Review:BreakQuest Extra Evolution
BeatShapers again look to change how we play and enjoy our block smashing games ala Arkanoid. This time boasting more levels and boss fights. The stakes have been risen, but does it pay off? lets find out what we thought of BreakQuest Extra Evolution.
First thing you will notice are the levels, theres loads of them waiting to be unlocked. 100 levels to be exact. Levels go along in lines, each line has 9 levels with the 10th level being a boss fight. There is 10 rows of levels so theres your 100.(Mentioned more to prove to myself I can do maths if I try) Each level is bright and colourful and varied. You will never come across the same level type twice. New mechanics in level are added, such as a melon level that sees you attempt to pop the seeds while avoiding attacks from hungry angry bees. Its random little things such as the introduction of more enemies that set this game apart from the others before it. Gone are the dull basic gameplay we are accustomed too, instead giving us a richer more engaging experience.
Pick ups play a huge part aswel and offer new things. For example you can change the shape of your bumper to a curly line to a straight box kind of layout. The new additions are not just limited to the bumper style either, rockets,lasers,scattershots,homing rockets,time bombs,bombs, they all make an appearance. The more traditional ones are still present so fear not, you can still get your multiball,fireball,magnetic bumper pick ups. The funniest pick up are actually the ones that change the shape of your ball, morphing it into such things like an egg or a cube. These do react properly with the level and can be very clever in their worth.
You can have a safety bar down the bottom of the screen to stop you losing lives easily. They work by charging up(you can see the bar filling up on both sides) and being activated with the L and R shoulder buttons. Once activated they remain until they are destroyed by you missing the ball. Cool thing is, that even when in use the bar underneath charges so you can bang a new bar up asap. Its worth remembering these bars as later on they are invaluable to success.
Few little gripes I had with the game are things like sometimes the ball would go through the bumper and result in a cheap death. The other being upon entering a new level it can be confusing to see what you can and cannot hit, so for the first ball at least it can be a case of hit and miss as you feel your way around the level. Minor bug bears but worth mentioning never the less.
Overall the game is excellent and looks good on the Vita especially. With so many levels and so much choice you will never run out of entertainment. Well at least for a fair few hours. Each of the lines of levels have the first level unlocked, so if you do find yourself stuck, maybe give that one a miss for now and try your luck at another level. The dreaded last block is hard to hit syndrome can still happen, but if after a set amount of time you havent hit it, the game will spawn a weapon drop to help you. I really enjoyed my time with this game, more than I thought I would. With levels that make think and levels that make you laugh, you cant help but fall for its charms. The boss fights again can be confusing but as before keep the ball moving and victory will be yours. Bosses look great and suit the game very well, yes they are huge and have lasers or mad special moves, but you have a ball! a ball kills all.
In game achievements are included as are leader boards, but again being a PS Mini title its all offline. its a shame as I think Beatshapers could easily make a PSN game out of this and add online support with bright sparkly graphics. In a nutshell BeatShapers have done it again and proved there is still life in the old break block genre after all. They have done a good job and again added another must have title to the PlayStation Minis library.