First Encounter

By Earl P. Thayton

The begoggled temporal janitors of Blinx will soon return in an impressive and much anticipated sequel. Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space unveils a sinister new threat to the Time Factory, while introducing cooperative gameplay, an improved camera and controls, and many more refinements and additions.

Without giving too much of the story away, we can say that the rival pigs introduced in the original Blinx and the staff of the Time Factory are now competing to find scattered shards of a gigantic Time Crystal. The two factions will mix it up in their search for the missing fragments across dozens of bizarre and challenging levels.

Batter up!

Blinx 2 gives you the chance to play both sides in this cosmic conflict. As before, Blinx and his Time Sweeper comrades have "time controls"—for example, they can pause the world in order to get the drop on an enemy. Time controls are enabled by collecting crystals from defeated Time Monsters, which are still a universal menace. This sequel brings some great news for Time Sweepers—you can now manipulate time much more often, for the crystals are easier to come by, and there are no more bad crystal combos to worry about!

The Time Factory crew may have time controls, but their enemy has the ability to alter reality with "space controls." For example, there's the "warp tunnel," a handy means of bypassing hazards and Time Sweeper foes. Simply set the end point of a warp tunnel, dive into the entrance and you'll instantly pop out the other side. Some other items in the thieves' arsenal are wind-up decoys (to lure guards away from their posts), banana peels (to trip up the unwary), and even a baseball bat for those times when you just have to throw down.

When stealth fails, force prevails!

The two factions have very different play styles, which almost makes Blinx 2 two games in one. The Time Factory protagonists are pretty much like they were in the original Blinx, relying on time controls and classic platformer skills, but the crooks need to use stealth to succeed; you'll often be crawling around like a ninja, trying to avoid patrols and saving your space controls for tight spots.

This time, you can customize your character.

One nice addition to Blinx 2 is the ability to customize the appearance of your characters. There are over twenty parameters to tweak, from the color of one's chrome to the size of one's ears. Many players will also be excited about the upgraded camera and controls, which developer Artoon has greatly improved over the first game in the series. Co-op and competitive multiplayer modes have been added as well, which will keep the game fresh long after the single player campaign is over.

The level design has also been enhanced. Levels are bigger than in the original Blinx, and those who enjoy co-op mode will find that they are full of features which are out of reach to solo players. This time around, there's no time limit, either, so take the liberty to explore!

This is just a peek at what's new and cool in Blinx 2. The cat's back, with a splash!