Publisher THQ today released new gameplay footage of Blue Tongue Entertainment's upcoming Wii title de Blob.

Katamari Damacy meets Jet Set Radio, de Blob tasks players with bouncing from level to level in an otherwise-open world, staining skyscrapers with appropriately bright shades of color in order to defeat the evil policemen. It's a little hard to explain here, so just check out the trailer below.

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Using the same assets as the Wii title, THQ developer Helixe will be bringing de Blob to the DS. Both games are set to release this June.

This open-ended title from THQ and developer Blue Tongue will be compared to Katamari Damacy in every preview and review you read--except this one. Instead, I get to the squishy core of the Blob, and evaluate whether painting an entire town all on your own is as fun as it sounds. Color your opinion.

Ultimately, there really is no finish line in de Blob. You move on to new areas, and you gain more points, and you get fatter. It's hard to imagine being intensely motivated to move from level to level, although the simplistic story and gameplay aren't engrossing to the point of necessitating a satisfying reward. A THQ representative likened de Blob to the act of popping bubblewrap, and I would agree. Like bubblewrap, de Blob is a mindless, yet oddly satisfying distraction at heart.

Another Independent Games Festival award nominee has been absorbed into the retail world. De Blob, originally developed by Utrecht School of Arts students in the Netherlands, was today announced by THQ for release on the Wii and Nintendo DS.

De Blob puts players in control of a Katamari-esque sphere, which rolls through highly-stylized cityscapes while spreading a trail of paint in its wake. The primary objective is to color buildings by slamming the blob into them, thus returning the drab city to its cheerful nature. Different paints are acquired and mixed by consuming citizens with variably colored shirts.

The Wii version is being developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment, with the DS game being handled by Helixe. Both versions will take advantage... Read more