Developer: Terminal Reality Publisher: Majesco Release: 11/28/23 Genre: Action Also: PC, PS2, Xbox
The run and gun action game was a rare commodity during the 6th generation. Even though Contra had a resurgence most developers did not want to capitalize on the once staple of the industry. I will admit they were a hard sell compared to 3d action games that were coming in to their own that gen like Devil May Cry, God of War, and Van Helsing. I’m kidding about that last one, stay the hell away from that game. But that does not mean the genre had no merit. Unfortunately games like Blowout are the reason most looked elsewhere for their action jollies. Even a budget price can’t make this an intriguing prospect.
The Honor Guard is a mobile battle platform run by genetically altered clones. Unfortunately the station has been exposed to a virus that transforms the clones in to alien/human hybrids. The Jump Posse, a law enforcement agency, sends in their best soldier Marshall Dutch Cane to assess the situation and destroy the Honor Guard if need be. It sounds epic but that is about all the backstory you will get.
The mechanics in Blowout offer a good deal of control even if it is unorthodox for a 2d game. You can use the D-pad or analog stick to move and use the right analog stick to aim. This allows you to fire 360° although it tends to get stuck at certain angles. There is some minor auto aim but it is not reliable considering you are always assaulted in groups of big numbers. Rather than jumping you have a jet pack that allows you to hover. You can only ascend a few feet so you still need to navigate the map to progress. You begin with a machine gun with infinite ammo but eventually amass a repertoire of nine including a shotgun, grenade launcher, a flamethrower, and the sonic cannon. Even though these secondary weapons have limited ammo it is so plentiful for each it is almost never a problem.
Even though Blowout has the appearance of a side scrolling action game in truth it also shares a little DNA with Metroid. Each stage is a massive labyrinth and the goal is to open three blast doors, defeat the end level boss, and leave. But to do so you will need to find three color coded keys as well. Although you are not collecting upgrades like a double jump nearly every stage has one new weapon as well as health and weapon power upgrades if you search thoroughly. There are plenty of destructible walls that hide secrets; at first they are optional but soon become mandatory for progression. Right off the bat the maps are large and only get bigger as you progress. This is not a good thing. The maze of elevators, one way doors, and corridors could have made for an decent adventure if not for the repetition.
Blowout ultimately suffers under the weight of its repetition. The bugs are an uninteresting bunch of enemies and are few in number. New enemies appear every few levels but the game still relies on the same three or four for the lion’s share of its adventure. All ten levels of the space station look near identical with copy paste rooms left and right. It is not until level seven that they introduce slightly different corridors for some visual variety. This makes the task of locating the three keys to open the three blast doors to exit the levels a tedious task, one that grows old by stage three. Considering the levels become gargantuan in size by that point I reckon most will lose interest in the game fast. To be honest I do not know why I stuck with Blowout until its lackluster end. Maybe I am just stupid.
I did not find Blowout hard so much as frustrating. There are no invincibility frames and so your health drops precipitously and you will seldom know why. There are a considerable number of health power-ups that make up for this but it should have been better. Enemies spawn suddenly; usually they do so off screen. But it is not surprising to see a full swarm of bugs suddenly blink in to existence. It is cheap and I do not like it. The action has some nuance that is cool. Most enemies are weak to a particular weapon and exploiting that will save ammo. In most cases it is better to simply avoid combat to save time however. The one area I have no issue with is the boss battles. These are good and one of the best aspects of the game. But not enough to save it.
In Closing
Blowout could have been an interesting homage to action classics of old. Instead it is a repetitive, dull mess of grey corridors and boring mutants that fails to excite. Once you have cleared one level you have literally seen almost all it has to offer. If you need an action game fix replay Contra: Shattered Soldier or Metal Slug 3.
