#1 Blinx: The Time Sweeper
With Quantum Break set to be released in April 5 of 2016, and Aidan Gillen set to play a significant role in it's story, I have decided to review another time manipulation based game featuring it's own big guy 'Blinx'.
Synopsis:
Blinx: The Time Sweeper is a platform game created by Artoon and was released for the original Xbox on October 7th 2002. It tells the story of a humanoid cat of the same name who begins the story as a Time Sweeper at the Time Factory; 'a facility located outside of Time itself that is dedicated to the creation, distribution and maintenance of the flow of time throughout countless dimensions and the universe as a whole'. Time glitches are found in various dimensions of the games universe and Time Sweepers like Blinx are sent to these dimensions in order to correct them before they transform into Time Crystals. If the time sweepers fail, these Crystals will eventually transform themselves into Time Monsters, these being your main enemy in the game, and who distort time with their mere presence. Time Monsters however are not your only enemy in the game, the Tom-Tom Gang is a vicious biker-gang of pigs that steal and destroy Time Crystals in the dimension 'B1Q64'. The Time Sweepers decide the dimension to be to unstable and thus impose quarantine on it halting it's supply of time to protect the other dimensions. However the protagonist Blinx begins his story by vowing to save Princess Lena who is held captive in the dimension by the biker-pigs, and jumps through the time portal to save her, so beginning the adventure.
Comments:
Blinx: The Time Sweeper is one of the most enjoyable games I have ever played. It features an incredible soundtrack that blends perfectly with it's visuals, gameplay and themes to immerse you in the surrealistic world of a time sweeper. The bosses and levels of the game are fun and fresh, featuring memorable and often terrifying monsters due to their lack of awareness of their own existence, which gives them the impression of being innocent yet frightening pawns in the dealings of the Tom-Tom gang. The controls may have caused the game to become difficult, being a source of criticism from contemporary critics, however they allow the player to manipulate time in the game providing an interesting mechanic that has rarely been attempted since.The character design and the iconic time sweeper, both of which you can upgrade as you progress through the game, help to flesh out the Dali-esque world of Blinx that evolves into a different memorable backdrop after a rewarding yet challenging boss fight.
Final Notes:
Blinx: The Time Sweeper is truly a gaming masterpiece and deserves more recognition and praise than it was awarded initially and since.
Rating: Excellent (Classic)
