‘Splosion Man ‘splodes into my gaming life.

I’ve come late to the party in playing ‘Splosion Man on XBox Live Arcade, but I’m glad I finally got there.

‘Splosion Man, by Twisted Pixel Games, is an XBox Live Arcade game that was featured in Microsoft’s “Summer of Arcade” last year. It’s easy to see why. The game is a simple platformer, with the most basic of controls, (all the buttons do the same thing, they make you ‘splode). The premise behind the game is that you were involved in a secret experiment that has gone wrong, and now you are trying to escape the laboratory using your new unique powers of exploding.

Or as described by Twisted Pixels:

Splosion Man is a life form made entirely of splosions! He was created in a laboratory by the careless corporation Big Science, who are now doing anything they can to stop Splosion Man and escape his splosive abilities.

Where this game absolutely shines is in the presentation. There is humour sprinkled around the entire experience, from the idle actions to the fact that when running, you occasionally stick your arms out like an airplane and then make airplane engine sounds. I couldn’t stop myself laughing the first time I saw it. The whole game just exudes a certain kind of insane joy, and the guys at Twisted Pixel must have had a great time developing it.

There are hundreds of madcap little touches throughout the game, and since I haven’t finished it yet I expect there will be many more to come. My favourite moment of playing the game so far, has been the “Donut Song”. It’s just such a random little moment in the game, but it’s a stroke of pure genius.

Have a listen:

I find myself humming it all the time at the moment, and since they have  an MP3 version of it, I have a suspicion that at some point it’ll be my ring tone for a while. It’s just so silly I can’t help but smile whenever I hear it.

It’s a simple platform game, and just as with the best of that genre, it sucks you in and keeps you hooked. I constantly find myself thinking, “Just one more level, then I’ll turn it off.” before playing it for a few more hours. If you have an XBox 360, and an XBox Live account, I can’t recommend this game enough. It really doesn’t cost too much, (usually 800 MS Points, or about £8), and I guarantee you will have so much fun you’ll be surprised that it isn’t more expensive.

I really wish I’d downloaded it last year when I first heard about it, but I’m so glad that now I finally have.