Ricochet HD Review

I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for brick-breaking games. I was especially enamored with Arkanoid as a child. Its straight-forward, yet incredibly challenging gameplay hooked me early and often, and as I've moved through my life as a gamer, I've always gravitated towards the genre I loved as a kid. So when Ricochet HD was revealed for the PlayStation Network literally the week it was released, it immediately sprung-up on my radar.

Brick-breakin' ain't easy.

Those familiar with the PlayStation Network know that there's no shortage of games that appeal to the brick-breaking niche. And when you consider that the best PSN-exclusive game -- Shatter -- is a brick-breaking game, developers really need to bring their A-game in order to compete. Other attempts at satiating the wants of brick-breaking fans have fallen short of Shatter, but are still enjoyable in their own right. For instance, Magic Orbz and Hyperballoid HD both have their strengths and weaknesses, but unfortunately Ricochet HD has few redeeming qualities, making it not only the weakest of the genre on PSN, but overall a muddled, boring and frustrating experience.

In premise, Ricochet HD is exactly what you'd expect it to be: The player controls a paddle at the bottom of the screen (in the form of a car-like device) that's used to launch and subsequently bounce a ball towards bricks and other obstructions that litter the environment. As these bricks and obstructions are struck and destroyed, the ball is bounced back, and the process continues until there's nothing left to destroy. More difficult stages feature many obstructions that can't be destroyed or require multiple hits to do so. Pieces even begin to move around, while helpful power-ups and hazardous power-downs rain down from the sky to help or hinder your quest.

More Ricochet HD Videos

Ricochet HD sports a staggering 150 stages spread across fifteen planets of ten stages each. Each stage must be defeated for the next one to unlock, and naturally, the stages become more difficult. As you progress, new paddles will unlock, as well as new balls with which to use. All of this is contingent not only on getting through the levels, but also on collecting Sonic-like rings strewn throughout each stage, which effectively levels you up. The game does have local multiplayer modes for a second player, so if you want to bring a friend in and get him in on the action, he will also be able to enjoy all of the unlockables you've already uncovered.

Unfortunately, while having all of these unlockables and a leveling system is great in premise, the entire experience proves to be more incoherent than fun and rewarding. Ricochet HD is by no means the smoothest-playing brick-breaker out there, but its average gameplay is further hindered by the game's busy aesthetic, not to mention its lack of any sort of concrete explanation as to what the many options even do. A nice job is done explaining the plethora of power-ups available, but it does an incredibly poor job of expanding on many of Ricochet HD's other fine points. Regrettably, this seriously detracts from the experience, since you're not even sure what you're doing and why you're doing it, especially when it comes down to picking paddles and balls with which to play.

The normal frenzied look of Ricochet HD.

For instance, you can unlock a bunch of paddles, and each of them is purported to have special skills. After going over a dozen stages having no idea what the different paddles did, I finally received a power-up that unlocked my paddle's specific perk. But if I never received that power-up, I would have never known that there was even a difference between the paddles, even though Ricochet HD was mysteriously telling me there was. Likewise, the different balls appear to have different uses and powers, but without any sort of in-game explanation whatsoever, it's hard to say for sure if certain balls have an advantage over others.

It's these confusing moments that really sum up Ricochet HD. It has a lot of content, but playing it will leave you feeling mystified. Not only because the gameplay is subpar by brick-breaking standards, but also because its many features can be mind-bogglingly confusing, especially when much of what's offered is barely explained. In other words, Ricochet HD forces gamers to face the ultimate conundrum: a title that's chock-full of content and potential, but one that suffers from flaws that you simply can't look past.