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Genre: Arcade Action

Developer: Outside the Box Software, LLC

Price: $9.95

Demo: 8.4MB .zip

There's something pure about a video game in which your only weapon is your head. It's like the old days of Pac Man and Pitfall in which games were violent, sure, but in a pillow-fight sort of way. Pac Man ate the bad guys, after all, Pitfall Harry was mauled by alligators and killed by scorpions. What a charming way to go!

BlockHeads Clash is along those lines. You're a guy armed with nothing more than the inability to suffer a concussion. This is good, as you won't just be using your head to hit enemies, but to hit the floor, boxes...anything standing in your way as you navigate a labyrinth of enemies and puzzles.

Your BlockHead visually calls to mind The Unknown Comic running through a Macromedia Flash world, searching for keys to unlock doors to get to the next level. Other BlockHeads are in the way, and your guy most dispose of them by creating holes in the floor. Smash your head to the floor two times, and the hole is created. If you fall in, you're momentarily disabled until you can get out. Other BlockHeads, however, disappear for good. Thankfully, they're mostly pretty dumb, too, as they'll head straight for you even if there's a hole in the way.

So, killing the bad guys is mainly about creating a hole and luring them towards it. This is simple to do when you're up against just one or two BlockHeads at a time, provided you have Energy. If so, bonking your head on the ground sends out a shock wave in the direction you're facing. This will knock over anyone in your path, which gives you time to bonk the floor again to create the hole. If you're lined up properly (and you have to be to hit the enemy with your shock wave), you can just stand there and wait for the enemy to fall in.

Unfortunately, each time you hit floor, you lose energy. If you run out, no more shock wave, meaning you have to hit your enemies with your own head, thereby getting you close enough for them to hit you, as well. Each time you're hit, you lose health. Lose enough, you die. Of course, you can't lose health without being allowed to replenish it. That just wouldn't be fair. And so, many of the boxes scattered about contain health or energy to keep you going. Some also contain the keys you'll need to unlock doors to make your way through the levels. The keys are color coded to match the doors you open with them. Some lead to bonuses such as more energy/health or the Outside the Box bonus that awards restarts after you run out of health, others lead to the spinning wheel you must smash to get to the next level.

That's pretty much it, or would be, if we didn't have the multiplayer component to talk about it. There are two multiplayer games included: Co-op and Battle Mode. Co-op sends you on the adventure with the assistance of up to three other players. Battle Mode is just that; it's you against up to three opponents as you try to Zidane each other into submission. This proves for some frantic fun, but don't expect to easily get four people crowded around one keyboard. Three is pushing it, two is possible. Too bad there's no LAN component here, but I guess that's asking a little much.

The multiplayer component is welcome here, because the game wouldn't otherwise have much of a shelf life. BlockHeads Clash is plenty of fun, but with a single player mode that lasts only 12 levels, it may not be enough fun. The game's so short that the developer didn't bother including a way to save your progress...it's expected that you'll just get all the way through. The game is priced accordingly at only $10, but whether you'll go back to it after completing the 12 levels depends upon the type of gamer you are...or whether you can crowd some friends around your keyboard.

Be careful, though. You try to fit four people there, and you may just end up delivering some real life head-butts.

Download BlockHeads Clash.