 |
| Source // Nintendo |
We've already had one new take on Breakout in the form of Shatter, but the block-smashing formula can be made into more of a puzzle instead, as demonstrated by DSiWare title Reflect Missile.
Rather than a paddle and ball, you've a launchpad and rockets, and while they can bounce too, you won't really be playing this game with that aspect in mind.
 |
| Source // Nintendo |
Frustrations
Like Starship Patrol, finding anything written about Reflect Missile in the usual places is a bit of a challenge, especially when it seems like more people know it as Trajectile.
Whatever you know it as, this is the puzzle version of Breakout, where instead of destroying everything, you have to destroy specific block targets and you've only got a set number of missiles to achieve that goal in.
Some missiles act very much like bouncing Breakout balls, launching into the stage to clatter off blocks and walls before they run out of steam and explode. Some missiles are designed to penetrate through lots of blocks, rather than bouncing off them, and explode after a similarly short lifespan. Finally - at least so far as I'm aware - some missiles blow up on contact, taking a good few blocks nearby with them too.
Each level will give you these missiles either alone, or in groups. You may, for example, be given a missile that can punch through some blocks to get them out of the way, and then be provided with a basic missile to send through that new gap to bounce into a couple of blocks before hitting its target.
You may instead be given three missiles that will explode on impact to clear away a lot of awkwardly placed blocks, before making use of the other missile types to clean up.
Levels get more difficult by either increasing the number of targets you need to hit, or decreasing the number of missiles you have to hit those targets with, and bonuses are awarded for completing levels efficiently, without using all your resources.
Final Word
That's about all there is to Reflect Missile, a little Breakout-like puzzler involving missiles instead of balls, and with minimalist graphics that help it fit into the teeny tiny download limits of the DSi, the future of handheld gaming, where cartridges will soon be replaced by memory cards. Won't they, Nintendo? Won't they?
Again, I've clearly not played Reflect Missile, but I have a pretty good idea of what it is and whether I'm missing out. In short, I'm probably not, but it's nice to see that Breakout can still be built upon after all these decades, and can still provide hours of gameplay for those who really want this kind of game.
It's probably more likely that I'll come across a Reflect Missile clone than Reflect Missile itself, and probably just as likely that I'll not be interested enough to check that out either, but that isn't to say the idea is one to avoid like the plague. It's not, it's fine, it seems perfectly playable, it's just not what I'm looking for.
Fun Facts
If you want to be complimented on your good looks, replay some missions to earn some medals. No, really.
Reflect Missile, developed by Q-Games, first released in 2009.
Version watched: Nintendo DSiWare, 2010 (Adam Prenger, dsiwarelover)