• Game: Ms. Splosion Man
• Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
• Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
• Developer: Twisted Pixel
• ESRB: T
• Genre: Action, Platformer
• Players: 1-4



• What's Hot: World-class level design, Insane sense of humor, Challenging but accessible



• What's Not: Load times

Review by: Justin Amirkhani

Ms. Splosion Man is the most interesting female protagonist in gaming’s recent history. She’s not a big-breasted bimbo, ball-busting feminazi, virgin Mary, Catholic school girl, or plain Jane girl-next-door. Instead, she’s an explosive amalgam of all of them. Holding true to every female stereotype – good or bad – has turned the character of Ms. Splosion Man into a schizophrenic feminism Rorschach test, letting the player see their ideal female somewhere within her multiple split personalities.

Likewise the game itself can be viewed through a variety of lenses and still hold up. As a platformer, the game is a frenetic delight. When we pretend it’s a puzzler, it’s a challenging head-scratcher. Finally, as an action experience it’s fast-paced but precise. Ms. Splosion Man keeps in-genre throughout, but it constantly finds ways within that genre to present players with new and diverse challenges.

Because the last Splosion Man title was so well produced, Twisted Pixel could have easily got away with slapping a bow on their existing game and shipping some new levels, but they didn’t. There’s a wealth of new ideas here that make this a strong evolution, but it never betrays the original concept; this is still a game about a constantly exploding lunatic.

What does make Ms. Splosion Man unique is the quality of its pacing. The game gets daunting – there’s no denying that – but in a very gaming 2.0 way, it never presents the player with something without using the design to explain itself. There are constantly new obstacles coming at the player, all of which require different tactics, but the game releases them gradually enough that the player is never introduced to something new without already being comfortable with everything else. This isn’t a punishing slap in the face like Super Meat Boy or VVVVVV, it’s as inviting as Super Mario World.

Of course, inviting gameplay is only one part of its affectionate feel. The overall aesthetic is bright and colorful with decent variety between stages. Where the first game quickly became a tired rehash of the same industrial complex motif, the sequel keeps its pallete on the move without alienating its core concept. There will always be brushed metal and fluorescent lighting, but well managed backdrops and the occasional break outside the lab provide more than enough variety.

Characters are still vibrant and cartoony, bordering pantomime in their over-exaggeration. The protagonist herself is a whirling dervish of dance moves, feminine posturing and outright insanity. Her charged physical presence matches her unrestrained proclamations. Ms. Splosion Man is as gracefully refined as she is bombastically esoteric.