PAX 2010 Preview: Slam Bolt Scrappers

Downloadable PS3 game Slam Bolt Scrappers from Fire Hose games mashes together seemingly incompatible elements to create a frenzied, fun combat/building game -- Imagine mixing Tetris with Super Smash Bros and adding a dose of tower defense, and you have some idea of how Slam Bolt Scrappers works.

You play the game by beating up weird flying monsters who drop different shaped and colored bricks when you flatten 'em. You then use the bricks to create towers, Tetris style, and if you manage to create squares, you're rewarded with different weapons. In the multiplayer mode, your opponent is doing the same, and the weapons automatically attack your adversaries and their tower.

The game supports up to four players at once, divided into two teams, and although it's a little tough to figure out at first, once you get the hang of it, Slam Bolt is a really exciting, competitive game. Think frenzied action, good natured cursing and light-hearted fun.

The game also features a co-op mode, where up to four scrappers team up to tackle different challenges. The level on display at PAX featured a boss battle against a gigantic robot intent on wrecking the tower and the players.

As you can see from the screenshot above, his attacks include that horrible drill that messes up your bricks, as well as snowballs that encase your tower in ice and other attacks.

I preferred the co-op mode, but only slightly. Both "versions" of the game are fun, and when the downloadable title becomes available in early 2011, I recommend you pick it up.