Blast Factor (PlayStation 3)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.6 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Greg Mueller
• Reviewed on: 11/17/2006
• Released on: 11/17/2006
• Originally published on GameSpot: Blast Factor (PlayStation 3) Review

Blast Factor is one of the first downloadable games for the PlayStation 3. It's a fixed-screen shooter that bears an uncanny resemblance to the popular Geometry Wars on the Xbox 360. But despite feeling very familiar, Blast Factor does add a couple of unique twists that make it a little more than just a clone of a clone. The problem is that it's just too short and simple to last for more than a couple of hours, and it leaves no lasting impression beyond that.

You are the pilot of a G-18 Nanite Interceptor, which is a tiny ship that is injected into infected "specimens" to destroy viruses. There are seven specimens in all, and each one contains several screens that you have to clear. Each screen is a hexagonal "cell" full of fluid and various colored viruses that skitter about. It's your job to clear the viruses out of the cell by shooting them. Once you've cleared a few waves of viruses, you'll move on to the next cell.

Depending on how you perform, you can take multiple paths through each specimen. So if you perform expertly on the first cell, you'll move on to the "hard" cell, but if you die once or twice on the first cell, you'll instead move on to the "easy" cell. Each specimen has a series of six cells to clear, with a bonus cell in the middle and a boss--or "nano-core"--cell at the end. The bonus cell has you killing as many viruses as you can within a limited time, which increases your score and nets you an extra life. The boss cell is the same for each specimen, which is disappointing because the boss isn't very interesting or fun to fight, and it doesn't pose much of a challenge. In fact, the boss cell is usually the easiest cell in each specimen.

For the most part this game plays like an average shoot-'em-up. You move with the left analog stick and fire by pointing the right analog stick in any direction. This lets you move in one direction while firing in another. You have unlimited ammo and a fast rate of fire, but that doesn't make it easy to shoot the small, fast-moving viruses. You can get power-ups such as homing shots and a three-way shot, but these items are few and far between, and they don't last very long once you get them. When the swarms of viruses get out of hand you can press either the L2 or R2 button to activate your "repulsor," which generates a small force field that will push viruses away from you, though it usually won't kill them. The only limit on using the repulsor is that you have to wait a couple of seconds for it to charge between uses.

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