“Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy” is best described as a shoot-'em-up-meets-“Katamari Damacy.”

Players fly from left to right along the screen as a polygonal aircraft. They shoot down swarms of enemies in an unrelenting assault, then take down a massive mechanized foe at the conclusion of each level.

But once the player turns the enemy sentries into scrap iron, those structures pop up into the air. The player can collect them as they descend and add the parts onto their ship like a floating snowball. These makeshift power-ups add firepower to the player's ship as they continue shooting their cannons in any direction. They also provide a shield of sorts against enemy fire.

Like “Tetris” and any good puzzle game, it's a simple dynamic that proves strangely addictive. Balancing the aiming and maneuvering of a shoot-'em-up with the strategic planning of a puzzle game is a compelling activity of which players will not tire quickly. With eyes and mind fixed upon the play, the crude graphics and unspectacular music will likely go unnoticed.

The depth of “Blast Works'” game play is trumped handily by the amount of craft customization possible in its editor, which gives players say over every last detail of their ship. Bullet type, trajectory, ship color and size are all in players' patient hands. The editor also extends to enemy ships and levels, so there's more than enough to occupy one's imagination in the almost intimidating degree of details available to tweak. Once players have fashioned their own flyers, they can take to the skies with friends in cooperative multiplayer fighting either locally or online.

Though the simplicity of a game like “Blast Works” may have lent itself better to the WiiWare service, the discounted title still deserves a dedicated play-through. It's a game that simply won't fall to pieces.