Closing Comments
Having always played dozens of platformers over the years, I find it mildly interesting that Blinx 2: Master of Time and Space is going the way of Naughty Dog and Insomniac. Artoon' s time and space bending platformer is an example of the trend toward getting away from traditional head-bonking, twitch design, and stretching out toward action, adventure, stealth, weapons and gadgetry.

It does some of these things well and some not so well. For instance, stealth is executed with the most simplistic notions, while gadgetry and weapons are very base-level, too. But the lunacy of a pirate pig throwing a warp hole to catch an enemy is hard to match. It' s so inane, it' s funny. All in all, Blinx gets most things right, but not everything.

Still, for being a cuddly platformer filled with furry animals, Blinx 2 cuts against the platformer grain. This is thanks to the complexity of some moves and the extensive training required to nail them. I just wanted to jump in and play, but the game forces you to use its depth. Which is well and fine, but the steps required to use these gadgets and tools are not as intuitively useable as, say Ratchet and Clank, and they' re sometimes awkward in a quick pinch. This should be a quick pick-up-play game, but it' s not. At times it' s tedious and intrusive. At other times it' s clever and engaging.

Despite some awkwardness, Blinx 2 is a solid, quirky platformer with a healthy amount of replay value and enjoyable multiplayer options. It' s definitely worth renting, and if you' re bent on buying an exclusive platformer on Xbox, get this.