Shatter on Playstation 3 Build-Up Preview.

Fresh from receiving a slew of award nominees at this year's E3, New Zealand's Sidhe have constructed an innovative take on the classic Arkanoid-esque gameplay with their critically anticipated Shatter. We take a look at what you can expect from the PSN exclusive.

  • More than a block breaker. Shatter combines all of the best elements from its inspiration and then some. Playing somewhere in between Pong, Arkanoid and Magic Ball, Shatter uses interesting physic manipulation to make the classic horizontal block breaking genre feel fresh. You'll be required to use a unique distortion beam which will allow you to suck and pull projectiles across the screen, shaping them into doing your bidding and maximising your score.
  • Boss battles. Like Space Invaders Extreme, Shatter pushes its inspiration to the limit by filling the screen with fast flowing stages and even a series of boss battles.
  • Levels aren't just vertical. Unlike the standard Breakout setup, Shatter will see you playing in levels that are vertical, horizontal or even circular. Naturally you can imagine the challenge such level types provide, creating an experience that never begins to grate and constantly feels fresh.
  • Multiball. Where multiball is usually a power-up, in Shatter you'll be able to release secondary balls whenever the level should require it. This means that game constantly stays frantic, without becoming too overcomplicated.
  • Over 90 minutes of great music. Electro may not be your cup of tea but it'll be hard not enjoy the tunes that Shatter will have pumping through your subwoofer this Thursday. Remember to crank the bass up to 11 for this one. Interestingly a soundtrack release is planned, either via the PSN or iTunes. Which is fantastic news because we want to put the tunes into Wipeout HD.
  • Great aesthetics. Taking its cues from the likes of the Pixeljunk games and Geometry Wars, Shatter runs in a full 720p 60FPS window packed with the clean futuristic prominence we expect from the emerging "new arcade" genre.

<em>Shatter releases this Thursday (23rd July) on the Playstation Network. We'll have a full review as soon as possible.
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