Every Extend Extra (PSP)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.7 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Ryan Davis
• Reviewed on: 11/28/2006
• Released on: 11/07/2006
• Originally published on GameSpot: Every Extend Extra (PSP) Review

With the release of Lumines and Meteos, Q Entertainment quickly established itself as a developer that could deliver fresh takes on familiar puzzle-game concepts while wrapping them up in stylish visuals and synthetic sounds, both of which would evolve over the course of the game. It worked fantastically with Q Entertainment's first two games, and Every Extend Extra sees this design concept applied yet again, but the returns on the concept have started to diminish. The sights and sounds of Every Extend Extra are quite attractive and varied, and half the fun is seeing how drastically the game's look changes from level to level. The actual gameplay is novel for a while, but it lacks the depth to keep you playing.

As with most puzzle games, the core concept in Every Extend Extra is suitably abstract. You control a star-shaped cursor that must navigate a field as formations of shapes and more aggressive, projectile-spewing enemies drift onto the field. Physical contact with any of these will cost you a life, and your only means for fighting back is to blow yourself up first. Hitting any of the face buttons will cause your cursor to explode, costing you a life, but it also sends out a shockwave that will destroy nearby shapes. These shapes will then release their own shockwave, destroying other nearby shapes, and so on.

Having the patience to wait and knowing when to detonate are probably the most important skills for succeeding in Every Extend Extra. You have a limited number of cursors to detonate, and the only way to replenish them is to pick up colored gems left behind by certain enemies. Still, you can't wait around for too long, as there's always a time limit to worry about, and you need to earn a number of points to advance. Each level culminates in a boss fight that, while varying wildly in appearance, usually focuses on the same discipline of waiting for shapes to drift into just the right position that is needed in the regular game. Every Extend Extra is certainly interesting as a sort of Bizarro World take on the fundamental game concept of blowing yourself up is bad, but the concept doesn't seem to go anywhere. It certainly becomes more challenging as a greater number of faster-moving shapes and enemies appear, but the action feels much the same on the first level as it does on the last.

Continue reading

Where to buy

Every Extend Extra (PSP): $7.24 - $28.99

store	price	in stock?	rating
	$7.24	Yes
	$28.99	Yes

see prices from 2 stores

Compare prices for Every Extend Extra

	Amazon.com	$7.24
	Deep Discount.com	$28.99