Limited fun.
Splash Blast Panic has a lot of unreached potential. The gameplay is great, yet the lack of options severely limits it. This is thoroughly a party game, a fun experience for friends getting together, but otherwise the game is severely bare bones. I beat the arcade mode in one, quick sitting; there’s only a handful of levels to play through, and once you quickly dispatch of them, you are finished, seriously. Game over, roll the credits. Before you beat the game, each level has a unique gimmick, and it is consistently entertaining (being tied to another character on one level was especially interesting). There are no other single player modes though, which is a truly head scratching decision. Your only other mode is Versus, so like I said, this is pretty much just a party game.
In terms of gameplay, Splash Blast Panic is like some kind of bargain bin game for the Nintendo Wii. The game is very similar to Smash Bros. but quite different. You will go toe to toe against other characters in a tight arena, trying not to get knocked off the edge. The difference is you’ll be flying a rinky dinky jetpack and firing water blasters that push enemies off the map. It’s more fun than it sounds, for both flying and firing is an excruciating process, which is pretty funny, and a nice challenge. Multiplayer wise, I’m sure it would be entertaining with friends, the stress of controlling your character, and dodging enemy fire, while still trying to shoot them enough times to hopefully make a decent impact. There’s always unique powerups and guns falling down on the screen to switch things up as well. You also have a super move you can charge up, and the ability to stomp down. It’s honestly a diverse game, it just comes in a tiny package.
Graphically speaking the game isn’t impressive, but it runs very smoothly. The 2D cartoon look for this game is utter perfection, just goofy enough and nicely drawn, and there is a large list of characters to play as and unlock. I’d like to say there’s more details to discuss about this game, but there isn’t. What you see is what you get, worth it for a cheap price and if you got buddies to play with, but otherwise it’s a waste of money, and only worth a couple playthroughs. It’s a cheap novelty, an incredibly straightforward experience, with so much potential squandered. It’s fun for a bit, and that’s it.
