Ageing computer hacks among you will no doubt remember
Breakout from its arcade days. Using a bat you bounced a
ball against a brick wall until you burst your way through. In
this 1987 version, substitute spaceship for bat, throw in a
few aliens and you have Arkanoid, an arcade hit from Taito.
The barriers are constructed from coloured bricks. Grey
bricks must be struck twice before they disintegrate, orange
ones are indestructible and are used to create simple mazes.
Great accuracy is needed if you are to angle the ball - or
should I say energy bolt - into the maze opening.
Barrier design is varied: Traditional rectangular shape, a
wedge, a channel of indestructible bricks which zig-zags its
way up the screen, and even a giant space invader. Quick
thinking, or zealous use ofthe pause button, is essential if
you are to assess a new screen's strengths and weaknesses
before you lose a life.
Hyperspatial masonry is not the only problem in your battle
through the void. Each screen has its complement of alien
spacecraft which until level five don't fire at you. They can be
destroyed with either bat or ball. Their hindrance value
comes in the form of unexpected deflections and quick
returns if they fly near your bat. On the plus side you will
sometimes get a bounce off an alien which sends the ball
through an awkward little gap.
Some of the coloured bricks contain capsules which
appear when the brick in which they aretrapped is destroyed.
There are seven types, each a different colour and embossed
with a letter. The capsule is activated by catching it on your
bat. This is not as easy as it sounds as the ball is often
returning at the same time.
The first capsule is labelled with an S, and slows the ball,
making it easier to hit. Better still is the E capsule which
expands your bat to twice its size.
C comes into its own on the screens where you are trying to
fire the ball into a narrow gap as it captures the ball and
holds it until you press the fire key. D stands for disruption -
the ball splits into three causing incredible damage. My own
favourite is the L capsule: This little baby arms your bat with
twin lasers, so now you can show these aliens what real
destruction is!
The B capsule is like a gift from the gods creating a hole in
the wall through which you can escape to the next level.
Arkanoid has been beautifully reproduced by veteran programmer
Peter Johnson for the BBC Micro.