Replayability is not the problem with Blast Works: it's the shaky feeling of being incomplete.
Blast Works is a game that lets you create your 2D rail shooters out of properties from the actual game included, properties and items you've created or maps and items downloaded from the Blastworksdepot site.
The game gives you a custom creator to make your own ships, items, guns, bullets and stages to make your own campaign. The shapes used can make it simple enough to create whatever it is you want, while allowing you to add to those shapes for more detail.
The actual game is a challenging R-Type mixed with Katamari Damacy mash-up. The game has you shooting enemies, like any other shooter. However, you then collect your defeated ships to attach to your current ship so you can shoot more bullets. A new strategy involves on whether you want to retract your monstrosity or keep it out for damage control.
All in all, the single player mode will last about 5 hours. Depending on what you use Blast Works for, this could be a non-issue or a reason just to rent the game.
And although the single player is fun and the custom creation is very good, there are some glaring problems.
First off, the presentation is, at best a 2nd generation Nintendo 64. The ships and backgrounds are painfully simple and drab. Because of the simplistic looks, the bullets are quite easy to miss when things get hectic, resulting in some unfair deaths.
Next, the controls are particularly stiff. This game is in dire need of using the Nunchuk for movement because the d-pad on the Remote is just not responsive enough. And holding 2 while pressing 1 to retract and shoot proves to be problematic as well.
Finally, which becomes a big blow to the game, is the creator itself. Yes, the game looks simplistic which should help for creating levels. However, beginners will have a tough time with the game itself because the game makes no effort to teach you how to properly create ships and guns.
To add further insult to injury, the game is nowhere near as deep in the creative process for people who enjoy to mod or create levels in certain types of games.
This leaves a wide disconnect with who exactly the creator is for: It's not for the people who enjoy just to cut and paste because it's too hard, however it's not anywhere near as detailed for the people who enjoy to program or mod games for a living. The middle ground, which is just a gamer who loves to game, seems to have to fill in the blanks.
Thus far, Blastworksdepot is the one thing that can keep this game going. If the depot can maintain a good amount of stuff, then it definitely deserves a 7. However, if it can't, it's a 6.5.