[XBLA] Ms. 'Splosion Man Review

[Psykoboy2]

Ms. 'Splosion Man Review

Title: Ms. 'Splosion Man
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Developer: Twisted Pixel Games
Publisher: Microsoft Games Studios
ESRB Rating: Teen
MSRP: 800 MS Points ($10.00)
Editor: Scott "Psykoboy2" Benton

What's Hot: Fifty levels of single player and fifty levels of multiplayer. A different ending for single and multiplayer. Songs, sight gags, and 'splosions!

What's Not: It's difficult. VERY difficult. And while it doesn't last very long, it could have used some different loading screens for as many times as you have to see it. But that's nitpicking at this point.

If you've played games with me or listened to In-Game Chat for any amount of time, you'll know I don't have the cleanest mouth in the world. But I have never spit out the amount of profanity that I have done while playing Twisted Pixel's latest, Ms. 'Splosion Man.

That's not a knock against the game. Back in 2009 when they released 'Splosion Man, it was just as much an exercise in level memory, precise timing, and, of course, lots of humor. As frustrated as I have ever gotten while playing Ms. ‘Splosion man, it never really lasts very long. I either come to the satisfaction of getting through the tough segment or, thankfully, Twisted Pixel gives me the option to cheat on the game. Yes, cheating on the game comes with a penalty, but it's hilarious and, for whatever reason, pulls me totally out of my frustration and anger.

The guys at Twisted Pixel didn't just rehash the old and call it new. There's a ton of new additions to the game. For starters, there's now a world map you can navigate complete with hidden levels, a mall, an arcade (where you can play previous released Twisted Pixel games, along with Retro City Rampage and the soon to be released Ms. ‘Splosion Man Pinball FX2 table), and the boss fight of each world. And, just as before, you’ll get 50 levels in single player and 50 levels in multiplayer. Within those levels you'll find new obstacles and new ways of dealing with them. Everything from trampolines, zip lines, jet sleds, rockets you can ride, Mandy, wall-o-‘splosions, Jetson-like space cars, what I can only describe as the exploding barrels from Donkey Kong Country but…much more high tech, and another surprise or two I won't spoil here.

Here’s the thing about Ms. ‘Splosion Man – it’s hard as fuck. I know, I know…we don’t really use those words in reviews, but I cannot describe to you better and make it simpler than that. It’s like they were channeling the Super Meat Boy team or something. Now, here’s the other thing about Ms. ‘Splosion Man – it’s fun as hell. Through all the frustration, the level memorization, the trial and error after error after error, I was still having fun. See, the folks at Twisted Pixel put in a lot of hard work on this game and they want you to experience it. If you fail during a checkpoint a certain amount of times you’ll be given the option to cheat and even that is something special. Sure, you’ll get to the next checkpoint and be able to cheat right on through to the end of the level, but you’ll gain a little something along the way. Still, you’ll be able to press on through the game. They are so intent for you to see their endings they worked so hard on (and you get two of those, as well – one for single player and one for multiplayer) that you can even cheat through the boss fights. Although do your best not to cheat during the final boss in single player. It’s just too awesome to skip over. And once you have completed the game, just as in the original, you’ll unlock hardcore mode. No checkpoints, no cheats. You get one shot to make it through a level. I expect mass graves and memorials erected to the amount of controllers that will be killed by those who attempt such a feat.

Speaking of the difficulty, I have to hand it to the level designers and what they have done here. I’m really curious to the amount of headaches they got while making some of these levels. What with the timing of jumps and placements of objects, not too mention the multiplayer side of things, which includes up to 4 people ‘sploding all over the place, plus the hidden exits and the shoes. Oh yeah, shoes have replaced the cake this time. While I wasn’t that concerned with finding them in the single player campaign, multiplayer was a whole different story. I was able to play a few levels with the folks from Co-Optimus and while we completed some levels without finding shoes, we seriously were not happy with ourselves in doing so. That being said, any of you reading this want to go at it co-op and grab those shoes, let me know.

If Ms. ‘Splosion Man is a homage to Ms. Pac-Man and Twisted Pixel is perhaps following that time line then I cannot wait for Super ‘Splosion Man!

Score: 5 out of 5 CoGs


Scott says, "Did you play and enjoy 'Splosion Man? If so, then buy this game. Even if you never played the first game, you're getting 100 levels for $10 bucks. Plus a ton of extras and unlockables. Lots of bang for your buck. However, if you aren't a fan of level memorization and trial and error, this isn't for you."

[Mike Kelehan]

Quick correction: You listed "It's difficult. VERY difficult." under "What's Not." This should be under "What's Hot."

I'm loving this game. Although, I must warn you, if you fail too many times and choose to skip to the next checkpoint, you will be affected by The Curse until the end of the level. The Curse!

[Purple Santa]

Nice to see i'll be cursing my way through this game like I did with Mr. S. At least I didn't break a controller. Not sure i'll have such restraint though this time around.

Great review.

[Yeti2005]

I enjoyed Splosion Man until I got to a part where I died 2 dozen times and couldn't get past it. I was in the beta for Ms. Splosion Man and didn't seem as hard.

[Mike Kelehan]

The ending was fantastic, but Jesus, that final boss... I was laughing pretty much the entire time.

[DoctorFinger]

The difficulty seems to scale much, much faster than in the original. I blew through the whole first world in Splosion Man with few difficulties, but I've been getting my ass kicked on the first world in MSM