It's easy to hate on third-party games for the Wii. A vast majority of them are quick and dirty ports or poorly constructed party games with a noticable deficiency in the fun department. Maybe that's why I get genuinely excited when a high quality third-party game comes along. Boom Blox was a blast (oh god, I'm sorry about that), No More Heroes was enthralling, SSX Blur was a great deal of fun after you took the time to relearn the controls. Unfortunately, none of those games sold particularly well. Let's hope that's not the case with the next Wii sleeper hit, THQ's de Blob.
Originally a student project, de Blob is starting to look like a truly worthwhile gaming experience. While early videos looked fun but far from refined, the additional seven months of development have clearly made a huge difference in graphics, sound, and presentation. The most curious aspect of the game, moreso than its unusual hero and artistic revolution plot, is that de Blob is still a Wii-exclusive (there had been a DS version announced, but nothing has been shown yet and there's been no mention of it for months) with no real neccessary motion control. A quick flick of the remote makes your Blob jump, which could easily be replaced by a button tap. So if this third-party game could just as easily be made for the PS3 or 360, why is it Nintendo-exclusive? Personally, I don't care, as Sony and Microsoft have been hogging Katamari Damacy. which de Blob has drawn numerous comparisons to.
Check out this sweet new developer video for a preview of how excellent de Blob looks. It's getting harder to wait for that September 22nd release date.