; producer Amir Rahimi commented that there was so much enthusiasm that "he could hardly stop them from doing a sequel." [2] A feature which was cut in Boom Blox was not included in this game either. It was a head-tracking system, which would allow the player to use two Wii Remotes to control the game's camera with his or her head. [9] Because the developers didn't receive the development hardware in time to implement it, Wii MotionPlus compatibility is not included. [2] In an interview, it was stated that Steven Spielberg had sometimes expressed interest in making a Boom Blox movie, but an Electronic Arts spokesperson commented that this is all just brainstorming. [2]

Reception

Bash Party has received generally favorable reviews from critics, holding an 86% on Metacritic. [10] IGN awarded Bash Party an Editors' Choice award, giving it 8.5 out of 10. [11] G4's X-Play gave it 5 out of 5 stars. [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Medal of Honor</i> (video game series) Video game series

Medal of Honor is a series of first-person shooter video games created by American film director and producer Steven Spielberg. The first game, Medal of Honor, was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation in 1999. It spawned a series of follow-up games including multiple expansions spanning various console platforms and PCs.

<i>Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning</i> 2008 video game

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy setting, developed by Mythic Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts in 2008. The game revolved around the continual worldwide conflict that the Warhammer Fantasy setting is known for, and the game is geared toward ongoing, constant war laced with dark humour. Age of Reckoning ended up selling over a million copies and peaking at 800,000 subscribers, but dropped to 300,000 subscribers several months later. The game received generally positive reviews from critics but shut down in 2013. Since at least 2014, an active private server called Return of Reckoning has been run by fans, and it remains active as of November 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GameSpy</span> American video game company

GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameSpy brand to other video game publishers through a newly established company, GameSpy Industries, which also incorporated his Planet Network of video game news and information websites, and GameSpy.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Castle</span> American video games designer

Louis Castle is an American video games designer. He is known for co-founding Westwood Studios, designing the PC game Blade Runner, and collaborating with Steven Spielberg on the Boom Blox and Boom Blox Bash Party video games for the Wii console based on Spielberg's design ideas.

<i>Star Wars</i> video games Video games based on the Star Wars franchise

Over one hundred video games based on the Star Wars franchise have been released, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on films while others rely heavily on the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

<i>Medal of Honor</i> (1999 video game) 1999 video game

Medal of Honor is a 1999 first-person shooter video game, developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation. It is the first installment in the Medal of Honor video game series. The gameplay features the combined arms warfare of World War II, as the player completes various missions for the Office of Strategic Services.

<i>The Sims 3</i> 2009 video game

The Sims 3 is a 2009 social simulation video game developed by the Redwood Shores studio of Maxis, and published by Electronic Arts. Part of The Sims series, it is the sequel to The Sims 2. It was released on June 2, 2009, for Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and mobile versions. Console versions were released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS in October 2010 and a month later for Wii. The Windows Phone version was released on October 15, 2010. A Nintendo 3DS version, released on March 27, 2011, was one of the platform's launch titles.

<i>Boom Blox</i> 2008 video game

Boom Blox is a 2008 puzzle video game by Electronic Arts for the Wii and N-Gage. It was developed by EA Los Angeles and directed by filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

Spore is a video game developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright, released in September 2008. The game has drawn wide attention for its ability to simulate the development of a species on a galactic scope, using its innovation of user-guided evolution via the use of procedural generation for many of the components of the game, providing vast scope and open-ended gameplay.

<i>NASCAR 09</i> 2008 racing video game

NASCAR 09 is the twelfth simulation installment in the EA Sports NASCAR series and the sequel to 2007 game NASCAR 08. It is developed by EA Tiburon and released on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in June 2008, and for mobile phones in September of the same year. Jeff Gordon is the cover athlete for NASCAR 09 for the first time since NASCAR 06: Total Team Control. Through the career mode, "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup", Gordon leads a mentoring program, a new feature offered in NASCAR 09.

<i>SimAnimals</i> 2009 video game

SimAnimals is a life simulation video game published by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo DS and Wii console systems. It was released on January 21, 2009, in North America. It was released on January 30, 2009, in Europe and on February 5, 2009, in Australia. A sequel, SimAnimals Africa, was released for Wii and Nintendo DS on October 27, 2009.

Johnny Chung Lee is an American computer engineer known for his inventions related to the Wii Remote. He is involved with human-computer interaction.

<i>EA Sports Active</i> 2009 video game

EA Sports Active: Personal Trainer is a video game developed by EA Canada for the Wii console. It was released on May 19, 2009 in North America. The game ships with a strappable pouch to hold the Nunchuk and a resistance band.

<i>Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10</i> 2009 video game

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is a sports video game developed by EA Tiburon for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 versions and HB Studios for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions and published by EA Sports for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E3 2009</span> 15th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo

The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 was the 15th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 2, 2009, and ended on June 4, 2009, with 41,000 total attendees.

<i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1</i> (video game) 2010 video game

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is a 2010 action-adventure game. It is based on the 2010 film of the same name. It was released on 16 November 2010 in the United States, 18 November 2010 in Australia, and on 19 November 2010 in Europe and India. The game was released for mobile devices, Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Hunicke</span> American video game designer and producer (born 1973)

Robin Hunicke is an American video game designer and producer. She is a professor of game design at UC Santa Cruz and the co-founder of Funomena.

Magic Pixel Games is an American video game development company founded by key members of the Boom Blox team from Electronic Arts' Los Angeles studio.

References

  1. ↑ "Spielberg's Boom Blox Bash Party videogame comes out May 19". Archived from the original on 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Totilo, Stephen (2009-01-29). "EA Will Ask Steven Spielberg To Make A 'Boom Blox' Level". MTV Multiplayer. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Quick Boom Blox Bash Party Interview". 1UP.com. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2009-01-29.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 3 "Spielberg, EA play "Boom Blox" sequel". Reuters. 2009-01-28. Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  5. ↑ "EA shutting down over a dozen game servers". GameSpot. March 19, 2012. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  6. ↑ Schreier, Jason (March 20, 2012). "EA Takes Down Online Servers For Eleven Games". Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Electronic Arts shuts down Blueprint, making Boom Blox 2". Variety. 2008-11-18. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  8. ↑ "EA and Steven Spielberg announce Boom Blox Bash Party". Electronic Arts. 2009-01-28. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  9. ↑ "GDC08: Boom Blox to include head tracking. Seriously". Joystiq. 2008-02-21. Archived from the original on 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  10. 1 2 "Boom Blox Bash Party Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  11. 1 2 Casmassina, Matt (May 19, 2009). "Boom Blox Bash Party Review". IGN. Archived from the original on May 23, 2009. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  12. ↑ Orry, Tom (2009-06-17). "Boom Blox Bash Party Review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  13. ↑ "Boom Blox: Bash Party for Wii - G4tv". www.g4tv.com. G4. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.