In the beginning there was man, or woman I’m not really sure…The point I’m trying to make is that within the homo sapien race exist two genders, and Twisted Pixel has given it’s exploding hero a counter-part of the fairer sex to star in very own video game. Ms. Splosion Man may take its inspiration from the concept of Ms. Pac-man but I can assure you this is not 'Splosion Man with a bow-tie and I’ll start off by explaining why.
The premise unfolds in a scene with our favorite ignition-intrinsic star lured into pursuing his favorite desert, only to be captured by the employees of Big Science. In their jamboree, the so-called geniuses have found a way to create an even bigger blunder in the form a second exploding being with a cute pink hue. The prologue then begins and the first element that jumped out to me was the presentation. The hilarious tutorial presented in the form of part-time job training video from the eighties immediately calls to attention the amount of effort Twisted Pixel infuses within their games to set them apart from the other offerings found on Xbox Live Arcade. The personality of the game shines with every level you progress and never feels contrived or misplaced. All of Ms. Splosion Man’s mannerisms though comparable to her male equivalent, are completely infused with a feminine flair. Whether she’s pirouetting in between her pink detonations or quoting lyrics from Beyoncé, the humor never feels arbitrary and will keep you stitches for hours.
The core gameplay is kept intact, but is enhanced in such a manner that it’s relatable to the jump between Super Mario Bros. to Super Mario Bros. 3. The focus point of the ‘Splosion Man franchise is your three explosions. The three explosions act as your method of jumping, double-jumping, and wall jumping though the obstacles you come across traveling through each stage. Ms. Splosion Man has all of its predecessor’s elements, like swiveling platforms and explosive barrels along with several new environmental elements. These elements include, but are not limited to: trampolines, see-saw catapults, Zip-lines that you speed along though using different aerial techniques, wall-tiles against the background that give you an unlimited amount of ‘splosions as long as you’re within the field of the wall tile, and projectile cannons that take its inspiration from Donkey Kong Country. These elements combined with each other along with varied stage hazards progress forward with each stage and feel fresher than the stage before it. Ms Splosion Man completely improves on all of the original’s flaws of repetition and monotonous stage design by compelling you to move forward to complete the next challenge.
The progression of Ms. Splosion Man has also been completely overhauled from linear stage advancement to a world map stage select mechanic that also draws the same kind of inspiration Ms. Splosion Man takes from several classic games. Within the over-world map are alternate routes that give you the freedom of choosing between stages along with secret stages that can be unlocked by completing stages through secret exits encouraging different play-throughs beyond the thrill of racing your ghost for a new speed run record. Another nifty feature is the color code legend of the stages themselves on the world map; the different colors are based on the difficulty of the stage so that the player can advance at whatever pace compliments their particular mood of play, which now brings me to the difficulty of the game.
‘Splosion Man was infamous for its difficult platforming and twitch heavy gameplay to the point of violent frustration, and Ms Splosion Man goes to length of exceeding this. The aforementioned new elements are not always implemented in such a fluid way, not without some trial and error. This breaks up the momentum and it immediately gets followed up with additional obstacles that will push even the most skilled players into screaming bull-shit at your television. Though the boss fights are done in the same fashion, they now have an infusion of quick time events that add to the intensity of the fight along with its use of elements that break up the patterns to make them feel less like a chore in comparison to the previous game. The multiplayer segments have also received improvements from the previous entry. Cooperative actions of sploding off each other can now communicated better through an initiated countdown off of one player that can completely bridge any communication gaps players may have had in the past navigating through difficult obstacles that need precise action.
Overall, despite times of cheap difficulty, Ms. Splosion Man is everything a sequel should be. The game keeps everything that was right to formula and escalates to a whole different level of quality that will please fans of the franchise as well as newcomers. At only 800 points on the Xbox Live Marketplace this game is a steal, but be warned; it’s far from easy so if you can muster the patience then you will find an incredibly rewarding experience.