Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Worth playing"

I was never very good at Breakout or Arkanoid, especially in my younger days. Thanks to years of gaming I finally have decent reflexes, so that when I go back and play those game, they seem a lot easier.
Here come Shatter from PSN, which adds so much to those basic games, yes is still quite simple and easy to learn. Still the ball and paddle model, but with the added dimension of being able to "suck" and "blow" the ball to add some direction control. Much of the time playing I didn't even let the ball touch the paddle, choosing to instead direct the ball(s) using the "suck and blow" ability.
Boos fights are another interesting and almost schmup-like addition, which works well. The boss fights added some difficulty, and are surprisingly well done, with only a bit of repetition.
With the obligatory trophy support and online leaderboards there is a decent amount of replayability. I was about to get almost all the trophies on the first go, but I still have the Boss Rush mode and "full game without continue" sprint to keep my playing.
For $7.99 US, Shatter is a great value gem for any PSN collection.