There has been a lot of great downloadable games this summer on both XBLA and the PSN.  This title happens to be one of them.  Shatter is a modern take on the classic brick-breaker genre, like Arkanoid.  The basic concept, of course, is to bounce a ball off a paddle on one end of the screen and break bricks with the ball, not allowing it to leave play by bouncing “out of bounds” behind the paddle.  I’m sure you’re all familiar with the basic game play right?

There are quite a few things I like about this title.  It has lush, HD-era visuals which make the objects on-screen really pop out at you and hold your attention.  Of course, most of your attention should be focused on the ball (or balls, if you have multiples in play) bouncing haphazardly across the screen.  One of the improvements Shatter makes over its predecessors is in the ability to somewhat control your balls.  Using the left or right shoulder buttons you can “suck” or “blow” (their words, not mine) everything not anchored on the screen – this means loose bricks, shards and balls.  Using this mechanic, you can somewhat control the direction the ball moves.  The only problem is, when you suck everything toward the paddle, for example, the ball comes back your direction a bit faster, and you have to be ready for it.  Other things like special bricks that have various effects, power-ups that come from broken bricks and a bonus bar that can be unleashed to do a lot of damage to bricks add to the mix of mayhem and strategy this title provides.  There are also boss fights at the end of each stage in story mode, which I found the most fun, because it breaks the mold of the typical level.  You usually have to hit a certain spot on the boss with a ball to cause damage to it, and you can follow the damage done on the boss’s health meter at the top of the screen.

One of the issues I encountered playing through various levels of Shatter is that the paddle is way too touchy.  You barely bump the analog stick up, and the paddle moves quite a bit if you’re not careful.  Sometimes its hard to precisely maneuver your paddle to rebound the ball, especially on a non-traditional circle-shaped stage.  Also, sometimes there’s so much chaos on the screen its hard to even see the ball – the bricks break into shards, which you use the left shoulder buttons to suck toward the paddle to collect, and the ball gets lost in the mess.  You can have multiple balls in play at once.  Many times this is at the discretion of the player.  But, if you do, its insanely hard to keep track of them all.  I hope you have good eyesight and reflexes!

Overall, I really enjoyed playing Shatter, and will likely continue to do so.  It provides quite a bit of game play for a reasonable price ($7.99 on the PSN).  There are three different modes that will keep you occupied for quite some time.  It’s a good time-waster when you don’t want to get involved in a larger, more complex title.  While you have to adapt to some things – such as the touchy paddle movements and the craziness which abounds on each stage – overall the game is a fun and addictive take on an old classic.