It’s kind of difficult to walk around the E3 and find a game that looks significantly different than anything else on the floor. I’ve played so many first person shooters of the last two days that, if it weren’t my notes, they would have all run together in my head as one giant alien slaughtering bloodfest. Walking by de Blob: Underground elicited a slightly different reaction. Rather than endless carnage, desaturated landscapes, and bald space marines, I saw color, personality, humor, and visuals that favored style over technical prowess. Or, in other words, a game that didn’t resemble a hundred other games on the show floor.
de Blob turned a few heads in 2008, but I can’t tell you how delighted I was to see it return for a full blown sequel with de Blob: Underground. Initial impressions were somewhat bewildering; at first blush the game can seem overly abstract and bizarre, but a bit of direction eventually revealed a wildly entertaining platform(ish) adventure.
Underground’s foundations are in touch with its prequel. You’re still dipping the titular blob in various vibrant hues and restoring color to cityscapes, but the means of doing that have slightly changed. While the narrative of the original was largely throwaway, the second is a far more plot driven affair. Either via in game text or a series of legitimately funny CG cut scenes, Underground aims for subversive comedy and slapstick humor. Better yet, and in contrast to the game’s youth-friendly appearance, the plot isn’t necessarily for four year olds, and it’s written with adults in mind. Not unlike a Pixar film (my words, not theirs) the plot can be consumed by a younger audience, but can be fully enjoyed by a more mature audience (for example, one scene I saw clearly referenced the gentleman who stood in front of the tank at Tiananmen Square).
Anyway the narrative revolves around the Inkt Corporation coming in and rigging an election. This resulted in a completely desaturated town and enslaved populace desperately in search of, well, a little color in their lives. From a gameplay standpoint this translates to a less linear and more open-world approach for each stage. While certain NPC handout a variety of self contained missions, there are also over 100 2D mini-levels throughout the entire game. Toppling those grants you a transformation engine, which (I think) rejuvenates the immediate area with vibrancy and color. Your compass in the HUD directs you to other missions and, if so desired, one could progress through the entire game sticking to story missions only. Side missions can be revisited at any time, but you’re encouraged to try them earlier to reap the benefits sooner.
From an interface standpoint the sequel appears to learn from mistakes of the past. Regarding the jump, tedious waggling has been largely stifled by mapping the jump to the B button. In fact the only waggling I managed to see involve a bit of shaking when you’re getting harassed by an enemy. Underground is also arriving on PS3/360 this time around, and it looks to take advantage of the more coherent online structure offered by those consoles. I also brought up the issue of color-blinded players not being able to fully enjoy the color-based gameplay. Blue Tongue hasn’t quite settled on a solution yet (one was discussed in detail), but it is something they are taking into consideration.
Underground is on course to deliver everything fans of the original could have wanted. Insane attention to detail, a dedicated plot, and a wealth of content are basically guaranteed assets. The only negative is the wait; it’s currently on course to drop in early 2011. It’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
