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They say the old games are the best, but what of a new game that plays like an old game?

How many times have you picked up a new game, only to find that it is not new but incredibly old and a clone at that? My guess is that is has happened to you often, as many games released today, especially budget games, are either clones or re-released games of yesteryear.

Breakout began in the mists of time - the late 1970s anyway. After some time the arcade operators noticed that there was less and less interest being shown in the machines and they were taken out of service.

Breakout was forgotten about for many moons and then Taito resurrected it and re-launched it as Arkanoid. Since Arkanoid first appeared on a home computer we have been bombarded with similar clones of this ancient concept - bounce a ball round a court while knocking out coloured bricks.

The concept is simple and the game challenging and enjoyable, yet one can have just so much of a good thing. There must be 50 Breakout-type games available across the broad range of home computers, so will another one tip the balance?

I doubt it but it is worth thinking about. I have had enough of Breakout and Arkanoid and any other relatives to last me a lifetime.

It should be noted that any Breakout game should be played using either a paddle, mouse or any controller which is speedsensitive. A joystick or keyboard will always give the same speed to the bat and so makes the game incredibly difficult.

Batty is the latest budget release from Encore. It is basically an Arkanoid clone with very few subtle differences. The main and most noticeable difference is a small space invader at the top of the screen firing lasers at you. They must he avoided. Other than that, the game is virtually identical. The only differences are subtle to avoid infringement of copyright.

As usual, many blocks are tougher than others and require to be hit a number of times before they disintegrate. Some blocks release special pods which drop towards the bottom of the screen. If caught they will change your bat into something special.

As you might expect, I'm not exactly raving about this game. It is a copy of a copy of a copy. There is little which is new and it includes all the features from previous games.

I am not saying that the game is bad. In fact, it is reasonably good but it is becoming incredibly boring to keep seeing these kind of games. Does nobody have any new and original ideas?

Graphically, Batty is very colourful. The sound effects are reasonable but the gameplay is somewhat lacking because of the uncontrolability of the bat speed. If it were possible to play it with a mouse or paddle, it would enter a whole new area of youngster fun.