Shatter (PlayStation 3)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Carolyn Petit
• Reviewed on: 07/28/2009
• Updated on: 07/29/2009
• Released on: 07/23/2009
• Originally published on GameSpot: Shatter (PlayStation 3) Review

The simple concept of brick breaking as the basis for a video game is almost as old as video games themselves. Breakout first came to home consoles more than 30 years ago, captivating countless players with nothing but a paddle, a bouncing ball, and a ton of bricks. The concept has been reinvigorated from time to time by such games as Arkanoid, but it's been under-represented on the PlayStation 3. Until now. Shatter is a truly surprising new entry in the category. Its numerous innovations, coupled with gorgeous visuals and an exceptional soundtrack, make it feel not so much like a step forward for the brick-breaker genre as a bold reinvention of it.

In Shatter, you control a small machine called a bat that has a convex surface and the ability to move along only one edge of the playing field. As you guide this plucky little mechanism in its quest to overthrow its oppressors, you'll encounter wave after wave of bricks impeding your progress, just crying out to be destroyed. Luckily, you have just the thing to get the job done. The bat can fire a ball capable of breaking the bricks that stand in your way, and your goal is to keep the ball in play as long as possible, sending it on a collision course with bricks that need breaking and not letting it get past you when those same bricks send it back your way. The allure of this well-worn action lies in its simplicity. There's an unfettered purity to the gameplay that can lure you into a state of profound focus, where all that matters is keeping the ball in play and increasing your score. When you're fully absorbed in the action, it's very exciting.

The additions Shatter makes to this tried-and-true formula are remarkable because they introduce compelling new elements to the gameplay without distracting from the simplicity at its core. The most significant of these is the ability to suck and blow air with the bat, making minor adjustments to the ball's trajectory and vacuuming fragments of shattered blocks that fill up a special attack meter. This gives you a level of control over the action that extends beyond the bat itself and keeps you involved at all times--not just when you need to get the bat into position for a rebound. And if you like to live dangerously, you can launch two or more balls to ratchet up the challenge and increase your score multiplier. It's a cool risk-versus-reward option that is at your disposal at any time, so long as you have more than one ball to spare. There are also a few power-ups that significantly change the action when you collect them. Unstoppaball turns the ball into a destructive juggernaut that has a momentum oncoming bricks can't interrupt, while manueveraball makes the ball much more susceptible to the influence of your blowing and sucking, which lets you precisely steer the ball toward your intended target.

Shatter's inventiveness also spreads to level design. With horizontal, vertical, and even round level layouts, the position of the bat and the way the ball ricochets about the area is constantly shifting, which prevents levels from feeling too similar. There's also a great variety of brick types, including bricks that take several hits, bricks that try to blow the ball away, bricks that blow up other bricks around them, bricks that creepily multiply, and bricks that drift about in the contained atmosphere of the level. These last bricks mentioned can be quite a threat. If one of these loose bricks collides with the bat, it'll be knocked out of play for a brief moment, which can, of course, be deadly if you fail to catch the ball as a result. Thankfully, you have a shield that can protect you from these bricks, but using it drains the meter for your special attack, which is called the shard storm. This attack rains a devastating shower of shards on the bricks or boss in your way, which can be quite useful in a pinch.

Continue reading

Compare prices for Shatter

This product is currently not in stock at any of our online merchants.

Email me when this product is available