If you’re anything like me you’ve probably pondered what might happen if a character from the platforming world, such as Kirby, were to invade the Russian block ridden world of Tetris… Well ponder no more for it is a reality in the form of Pinky vs. Blocks.
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Pinky vs. Blocks is the latest XBLIG from Spanish developer Victor Arnelas. You are Pinky, a small blob with special mental powers, kept against his will by the evil blocks in their block prison where blocks regularly fall from the sky. The aim is to navigate your way through a series of ‘cells’, each of which constitutes a level, and escape the prison. The cells are each made up of a number of pre-existing permanent and non-permanent blocks along with various obstacles, most cells also require you to clear a pre-determined number of block lines before moving on to the next cell.
To achieve escape you must rely upon Pinky’s said mental powers such as his ability to manipulate the falling blocks Tetris style, these allow you to clear the required lines or build platforms for Pinky to reach other areas. The super jump which enables him to clear larger obstacles and teleportation, which can be used to help Pinky access out of reach areas, the last two abilities have rather a lengthy recharge so use them wisely. All this must be done whilst preventing Pinky being flattened by the falling blocks as you have only a finite number of lives which in its self is somewhat annoying owing to the enormity of the game and its challenges.
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The controls are at first somewhat tasking and feel like the controller equivalent of patting one’s head whilst rubbing one’s stomach and walking across a tightrope. The left analog stick is responsible for block movement and the right for Pinky’s movement, the trigger buttons control block rotation and the rest of the buttons control Pinky’s various abilities. The trickiest part is that for much of the game you will be required to manipulate both the falling blocks and Pinky at the same time. Whilst this is difficult at first, it soon becomes second nature, so do persevere. Aside from the complexity the controls handle fairly well with the exception of dropping the blocks at speed, I would recommend letting them fall on the own steam as when bringing them down quickly they tend to end up in the wrong position, this can ruin the whole level for you so be aware.
Graphically speaking the developer has gone for what some might call a quirky and retro look but others might call it amateurish. The colours are lurid and the edges diffuse but it isn’t entirely displeasing to the eye and doesn’t adversely affect the game’s playability however it does affect the game menu. The developer has chosen a font which mixes both upper and lower case – a particular dislike of mine – and one is bombarded with pages of text regarding the controls and objectives of the game. It would have been nice to see this information scaled back significantly along with a font and colour which make it more readable.
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The game’s sound effects are fine and supplement the game style quite nicely and the music is what I can only describe as a mix of Irish folk and golden axe but it does suit the game and isn’t actually the bad once you get used to it.
Overall this game has real promise and playability, and once used to the controls you’ll spend a good few hours on it before getting bored of its 50 plus levels which get progressively more challenging throughout. The game isn’t perfect but despite its shortcomings it is fun and it is different which is becoming a rarity in the sci-fi and tower defence saturated world of XBLA and XBLIG. It is only priced at 80 :MSPoints: and you’ll definitely get your point’s worth from it.
You can find more information as well as the trial and full versions of the game on the Marketplace.
By Bradley Brooker (Unspoken Degree)
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