simpleek

Being a late bloomer kind of gamer, one of the first consoles I ever bought was Nintendo’s Wii system. I was dazzled by its motion sensor technology and the abundance of fun games made for the console, such as Mario Party 8 and Super Mario Galaxy. Naturally, I thought the Wii would be the only console I’ll own or ever need. Of course, I was proven wrong when a little game called Dragon Age: Origins for a certain Xbox 360 walked into my life.

I may not buy or have as many games for the Wii, especially when more emphasis has been placed on making games for Nintendo’s Wii U (a system I don’t have at the moment), but it doesn’t lessen the significance the Wii played in my life. When a console becomes your first entry point into becoming a gamer, you’ll never forget that moment. As I may have dropped an obvious hint about what system I’ll be playing on next, it’s time I unveil my newest video game challenge for this month.

Most of the games I’ve acquired for the Wii has been thanks to my friends and family who are already huge gamers. The day I became “one of them” has been received with immense excitement. The wheels started turning in their heads to figure out what games I might enjoy and which ones they think I absolutely should play. One of those earlier games I received as a birthday gift many years ago was A Boy and His Blob and it’s my pick for September’s challenge.

The game is a platform-puzzle video game where you play as “Boy” who meets “Blob” and you go on different adventures and watch as the two develop a really sweet friendship with one another. The plot is really simple, but because it has been a few years since I’ve last played this game, here’s the official synopsis from the Wikipedia page:

The planet Blobolonia is threatened by an evil emperor, and the titular “blob” flees to Earth seeking help. It crash-lands on Earth and finds the eponymous “boy”. They team up in order to dethrone the evil emperor, first by completing a quest on Earth and then by traveling to Blobolonia. Along the way, minions of the Emperor attempt to stop them.

I can’t really remember how far I got into the game until I actually dust off my Wii and start playing A Boy and His Blob from where I last left off. What I do remember is being entranced by the beautiful graphics, the simple gameplay, and being able to press a button to have the Boy hug Blob. It’s about the cutest and sweetest moment you can do any time they’re out together. There’s also an option to scold Blob, but I don’t use that option. I tried it once and it made me feel terrible when Boy scolded Blob and it made Blob feel bad and sad. What can I say? I’m emotionally invested in their friendship and Boy loves his friend Blob. Blob feels happiest when he’s getting lots of hugs from Boy. All the hugs, damn it!

I may not be the best at puzzle games, but I don’t remember the puzzles being too difficult to figure out in A Boy and His Blob. I’m hoping I can get through the game in a month without too much difficulty. We’ll see how it goes. For now, look for my report at the end of the month and thank you for your continued support in my ongoing project of attacking my backlog.