GamesRelay

Name: BreakQuest

Every since the dawn of Gaming History there has always been a game involving a Bat and a Ball, it's a classic gaming formula and some version or other is always released no matter how hi-tech the platform. BreakQuest is a new PlayStation Portable Mini game from Beatshapers under the license of Nurium Games, it enters the great bat and ball arena and tries to bring a little something else to the table along with it.

BreakQuest follows the tried and tested Breakout formula of using your bat and ball (in the guise of a ship) to slowly bash away at bricks in the sky, the story behind this being that a huge company conglomerate has gotten the world addicted to its thousands of TV stations and you must battle your way through the games 100 levels placing transmitters which will interrupt the satellite signals and free the world from its trance like state.

The game isn't a simple Breakout clone though, it introduces some elements of its own into the mix, there's a physics engine at work in the background making the blocks and other obstacles react to the ball in a realistic manner which can make the levels seem a little frantic at times. You can never really be sure which direction the ball is going to take and you'll be zooming around the bottom of the screen trying to keep up with it. Some of the bricks will drop down a bonus or power-up when broken, these can have a positive or negative effect on your gameplay.

There are many weapons at your disposal, in a variety of guises, there's the Power gun which as the name suggests is powerful but comes with limited ammo, then there is the Automatic gun which shoots away on its own, plus a couple of other gun modes to discover. For those seeking a bit more bang then you can also collect missiles which again take different forms and include special missiles known as Seekers for taking out moving targets, or GPS missiles which you can guide by moving your ship from left to right. On the down side to these, some of the power-ups will have a worsening effect on your ship; The Drunk Engine will seriously effect your engines and can cause your ship to leave its normal resting place at the bottom of the screen and veer off closer to the bricks, worse still, it can make you leave the confines of the normal gaming area. Your engines can also be affected so that the manoeuvrability is compromised when the Freezer power-up is collected, or the opposite if Hi-Octane is collected which boosts your engines when you're least expecting it. Suffice to say these power-ups can be avoided, but, not if your ball is on its way back down to your ship making for some interesting times. Honestly there is a wealth of power-ups that can reign down from the top of your screen, some are good, some are bad, some affect the ship, and some effect the ball, but there is more packed into this game then any other similar game I can think of. You've also got a reserve ball which can be shot off at any time so you can have two balls bouncing around if you wish, should you lose this ball then you'll have to collect more power-ups to replenish it, though, at times, one ball is more than enough to think about and it's only really useful towards the end of a level. It's probably worth noting that due to the widescreen nature of the PSP, some of the levels can seem a little cramped with little or no time to react to the ball should it take a sudden turn in direction, many of the objects hover above the ship quite close and hitting them is going to be inevitable which can seem quite frustrating at times, especially when few bricks remain and you can't get the ball anywhere close to them.

Control of the ship is pretty much as you might expect, use the D-Pad or the Analogue nub to move the ship from left to right at the bottom of the screen, moving the D-Pad will move the ship slowly, while using the Analogue nub moves the ship quite a bit faster; you've also got a turbo button assigned to the Square and Circle buttons which will give your ship a little extra push if you need it. Another novel twist to the gameplay is that you have some power over the ball by using the ships Gravitor, or, the shoulder buttons as they are known to most. This will bring the ball back towards the bottom of the screen and can be used to arc the ball into a stubborn brick if the trajectory of your ball is slightly off, but, it should be remembered when using it that it brings the ball to the bottom of the screen and not back to your ship.

There are two versions of BreakQuest to play, there is the Quest mode which acts as the games campaign mode, once a level has been completed you are rewarded with a key for that level which allows you to start again on the next level should you fail on your first attempt, collect 5 of these keys and you'll open up the games other mode, Arcade, which allows you to attempt random levels at a faster pace. These different game modes can be attempted at an easy, medium or hard level so there is plenty of scope for the player wanting a quick fix or for those looking for a harder challenge.

The graphics in the game aren't amazing, but, they don't need to be, they're reminiscent of old school games back on the Amiga. They are detailed enough with everything looking as it should and there's certainly a great deal of variety to them for you not to get bored looking at the same thing level after level. The music is also pretty good and chirps away in the background as you play, this again has an old school feel to it, probably as it was composed by the Maniacs of Noise who've been around creating game music since the days of the Commodore 64. The sound effects are pretty limited to their purpose, the knocking of a ball or the explosions from the guns and missiles, but all are done well when needed.

All in all this is a fun title to pick up for the PSP, it has a lot to offer for the price and should provide hours of entertainment to anyone who likes this classic style of game. There's quite a bit to get through in this game and the novelty of it all is quite compelling with that "one more try" factor kicking in when you've nearly completed the level for the nth time. Should you buy it? For the price, you can't go wrong at all if you're a fan of the genre.