I'm a big fan of classic horror movies.
And I mean, like...classic horror movies.
The older, the better.
Thirties, forties, fifties...you know, back when horror movies were actually fun.
So when a pair of games came across my desk last week, both inspired by that golden age
of horror, I was obviously thrilled to play them.
One was Blood of the Werewolf.
One was this, Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack.
One got it wrong...and one was, Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack.
And I'll be honest, you know, it's a subjective thing.
Like, when you talk about how a game controls, or if it has technical problems...those things
aren't subjective.
A game's style, on the other hand.
Sometimes, that's very subjective.
But for me, that's what separates Blood of the Werewolf and Tales From Space.
I mean, they're both 2D platformers, they're both from Midnight City, they're both inspired
by classic horror movies...
But this one does it right.
It's funny, it's charming, it's beautiful...and it does a better job incorporating elements
from those classic films.
I mean, both of these games claim to.
Tales From Space actually does.
And to me, that makes it a lot more memorable.
And it all starts with the premise.
Scientists have this massive laboratory filled with living blobs, and because that's what
scientists do in horror films, they're performing all kinds of experiments on them.
That is, until one escapes.
Because that's what blobs do in horror films.
Anyway, you play as said blob, and the whole game is basically about making the humans
pay.
You roll around absorbing everything you can into your gelatinous body, growing in size
so that, eventually...helicopters, tanks, even entire cities are no match for your reign
of viscous terror.
Cue the screaming 1950s housewife.
So in terms of the gameplay, Tales From Space is basically a puzzle-platformer.
Your entire objective is to grow.
So the more you absorb, the more you can absorb, and the further you can go in the level.
Of course, some the stuff you need to absorb is initially out of reach, so it takes some
puzzle solving and even a bit of exploring to get there.
So really, Tales From Space is basically a 2D Katamari Damacy, but with a 1950s horror
theme.
So I'm happy.
And you know, the game does a great job of reinforcing that concept of growing.
I mean, in the first level...you're so small, you're sneaking around a fraternity.
Going through pipes and drains and popping out of toilets.
But it's not long before, again, you're big enough to swallow tanks, and helicopters...and
things escalate even further from there.
So it's this awesome marriage of gameplay concept and level design coming together to
reinforce and play off of each other.
And as a result, the game feels incredibly cohesive.
And of course, for me...it's the aesthetic concept that really drives it home.
Tales From Space goes all in on its time period.
And that means it's not just horror references...it's also about the culture of the 1950s in general.
Billboards boast the benefits of living in the suburbs, houses have that "house of tomorrow
today" look...I mean, even the music, you know.
It's just really well done.
And that cultural backdrop works beautifully with the horror references.
So what does work?
Well, couple things.
For starters, there are only 24 levels, so it's not the biggest game in the world.
And although the game generally controls well, that's not always the case.
Specifically, there are these platforms that you can move telepathically.
And they're the biggest pain in the ass in the game.
They're just a nightmare to move properly.
And there are some bonus levels, where you're rolling through a top-down stage and you're
collecting pellets...but it seems like they were designed for tilt.
Because playing them with an analog stick...it's so easy, it almost seems pointless.
Still, given how cool the rest of the game is, it absorbs those issues pretty easily.
It's clever, it's smart, it's stylish...above all else, it's fun.
And actually, to the game's credit, I think the idea's so strong...this could just be
the beginning.
Like, it seems like you could do even more with this.
But until then?
Visit the snack bar, grab some popcorn, pop on your 3D glasses and...
Actually, the snack bar closed fifty years ago.
It's Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, for the Xbox 360.