Michal Ždanský Broken glass is said to bring seven years of bad luck, but also several hours of fun on iOS. Smash Hit is a new game that appeared on the App Store last week, and it brings a rather interesting game concept, which, although not completely unique, has certain elements in it that definitely put it among the original original games for mobile devices.
It's hard to categorize Smash Hit by genre. Although it is more of a casual game, it is definitely not a relaxing game, as it requires fast reflexes, where a fraction of a second can end your journey through an abstract game environment in which there is no shortage of glass. So what is the game about? From a first-person perspective, you have to navigate through a given space that you move directly through. It is not necessary (or even possible) to avoid obstacles with movement, although it would be useful at times. You have to break any obstacles that come your way.
This is where the game starts to get interesting, as the obstacles are made up entirely of glass panels and other objects, either glass or connected by glass. Your only defense against them is metal balls that you "shoot" at the place where you tapped on the screen. However, there is one catch, because you only have a limited amount of marbles and the moment you use them all, the game ends. Fortunately, you can earn extra marbles during the game by blasting glass pyramids and diamonds that you encounter along your route.
The first few checkpoints are fairly easy, Smash Hit lets you familiarize yourself with the game mechanics. You shoot down the first few pyramids which add new orbs to your arsenal, if you hit ten of them in a row and don't miss a single one you are rewarded with a double shot that does more damage for the cost of one orb. Only a few glass panes will come your way and you will also encounter the first activateable power-up - unlimited shooting for a few seconds, which you can break everything around without losing a single bullet.
But in the later stages of the game it starts to get tougher, there are more obstacles, they are more subtle (they move, you need more accurate shots to destroy them) and any collision with glass or doors that you did not manage to open by hitting the button above them is penalized by losing ten balls. On the other hand, other power-ups will also help you, which, for example, explode after impact and destroy everything around, or slow down time so that you can better orient yourself in a quick sequence and shoot down everything that stands in your way.
The game is very dynamic from checkpoint to checkpoint, sometimes the movement picks up speed, sometimes it slows down and how many times a small inattention can decide whether you repeat the last checkpoint. After all, even reaching the next checkpoint doesn't have to be a win, because if you have a small amount of balls left and you don't come across any pyramids or diamonds along the way, you will quickly run out of all ammunition and the game will end. Especially from the middle, the game will become very difficult in places and will require accurate shooting and quick reactions, so prepare for many frustrating moments and quite a few hours of repetition.
The shooting of balls is also affected by physics, which is well developed in Smash Hit, and if you shoot, for example, at more distant objects, you need to take into account the trajectory of the projectile. However, physics also works in your favor. For example, a ball can shoot through several panes at once, and if you correctly hit the tough board suspended on four ropes in the upper corners, it will fall and you will save several balls than if you had to shoot through the medium.
The game has a total of ten parts, each of which is unique. It has different obstacles, a different environment and a different musical background. The parts are quite long, especially in the later stage, and if you end up right before the next checkpoint, you'll have to fight your way from the last checkpoint again. The interesting thing is that the passages are generated randomly, so their repetition will almost never look the same. After all, generating a level can affect whether you complete it at all. It sometimes happens that there are no cones nearby when you are low on them.
cheek successful, you will feel it especially the moment you start breaking the first glass objects and the shards start flying all around. A good physical model will add to the experience. Unfortunately, this also comes with higher hardware requirements. For example, on a first-generation iPad mini, the game didn't run completely smoothly at medium quality, occasionally stuttering annoyingly, which in many cases caused it to hit an obstacle before recovering. That's why Smash Hit offers a choice of three levels of graphics quality. I definitely recommend the highest one only for newer devices.
Once you've completed all nine "campaign" levels, you can continue to the final, endless level, where obstacles and environments are once again randomly generated, and the goal here is to reach the greatest distance, which is also your score to compare yourself to others.
Smash Hit is one of the most engaging games I've had the chance to play in recent months, and I wouldn't be afraid to rank it alongside gems like Badland or Letterpress. The game itself is free, but you have to pay an extra two dollars to be able to continue from checkpoints. That's all the money you spend in the game though, don't expect any annoying In-App Purchases here. If you sometimes feel like smashing something and want to satisfy your cravings on your iPhone or iPad, Smash hit is definitely not to be missed.
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Broken glass is not a problem. Seven years of bad luck carries a broken mirror.
Glass or mirror? Lately, the authors here have been writing a lot out of the way, I will probably stop visiting this website.