As we mentioned last week, EA and Steven Spielberg are moving forward on plans for a sequel to last year’s Boom Blox for the Wii. We’ve got the official announcement for you, as well as some of the first screens from the game detailing the new kinds of environments that make an appearance.

There are more than 400 new levels in the sequel that will take place in these new environments, and while in them, the laws of physics are different, meaning you will need to strategize differently depending on your locale. The level of strategy involved in playing the first Boom Blox was one of the best parts, so it’s good to see that EA is keeping with that and upping the ante as well.

There will also be new Blox, tools and characters in this sequel. The Virus Blox is described as being “infectious” and “explosive”, which should be a good way of making your friends hate you during multiplayer. There will also be Cannon and Slingshot tools for flinging or shooting Blox, and the characters are now just like Blox and can be thrown around as well.

Multiplayer is also getting more attention this time around, with new game modes that include team-based play as well as old favorites like your standard human on human match.

My favorite part about this sequel though has to be the addition of downloadable content. You could create your own levels in the first game, but you were limited in what you could do. Now, EA has expanded the level creator while also adding the ability to share levels with both friends and Boom Blox loving strangers. EA will have levels available to download, but you will also be able to play levels created by others; that’s a huge incentive to pick up this game rather than just get the first one, as it guarantees the replayability of the title.

While there is no official date, Boom Blox Bash Party will be released exclusively for the Wii in the spring of 2009. Check back here for additional info and screens as we count down to the eventual release.

From EA:

EA AND STEVEN SPIELBERG ANNOUNCE BOOM BLOX BASH PARTY

Sequel to Award-Winning BOOM BLOX Takes Players from the Depths of the Sea to Outer Space for a Party Anyone Can Throw

LOS ANGELES, Calif., January 29, 2009 – Get ready for the ultimate blox-busting action as Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced BOOM BLOXTM Bash Party for WiiTM, the sequel to the critically-acclaimed BOOM BLOXTM game for Wii. EA’s collaboration with director and producer Steven Spielberg continues with BOOM BLOX Bash Party, and the destructive fun reaches new heights with richer multiplayer action and more than 400 new levels that will have players of all ages gaming together and solving action-packed puzzles under water, in zero gravity, and beyond!

BOOM BLOX Bash Party is a wild social gaming experience,” said Steven Spielberg. “We know families and friends really enjoyed playing the original BOOM BLOX together, so we designed more explosive multiplayer experiences with BOOM BLOX Bash Party.”

BOOM BLOX Bash Party is even more fun to play with friends and family, featuring twice as many multiplayer challenges as the original, and now offers team-based challenges! Players can play with or against friends, solo or in teams, knocking down blocks, destroying towers, slinging and launching blocks and characters, for tons of high-energy, family-friendly fun!

BOOM BLOX Bash Party is packed with tons of new features that are sure to get the party started! The game showcases new block types, including: virus and conveyor blox, new blox shapes, such as: cylinders and wedges, and new tools that will make for even more destructive fun. Players will find twists on BOOM BLOX game play favorites like throwing and grabbing. Players now can also sling, launch, and blow the competition away with new cannon, paint ball and slingshot tools.

Even the characters are in on the action as BOOM BLOX Bash Party features a new cast of wacky blox characters. This time they don’t just cheer you on, they are now blox themselves and you can throw, stack or even launch them, utilizing them to create even more madness and mayhem!

The fun continues online as BOOM BLOX Bash Party enables players to download even more new levels via the Internet. With the press of a button, players will be able to grab, play and rate new levels from EA as well as levels created by members of the BOOM BLOX Bash Party community. Using the game’s easy-to-use Create Mode, players now have the power to share the levels they built with friends, or submit their masterpiece to be shared with the world! The expanded Create Mode lets players build and create like never before, giving them access to the same tool set the EA development team used to create each and every level in the game!

“In BOOM BLOX Bash Party we are taking the game elements to the extreme,” said Amir Rahimi, Senior Producer. “In the original BOOM BLOX, we really focused on perfecting the game’s physics so now we can push the boundaries of physics, offering exciting new challenges and completely new ways to play.”

Developed by the EA Casual Studios, BOOM BLOX Bash Party will be available in North America and Europe in Spring 2009. BOOM BLOX Bash Party has not yet been rated by the ESRB and PEGI. For more information, visit http://www.ea.com or to download artwork, visit http://info.ea.com.

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About EA and Steven Spielberg Partnership

In 2005, EA and Steven Spielberg entered a multi-year collaboration that would generate three new original franchise properties. EA owns the intellectual properties and the franchises will be developed, published, and distributed worldwide by EA. Spielberg has been working directly with the EA development teams at the EALA studio in Playa Vista to offer his signature style of storytelling to the concept, design, and artistic vision of the unique games.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS Freestyle TM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, POGO, and BOOM BLOX are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo.‚  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About The Author

Marc Normandin was gaming editor of Blast from 2008 to mid-2010. You can reach him via e-mail at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @Marc_Normandin

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