Browser Game Pick: Blush (Flashbang Studios)
Blush is the latest offering from the guys over at Flashbang Studios and, if first impressions are anything to go by, Flashbang have another hit on their hands.
Given a time limit of 4 minutes, players direct a squid-like creature around the depths of the ocean. Collecting eggs and disposing of nasty swimming beasts is the key to scoring, while stringing together combos of sea creature-squishing and egg-stealery is your ticket to the top of the leaderboards.
All afore-mentioned killing and collecting is done via the tentacles lugging around behind our watery hero. The method needed is as follows: First approach your victim, then when in close proximity, give the mouse a spin causing squiddy to flick his tentacles around in a circle and slap the bad guy dead. The deceased explode into beautiful colour, leaving behind eggs which can then be collected in the same tail-swishing manner.
Talking of beautiful, this seems an appropriate moment to point out just how fantastic this game looks. Not only does it feel brilliant to play, it benefits immensely from stunning visuals, not to mention just the most perfect soundtrack which periodically alters itself to fit the action happening on screen.
So right now it's sounding like a beefed-up arcade style extravaganza, yes? To the casual gamer who wants to give it a couple of plays through, thoroughly enjoying the experience and then move onto their next indie fix, it is indeed a splendid splash of fun. We recommend, however, that giving it a few more gos would be a better way to spend your hard-earned free time, as Blush has rather a lot of hidden depth to offer.
See, it's all about working out a balance between egg collecting and enemy-bashing. Every time eggs are stored away, the tentacles on our squid friend grow longer allowing for longer-range tail whipping and advanced egg collecting. Longer tentacles will also cause much bigger creatures to appear; Harder to beat but worth a bundle of points. And once these are destroyed and eggs are released, longer whippers can be obtained, leading to even more epic encounters...
However, this must all be done in the space of 4 minutes and so players must decide - do you collect as many eggs as possible before cashing them in, or grab small batches, causing growth bit by bit? Logic says collecting lots in one go is the best way, as the combo counter will get nice and high - yet collecting in smaller doses will unleash baddies worth more points faster. Decisions!
Then there's the whole sea to explore. The first couple of attempts will see you sticking to the same area, spotting the same enemies time and time again and racking up a nice enough score. But take a wander and you'll find that there's quite a lot more to see (and kill). The level is rather expansive and seeing every corner of this beautiful, underwater world is a game in itself.
Blush is gorgeous, highly entertaining and quite simply yet another triumph for the Flashbang guys. Go and explore over at Blurst.
Comments
Good job on the quick post!
Posted by: Alehkhs | March 3, 2009 6:53 AM
I honestly kinda wish it didn't end so quickly, or that I could increase the time left somehow. Overall though it is pretty damn gorgeous and fun.
Posted by: Melly | March 3, 2009 6:57 AM
Anyone figure out what the achievements are? So far my only ones are "Launch day" and "Seadragon slayer".
Posted by: James | March 3, 2009 6:58 AM
Agree with Melly, it would be sweet if we got time bonuses for some things, just like it would have been for velociraptor safari.
Posted by: Alex May | March 3, 2009 9:23 AM
@Alehkhs: I'm now waiting for your whole front page post :)
@Melly and Alex: I'm not sure to be honest - I kinda like the rush of having to pelt around for 4 minutes raking up as many kills as possible.
@James: I got a jellyfish achievement for getting a 5 kill combo on jellyfish. Dunno if that helps!
Posted by: Michael Rose | March 3, 2009 11:49 AM
@Michael: Thanks!
I've figured out "Underwater Courier" (deliver eggs to all five extraction points) and "Ole" (lure a creature into an extraction point to kill it)
If you swim all the way up near the surface, it's almost the same thing as an extraction point, but I can't seem to figure out "Mana to Heaven".
"Stubby" also evades me, even though I've gotten as short as possible and picked up eggs.
Posted by: James | March 3, 2009 4:10 PM
The world really isn't really nearly as big as this blog suggests.
At 0:30 of this video you can see the whole thing.
http://vimeo.com/3383323?menu=symmetry&sub=vimeo
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | March 3, 2009 4:21 PM
@Coward: You should try giving it a go, you'll find that when actually playing rather than watching videos, the world feels quite big.
As the commentator on that video points out at 0:15, the camera is actually fixed extremely close to the playing area.
Posted by: Michael Rose | March 3, 2009 4:53 PM
Y'know, I'd play this if it wasn't for the shovelware bullshit that the site tries to force you to install.
Posted by: Heh | March 3, 2009 5:05 PM
Unity is not shovelware, nor is it their bullshit.
Posted by: Loki | March 3, 2009 5:11 PM
And it takes like 5 seconds to install anyway.
Posted by: Stij | March 3, 2009 5:23 PM
And this game, plus others created by flashbang, make the short d/l and install well worth it.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 3, 2009 5:48 PM
Obvious suckers are obvious.
Posted by: Wut | March 3, 2009 6:52 PM
unity gives fancy 3d accelerated graphics directly to your browser, and has a fullscreen option. it is Not, shovelware, whatever that means. and this game Rocks!!
Posted by: kiri | March 3, 2009 7:30 PM
Yo I shovelled that Unity right the fuck into my browser's appspace and now i'm mainlining this blurst shit bro
Posted by: Alex May | March 3, 2009 10:14 PM
@Michael Rose:
It *seems* big, but after playing 30 minutes or so, it becomes fairly obvious it's not.
Also, the camera isn't fixed. Once you get longer and start moving around faster, it pans out to the point where you can see enemies spawning around you. About that point, you start to get a sense of the scale of things.
Let me just say that I wasn't surprised at the size of the world when I watched that video. ;-)
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | March 4, 2009 2:36 AM
Amazing game, and its so refreshing to play a game that features a non-humanoid main character! it looks as beautiful and alien as it plays !
Posted by: Anonymous | March 6, 2009 3:46 AM