"The original bat and ball and break brick game."

An original idea? An original puzzle? Don't be daft. Arkanoid is a cirect clone of... Arkanoid. Well many believe Arkanoid is the original version of Break Out and DX-Ball, I am one of that many and how pleased I am to see the original idea on my machine.

For those of you who havn't heard of Arkanoid before, you may have heard of a different incarnation, maybe in the form of DX-Ball or Break Out, games which you control a line at the bottom of a screen and have to bat a ball and break a large number of colored bricks? Bring back any memories? Hope it does!

Arkanoid is the original and one of the best versions around, only DX-Ball is better because of all the power-ups and modes of play. The original Arkanoid doesn't seem to offer too much, just a bat, a ball and a few bricks, however it is also quite addictive.

The aim of the game, already explained is to wipe out the screen which is full of blocks, You must break each individual brick by batting the ball to them. Jamming the bar fast or hard will result in a fast and furious attack, whilst a weaker one will be a slow, weak and sensible option. You also have to rack up big points but doing combos, try batting the ball through a gap to the top of the breaks or a chain brick and watch them fall. It is features like this which make the game addictive.

Surprisenly, the original includes everything that all the other versions have, this being power-ups. When you break several bricks, a power up may be left behind for you to pick up, which may increase your bar/bat or ggive you laser powers, which you can use to shoot brickswhilst hitting a ball at the same time.

As far as the graphics go (Which isn't very far), the game isn't made up of many colors or animations, you have to settle for the standard colors. The sound and music is basic too, but in a puzzle and arcade game like this, the gameplay is the magic which matters.

For those who want a dose of Arkanoid, then this (Or another format version) is the one for you. The idea has been done far too many times and like Tetris, all people want is the original, and this is it.

Good

- Addictive
- The original

Bad

- Graphics and music... but its the gameplay. What do you want? Blood?

Summary

Graphics - 5/10
Music - 5/10
Sound - 8/10
Gameplay - 10/10
Lifespan - 10/10
Enjoyment - 10/10
Challenge - 10/10
Originality - 10/10
Overall - 8.5 (or) 9/10

Alterntives Anything else which resembles Aranoid, Break Out for one...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/03, Updated 01/25/03