Ms. Splosion Man

This game does not work on newer hardware because it need Games With Windows Live and you have to browse the internet to find the correct version and log in for it to play.

You can find it from the Microsoft forums by typing in Games for Windows Live download and a volunteer Moderator Firedog has the download link.

what a underrated platform game, it's very simple and it gets difficult later on like any game, if you played Super meat boy, this game gets the vibes.

Ms. Splosion have charm and the animations are pretty well made but the gameplay is not that groundbreaking for the time.

i never played the original "Splosion man" (because they don't sell the game anymore) but the "Ms. Splosion" gets a thumbs up and i would recommend for the platform enjoyers.

[quote]Just saying, but I do have a curator page. If you somehow like my remarks about games, you can find more of them here: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44130985-TDP%27s-Gaming-Escapades [/quote]

I hate it when third-party games get stuck on specific platforms and never finding their way beyond them. Not only the preservation of such games is harder, but also playing them can become a difficult task. On one hand, not many can justify purchasing a platform for one or two games they are interested in, and on the other hand, emulation is also not a hassle-free way as it takes years for it to be perfected and become a viable way to play a game.
Case in point: Splosion Man. Despite being a very successful game on Xbox 360, it never got ported to other platforms. Yet its sequel did find its way to PC and later Nintendo Switch. So, I am held back from experiencing the game that started it all and therefore have no idea how the sequel fares compared to it. What you are going to read is the insights of a person who has went through their first experience with this franchise.

TAKE NOTES, YUJI NAKA!

I have to say that Ms. Splosion Man starts great. The beginning level is a really good introduction to the game as it introduces the basics of the gameplay and lets you practice, then immediately has you going against one of the bosses of the past game to see if you have the basics under control. From that moment onwards, the game gradually introduces new enemies and hazards into the mix, keeping the experience from becoming stale despite its very simplistic control scheme.
Ms. Splosion Man doesn't glide in the air, has no slam attack, doesn't dash, doesn't need to change between costumes repeatedly and gets no extra abilities throughout the game... she just jumps by exploding after pressing any of the face buttons. And this one explosion ability, in addition to your platforming and puzzle solving skills, are the only things you need to get from the beginning to the end. But this simplicity can also become the bane of the game's existence way later, as it can often cause a lack of challenge.
Fortunately, the game avoids the aforementioned situation by introducing a mixture of puzzles and precision platforming. All of the challenges in the game rely upon your mastery of timing your explosions and reacting to hazards in time and for the most part, the game does them well. The overall gameplay experience is actually fun, with the game offering an enjoyable mix of precision platforming and puzzle solving, while using unorthodox camera angles at times for dramatic purposes. Though I'm pretty mixed on the boss fights, as only 2 of them are actually fun to fight and the remaining 2 go on for too long and use repetitive, easily avoidable attacks.

And then we get to the reason for why I said "for the most part"...

Unfortunately, there are a lot of moments in the game, and especially in the late-game, when the tough but fair platforming and puzzle solving experience is interrupted by either trial and error, or the need for utmost precision.
You will run into many instances when the game gives you mere moments to react to an incoming hazard, or to read the entire screen and plan your next move; To the point sometimes even milliseconds of delay can result in death of the main character or failure to solve a puzzle. You run into a number of chase sequences, where you have to either run away from an instant kill hazard, or chase something down and get to it in time. And all of these are without mentioning some instances when the camera is unable to show you the hazards in-time, partly because of its field of view and partly because of the way it moves between rooms. All of these make for truly frustrating moments when you rather use the game's built-in cheat function to skip those parts of the levels.
After dying a couple of times or using the self-kill ability in one section, the game unlocks the "Cheat on the Game" option in the pause menu for the rest of that level. It allows you to skip to the next checkpoint (including the ending signpost) in exchange for being called a cheater, having your level completion time set to the maximum, getting no rewards and suffering a curse which... well... you better experience it for yourself. It does feel like a bandaid on a big wound but hey, at least you can beat the game instead of getting stuck in one level, as the game does not care if you have skipped levels and will still allow you to finish it.

You really can't hate this game as a whole

I know that many who have read my Kaze and the Wild masks review beforehand might call me a hypocrite right now, asking why I had problems with that game's trial and error and didn't recommend it, yet I have done the opposite for this game. And the reason for such decision is that despite all I have said so far, there's something in this game that has made it quite special and hard to hate: Loads and loads of apparent love, enthusiasm and ridiculousness put into making it, making it a unique product.
There's a lot in the game that shows the devs were having fun and were trying to be creative while making it. The "curse" that is inflicted upon the player after skipping a checkpoint is really unexpected. The last boss fight makes for a fantastic finale. The ending video did not need to be like what it is, but the devs did it anyway and I certainly did not expect a lot of work going into it. The Mall, which is Ms. Splosion Man's in-game shop, is filled to the brim with behind the scenes footage and concept arts accompanied with very witty commentaries.
This is a labor of love. This is the product of people who loved what they were doing and did not care if they had to act silly. And unfortunately, it's also a reminder of how bleak the gaming industry has become. Nowadays, you can barely see something that comes even close to the Splosion Man franchise in regards to its ridiculousness and the passion of the developers behind it, and this is partly to blame on the industry leaders that have turned this expressive form of art into a realism-focused mess and a means for profit at any costs, and partly on the consumers who whine about everything that is out of the norm or doesn't have a lot of technical prowess to it.

Will Ms. Splosion Man make you want to bang your head on the wall out of frustration at times and especially in the late stages? Yes. Is it something unique that you have probably never experienced before and will probably never see something like it for the foreseeable future? Also yes. So, I don't see any harm in at least trying it out.

TL;DR

The reliance on trial & error and precision in some levels has decreased the quality of the overall experience, but it's still a unique platformer with massive amounts of love and enthusiasm put into it.

I just Baaaabadonkadonk my hand controller after finished this game

this is fire

I have never screamed more at a game in my entire life. Every time I mess up a level, I dramatically rage quit, stare at my reflection in the dark, and then come crawling back like a fool until my hands have memorized the suffering.

And you know what?

This game is a masochist's dream. A masterpiece. A work of art designed to break you down and build you back up—just to shatter you again.

The fact that I got the screen that tells me that I can skip to the next checkpoint more than once is evidant that this is VERY MUCH SO INTENTIONAL and really this is one of the reasons why I totally I LOVE this game. I LOVE how sassy Ms. Splosion Man is herself... She is an icon. A queen. A menace. She explodes with all the grace of a deranged Looney Tunes character, and I adore her. I love her attitude, the way she is animated, how fun of a character she is, her little voicelines and idles!! And most importantly what I adore about this game is how brutally, unapologetically difficult it is. I love how I scream, cry, and lose all sense of self-worth when I mistime a splode and launch myself straight into oblivion. The tutorial lady was absolutely correct. *I am infact banging the space key like a heroine addict in panic.*

I might only have 56 minutes of playtime as of writing this, but do you know WHY? Take a wild guess... Because this game chews me up and spits me out, and I keep coming back for more.

10/10. Love the suffering. Would self-destruct again.

really fun game i really like ms splosion man and i really like this game its fun and very cute i like this game yes? yes!

This game is ridiculously ridiculous and funny and I think everyone should play it because if this game doesn't give you a good time nothing will...! I used to play it back in the day and I was so excited when I noticed it was available on Steam!

Wonderful game to play solo or with friends, it fully supports multiplayer on steam which is great, there are lag issues but, that makes it more fun and amusing. Played this when it was new and played it again recently and it's still great, would recommend

One of my favorite platforms of all time (though the voice does get old)

Awesome game. A puzzler that requires both timing and reflexes.
So much time put into comedy and it shows.
Ms. Splosion Man does not stop talking or dancing in a good way.
The ( old ) pop culture references are awesome. Highly recommended. :-)

The game seems broken on modern PCs. Controls dont register right, no fixes known.

childhood peak brainrot, i love it

Twisted Pixel - home of the nonsensical twisted games.