games: Arkanoid DS

Taito are enjoying a bit of retro revamping at the moment and their excellent Space Invaders Extreme shows they can do it damn well when they want to. So what of Arkanoid which has just been redone for the DS? Well, I really wanted to like this one - it’s another classic and addictive title which I remember well from the hours and hours of my childhood that were devoted to it, but sadly this remake just doesn’t really bring very much to the party.

The principle is the same, use your paddle to bounce a ball against the coloured blocks in a round, collecting pick ups to help you on your way.

The presentation is ok, but disappointing when compared to how slick Space Invaders Extreme looks. With Arkanoid, the graphics look a little dated and the music inconsequential, although there is good nostalgia value in that it keeps the original sound effects.

The main problem though is that there are also presentation issues which seriously effect gameplay, such as the narrow field of play which makes the whole thing feel very squashed and which has resulted in square rather than rectangular bricks which can be harder to hit.

The gap between the two screens is also a big problem, and there is no option to adjust it. The ball ends up being out of site for quite a long time and makes it quite hard to calculate trajectory - something no less than crucial to the game.

The controls aren’t bad though and you can choose between using the stylus or the buttons, which use d-pad for left and right with the bumpers giving you a boost of speed.

Each time you play you unlock gamepoints which you can spend on different visuals such as backgrounds or blocks. This is a neat idea, but sadly the game itself isn’t compelling enough to really spur me into collection mode.

So in conclusion, if you liked the original and can put up with the presentation issues, this is quite a nice little trip down memory lane and an inexpensive one at that. However, I can’t help but feel that this title will leave many feeling a little disappointed, and that even the rose tinted spectacles of nostalgia won’t keep this one in your carry case for long. Sorry guys, 2 stars.

For the best of the rest:

Game Spot:
Arkanoid, a souped-up arcade remake of Atari’s Breakout, was probably the best game to ever use Atari’s paddle control. Although no such peripheral is yet available for the cell, Taito’s absurdly simple wall-busting game is just as fresh today as it was in the 1980s.

Euro Gamer:
Well now. The original Arkanoid was (and far more blatantly than Space Invaders) inspired by the original Breakout, only in this case the difference was - to put it charitably - “subtle”. That’s not to say that the things that Arkanoid added aren’t appreciable - moving enemies, power-ups and even bosses were all added to the original design to spice up what was otherwise a clone - but the series hasn’t stuck in our minds the way Space Invaders has.

Nintendo World Reoprt:
I was elated when I received Arkanoid DS for review. I was a huge fan of the original game, Breakout, and then the shameless rip-off, Arkanoid. The concept has been revisited a few times since the 80’s, most memorably in the forms of Alleyway and Kirby’s Block Ball in the 90’s. Here’s the basic concept: there’s a vertical field with lots of blocks at the top, and you control a laterally-moving paddle on the bottom. You deflect a ball off the paddle to hit and clear blocks up top. Clear a stage, go to the next stage. Repeat ad nauseam. It’s been 22 years since Arkanoid gobbled our quarters in the arcade; Taito just released an update! Surely, they’ve managed to spruce up the package…right?