Space Invaders Meets Pong (Arkanoid)

Member Name: Burning_Darkness

Product:	Arkanoid
Date:	25/08/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: simple, addictive gameplay, colourful graphics, satisfying sound effects

Disadvantages: None

Arkanoid is an interesting late 1980s game that combines the gameplay of earlier video game classics Space Invaders and Pong. You control a small bat at the bottom of the screen, and the aim of the game is to bounce your ball at the tiles above, thus destroying them, without allowing your ball to fall into the empty space below your bat. You can also collect power-ups with your ball, giving you extra advantages such as a larger bat, a laser cannon, multiple balls, and a 'sticky-ball' that repeatedly adheres to your bat allowing you to manoeuvre into a desired position before firing your ball off again. You encounter moving enemies too, in the form of little spaceships and weird face masks, which appear behind the topmost row of blocks from time to time and provide extra points when destroyed.

Unsuprisingly for a game that borrows so heavily from two pure arcade classics, Arkanoid is incredibly simple and very addictive, and its bright and colourful graphics and the satisfying bleeps and crashes that act as sound effects make the experience even more rewarding. The game has 33 levels and becomes increasingly difficult, though the difficulty curve is enough to offer a solid challenge without becoming so hard as to be frustrating.

Given that Arkanoid relies on engaging, simple gameplay rather than flashy graphics, movie licences or novelty concepts, it remains as much fun today as ever and is great for a quick nostalgic play now and then.

Summary: A great retro gaming experience