Okay… Maybe that’s a bit harsh.
Majesco announced yesterday that the Nintendo Wii would be receiving an updated version of the freeware PC shooter/collect ‘em up (is that even a genre?) Tumiki Fighters by Kenta Cho and ABA Games under the name Blast Works. The game has a simple enough premise – shoot things and collect their “sticky” remains to increase the size of your ship and improve your multiplier to score more points.
A lot of people have previously described the game as a bizarre hybrid of a traditional shooter and Katamari Damacy, and honestly, I can agree with that assessment due to its heavily stylized graphics and mutated bloated mass that your ship becomes by the end of the level. If you’ve ever wanted to play as one of those “bullet hell” bosses spewing out hundreds of bullets and having to be shot through multi-segmented parts, this game is for you.
You can find the original PC game as well as other ABA titles here. My personal recommendations for games to check out would be Tumiki Fighters, rRootage, Noiz2sa, Torus Trooper, and Mu-Cade.
I'm a bit concerned however that the original source of the game is being lost to a lot of the gaming press. Sure there are some places like Siliconera and GamerCafe that recognize the freeware source of the original game, but then there are others such as these two, here and here, that don't even recognize the name Kenta Cho, ABA Games, or Tumiki Fighters.
Is this the fault of Majesco attempting to "bury" the original source of the game or is it the fault of the gaming press for failing to get the whole story? Either way it just worries me a bit when Budcat Creations seems to be getting full credit for the production. I'm sure they are a talented studio, but to fail to give any credit to the creator of the game seems to be a little misguided to me.
The press release is below for those interested.
"Sticky" Shooter With Retro Styling Features Multiple Editors For Maximum CreativityI guess when it comes down to it, so long as Kenta Cho is paid and we get an addictive shooter on a console, everything is good. I know a lot of people will be calling for this as a perfect example of a game that should've been a downloadable title, but I think that we should wait and see what Majesco and Budcat Creations does with its source material before we make a full judgment on its "value" as a retail release. With this, Karous, and Shin Chuka Taisen, the Wii seems to have the makings of a 2D shooter's haven among the three next gen consoles.
A frenetic geometric battle is heading to the Wii home video game system as Majesco Entertainment Company, an innovative provider of video games and digital entertainment products for the mass market, today announced Blast Works: Build, Fuse & Destroy. Developed by Budcat Creations and scheduled for a fall release, Blast Works is a side-scrolling shooter that lets players craft the game to their liking by building their own levels, ships and enemy ships. In addition, players can "absorb" the pieces and weapons of destroyed enemy ships to bolster their own defenses during battle.
"Gamers can literally build their own shooter experience via Blast Works' easy-to-use, multiple in-game editors," said Ken Gold, vice president of Marketing, Majesco. "This exceptional customization combined with the unique "stickiness" of enemy debris and bright geometric graphics delivers a standout game that never plays the same way twice."
Across more than 15 different land, air and sea missions, the goal of Blast Works is to destroy enemy ships while continually growing your own into a massive craft by absorbing their fragments. The larger a "fused ship" is, the easier it is to protect from the growing onslaught of enemy firepower. Players can also upgrade their ship in the Hangar by customizing weapons, propulsion systems and armor. Creative types will further enjoy building a ship from scratch with the Ship Editor and then testing it out in combat on a custom level they've built with the Level Editor. To defend the Hangar, players must use the Wii Remote like an anti-aircraft turret to shoot down enemies attacking from all angles. Finally, the game's 2-player cooperative mode lets players work together to blast enemies, fuse debris to grow their ships and finish the mission as a team.
Blast Works: Build, Fuse & Destroy will be available this fall. For additional information on the game, please visit
It will be interesting to see if that trend continues.
