Review | Shatter
Format: PS3 | Genre: Arcade/puzzle | Publisher: Sidhe | Developer: Sidhe | Release date: 23/07/09 | RRP: $8
By Daniel Lipscombe
Playing Shatter is like trying to juggle four balls, while spinning plates, in a nightclub playing thumping techno that rattles your nerves.
Adrenaline surges through your body as you try to keep your hand-eye co-ordination in check, attempting to keep your thumbs moving in rhythm and controlling the toe tapping that will inevitably put you off your game. Shatter is an experience that punishes your senses, and it’s bloody brilliant.
Taking the form of a Breakout-style arcade game, Shatter presents to you a playing field with a controllable paddle on one side and a forever-changing formation of blocks on the other. The object of the game is simple: destroy all of the blocks. Shatter adds a twist to the proceedings, however. By using the shoulder buttons you can blow or suck the air in the playing field, allowing you to bounce the “ball” around without touching it. A helpful addition, as you will need to dodge around many different styles of “blocks” on your journey.
You start with static, square blocks, easily destroyed by hitting them with the ball. Moving through the game, you’ll encounter triangles that blow your ball away, rockets that shoot off wildly when hit and floating blocks that move towards you if you suck the air. The variety constantly keeps you on your toes, as each has unique physics that can catch you off guard. Playing Shatter moves from a casual romp through an arcade game to not blinking for two minutes because you daren’t lose a life.
Each chapter of the game ends with a boss fight, all of which are enjoyable in their own way. The design of the bosses ranges from snakes to octopi to clocks, and each has a different attack pattern to learn and movements to avoid.
As usual, there’s always a weak spot to use to your advantage, and there’s a real sense of achievement when you destroy a hulking great enemy by using the air currents to manoeuvre the ball. If you can’t bounce or blow the ball to the weak point, then you can always use shard storm, a vicious power-up that unleashes a flurry of bullets for a short burst of time.
In order to use this, though, you’ll need to collect shards that are released from blocks when broken. Sucking them into your paddle will slowly fill the power gauge, but be careful, as this gauge will deplete if you’re knocked out of the playing field or if you bring up your shields to defend yourself, it’s a balance of power.
//Great balls
It all becomes devilishly frantic, with blocks floating around threatening to hit you as you try to keep active and hit the ball around while picking up stray power-ups. These can consist of extra lives, or may make your ball “unstoppaball” – meaning that it doesn’t bounce, but ploughs through blocks. You could also pick up “manoveueraball” which allows you to guide the ball without hitting it at all. These pick-ups are released from the blocks you break. Shards are also released upon destruction, and these not only rack up the points but boost your power bar too.
These mechanics make Shatter addictive, trying to beat your scores or succumbing to the “just one more level” trickery. However, the real charm to Shatter is its hypnotic soundtrack. Thumping techno beats pulsate constantly, while electronic riffs swirl and jump around, and bouncing beats and epic 80s-style synth strands draw you into each chapter. While in principle Shatter may sound like just another arcade game, the soundtrack changes those this. Each thump from your speakers raises your adrenaline, forcing you onwards with fury. Raising the bar of atmospheric music in a videogame, the soundtrack to Shatter is simply wonderful.
Shatter brings with it a new spin on an old idea, breaking down boundaries in its design and adjusting the old Arkanoid template to reflect the ever-changing industry. Just adding the air manipulation mechanic introduces many ways to play. Always one step ahead of the gamer, levels change from landscape to vertical Space Invaders-style, and even to a circular space that requires outside thinking as you can only cover a limited distance – and, of course, the trajectory of the ball changes in each area.
If there’s a downside to Shatter it’s the length on the campaign. It doesn’t take long to experience each level and be done with it. There is, however, a leaderboard to push interactivity between you and your friends, and boss rush mode which allows you to fight all of the bosses in a row. There’s plenty to keep you coming back, even if it’s just to be swept away by the aural accomplishment. For such a small price Shatter is a triumph for PSN, and a true gem.
9/10
Spot on review. I picked this up recently, too, and it’s completely hypnotic. One of my favourite parts about the excellent soundtrack is that many tracks are seven to eight minutes long, which means they don’t loop in a level. It might not sound like much, but to me it feels like I’m playing through a piece of music rather than just having some funky noise on in the background.
My skill at the game leaves much to be desired, however. I still can’t quite get the hang of guiding the ball.