BLINX: THE TIME SWEEPER
© Microsoft Game Studios

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BLINX: THE TIME SWEEPER

One game at E3 that had some of the coolest features we had seen in a long time was BLINX: THE TIME SWEEPER. A 3D (or 4D, according to Microsoft) adventure game, BLINX puts you in the role of...that's right, Blinx. With the aid of your trusty Time Sweeper TS 1000, you must fix glitches in time by recovering lost time crystals. Along the way, you'll fight Time Monsters, rescue a kidnapped princess, and restore order to the galaxy. Just a simple day in the life of Blinx.

Developed by Artoon and published by Microsoft, BLINX really has some of the best graphics seen on the Xbox yet, and shows that developers are finally pushing the system to some of its long-touted capabilities. All the backgrounds here are beautifully rendered, and even Blinx and the Time Monsters are all animated very well.

Now, there are a few reasons that BLINX is a little different than any other 3D platformers on the market today. One reason is that BLINX is considered a 4D platformer (Microsoft calls it the first 4D game, but somehow have forgotten about THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: MAJORA'S MASK) because you have the ability to control time during gameplay.

BLINX: THE TIME SWEEPER

© Microsoft Game Studios

To defeat enemies and collect crystals, you have the use of your TS 1000. It is basically a vacuum cleaner, which can be upgraded later in the game. To defeat enemies, you must suck up items around the level (benches, tables, rocks, etc), and then shoot them at enemies. After the enemies are defeated, they leave time crystals for you to collect.

One of the main problems so far with BLINX is that the game plays a bit slower than most other platformers. I'm not sure if this is really a problem or not, considering it might not play as well if it were fast-paced. But either way, there is a chance that Artoon could speed up the gameplay a bit before the game is released later this fall.

While the time for game system mascots is probably over, BLINX could become Microsoft's big opponent for Mario, Zelda, and Pikachu at Nintendo. Look for BLINX: THE TIME SWEEPER on store shelves later this fall, and look for a full review from us in the coming months.