When I first received Balldozer I thought that it was going to be just like all the other versions of Breakout that I have and prepared myself for a long session with a game I do not like. The version I received was on tape but loaded surprisingly quickly. Having loaded it I found that there was no joystick option and I do not normally like keyboard games. This game surprised me on all counts. It is not like any other Breakout game and is very easy to operate using the keyboard.

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When you play the first screen you are faced with a wall of 6 rows of fifteen bricks in each row. The front five rows are normal bricks which disappear when you hit them but the back row only cracks when they are first hit and have to be struck again before they are destroyed. When half the bricks are hit, the ball speeds up and it would then be virtually impossible were it not for extra help you can obtain from balls which drop down from the wall as you hit some of the bricks. These take the form of extra lives, power shots (enabling you to fire right through the wall), lasers, down-arrows (slowing the ball down), up-arrows (opening a door for you to pass through to the next screen), ! (speeds up the bat if SHIFT is pressed) and my favourite which enables you to catch the ball. Some of these only last for a few seconds but others continue until you lose a life by missing the ball. You are allowed two of these at one time but some combinations are not possible, such as catching a ball and firing a laser.

Sometimes it is very difficult to catch these extras while still trying to destroy the wall and at other times you do not want to collect them but cannot avoid them. Points are awarded for theseextras and also for hitting the bricks. When you have removed all the bricks you move on to another 29 similar screens although they are all designed differently and have the double bricks in different places. There are also solid walls on some screens which remain when hit and a variety of techniques are needed for each set of bricks. Should you manage to complete these screens without losing your ten lives you are then presented with a- no I won't tell you I'll let you find out for yourself. Suffice it to say that most people who have seen this game say this is the best screen. I have played every screen and they can all be cleared of bricks although some do look very difficult at first glance. Up to now I have only managed to reach the eighth screen when I have started at the beginning and cannot see myself getting much further but would love to hear from anyone who reaches the final screen without cheating. The game is not without faults as I have had the ball.

Flying backwards and forwards across the top of the screen and had to turn off the game and restart it. This also occurs up and down at the side but can be stopped by hitting the ball with the bat in varying ways. I am not happy with the detection routine of the ball hitting the bat as I feel sure on many occasions that the ball passes though the ball (Maybe it is my eyes playing tricks, but I do not think so!). Finally on several screens the ball passes through solid walls, although this may be an intentional part of the program put in by theauthor. Incidentally, this is the first all machine code program written by Stewart Orchard and i certainly look forward to many more programs from him, I have become more than slightly addicted to this game and have enjoyed playing it despite having to load from cassette and the aforementioned complaints.

I do not hesitate to award Balldozer four Dragons and would certainly recommend it as a good buy even if you do not normally like Breakout games.