last time I checked, there were about 5 billion laser-redirecting puzzlers in existence, but [b]laser burst[/b] is definitely one of the better ones.
the goal, predictably, is to pop all the balloons by placing mirrors facing the right way. left click puts a mirror on a valid tile, right click rotates it before it's placed, so make sure it's facing the right way first. [b]mirrors can't be removed[/b], so basically there's no undo, but it's a non-issue, most levels are pretty short anyway. I found it weird that [b]the laser automatically fires after every placed mirror[/b], but it's often necessary to clear balloons out of the way and make room for more mirrors.
there are [b]50 levels[/b], unlocked one by one. the difficulty is somewhat uneven, and not only because 17 of them got added after release, but I didn't mind a breather after a trickier puzzle, and [b]exploding balloons[/b] were a fun mechanic, introduced after about a dozen levels. rating is based on the number of mirrors used, if you have 2 left, it's usually good enough for a perfect.
the presentation is fine, [b]the music is really good[/b], and there are separate volume settings, v-sync, resolutions and windowed mode, but they're only available from the main menu. a static background toggle and on-screen level numbers would be nice, but a [b]level editor and workshop support[/b] are also part of the package, so if the game finds an audience, there's hope for more content.
I'm not a huge fan of these games but enjoyed some of them, and this is pretty good as well, not stressful at all, no need for pixel-perfect precision. it takes [b]about 2-3 hours[/b], the price is reasonable, recommended for fans of laser-redirecting. oh, and the minimum requirements on the store page are greatly exaggerated, the game works fine on win7 and much worse hardware.
