Absolute BrickBuster

Genre: Arcade Brick Breaker

Players: 1

.

Review:

Absolute BrickBuster is an Arcade-style Brick Breaker released on the Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2010 and then grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when that system was released.

Curiously, even though Absolute BrickBuster isn’t a classic Board Game like other games in developer Tasuke’s line of DSiWare titles, it still presents players with the same basic menu setup, even down to offering “free play” and “challenge” modes, with the same energetic menu music, and the same 2D anime-style characters that players can select from to influence the abilities of their Brick Breaker paddle. Thankfully, the actual game itself presents something more typical of the genre, with a 2D presentation that by default looks like a high-tech setting with a spacey background, backed by yet even more energetic music. It’s nothing extraordinary, but it works well enough for the game.

However, while the recycled presentation more or less works here, the gameplay sadly does not. This game commits the cardinal sin of Arcade-style Brick Breakers: The location on your paddle where the ball hits has absolutely no influence on the angle of the rebound. In other words, this is a Brick Breaker where players have absolutely no way of influencing the direction the ball travels. All you can do is ensure that it doesn’t fall into the game’s pit, and perhaps occasionally use a special ability.

As if this wasn’t enough, as you progress through one of the game’s levels, you may find yourself inadvertently setting loose some enemies that start flying back and forth across the game’s field and generally being a nuisance, at times immediately deflecting your ball after you unintentionally bounce it into them. Know that hitting these things does nothing to destroy them – once they’re on the game board they will stay there until you complete the level.

I would complain about the lack of multiplayer here, but really, what’s the point? I don’t want to play any more of this game in single-player, so I’m definitely not going to want to subject a friend to this.

Okay, so I’ll make this easy on you – if you want a great Arcade Brick Breaker on the Nintendo 3DS, you want to get Siesta Fiesta, that game is an absolute must-play title. If you want something that’s cheap but still enjoyable, go for the Virtual Console game Alleyway – it’s in black and white, but it’s a decent enough take on the genre. Every other Arcade Brick Breaker on the Nintendo 3DS is absolute trash. I suppose we can joke that this is where Absolute BrickBuster derives its name from, because this game is an absolute piece of crap. Or at least, I could joke about that, except the Board Game titles in the Absolute line of games are actually pretty decent. This game, though? Avoid it.

tl;dr – Absolute BrickBuster is an Arcade-style Brick Breaker that recycles some of the assets from other games in the Absolute series, and then slaps them on a game that has some absolutely terrible mechanics and game design. Trust me, if you want an Arcade Brick Breaker on Nintendo 3DS, get Siesta Fiesta instead. And don’t be fooled by Absolute BrickBuster’s $2 price tag – this game isn’t even worth that low dollar amount.

Grade: D

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Talissa, Eli Goodman, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}