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Bust'em
Review #1
.: By:
Corn Bread :: Device
used:
iPAQ H3650
:: April 16, 2002 :.
I have always been a sucker for a good game of
Breakout. Back when I got my first Pocket PC,
JimmyArk2 was the
first game (and software) that I bought for it.
JimmyArk2 has
always been a mainstay on my PPC as well as being my favorite game, but all that
changed when Digital Concepts
released the game Bust'em...
Bust'em plays similarly to every
other Breakout clone in that you are in control of a paddle whose purpose is to
deflect the ball(s) and direct it to hit and destroy all the blocks on each
level, thereby allowing you to get to the next stage. I was pleasantly surprised
to see that in Bust'em your
paddle isn't limited to left and right movements, however; you are able to move
your paddle in every direction within its movement area, making for a very
unique and fun twist.
All of the stages have a very
unique and colorful look, and I especially liked the way
Bust'em uses a lot of different
shaped and sizes of bricks. You’ll encounter massively big squares, circles,
tiny triangles and plenty more besides. Hitting those itty-bitty little squares
and triangles is extremely hard, but
Bust'em also offers a lot of power ups to help you through those difficult
levels. You’ll be able to use unique power ups such as the Guidance power
up which will make your ball automatically seek out any bricks within the
stages. There’s also the Nuke power up which will spawn thirty to fifty
balls simultaneously. Keep in mind, however, that not all of the power ups are
helpful. Some will cause your paddle to grow smaller, and others will even
destroy all your balls amongst other things. I suggest that you read the
instructions included within the game to get acquainted with all of the power
ups.
Similar to RocketElite,
Bust'em also features the same
awesome particle effect. Whenever a block is destroyed, a splash of particles is
showered all over the level. But the particle effect in
Bust'em isn't just there as eye
candy alone, for the particles will actually gather at the bottom of the screen
forming a mountain of debris that hinders and limits the movement of your
paddle.
What really impresses me is that no matter how hectic, fast and chaotic the
screen gets, there are absolutely no slow-downs in the animation - the game
manages to maintain its stability and speed no matter what happens. The graphics
are in the same level of quality as
RocketElite - not too bad but not amazing, either. The sound effects are
very well done, and are always in sync with the game and the action on-screen.
The music could use some more work, however. The game play in
Bust'em is very intense, but the
music is rather boring and doesn’t fit well with the game.
By playing through the 100 levels on offer, you'll receive hints on how to
unlock the cheats, additional options, and the custom level editor hidden in the
game. Controlling the paddle is done via the stylus, although you also have the
option of using (and customizing) the hardware buttons. There is an option to
turn off the music and sound effects within the game, plus you can choose to
play previously finished levels if you wish to. A high score chart for each of
the difficulty settings is also available.
Its not too far off to say that
Bust'em is currently the best
Breakout style game there is for the PPC; the game play is blazingly fast and
insanely addictive. JimmyArk2 and
CEBall both pale in comparison to this game and, once again, Douglas Beck
has created another hit. Action/arcade game fans certainly won't be disappointed
with this game. With four difficulty settings and a hundred levels, you won't
easily tire of playing Bust'em.
Bust'em is sold for $16.99 and
is available for MIPS and ARM Pocket PCs, as well as desktop PCs (the desktop version
also costs $16.99), and can be installed in either the main RAM or onto a
storage card. 2.9 MB of storage memory is required, and an additional 3 MB of
program memory is needed in order to run the game.
Pros:
Cons:
Corn Bread's score: 9/10
Review #2
.: By:
Shaun Beane :: Device
used:
iPAQ H3630
:: April 16, 2002 :.
When certain game developers
release titles, everybody notices. In the Pocket PC Gaming community, one of
those developers is Douglas Beck. He is, of course, the mastermind behind the
smash hit, RocketElite. I've been
waiting for him to release another title ever since I finished my review of
RocketElite. From what I've read in
discussion forums, I'm not the only one.
I was, however, disappointed when I found out that Doug's next release would be
a Breakout-style game. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the Breakout genre,
but how many of these exist? Needless to say, I was anxious to see if the
uniqueness of RocketElite's controls
and animation could somehow rejuvenate the overdone Breakout game style. After
many hours of gameplay, I'm convinced that Doug could even make a Tetris clone
sound exciting!
One pleasant surprise was the
ease of registration. After the mind boggling
RocketElite registration, I was
thankful I just had to enter a registration code - even if it was eighteen
characters long using a wacky keyboard.
Bust'em can be installed to
either main memory or a storage card. I opted to install it to a storage card
and had not problems with either the installation or performance. The game took
ten seconds to load on my
iPAQ H3630
with no other programs running. This is the only delay. Once the game is loaded,
you're off and running.
The main menu is as follows: new game, options, game info, high scores and quit
game. Options enable the user to toggle the helpful hints, configure the
controls, select a difficulty level, and adjust the volume for both music and
sound effects. Bust'em comes
with it's own built in screen capture utility - nice for game reviewers! Game
info lists all the power ups available during the game. Definitely something you
want to take a quick look at because some of the power ups are more like power
downs. Game info also illustrates the stylus control and lists the game's
credits.
If you have played any Breakout style game before, then you'll be comfortable
right away with Bust'em. The
object is to destroy all of the suspended blocks with your paddle and ball.
Sounds easy and it is... for the first few levels, after which you'll be
pleasantly surprised with some not so friendly power ups.
The big question I had before playing this game is: how will
Bust'em stand out from the other
break out games? Well, there are really two big features (obstacles) that
accomplish this. First of all, your movement is restricted by a horizontal bar,
restricting just how high you can move your paddle; this doesn't sound so bad
until you hear about the second "feature". Every time you destroy a block, its
particles pile up at the bottom of the screen. The particle dust continues to
build and will eventually start to inhibit your movement. Your paddle will
eventually get trapped between the horizontal bar and the particle dust if you
don't finish the level first.
The power ups are what really make this game. There are so many different power
ups, I think I was on level twenty before I had seen all of them. As I mentioned
before, you'll definitely want to review the power ups list before you start.
Some of them will shrink your paddle, some will freeze your paddle, some lower
the horizontal bar, and others just simply kill your ball. With all the nasty
power ups, there are just as many nice power ups: the atomic splitter, snack
time, smart bomb, time warp and the most powerful - Nuke! Each has its
own sound effects and unique animations.
The graphics and animation for
Bust'em are just as good as
RocketElite. Sharp, smooth ... just downright stunning. If you have played
RocketElite, then you should already
be familiar with the smoothness (high frame rate) of Doug's work. Using the
stylus to control the paddle is very easy. There was no
getting-used-to-the-controls time for me. It acts just like you think it would.
Bust'em has 100 levels, which
should keep you busy for quite a while. Thankfully, after using all of your
lives (six), you can select the last level you completed to restart on. No need
to start all over. Half the fun is just seeing what the next level looks like.
When you finish all 100 levels, you'll be treated to some cheats! I could tell
you where they are but I don't want to spoil the fun. If you really must have
them and are too lazy to finish all 100 levels, there are several sites that
explain how to unlock them. Just search for other reviews for
Bust'em.
As with RocketElite,
Bust'em comes with a level
editor, so once you have completed the game, build your own levels!
You won't be disappointed with this game. Personally, I honestly couldn't find
anything wrong with it. Compared to the other Breakout-style games on the
market, Bust'em is simply the
best. Doug has done it again and continues to dominate Pocket PC games
development.
Bust'em is available for all
Pocket PC devices except the
Casio BE-300,
Jornada 525, and
Jornada 54x, and is also available for the desktop. ActiveSync reports that
the game takes up about 2.8 MB of storage. If you want to spend hours playing an
addictive Breakout-style title, then
Bust'em is for you. Yet another title to make your Palm friends drool! Now,
how much longer until Doug releases another title...?
Pros:
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100 levels = Replayability
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Level designer
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Absolutely amazing graphics and sound effects
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Smooth animation
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Numerous power ups
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Cheats!
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Easy controls and built in screen capture
Cons:
Shaun's score: 10/10
Overall score...
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PocketGamer.org
score: |
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.: Game category:
Action
& Arcade Games :: Reviews
Index:.
Editor's Note:
Please note the overall score of 10/10 is a
rounded-up average of the two scores (no room for decimal points here!). Please
do also be advised that the game's author, Douglas Beck, is a current advertiser
on the site. Needless to say (but I'll add it as a disclaimer regardless!), this
had absolutely no bearing on the review scores.
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