Blowfish Meets Meteor is an iOS block breaker that received a significant upgrade earlier this month. The latest iteration contains enhanced iPad compatibility, an improved physics engine, as well as new sound effects, animations, and music. I didn’t download the game upon its initial release, so I came to this adventure with the freshest of eyes. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed.

The story has players taking on the role of a concerned, underwater living dad whose mermaid daughters are held captives by various creatures under the sea. Armed with dynamite, oysters, and a bouncing red ball, our hero must free his children by destroying surrounding blocks and killing various enemies along the way. After you complete a number of stages, you’ll need to defeat a boss to advance to the next level.

Along with the boss fights, there’s also treasure to be had. Depending on how well you do on each stage, you will earn different colored gems which are used to unlock some deep mystery in an area called the gemstone cavern.

Along with the beautiful hand drawn animations, Blowfish Meets Meteor also delivers in the game play. Most of the game deal focuses on the mechanics of the brick breaking aesthetic, as you’ll be moving your diver from side to side as he throws the red ball at his targets. However, getting the chance to actually blow up bricks or kill your enemies with TNT adds an extra dimension to this well worn genre. On my iPad, I used a left finger to aim my dynamite at a target while my right finger slide my diver to keep the ball from passing me by. It’s a multitasking maneuver which took me more than a few tries to master, but in the end all that frustrating work was worth it.

The visual design of each stage also kept the proceedings fresh throughout my two hour experience, as each puzzle has a unique identity of its own. During certain sections, you’ll need to navigate the mermaids past hungry piranhas, and on other stages you’ll need to successfully juggle falling penguins and your red projectile. Currently, my favorite Blowfish Meets Meteor moment is the silhouette portion. I know it’s an oft-used style these days, but playing in the shadows is just my cup of tea.

Blowfish Meets Meteor currently costs $1.99 to download on the App Store, but thankfully once you plunk down the cash you won’t be asked to shell out more cash for in-app purchases. With 60 levels and over 10 hours of gameplay, that’s a pretty good bargain.

I really enjoyed my time with Blowfish Meets Meteor, and it’s a pick up and play experience that is a step above the average brick breaker experience. Saving mermaids isn’t such a bad gig either – especially when you’re swimming with family.