Shatter Review

In essence, Shatter takes an existing gameplay design - one that has seen many a remake - and adds a fun little spin to it. A downloadable game off the PlayStation Store, Shatter provides little in the way of complex gameplay or epic storylines. What it does have, however, is an abundance of innovative fun.

You will have played this type of game before. The original Breakout game brought the idea of hitting a bouncing ball with a moveable paddle at some bricks to the masses and, since then, many remakes and copycats have been made. Shatter, largely, is no different. The player controls the paddle, moving it back and forth to propel a ball back into a variety of objects - the objective to destroy all the objects to continue on to the next level.

Shatter does give this game a refreshing twist though. With three modes, you begin at Story Mode which loosely explains the escape of a... fragment of... something... as he travels the... well, needless to say, the story isn't important. You're task is to guide the fragment through the levels, taking out the bricks with as high a score as possible.

The twist is provided in the games varying layouts. Most of these styles of games represent a vertical axis, with the paddle at the bottom and the bricks at the top. This is indeed a layout within Shatter, however there are also horizontal screens as well as the tricky circular screens, which really take some getting used to. These variations in layouts makes the game constantly refreshing, and takes away the sense of repetition that some of these games can face.

Shatter is a physics based game, so some bricks will float whilst others will remain stationary. It's a great addition which is coupled with the most interesting feature of the game. Your paddle has the ability to pull objects closer, as well as blow them further away. This includes the floating bricks, collectable shards and power ups as well as the ability to alter the direction of your fragment. It's simple to pick up and difficult to master.

If you activate any one ability for too long it could affect your game; for example, drawing shards and power ups closer for too long could divert your fragment into the abyss and lose a life or you could draw floating objects into your paddle, and render yourself useless for a brief moment. It's a brilliant addition to this type of game, and one that only those who master it will truly see the benefit.

As mentioned, the game does contain power ups, which are all beneficial to your cause. Collecting shards boosts your multiplier, which in turn increases the amount of points you get for destroying bricks. Sometimes it's better to try and start slow, carefully building up a multiplier before trying to take out as many of the remaining bricks as possible.

As well as these power ups is the ability to activate a shard storm, in addition to launching another fragment if you wish. The shard storm is activated at a push of a button, once you collected enough shards to fill a meter. It slows down time and allows you to pelt the bricks with shards, destroying a vast number of bricks. Launching another ball increases your multiplier, but takes a life as long as you have another life available. This is an interesting feature, which tempts you to juggle multiple balls to gain a better score.

On top of this, during the story mode, at the end of each world you are provided with a boss battle that must be defeated in a certain way. It's fun to see in a game like this, and enjoyable to take on something with a bit more energy to it. Again, this breaks the levels up and keeps the game enjoyable. Not to mention that many bosses require a little thought as to how to defeat it, such as pulling a boss so it's protective shield is moved and allows you to hit the damageable insides.

The graphics are simple and shiny enough; a wide range of colours and effects to combine with the delightful to and fro of your fragment whilst the soundtrack is upbeat and lively, and ultimately in keeping with the games feeling.

All in all, this game can give a lot of fun for such a small cost. Unlockable Boss Battle Mode and Bonus Mode provide a little diversion to the main game, but most of the time you'll find yourself aiming to beat your friends high score (which is constantly reminded to you on the bottom left of the screen) with the ‘just-one-more-go‘ sensation that these games tend to thrive on. This is definitely one of the best games available on the ever increasing PlayStation Store and at such a reasonable price it's a must-buy for everyone.