Blast Miner, the explosive puzzle-action game from newcomer Cryptic Sea and winner of the IGF GameTap Indie Award, is a beautiful yet harrowing two-headed beast. Erupting with originality, Blast dances a delicate line between the traditional game-play of Tetris and an atomic rush of its own design. Unfortunately, at times the dance might well be performed by a tutu-wearing elephant: Blast's pervasively awkward control sported by its Action mode is likely to detonate your temper and threaten to send your keyboard rocketing through your monitor.

But that's just one of this beast's heads. The other is far more tame, and endlessly entertaining.

In Blast Miner, you adopt the role of a careless miner amassing riches in the form of succulent golden nuggets. At first glance, the game appears to be a traditional Tetris-like puzzler: Shapes slowly drop from above as you frantically twist and manipulate them into cozy nooks. Then, without warning, Blast erupts with an originality only the indie gaming scene can bring.

Red gas cans spark to create small explosions which, in turn, ignite nearby crates full of TNT, culminating in a thunderous, raging chaos of fire and debris. And when the thick blanket of smoke recedes into the depths of the mine, and the dust settles to a calm on the cave floor, you find your ore processing apparatus happily chugging away at what appears to be... a glorious nugget of gold!

At least, that's how it's supposed to work.

Unfortunately, the game is marred by an awkward and ultimately unsatisfying control scheme. You'll find yourself struggling to manipulate pieces to their strategic locations and juggling the components needed to initiate massive explosions, which often fail as fizzing duds when your timing and technique are just short of perfect. Using an optional gamepad improves the experience incrementally, but the problem is deeper than the input device.

Thankfully, the game sports another – far better played – game mode. In Blast Miner's Puzzle mode, the pace slows to a halt as you patiently orient all the components of an explosive chain in such a manner to rocket a golden nugget through the level's exit. A combination of Mouse Trap and The Incredible Machine, you are presented with all the tools necessary to perform the feat, while watching a virtual budget that strategically limits your designs to only the most creative. If you can manage to carefully arrange each piece just so – from TNT to gasoline and sparks – you are rewarded with a series of chain reactions that ultimately lead to your success, and a wealth of gold.

While simple, Blast Miner's graphics are well produced, the style unearthing memories of old Ren and Stimpy episodes with its dirty, cartoon design. Animations are simple, but effective and entertaining. However, despite these presentational flairs, the game curiously lacks a music soundtrack. To many, this isn't important as they find themselves listening to their own music collection, but this aural void was quite noticeable, nevertheless. I expected a creative and well-produced soundtrack to match the game's visual flair, and its absence was cold.

Despite these presentational missteps, Blast Miner succeeds as a fun and engaging game. If you're looking for a fast-paced, action-puzzle game to whet your appetite, you might be disappointed by this flawed performer. But if you're an armchair blast engineer with a penchant for patient, strategic play, you'll find this game glistens with more than a little bullion. The game is not without its hiccups, but there's a little something for everyone.

Graphics:
The unique style Blast Miner reflects through its display is an intriguing addition to the indie gaming scene. The graphics and exaggerated animations suit the game perfectly and transform a dull theme into something interesting and worth digging into.

Sound:
Unimpressive and uninspired sound effects combined with the utter lack of any music disappoints this Blast Miner fan. With the kind of creativity this game explodes with, it could have been a step above the rest, but unfortunately, the developers buried this critical component.

Gameplay:
A Jekyll and Hyde affair, this game did so much right, and yet, so much wrong. Unless you have weeks to master the difficult control of Blast's Action mode, you'll find yourself exploding with rage at your failed attempts. But if you're panning for a golden nugget of pure puzzle play, you can't fail with this game's strategic facet.

Concept:
A very clever twist on the familiar puzzle genres, Blast Miner really amps up the creativity to explore areas never before seen in gaming. For better or for worse, Blast is on the right track, and I can only hope they tackle the problems of this iteration in a well-placed sequel.

Value:
With the ability to create your own mind-bending puzzles and download new ones, Blast Miner sports virtually unlimited play and diversity. That is, of course, if you're content with limiting yourself to this game's Puzzle mode. Otherwise, you might find yourself getting bored after level upon level of repetitive play in Blast's frustrating Action mode.

Recommendation:
If you are looking for a well played, slow paced puzzler, you can't go wrong with Blast Miner. The sheer excitement of seeing a complex chain reaction of your own design is more than enough to ignite your interest. If you can look past this game's flawed facade, you'll find a highly polished gem, er...nugget, at its core.