Block Breaker 3 Unlimited Review

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Block Breaker 3 Unlimited Review

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Block Breaker 3 Unlimited Review

By Blake Grundman on July 27th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: BREAKING EVEN
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

After a lengthy absence from the block breaking genre, Gameloft tries to ride triumphantly back into the kingdom, but ends up falling a little flat.

Developer: Gameloft
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0.1
App Reviewed on: iPhone 4

Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.31 out of 5 stars

Bouncing balls – never has a single element been more present and crucial to the success of gaming as a hobby. Heck, if one were to go all the way back to the days of Pong, what is the object of every player’s desire? That’s right, a bouncing ball. Years later this obsession with the ricocheting orb hasn’t deviated much, other than the incessant need for colorful flourishing power-ups and fancy background music. The sad reality is that the Block Breaker genre of games boil down to the simple concept of juggling as many balls in the air as possible. Is this enough to keep Block Breaker 3 Unlimited fresh, or has this well been tapped dry long ago?

After a couple of years of leaving the Block Breaking scene to other developers, Gameloft has decided to return to the arena with their proverbial guns-a-blazing. Adding in everything that veterans have been longing for such as massive sprawling stages and amazing new weaponry, it definitely looks as if they are trying to make up for lost time. Newcomers may be somewhat caught off guard by elements like rather larger set piece boss battles and paddles that can appear on nearly every exposed axis, but rest assured that there is more than enough action for everyone, while still keeping things tremendously accessible.

While most new additions seem to breathe new life into this tired game type, collectable elements that are hidden within each stage prove to be more befuddling than actually welcome. Just ask yourself what logical purpose can there be for a random pair of stiletto shoes to come falling towards your paddle? For that matter, are you supposed to collect said items or dodge them like the audience pandering necessities that they are? Regardless, they seemed dramatically out of place and screamed of replayability fodder.

Without question the biggest issue that the game needs to still address is the placement of the paddles in some of the more hectic stages. Under several circumstances ill conceived layouts result in the player’s finger frequently obstructing a very necessary and valuable piece of real estate on the screen, making it nearly impossible to return shots effectively.

Though Block Breaker 3 is a strong re-entry for Gameloft into the genre, it reeks a bit of trying too hard. There will be plenty to keep fans happy and coming back, but there are certainly plenty of refinements that could be made to take the game from merely good to balls-out amazing.