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Who would have thought that the game of '87 would be a relative of the legendary program Breakout?

Well, Imagine thinks it has a winner with its latest release Arkanoid. It looks like Breakout but has many hidden surprises.

Imagine has already converted the original arcade version of Arkanoid on to other computers including the ST with considerable success but I'm sorry to say that the Atari 8 bit version is well below average.

The game has a very simplistic form - you control a bat in the form of a short tube. This must be used to keep a bouncing ball from reaching the base of the screen. The ball must then be ricocheted among a maze of coloured bricks, breaking down the wall until all are destroyed and then you go on to the next level. I know it sounds exactly the same as Breakout but there are nice additions to make it more fun.

Each level has a different pattern of bricks and various bricks need more than one hit to remove. Some have coloured one-lettered capsules hidden behind them and, as soon as you destroy one, the capsule appears and falls down for you to catch.

Each capsule has a different colour, identifying label and different effect. Catching a new capsule will negate the operation of any previously caught capsule.

The best capsule in most cases is the L for Laser. Your bat turns into a double laser which can blast the bricks. The instructions do say that a D capsule exists - breaking the ball in to three - but I never got one.

Released at intervals through slots at the top of the screen are aliens that cause great confusion between you and the ball. If the ball collides and kills an alien, the ball can rebound in any direction.

There are 32 screens to work through before the climax confrontation with the Dimension Changer, whoever or whatever that is.

Arkanoid can be played by one or two players and the bat is controlled by either paddles, joystick or the keyboard .

I have seen and played the ST version and this makes me feel even more disappointed about the programming of the 8 bit version.

The game lacks in graphics, the colours clash, making the game at times impossible to see, there is no music and it seems to give capsules out by the dozen making each level too easy to complete.

I feel that a lot more could have been done, especially with such an easy programming task as Breakout.