Blinx 2's Having a Blinkin' Laugh

The unlikely feline returns as Microsoft announces Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space with a questionable USP. Details plus extra screens!

Despite a less than shining reputation among many gamers and the average Xbox owner, Japanese developer Artoon Co Ltd is back on the scene to better its first effort with Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space.

The original sold reasonably well, which will have gone a long way in Microsoft's decision to take on the sequel. It was probably wise to wait until after E3 to announce the game, immediately increasing awareness.

Announced yesterday in the US and this morning in the UK, Blinx 2 is now billed as a "5D" game - even more ludicrous than the original's "4D" label.

5D? You what? The forthcoming game, subtitled Masters of Time & Space, is described by Microsoft as "the world's first 5-D game", as it gives players control over both Time and Space.

When I last went to school, that was still only four dimensions (the three dimensions of space, and time being the fourth). The nature of the fifth dimension is is largely agreed by the science world to be a "moral dimension" that measures a depth of good and a depth of bad. This idea is nowhere to be seen in Blinx. So whereas the original's label as 4D was just creative with marketing the truth, in that ALL games offer time (or they wouldn't exist for any length of time at all), this is just insulting the game's target audience. But what do I know, I'm just a gamer.

Gamers can choose to battle against one another in Battle Mode or team up in two-player Cooperative Mode. Blinx 2 throws players into the shoes of a heroic cat bravely taking control of time in order to face tough battles and puzzling challenges. Just like using a VCR remote control, players' customised cats have the power to slow down the action, pause, review, fast-forward, record and even combine them in challenging situations.

As the story unfolds, players will also step into the role of the enemy pigs to gain control of the space continuum in a variety of stealth missions. Players will create their own customised pigs and feel like they have control over black holes and worm holes.

The concept is nothing new, since Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, improved on the formula that the original Blinx brought to the fore.

The sequel will offer various multiplayer modes that will allow gamers to get their friends in on the action. Players can grab a friend and play through the story in two-player Cooperative Mode, compete in multiplayer Battle Mode with up to four players on one Xbox or make their ways through the single-player missions on their own.

Those who choose to play through the storyline cooperatively will need to overcome tougher groups of enemies and unique two-player challenges with strategy and teamwork. Cooperative players will also be rewarded with unique map locations that are only accessible in two-player mode. In Battle Mode, gamers can choose to lead a squad of cats using time control powers or command a team of enemy pigs using space control powers. Whether they are playing through single player missions or any of the multiplayer modes, players can fully customise their cats and pigs by designing the character's face, body and clothing.

Personally I think Microsoft should save the "5D" ploy for a game like Fable, which does genuinely focus on depths of good versus depths of evil, in a 3D game world, over a character's entire life - and although I don't think you can rewind and actually control time, that's closer to 5D than Blinx 2.

But just because the game's key USP is pulling your plonker, doesn't have to mean the game will be! So stay tuned for more updates.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com