Review by Roger Hargreaves - As EA's reputation with gamers improves almost by the month, its popularity with investors and business types is in something close to freefall.

Boom Blox was perhaps the best example of EA losing its Midas touch: a family friendly Wii game created by Steven Spielberg and lauded by critics that still managed to be a sales flop.

Thankfully it's not giving up yet.

We'll admit we didn't quite understand the unreserved praise the original game got, in part due to the embarrassingly low production values and presentation.

Unfortunately the game does little to improve this, with cheap looking cut scenes still filled with the same ultra bland domino-shaped animals as before.

It's also still impossible to avoid comparing it to Jenga - although that in itself is no criticism.

Although there are still some levels where you have to pull toy blocks out of some sort of tower, the game does not suffer from a lack of variety.

For a start the goal for each of the 400-odd levels can range from knocking all the blocks down, to protecting towers from enemies or matching colours by throwing paintballs at them.

Later levels become particularly complex and more puzzle-orientated.

As well as the goal of each level, your means of interaction varies hugely as well, from throwing balls and bombs at the blocks, to using a water hose.

New for this sequel is a slingshot, which pleasingly allows you to fire those same rubbish domino animals.

There are also fun new gimmicks such as virus balls that melt nearby blocks, plus anti-gravity levels set in space and even underwater stages.

Despite the size and variety of the single player mode it's probably the least interesting aspect of the game.

The game's cold, character-less atmosphere soon saps your will to play alone, but with friends it sparks into life - whether playing co-operatively or competitively with three others.

Almost all the options and levels are unlocked at the start and for once the Party moniker is fully accurate.

IN SHORT: Steven Spielberg returns with an improved and enlarged version of what is now much than virtual Jenga.

PROS: Impressive variety for such an apparently simple game. Excellent multiplayer and even a level editor.

CONS: Presentation and character design is so basic and banal it actually makes the single player less fun to play.

SCORE: 8/10 Out: Now (UK)