Game Review #213: Ms. Splosion Man (Nintendo Switch)
Reviewer: Bradford “TheWaffinator87” E.
Developer: Twisted Pixel Games LLC
Publisher: Twisted Pixel
Category: Platformer, Arcade, Action, Multiplayer
Release Date: 11.22.2018
Price (at time of review): $14.99
Buy Ms. Splosion Man from the Nintendo Switch eShop here.
Let’s Get to know the Ms.
Ms. Splosion Man was originally released in 2011 for Xbox 360 and Windows devices, before getting ported over to team Nintendo Switch in November 2018. Ms. ‘Splosion Man starts off right where the 2009 predecessor ‘Splosion Man leaves off. ‘Splosion Man was released in July 2009 for the Xbox 360 Arcade. I wish I had known because I would’ve gotten it when it was available. I am almost tempted to boot up my 360 this weekend to see if it is still available.
Anyways as I was saying Ms. Splosion Man directly follows where ‘Splosion Man leaves off. We start off seeing ‘Splosion Man being drawn into a trap with some delicious looking cake (I’m a bit husky and love cake, but for that to work with me that better be the best dang ice cream cake ever) where he gets zapped and stunned long enough to capture him in some kind of force field like cage as he goes to eat the cake.
While the scientists are partying, a scientist that must’ve had one too many chocolate ice creams tips a bottle of wine over causing a surge of electricity. The wires that get the surge of electricity belong to a machine that looks like some kind of cloning device or atom fusion machine. Well as the machine goes haywire, a party bow lands on the machine fusing the “female“ traits from the bow with ‘Splosion Man. And this is how Ms. Splosion Man is born!
Right after Ms. Splosion Man appears she blows some kind of explosive kiss that goes off turning all the scientist to nothing but bones, (this sounds awfully familiar doesn’t it NetherRealm Studios) allowing her to escape and start the game.
‘Splodin’ and You
I would say one of my favorite parts of the game is the Tutorial, not going to lie. I HATE tutorials, but this game is so amazing that even the tutorial is absolutely hilarious and a must watch. It is called “Splodin’ and You” and is narrated by a female. When you watch the tutorial, you have Sarah (the one that shows you the “right” way to do things) and Debbie (the one who demonstrates the “Don’ts” of the game) and during the whole tutorial, the narrator is really mean to Debbie. It gets to the point where you are like, dang Debbie must have done something really bad or the narrator is just cruel. Well towards the end of the tutorial the narrator finally says “You know what Debbie? You should’ve” and I was all like “oh snap son”! That’s some Jerry Springer doo-doo going on! What, did you really think I would spoil it for you?
‘Splode Into Action
Ms. Splosion Man is a platformer, but as fun and addicting as it may be it can get rather difficult at points. Do you find yourself having a hard time? Not able to time your ‘splosions correctly? Do you find yourself getting unhappy with where you are and not being able to progress? Well don’t you worry. As long as you don’t mind being ridiculed at the end of the level you can always run to another lover. I mean the next checkpoint! Yeah, that’s what I meant, checkpoint with the “cheat on the game” option that will appear during the pause menu once you have died too many times.
Can you control the uncontrollable?
Splode, Splode, Splode, Self-destruct. That’s it, that’s all you need to know. I don’t think I can say it any clearer.
Countdown, as you can see, is for multiplayer only. It starts a countdown that starts at 3 so that way you can time your ‘splosions with whomever you are playing. If you want to add me go find me on Twitter @thewaffinator87 (All Things Gaming) and from there I have my Switch code, add me and we can PARTY!
I have only tried the multiplayer with random people, no one that I know yet, so I can’t say how much more fun it is with acquaintances vs strangers. I know some games are more fun with strangers because I find always whooping your friends or acquaintances can make it awkward when no one wants to play with you. This doesn’t have to be one of those games though, save those feelings for Monopoly.
Because of the very basic controls the game flows very quickly and very smoothly. All you must work on is your hand-eye coordination and the rest will come naturally. I was awful at that other running platformer game (The King's Bird) but I found myself actually being able to beat it (I might have cheated a few times, please don’t tell on me) without rage quitting.
So pretty, so wonderful.
At first Ms. Splosion Man sounded to me like Roger Rabbit ate too many sugar packets and then got his hands on a helium tank and drained the whole container. Very high pitched and hyper as all heck! Well as I was playing the game it started to seem really familiar and I couldn’t put my finger on it. At first, I was thinking along the lines of some classic games like Gex: Enter the Gecko, but then when her and the evil boss robot were having a conversation it clicked! I had heard the Robot’s voice before and I remembered where, The Maw! The Maw is an Xbox 360 Arcade game that I had a lot of fun playing. It was one of those games that drew you in and kept you addicted, and you didn’t know why.
Well upon doing some research I found that they are both made by the same studio, Twisted Pixel, which instantly made me love Ms. Splosion Man even more! The game is visually appealing with bright and colorful layouts. And the soundtrack is beyond addicting. No matter what you are doing there is a very catchy song/jingle playing and they get stuck in your head. One minute you are listening to someone sing about donuts (the pause screen song) which I tweeted Twisted Pixel on how to buy this song so I can make it my ringtone, to a song that sounded a lot like what the Ying Yang Twins would sing about, badunkadunk.
If you don’t know what a badunkadunk is, consider yourself pretty lucky. But either way it will get inside your head planting tiny little eggs in your brain. You will try to fight it, you may even hate it but in the end “ba ba dunka dunk, ba dunka dunk, ba ba dunka dunk”. I’m so sorry! Please forgive me! This game is so visually appealing that even the load screens filled with random facts are entertaining. For the whole 5 secs (avg load time, pretty dang quick) you get to watch a group of Ms. Splosion Men (Mans?) dancing which I found rather hilarious.
Do we really have to say goodbye?
From the quick wall jumping to the grinding of electric lines, to boss battles like this;
This game has been nonstop fun from the beginning until now, this very moment that I am sitting here way past my bedtime sharing my feelings with you. Each time you beat a level you have the chance to upload your score to an online leader board. You can bet your sweet behind that once I get a better hang on it, I will be going for some of those top scores! In fact, I find myself playing some of the same levels multiple times in a row just to increase my overall performance. Did I mention that I can be very competitive?
Ms. ‘Splosion Man has been nothing less than completely satisfying! I am forever going to keep this in my Nintendo Switch library and always go back to it when I need some whimsical fun and entertainment. In fact, like I said I enjoyed this game so much it really does make me want to boot up the good old Xbox 360 and see if I can download ‘Splosion Man and try to beat that one before I continue on with the Ms. This game is worth the download and playing. Will I see your name in the leaderboards?
Score: 11/10
Buy Ms. Splosion Man from the Nintendo Switch eShop here.
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*Review Code Provided by Twisted Pixel