PixlBit

FlingSmash is an enjoyable, simple sidescroller that Nintendo brought back to the show this year, renaming last year's little-talked about game, SpanSmasher.

When I picked up FlingSmash, I didn't know much about the game, despite its presence last year. From the name, I knew it had something to do with smashing, and perhaps a flinging motion, but that was about all. I spoke with the man in charge of the demo station, and shortly after, began playing the first stage in the game.

First and foremost, the game is colorful. Really colorful, and bright. If no one told you, I like bright and colorful games. The first stage is a beach stage, complete with sandy floors and an ocean view. Nintendo says FlingSmash has eight worlds, with the rep at the demo station saying it was likely the game would ship with 32 stages. On the show floor, each stage I saw was as bright and colorful as the last, albeit some had quite a few varying themes.

Stages are very basic by design. Players control Zip or Pip from one side to another of an auto-scrolling stage, collecting slot-based cherries, smashing blocks, and avoiding or defeating enemies. While the first stage I played, the very first stage in the game, was very easy, I played a more difficult stage, this one with a weighted, iron version of Zip, which was more difficult. To provide variety, Zip and Pip can take their normal, weightless forms; weighted, magnetic, iron forms; tiny, shrunken forms; or even giant, fattened up forms. While I didn't see the tiny or giant forms at the show, I definitely noticed a bit of a difference between the Iron Zip and the normal one. In fact, in the boss fight I played (and subsequently lost because Chris kept dying,) we were the iron versions of Zip and Pip, and our success depended entirely on our ability to utilize the magnets present in the stage.

FlingSmash, as I hinted at above, is a two player game, where both players share the same lives, viewable on the game's HUD as hearts. Also on the HUD? The orientation of the Wii Remote and Motion Plus. Why's this important? The direction of where Zip and Pip are flung depends entirely on where the Wii Remote is oriented, and given the nature of the game, the Wii Remote loses its calibration pretty quickly. Normally, that'd be a major gameplay flaw, but any time I saw the calibration lost, a quick point at the Wii's sensor bar would actively re-calibrate the Wii Remote, which meant on-the-fly, in game calibration that often would happen before I noticed the controller needed calibration. It worked, and worked well. The HUD also shows what seems to be a relatively meaningless score gauge, meant for players who want to try to earn the most points possible in one playthrough, but both stages I completed resulted in a fairly high ranking without any extra attempt involved.

Interestingly enough, even though I didn't pick up on it, the Wii Remote is supposed to be used in a similar manner as one would use a tennis racquet. I just flicked my wrist in the direction I wanted Zip to move in, but it's possible control might be a little bit sharper than what I experienced in the demo had I played the game properly. It's hard to say. What's not hard to say? Nintendo's including a left-handed mode that mirrors every stage for left-handed players. Sure, the co-op might not work perfectly if one player is left-handed while the other is right-handed, but I suppose players will have to cross that bridge if it comes up, with their own solutions, perhaps.

Expect to see FlingSmash at the end of the year, during the "Holiday" release period. Don't expect to see SpanSmasher, since it's now called FlingSmash.