Format: XBLA
Release: Out now
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Twisted Pixel

It’s rare that a loading screen captures the very essence of its game. But in the giant still of ‘Splosion Man’s gurning face, framed by a hypnotic spinning wheel backdrop, developer Twisted Pixel has condensed its vision to a single image. This is a hyperactive platform puzzler to leave your head reeling, its action outplaying in double-time fury. And its lead character, part-Tazmanian Devil, part-Roger Rabbit, is a fiery ball of energy so vivacious as to burn his face indelibly on the inside of your eyelids

In contrast, the controls are delightfully restrained: a single detonation button represents the full move set. ‘Splosion Man can trigger three explosions in the air before he must momentarily recharge on the ground. As each of the triple jumps is born from detonation, the move also has offensive properties, any scientists caught in the blast instantly reduced to succulent hams and other cartoonish cuts of meat. Explosive barrels strategically placed in environments are used as bumpers on a pinball machine, propelling ‘Splosion Man at breakneck speed to ricochet around the rivet metal backgrounds.

With sticky walls that can be bounded up and used to break falls there’s more than a splash of N+ in this dynamite concoction. But where ’Splosion Man deviates from its inspiration’s utilitarian puzzle structure is with his character, sass and exuberance. One moment he shakes like a heroin addict in the pangs of withdrawal, the next he wheels along a corridor, arms outstretched like a child pretending to be an aeroplane. These animations outplay with near indifference to your inputs in an enormously impressive marriage of animation and interaction

For the first half of the game, the ideas come thick and fast, new climbing frame structures and conceits piled upon one another, muscle memory heaped on muscle memory as Twisted Pixel constructs an exquisite learning curve. Walls close in, requiring you to leap upwards and out the top before they clap shut; ceilings drop, water rises and new laboratory threats arrive thick and fast. Every level becomes a sprint of adrenaline and split-second strategy that outdoes its predecessor, the game only losing steam in its final third, where the new ideas dry up and difficulty is derived from the bettering of technique rather than novelty.

Restrained and focused, the game encourages N+ timed runs after each of the 50 levels' initial completion. With just one collectable in every level the emphasis is on perfecting rather than exploring, something that helps to maintain the game’s breakneck pace as you delve deeper. The multiplayer levels too, allowing up to four multicoloured ‘Splosion Men to work together, flicking switches and hurrying one another to the exit, are well designed, demonstrating the robustness of the core idea. With the promise of more downloadable levels to come, ‘Splosion Man could become a long-lasting hub for time attack gamers, but the more fussy graphics and grander level layouts rule out the chance of N+-style community support in this regard. Nonetheless, ‘Splosion Man lives up to his name, providing a burst of exciting, arresting fresh IP that significantly changes the surrounding landscape. [8]