We all have our games that we're nostalgic for, the kind that resonate with us, no matter the quality of the game itself, for how many hours we spent on it.

That game for me, is Star Wars Battlefront 2.

However, for a game that scared me to even go near the thing, you have to look no further than 2002's Blinx the Time Sweeper.

Many systems have what you'd call a "Mascot Platformer". Crash Bandicoot, Sonic the Hedgehog... Bubsy, etc.

Blinx was the Xbox's version of the concept, a Mascot Catformer, if you would. Then you remember that the system launched with Halo: Combat Evolved, and didn't need a Luigi's Mansion: Cat Edition.

So as a concept, the game falls flat, but outside of that, what does it have now, almost 15 years later? Well, let's start off with the story.

Story

Our main character works in the Time Factory, a place that makes and sends time to various dimensions. Blinx is a Time Sweeper: a worker that goes in and collects Time Crystals that are caused by glitches in time. These crystals will become monsters if left unchecked.

However, one day, the evil Tom-Tom Gang invades Dimension B1Q64, glitching time to collect and sell the crystals. They also kidnap Princess Lena, the monarch of B1Q64.

The actions of the Tom-Tom Gang destabilize B1Q64 so much that disconnection from the Time Factory becomes imminent. But Blinx, after seeing the princess' plight, rushes into the doomed dimension to rescue her and fix time.

The story is as barebones as it needs to be for a Mascot Platformer. It's along the lines of Crash Bandicoot or Spyro the Dragon: just a means of getting the box ticked and a goal given.

But what is a game without gameplay? A visual novel, that's what. But this is a Platformer, so let's dive into it!

Gameplay

Blinx is a standard Third-Person Platformer. You go from point A-B, killing all enemies to open the goal. The differences lie in the mechanics.

Blinx carries his Sweeper along with him, and with it, he can suck up trash he finds in the environment. This trash is his only defense against the time monsters in his path. Initially, you can only hold 5 shots, but an upgrade gives 10.

The system in the bottom is for Time Crystals. Lying around the maps, or obtained by defeating Time Monsters, these Crystals have powers. Collect 3 of them to get a time power, and collect 4 to get 2 copies. You can only hold 3 initially, but you can upgrade it to hold more. If you fail to get a match in 4 crystals, you get a Bad Crystal Combo, clearing the rack to make room for more.

The powers are Rewind, rewinding the environment, Fast Forward, making you invincible and faster for speed runs. Pause, freezing time itself, except for Blinx; Record, making a clone of Blinx for puzzle solving, kinda like that online game Chronotron. And Slow, slowing down everything around Blinx.

Now that the objectivity of the mechanics is out of the way, time to get subjective.

First, Blinx himself feels very slow, his speed making the levels feel like they take a bit to get through. The Fast Forward helps, but only for a little bit.

Adding on to Blinx's sluggish speed, you have to stand still to pick up trash, making you vulnerable to counterattack should you miss and run out of trash, or would have to ditch an item you want to save to the end, as doing so can give gold for the shop. So you have to take a hit, dodge, or burn a time power.

Blinx also has to make a full turn to turn around, instead of being able to make a quick, snappy turn to face an enemy. Just a bit of a nitpick.

I have issues with the different sweepers not telling you what they can suck up (you need a Level 3 to eat the big 16T weights), the fact that bigger trash does the same damage as normal sized trash, the uncooperative nature of the camera at points, and how broken Slow is for any boss fight.

Oh, right, each stage has 3 levels and a boss. The bosses range from okay to pathetic. The boss of Stage 3 never hit me once, and the game rated it as less difficult than Level 3-3, which was the first stage to make me run out of time.

Each stage has a number of Cat Medals, which unlock a little animation when a page is filled. They're fine for satiating Collector's OCD, but these rewards are just..terrible.

But, with that out of the way, time to address the eye candy! Presentation!

Presentation

For an early Xbox game, it looks alright. It's no Halo, but it's serviceable. The textures are alright, the environments look appropriate, the map design works.

The enemies are a different story. These designs suck. Like, wow do they suck! Chronoblob, Dust Herder, Molegon..all of these look stupid, lazy, and unappealing.

And I used to be scared of these things! Little me was terrified of the dreaded Chronoblob! Maybe it was because I saw Oddworld: Munch's Oddyssey when I was little, and that had levels with a large meat grinder you could walk into, but still. These enemies are as scary as a teddy bear.

The bosses; oh god, the bosses.

"Let's make a standard enemy bigger! But it's missing something..hey, Boris, what does it need?"

"NEEDS NUMBERS ON IT", Boris shouted, before going back to sniffing glue.

That's it! The bosses are just giant enemies with stupid looking numbers on them. They look lazy and stupid, just like the rest of the enemies.

But, negativity aside, I have to praise one place in particular. Hourglass Caves looks gorgeous.

The music is great also. The Internet loved the game for embracing the New Age style, and, along with a Worm mumbling and laughing, the theme for the Time Square levels (World 1) has always been stuck in my head.

Overall, I think that's about all I can say.

Story: 3/5
It's very basic, but serviceable enough. The princess feels thrown in though. It makes Blinx out to be a selfish jerk rather than a courageous hero.

Gameplay: 3/5
A few tossed in mechanics, and some glaring issues, but overall a fun experience.

Appearance: 3/5
This game still looks good today, but the enemy designs drag it way down.

Overall: 3/5
A flawed, but fun experience. It's cheap to get on eBay, so if you really want it, go for it. But, you'll need an Xbox.

Until next time, this is SSGSSJ2, signing out! Happy Reading!