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The bane of artifacts everywhere... if it were cardboard. This isn't cardboard, though,
it's a video game, one of the oldest video games ever. I'm fairly sure that, in this
day and age, counting the number of Breakout clones there've been would be the definition
of a fool's errand. I've covered plenty myself, like AlphaBounce, Wizorb, Kirby's Block Ball...
god, I've started, haven't I. Awright, SHATTER! Shatter is different! Sure it's bouncing a
ball around some blocks, but Shatter's got a difference! Shatter... blows!
By which I mean, Shatter sucks. By which I mean, Shatter is a Breakout clone that incorporates
blowing and sucking as further means by which to control the ball... and blocks which might
be drifting about the playfield... and fragments of blocks which charge up your huge Typhlosion-style
shard damage attack thing. So that alone would probably be worth the price of entry. But
it doesn't stop there! Let's twist the orientation of the playfield 90 degrees and see if that's
any more interesting. Kinda strange, it's true, but the gameplay's the same. So let's
do something completely different: BAM. Circular Breakout. Your arguments from here on out,
until the end of time, are invalid.
Shatter's pretty liberal with the power-ups, partly because the game itself is such a paradigm
shift that you could stand a hand in some places, partly because there are also plenty
more hazards to worry about. Certain blocks may be held stable by other certain blocks,
at which point any disruption to that structure might see some drifting detritus. Should this
trash fall down/left/out far enough, it simply vaporizes and counts as cleared, but should
it make impact with the paddle you get knocked silly for a moment and lose control. And control
is everything in this game. In a rather brilliant fit of convenience the wall and blocks of
the playfield will show a small mark where the ball will make contact, which is great
for figuring out just how much you have to suck to get the reaction to fall where you
want it. And then, huge freakin' block octopus just because.
Yes, in the grand tradition of Arkanoid: Doh it Again, you're gonna have to play high-stakes
pong against massive fell creatures with very visible weak spots you have to work your way
toward. Again, this is where your massive Typhlosion-style rain of pain comes in most
handy. Gameplay-wise, Shatter's a good time, made better by a Rez-esque cyberscape and
pulsing soundtrack, and augmented by additional time-attack and endless modes, both single-
and local multi-player. You may now unleash your unrestrained giggling from the number
of times I've said Suck and Blow in the course of this review. Go on, go ahead. Suck. Blow.