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Breakquest for Sony PSP is a reimagining of the classic Breakout game and later versions also known most famously as Arkanoid. It was under this title that I became most familiar with the series, and I would stay that despite the name, Breakquest is actually more an homage to Arkanoid, given its use of powerups to help you progress through each stage.
There is no story in this game; just you as a paddle shaped object moving frantically across the screen, trying to keep a ping-pong like ball from falling off the screen, causing you to lose a life. The goal is to keep the ball onscreen, destroying rows of colored blocks. Eliminate them all and it’s on to the next level.
The graphics in this game faithfully recreate the retro look of the game sure, but are still quite barren. The backgrounds mostly look the same, even though they change from level to level. Doh it Again on SNES was much more visually creative than this. A shame.
Music is easy to review, because there is none! I can’t fathom why there isn’t any, as these types of games go well with practically any type of music, due to the quick action and rapid moves required to succeed. The only real tunes are a brief wah wah wah when you lose all your lives. This is a total failure of imagination and clear lack of effort. Just because the game is a budget title is no excuse to skimp on a vital part of the presentation!
Gameplay is classic Breakout with some odd design choices that serve to make it better in some ways and worse in others. You bounce a ball off a bumper, seeking to eliminate all of a certain object in the stage. Sometimes it is simple block shapes, other times it is many different kinds of objects.
Many of the classic powerups return to help you deal with the randomness of the ball, like lasers and missiles. There are actually many different types of both of these weapons and they’re fun to mess around with. There are some that change the shape of your bumper to make it easier to bounce the ball, and sinisterly, others make it harder by reducing the size of it and so on. It all adds up to a unique take on this game, but there is one big flaw that hurts the game for me.
There is no way to save your progress. The only way to know that you have defeated all of the 50+ stages if to keep track of which one you have finished. Given that they are identified by picture rather than number and that there is no indication when you have beaten a stage, doing this is more trouble than it is worth. Add in the fact that pressing start when the game is paused oddly quits the game and you have two areas that are bound to cause players needless headaches; they sure did for me.
The other concern is the imprecise controls. While you are able to select multiple bumpers (that seem to control the type of powerups that appear) and the fact that they all have boosts to help you get to a straying ball quicker, I’ve observed the tendency of the ball to sometimes get stuck on the bumper, causing it to seemingly pass through and for you to lose a life. This happens more often some times than others, suggesting it is a glitch.
Replay value is hard to gauge, as the quest mode almost wants you to have difficulty checking your progress. Luckily there are multiple modes that alter everything from frequency of powerups to the speed of the ball, so there are definitely a lot of ways to play, especially if you are a fan of this classic game. And there is always arcade mode with totally random stages each time to keep things interesting for those looking for a quick play session.
Challenge is pretty inconsistent due to the noted glitch. There are multiple difficulties for those looking for additional challenges and you can alter the amount of lives you have, so this game is only as difficult as you want it to be. Of course, some stages have been unclear goals (the hanging balloons) so lack of certainty will be a factor more than a challenge. I guess all you really need to know is to keep the ball away from the bottom of the screen!
Breakquest is a fun little game, and the best Minis game I’ve seen for the PSP so far. It seems like the ideal game to play in short bursts, for both fans of the game and those new to games.
- Ugly Bob
