Wizorb
Wizorb takes the classic gameplay of the Arkanoid and Breakout games and wraps a novel world around it, resulting in an interesting take on an old genre.
You play as Cyrus, a wizard who finds the once peaceful land of Gorudo under attack by an evil presence, and it's up to you to put a stop to it.
Fortunately you are well versed in the mystical art of Wizorb, which allows you to transform into a magical paddle and ball, the ideal weapons to take on the forces of evil.
The gameplay works in the traditional style, with the player controlling a paddle located at the bottom of the screen that that can move left and right.
The aim being to bounce a ball up the screen and hit various bricks and enemies thereby destroying them.
Being that you're playing as a wizard, you naturally have a few spells at your disposal.
At any time you can shoot a fireball directly upwards from your paddle which acts as a hit on any object, and/or you can cause a gust of wind to alter the path of the moving ball.
Both these moves use up some of your magic, which is shown in a meter on the right side of the screen, if you run out you can't use your spells.
Each of these moves has a secondary mode that is triggered if you hit the corresponding button at the moment the paddle and ball come into contact.
The fireball spell will set the ball on fire, causing it to plow it's way through several bricks without bouncing off them, and the wind spell will give the ball wings, allowing you to control the ball directly for a short period of time.
However, these extra skills will use up more magic than their ordinary counterparts.
When destroyed, some bricks and enemies will drop things like potions, which replenish your magic meter, gold coins, keys, extra lives, and rubies.
While others will send evil spells towards the bottom of the screen which, if they touch your paddle, will cause negative effects such as slower movement, loss of gold, instant death, and so on.
Where Wizorb mainly differs from other brick breaking games is in the world that's been created for it.
You begin the game in a small village that has been reduced to rubble.
You can explore the area freely and speak to the various inhabitants.
The gold coins you collect while playing can be used to help the villagers rebuild their houses and businesses, and you'll be able to visit these locations when you've done so.
Not only is this a nice touch, but it adds a sense of satisfying progression to the game.
You can also travel to other areas, as shown on a map, which act as the different worlds you'll visit, each with a distinct look and it's own set of enemies.
The worlds are comprised of 12 levels each and end with a boss battle. Each level is a top down view of an area, with rooms, gardens, dungeons and many more all making an appearance.
Some of them feature doors, that must be unlocked, that lead to bonus rooms and shops where you can purchase various items to aid you in your quest.
While the gameplay will instantly feel familiar to anyone who's ever played a brick breaker game before, Wizorb has sufficient tweaks and enough of a personality of it's own to set it apart from others in the genre. If you like this type of game, then I'd definitely recommend picking Wizorb up, as it's one of the best of it's kind.
Get Wizorb on XBox 360
Get Wizorb on Desura
Get Wizorb on Steam