The PlayStation Store has its share of Arkanoid-like games available for purchase these days. The current king of this genre is easily Shatter, though Magic Ball/Orbz is definitely a close second (or first for diehard fans). The latest title to try for the crown, Hyperballoid HD, is currently out in certain regions. Does it rise up and set a new standard, or simply bounce along in mediocrity?
This game was clearly designed by fans of the genre. For your hard-earned money (3.99 EUR), you get 100 levels across two different themes – an “Ancient” and a “Planets” World. The levels start out simple enough, but soon turn into incredibly complex wonders that you get to destroy with a ball or nine. Some of the later levels have multiple steps to them, where destroying one large structure only brings down yet another mass of bricks just waiting to be knocked into oblivion. It really cannot be stressed enough – the levels in this game are wonderful for fans of this genre.
But with that huge positive to this title comes a negative. There were plenty of times in my playthrough where my ball would miss a brick by just a few pixels. If you lose a life when there are few or no powerup bricks left on the field, the game can become incredibly tedious. Speaking of powerups, there are some great ones to be found here. The nuke slows all balls on the field and then detonates them, causing massive damage, shockwave included, to bricks around them, and play continues. The timebomb is one of my favorites – for the next ten or so seconds, any brick your ball(s) hit do not get destroyed, but rather marked, and when the timer runs out, they all explode and destroy surrounding bricks.
