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Good stuff

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

As a twenty something who is nostalgic for games like Nintendo's Super Mario Bros 3, I was excited to find Blinx. I was worried (because of the cartoon cat as the main character) that it would only be targeted for young kids but was pleasantly surprised to find myself challenged by it after the first couple worlds. I'd definitely recommend this game!

Blinx...Totally Awsome game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is my favorite game of all time! I was looking for a certin game that would be fun, but it was quite hard since most of the games I like are for Plastation 2,then I found this.I love it! Everything is great although I wish they should have added multiplayer and co-op like the second version,(which was way too easy.) it is easy at first but gets harder as you go, i haven't fininshed it yet but im on level 8,there are 3 stages in a level and a shop(where you can buy equitment and clothes.)and a boss at the last stage that you have to beat to onto the next level.I love the fact that you play as a cat( I love cats!) and that you can control time! Some of the other reveiws said this game was stupid or way to easy, well they probably said it was stupid because they hate cats or are not into these kinds of games and the game is soooo not easy!(they probably quit on level one asuming that the whole game is easy(Wrong!)This is an awsome game! Can I give it 6 starzs?

A sloppy, emotionless title with few redeeming factors

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

As the opening cutscene introduces you to Blinx the cat, the supporting cast and the particulars of his upcoming adventures, I found myself trying to wrap my brain around the basic premise of the story. The idea is that a secret, off-world clan of humanoid cat creatures, armed with souped up vacuum cleaners, are responsible for the development and dispersal of time itself to every known plane of existence on the map. It seems that time, when compressed tightly enough to be transported by said cats, takes the form of one of five different brightly-colored shapes. If these crystals are left out on the open for too long without being properly introduced to the flow of things, they turn into monsters. I could go on, because the game certainly doesn't stop there, but I think you get the point.

I like to think that there's a fairly thick line drawn between cartoony fantasy and super-detailed realism. Generally, a lot of the physics and environmental details are taken for granted in a realistic game, because they're almost exclusively set in a photorealistic, lifelike location. Cartoons, on the other hand, generally don't worry themselves with the particulars and are primarily concerned with delivering a good time. How much fun would the Wile E. Coyote cartoons be if every time the lead character suffered a grisly fate, it strictly obeyed the laws of gravity and aerodynamics? Blinx tries to straddle that thick line by delivering a story that's overly detail-centric in an environment that's right out of a kid's show. The result is a tale that comes off as way, WAY out of left field and almost completely abstract. It focuses on things that would be better left to the viewer's imagination and ignores the importance of a good underlying story along the way.

Beneath the needless discussions of why there are monsters in the world, how time compression works and how cats are actually responsible for all that we hold dear, the actual plot is almost laughably straightforward and generic. There's a princess, evil pigs have kidnapped her, and it's up to you and you only to rescue her and save her world. That's it, no side-stories, no reasoning, no subplots - just a straightforward rush from Point A to Point B. And here I thought the phrase "save the princess" was universally recognized as an ages-old cliche.

Now, I don't want it to sound like I'm railing on this game just because it's got a few more nitpicky details than its peers and it reuses an old phrase from way back in the platformer handbook as its sole driving factor. It's also completely lacking in character development, general storytelling and ongoing inspiration. None of the characters in Blinx really establish themselves as individuals, including the lead character himself. You don't hate the pig on the spaceship because he's trying to destroy the world, you hate him because every time he shows up he tries to steal your money. I honestly forgot there was a princess at the end of the game after level three, because she's never mentioned between the game's start and its finish. I mean, the very first Super Mario Brothers at least reminded you that the princess was in another castle at the end of every boss fight.

I don't honestly think the game was really designed to be enjoyable so much as it was geared to be overly challenging. The first level and a half are set up in the standard "get to know you" format, with the simplest of enemies, the most routine of stage layouts and plenty of opportunities to mess around with your tools. Shortly thereafter, you're thrown to the wolves. For the most part, the level designs are very short, with more of an emphasis on cheap hits than on complexity and true challenge. I noticed a lot of overlap in the stage layouts, whether it's retracing your steps time and time again or walking along a catwalk (har har) above the beginning of the stage and invariably plummeting back to the start point. You'll almost always know what needs to be done, but actually accomplishing that act is the real trick. I just can't overemphasize how unbearably cheap most of this game really is. If there's a bottomless pit nearby, (and chances are very good that there is) Blinx will find a way to force himself into it, regardless of what you're hitting on the control pad. If there's an enemy two feet in front of you and you hit the attack button, he'll aim at a random switch on the other side of the room, rather than the imminent threat.

That's not to say that the entirety of The Time Sweeper is totally without merit, because it does bring a few fresh ideas to the table, but for the most part those insights are hampered by their surroundings. The ability to control time, for instance, was at the time a really fresh, interesting new play mechanic and still stands out today, despite the limited field of imitators that have since emerged. You can rewind a few seconds to catch an enemy unaware or rebuild a crumbling bridge, pause the action and take advantage of the frozen time, knock the level into slow motion, etc. All the while, Blinx is moving around in real time. It's a great idea, but the implementation is painfully short and underutilized. Why can't I use two controls at the same time? Why don't more aspects of the stage encourage the player to experiment with and solve problems with these powers? Why doesn't the ridiculous ten minute stage time limit pause, speed up or rewind when I use my time powers? Why is their duration so brief, and why can't I hold more than a dozen uses at a time? I mean, this could've really been a fantastic experience if the time control aspect had been beefed up a little further and treated as more than just an auxiliary function of an otherwise run-of-the-mill platformer.

The controls, too, are an undeveloped, undertested nightmare. Blinx himself is often sluggish to respond, especially when implementing his time controls. He has difficulty making a precise turn, whether on midair or on solid ground. He stops to briefly celebrate when gaining an item, which leaves him open to constant enemy attacks. He routinely moves in the direction of certain death, as though pulled by a magnetic field, whether you've instructed him to do so or not. He'll occasionally refuse to perform a double jump, particularly when attempting a difficult, precise leap across a gaping chasm.

I think it's these controls that most make Blinx so mind-squashingly aggravating. At a glance, you'd imagine they'd be fairly difficult to screw up. You've got a jump button, a suction / fire button, a time control button and an analog stick to control movement. Plus, there had already been a long, established line of three-dimensional platformers on the market in the years before the title's release, paving the way to an ideal control experience. Super Mario 64 had its issues, sure, but nothing like this, and it was the trailblazer for the entire genre's jump to the world of 3D. It's like they had a map leading them right to the treasure and decided to forge their own path anyway.

I can't even say I'm impressed by the graphics showcased throughout The Time Sweeper, either. With the exception of the lead character himsef, these are some incredibly cheesy, preschoolish character designs - they feel unfinished and hurried, less purposeful than you'd imagine (especially in contrast with Blinx himself). Particularly insulting is the large population of simple blobs that roam around the levels, trying in vain to bump into you and cause a fatal injury. Here's a finely detailed main character, with such close attention paid to his wardrobe that even the gloss of his shoes was obviously debated time and time again, and he's pitted against a set of monsters that could've sprung to life directly out of the pages of a four-year-old's sketchbook.

Despite featuring a spoken dialog track, there's no English voice acting. I couldn't pinpoint the language, but my wife seems to think it's either French or some close variation of it. It certainly didn't sound Japanese. While this does add a touch of personality to the title, and it's not every day that you get a chance to hear a cat shouting something in the language of love, it all seemed really odd and out of place coming out of my television. Everyone's vocal personalities are so black-and-white, too, that I feel like a great chance to establish some much-needed individuality amongst the cast was lost once again here. The bad guys all have the same deep, gravelly, transparently evil tone, while the good guys are all bright, cheery, squeaky and high-pitched like the monkeys in Super Monkey Ball. It's like a parody of the games that had come before, but I won't give the developers enough credit to assume that they were doing it on purpose.

Overall, Blinx is really just a few promising concepts thrown together in one package, strapped to the shell of a far-below-average third person platformer and unleashed upon an unsuspecting public. At the time of its release, it was still in need of a lot of polishing, some serious scrutiny behind closed doors and a re-evaluation of just how far some of these concepts and half-hearted character designs could be conceivably stretched without losing any quality. On top of that, I really don't know which audience they were targeting with it. The game is ridiculously difficult, which betrays the childlike demeanor that surrounds it and leads me to believe it was meant for the serious gamers out there, but so bright, kid-friendly and annoyingly cutesy that I can't imagine anyone in that demographic rushing out to the stores on release day. The number of spontaneous controller hurls shot through the roof during my time with Blinx, reaching near-Marvel vs. Capcom 2 levels with its unashamed, excruciatingly cheap hits, especially in later levels. I have no idea how I acquired the willpower to finish level eight.

The game is adequately lengthy, and offers some replay value, with hidden cat medals in each stage eventually unlocking production sketches, promotional materials and the like. Once you start hunting for floating cat heads in those super-tough later levels, though, you'll remember why you were so happy to be finished with them in the first place. Unless you feel like pulling your hair out in clumps (I shaved my head after the experience as a part of the cleansing process) and enjoy self-mutilation, I'd recommend you stay far away.

the worst game ever

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: August 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I hate this game its the worst game I've ever played.

Worst game ever made!!!!!!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: July 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is so stupid. I mean whats so fun ubout a retarded cat with a vacuam cleaner that kills imaginary blobs. One of the things that you can buy at the store is a red sweater that the only thing it does is replaces is your blue sweater that you start out with.This game is rated for mild violence but it has no violence in it at all.This game is also waaaaaaaaaay to easy.

BEST GAME IN THE UNIVERESE,OR ANOTHER UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The gameplay is so REAL!!Its 4-D!I don not own it,i rented it for 1 week and its my favorite!!!!!

Blinx is great!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Blinx can be very time consuming for us older xBox players (whom didn't grow up with a controller in our hands). I found Blinx to be fun, entertaining and challenging. Even though it is rated for younger children, I think the strategy involved is for older children, teenagers and some of us adults. For anyone wishing to have some fun, have to think a bit, Blinx is for you.

i hate it and it was a waste of money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 20
Date: November 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

this game is just stupid and a complete waste of money and time the monsters look like big fat babiish jellybeans
i hated every thing about this game DO NOT BUY IT as an overall rating i have to say it is a big fat 0

I was blown away by this phenom of a game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: August 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When Blinx first came out, all the reviews didn't really know what to make of it. They said that this is one of the most innovative titles to come out in the past few years, but then they started going on about how hard it is and how it gets repetitive in that you go through each stage, clearing enemies to proceed. Well, what game isn't repetitive? You could just as easily say "all you do in Tetris is line up blocks" or "all you do in Mario 64 is collect stars". And reading about the time controls sounded so confusing. I didn't think I'd be able to handle a 10 minute time limit in each level while controlling time. So just a week ago, I got Blinx and couldn't wait to see how it played after countless "love it or hate it" reviews from numerous people. After watching the cool little intro and breezing through the first 2 worlds that night, I saw -nothing- wrong with this game. And the only people that will have that much trouble with this are those who only play rpgs or sports games, and don't give platformers a try. The time control is nothing to worry about either, it's very simple to understand, and actually, you don't have to use time controls that often.

The main story of Blinx is short and to the point. Which is good because I'm really sick of games spending 15 minutes on intros just to tell you "this is what's going on" in a pointless FMV. Blinx has a quick 3-5 minute intro showing you that he's part of millions of Time Sweepers, time custodians that clean up any problems with time on different planets. But suddenly, something goes wrong on one of them, and a princess is kidnapped. Blinx sees her and gets determined to save her, and the planet. You go through 9 worlds (in each world except the last, there are 3 levels, one shop, and a boss at the end) to get her back. In each level, you collect time crystals to gain time powers and sweep (use your Sweeper/vaccum cleaner) garbage to take out all the enemies in a level to proceed to the next. It's actually very fun and I never got tired of it. Sweeping up different objects deals different damage to enemies. A garbage can or flower pot won't do a whole lot, but a beat up jaloppy, piano or even a 16 ton weight, now there's the real damage. Time crystals are all over the place, and you gain a time power by collecting 3 or 4 of the same type. Getting 3 of one kind and 1 of any other gets you one power, but getting 4 of the same time crystal gets you two of that power. The powers you can use are rewind, fast forward, pause, record and slow motion, and hearts gain you a retry. If you haven't figured it out from other reviews yet, it's kind of obvious when you need to use some of the powers. Like if you see a bridge fall down, use rewind and watch it rebuild itself to cross. And if you can't walk up a river that's pushing you back, rewind it so you can walk up with ease. If there are two switches you need to activate, record yourself jumping on one while you jump on the other and open the door(s). The main ones you'll be using though are pause and slow motion, mostly because these work on anything, even the bosses. Yeah, people go on about how hard the bosses are...I guess they didn't figure out how to use time powers. But the last boss...oh man. That guy took me at least a total of 9 hours to beat. I just beat him this morning at 2:59:49am (yes, I got the exact second) and flipped out. I was proud of myself. He's up there with Pocky & Rocky for SNES's last boss. It's like the developers got mad at something and put all the difficulty into him. Because the rest of the game is pretty easy until that part. And as a side note, I love how the ice levels are actually ice. Not that magical non-slippery ice they have in other games. Here, you pretty much skate on the floor and if you go too fast or hit a wall, you fall over and get back up. It's the small things like that that make me love this game even more.

Graphically, Blinx is stunning for the most part. Remember 10 years ago when you saw screens for Donkey Kong Country and were impressed by the models? That's what I got here. Blinx himself has some of the best graphics I've ever seen. See how he looks on the box? That's exactly how he looks in-game. You can see the fur on him when he's up close, and they got every single detail down perfectly. Every level also has just as much detail, there are no bare areas at all. There's always something going on. And of course, I can't leave out the water. Everyone seems to be impressed with that no matter what they think of the actual game. Try slowing down time and running through a river/canal. Or pausing it to see the trail left behind. The developers did a fantastic job. Unfortunately, some of the enemies don't have as much detail as Blinx does. A lot of them are just one colored shapes that didn't really require much effort to create. But then there are some that are really cool in design. So it's a little mixed bag there. And that last boss man, I won't even start on that thing. There's no slowdown unless you're blasting tons of garbage at enemies without stopping. The only other slowdown is when you make it happen. It appears to run at 30 frames a second, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I really enjoyed the music too, and would love to get a soundtrack. The main theme if fun and enjoyable, and the first level contains the most magical music I've ever heard. The rest of the game has good music, always fitting the mood of the setting. The final boss music really puts you in the mood to take 'em out, it's full of energy and concentration. Sound effects are cartoony, but that's not a bad thing. When blasting garbage and an enemy, you get a zany little effect that sounds like something from Tom & Jerry. Voices however, I'm confused. They're not bad. In fact, Blinx has great delivery and voice acting for not having much of a personality (he's a platformer character. He doesn't need personality). But I could've sworn they spoke Japanese in the beginning. I know for a fact I translated some of the words meaning what the text on the screen meant. But at the end, I didn't understand a single thing. I guess they made up their own language here just like they had in Panzer Dragoon Orta. But there isn't a lot of language going on, just the belts from Blinx most of the time. Though he does say some things in English once in a while. I noticed "Yay!" and "Burned kitty food!" when he got knocked out and into a lava pit. Keep an ear out for what the pigs say when you hit them with garbage whenever they show up in a level. I swear the one you fight most of the time goes "You suck!" when he gets hit. It's pretty intimidating to hear that even if you're winning.

Blinx didn't disappoint me at all. It has tons of replay too. You get a rank when you complete a level, and if you get all A+ or S+ ranks, you get a cool treat. Plus there are cat medals in each level that add to little bonus clips. The first few are pretty lame, but as you get more, they turn out to be great. Going back and figuring out new ways to beat bosses is always fun too. I just can't stress how much I love this game. On my shelf, I put this ABOVE Knights of the Old Republic and Jet Set Radio Future. But right behind Panzer Dragoon Orta. From what I've heard, the demo for the sequel (I'm amazed this thing did well enough to get a sequel) is even better. Blinx 2 will probably be the first Xbox game I get for full price and when it comes out. So get this if you're looking for a little bit of an "old school" feel with superb graphics and quality...and of course fun. And that's all that matters in games, having fun.

Why is this great game so underrated...?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: May 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is an amazing platformer only for the Xbox game console. I have to say that from my experience with it, it is excellent. Many people dislike Blinx, and I'm not really sure why, but I'll tell you some of the many great things about this game.

Plot: 4/5
As far as I've seen, the plot is to help Blinx save time from perishing forever and help rescue a character...

Gameplay: 5/5
Use your time sweeper to suck in trash and hurl them at time monsters. Defeat all the monsters in each stage and get to the goal to complete each stage. At the end you are awarded gold.
There are three stages, one shop and one boss per world.

Graphics: 5/5
The environments in Blinx look so weird and creative, like strange, twisted and dark buildings. This is one of the factors that makes Blinx original. You can even see each individual hair on Blinx's head, which is very realistic.

Features: 5/5
Now, here's where the real fun of the game starts. Depending on whichever "time crystal" you acquire one of the following time events:
Pause: This requires blue time crystals. Pause completely freezes all enemies in the stage for a set amount of time.
Rewind: Pink crystals required. Rewind backtracks to stop a certain event from happening (i.e. A pillar falls on to an important item. Use rewind to set the pillar back up and quickly snag the item), or to stop you from dying.
Fast-forward: Orange crystals needed. Fast-forward just speeds things up (including you), and you are temporarily invincible.
Record: Green crystals required. Record duplicates Blinx, so as to do two things at once when needed, or to have an enemy chase after the fake while you attack it from behind.
Slow-mo: Yellow crystals needed. Slow-motion slows down all enemies so you can quickly dispose of them.
Other features of Blinx include finding special "cat medals" and gold to spend at shops for special upgrades and power-ups.

Controls: 5/5
A button to jump, twice to double-jump. Hold "X" to suck in trash, then tap it to shoot trash (keep in mind that you can only hold five trash pieces at a time). Left toggle moves Blinx, while the right one controls the camera. I don't want to go too much into control detail here, so you'll have to find out the rest of the controls on your own.

Overall: 5/5!
This is an unbelievably great game for Xbox, so get it right now and discover its great mysteries!

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