Videos
Reviews:
-
The revered arcade brick breaker is here, and with some interesting new modes to boot, but one big problem…
When it comes to making lists of iconic arcade titles that helped to define their genre, Arkanoid is pretty easily the king of the brick-breaking hill, and with good reason. Its visual style, the inclusion of enemies which can complicate matters, and a variety of power-ups that many have imitated since all helped set it apart from its contemporaries. Thanks to this release you can enjoy the original version in all of its challenging glory, take on a modernized take on it in the Neo mode, and then additionally challenge your friends and family locally, as well as take on many more opponents in an ambitious Battle Royale style mode the game is named after. The good news is that, in general, it all plays quite well. I’m appreciative of the use of analog controls over digital (which can be tweaked in the settings as well) and the fact that the game is as challenging as ever when you take things solo. Locally, challenging up to 3 friends is also nice. The elephant in the room, which will hopefully soon be fixed, is the fact that the game’s signature mode unfortunately launched in a state that it’s unplayable. Even having gotten to play for some moments before every round would inevitably crash I’m not so sure I was a fan of the implementation as I found some of the visual effects they used to help make it all look more cool to be busy and distracting. That, unfortunately, makes this launch review a bit on the rough side, especially in light of the fact that the game’s pricing is high enough that there should be an expectation that it is firing on all cylinders. I have faith that at some point the Battle Royale mode should be working, but at this time outside of major retro brick breaking fans I can’t see making a case for a purchase.
Justin Nation, Score:Fair [6.9]