Shatter

Oh my god, retro! Instant 10/10!!
I'll be honest - I'm not huge on the retro gaming revival trend. Games like Mega Man 9 and New Super Mario Brothers don't really come across as face melting classics. One tries too hard to be retro to the point of just not giving a shit about roping in newer audiences (some even consider it masochistic... what the hell kind of nonsense is that!?), while the other takes the retro concept and decides to make an easier remake of it. No matter what, I keep feeling certain concepts should be done under a different name, if to prevent disappointment or anything. Bionic Commando: Rearmed seems to be the only one that manages to keep the style AND keep it awesome under the graphics, achievements and other new elements. And then comes Shatter, which takes a classic Atari 2600 game called Breakout, and enhances the experience. You got the usual graphical and audio enhancements, but add a few different panels, powerups and a new mechanic that changes the experi...

Format: Playstation Network [PS3]
Price: £4.79
Developer: Sidhe Interactive
Publisher: Sidhe Interactive
Players: 1
Online: Leaderboards
Trophy Support: Yes

To be honest, I don't really play a lot of arcade games, especially not for the Playstation 3 unless it is something I find in Playstation HOME for free. Of course, by arcade I mean retro arcade, as in the quarter-munching genre and not using the broader term now used to generalise all small downloadable games on either PSN or XBL. In fact, the only arcade title I have ever divulged in on the PS3 is Super Stardust HD, and though it's not your conventional arcade title, it still harbours all of the traits of the genre. Shatter follows suit, recycling the aged corpse of titles generalised around the classic Alleyway and thrusting them into HD glory with many new features to boot.



If you have ever played Alleyway, you will know that the game simply requires you to eradicate all of the tiny blocks. You are boxed in and must use the wa...