Blast Factor Advanced Research

Blast Factor Advanced Research is the sequel to Blast Factor, a title that hit the PlayStation Network back in 2006. If you think you have seen this title before, you are right – Blast Factor is built on a legendary arcade premise in which you are placed in the middle of a field, enemies spawn around you and you rotate your vehicle, firing and destroying the enemy. Don’t let them touch you or you are destroyed.

What sets this title apart is the set-up notions, and that it is a PlayStation 3 title available on the PlayStation Network.

SCEA, in conjunction with the Santa Monica Studio and BluePoint, is behind Advanced Research. The idea is that your ship, a Nanite Interceptor, has been dropped into an infected specimen cell. It is your job to pilot your ship from cell to cell, destroying the viruses that are the cause of the infection. You will progress through several cells until you get to the nano core. That must be destroyed in order to clear the specimen and move to the next stage of the game. There are seven specimens in total.

The field you play on is akin to a dish of various shapes, contained and apparently holding some sort of liquid. That is where the SIXAXIS controller comes into play. If the viral swarms touch your ship, you are destroyed. You can tilt the controller to ‘slosh’ the liquid around in the dish and carry the swarms away from you. You also have a repulsor (triggered by R2 or L2) that emits a buffer to push the viral swarms away from you. In total, there are six anti-viral weapons, including a homing missile, a super repulsor and even an extra ship. You pilot your ship by moving the left thumbstick; the right thumbstick aims and shoots.

Other features include approximately 19 enemies of varying difficulty, three modes of play (basic, advanced and hybrid), plus practice and high scores (and even a Blast Factor store is accessible), three game speeds (normal, AT and 2xAT) and two multiplayer modes – co-op and grudge that will allow up to four players to compete.

Graphically this game is a treat. The game juxtaposes bright missiles and explosions against a dark blue backdrop and one set of enemies blow up and give you the impression that you are detonating fireworks in an evening sky. The music has a futuristic bent to it.

The game is one of those that is easy to understand and play, but you have to have your game on, see the whole field, anticipate intercepting trajectories of the enemy and fire away to clear the stage. With the ability to up the difficulty ante, or increase the game speed, this is a game that will challenge everyone.

Blast Factor Advanced Research is a welcomed addition to the PlayStation Network and one of those games that you can play for 10-15 minutes at a time, or invest an hour in.  

Gameplay: 7.5
The controls are responsive and the game has a very small learning curve.  

Graphics: 7.9
Bright explosions and a nice contrast between the ship, enemies and explosions and the game background. This game looks very good for tried-and-true arcade format.

Sound: 7.0
Futuristic score with explosions and so on – much like the way Ricochet uses sound. It’s solid but nothing to get excited about.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 6.5
While the game does have some sparkly graphics, this is basically a premise that has been around for a while.

Multiplayer: 7.5
You can play a grudge match against another player or play a co-op mode. Simply plug in another controller and you are set to go.

Overall: 7.4
Fast-paced reflexive fun. This title does a good job graphically and has enough options to entertain for a while.