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Budget Breakout addict Commander Zeplan finds himself and his ship trapped in the volcano-like world at a planet's core. Zeplan's only chance of escape is to deploy the globules of boiling plasma toward the strata of the planet's crust above.

The separate rectangular blocks that make up each stratum are destroyed on contact with the plasma, and for each block destroyed points are awarded. If the ship is moved too lethargically or inaccurately, the plasma is not deflected, and one of the ship's five lives is lost.

Different blocs have different characteristics. Some, when ht by the plasma, change its size and speed; others alter the condition of the ship. If Zeplan does not fall foul of their idiosyncrasies, he may yet progress ever upward through the different levels and once more see the light of day.

This certainly isn't an original game concept, and there isn't much difference between this version and the first hand-held game that you could buy. It'd be difficult to recreate this ancient game as something exciting and new, but I can imagine someone developing basic hand-and-eye coordination being attracted to Smash Out!'s smooth, colourful graphics.

What is this? Okay, so "Breakout" clones may be back in style, but one of *this* quality?! The control is sluggish, the graphics are simplistic and dull, and though I thought a lot of Batty I rate Smash Out! as about ten times worse than Arkanoid. Boring and badly-implemented, it doesn't even try to be anything different!

If Pirate Software keeps on producing dross like this, I can't see the new label staying in business for long. Smash Out! is just about up to the standards of a bad type-in listing - but only because of the addition of a screen editor! Thru The Wall (free with a rubber-keyed Spectrum) looks like a masterpiece in technical achievement compared to this tommyrot.

Joystics: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: Below-average, even in Breakout circles
Sound: Hardly worth the effort
Options: Screen editor
General rating: A clone with little going for it