Zzap


Arkanoid 2: Revenge Of Doh

Categories: Review: Software
Publisher: The Hit Squad
Machine: Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Zzap #74

Arkanoid 2: Revenge Of Doh

Way back in the mists of time there appeared a game called Breakout, an incredibly primitive game which most people were soon happy to forget about. But not Taito, they poured masses of new ideas into an Eighties rewrite and had such a big hit with Arkanoid a sequel was inevitable.

In Arkanoid 2: Revenge Of Doh, you play the part of a brave warrior who must once again defeat the evil Doh. But four thousand years have passed since his last visit, plenty of time for him to find and use a huge alien spacecraft called Zarg as his base. In your improved Vaus II fighter craft you might fight your way through the 64 rooms that make up Zark and finally face Doh one-on-one.

Each room is filled with differing formations of multi-coloured blocks, and the aim of the game (as if you didn't know!) is to destroy them with a bouncing energy bolt.

Arkanoid II: Revenge Of Doh

There are hazards, however (typical!): some of the blocks are indestructible, others take several hits to destroy and, all the while, alien creatures roam the screen and cause problems. Help is at hand in the shape of capsules that occasionally drop with the destruction of certain blocks.

These include lasers, larger or smaller Vaus craft, extra lives, increased bolts and a special capsule that bestows a random power-up.

The Zzap team in Issue 37 said that this was the best Breakout variant they had seen and gave it 89%, but three years on I can't say that Arkanoid 2: Revenge Of Doh particularly excited me. Over the years too many of these variants have appeared and so now it needs something pretty darn innovative to break the ice.

The biggest pain in the posterior is the controls - it's difficult to play this game with joystick or keyboard; you really need a Commodore mouse.

Nonetheless, if you didn't buy Arkanoid 2: Revenge Of Doh the first time round, it's certainly worth considering on budget.