Ark: BreakQuest [by Nurium]

Game Review:  BreakQuest
Release: November 10, 2004
Genre: Arkanoid
Developer: Nurium
System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, PII 400MHz, 64 MB RAM
Players: 1
Price: $19.99
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I got to play an early beta version of BreakQuest months ago, and when I played it, I was immediately struck by the potential of the game. The physics engine that the game uses, and the way that the levels that had been built to show off how much that engine could do were both very solid. Eight months later when BreakQuest was released the potential of months earlier was not just met, this is one game that delivers beyond any dream of expectation and is one of those games that you should spend your time playing instead of reading about.

What makes BreakQuest so great is hard to pin down to a single item. What most gamers will initially recognize is the amazing way that the levels have been put together. While most breakout games provide you with bricks in various patterns, BreakQuest has gone to great lengths to make the levels pictures of ingenuity. For example, you will find one of the levels has a series of bricks that are hung from a rope, with one rope on each side reaching down to a brick, which then has two ropes connecting it to a brick that is below it. You may see a stack of 4 or 5 bricks attached in this fashion, with multiple stacks of bricks each connected to the top of the screen. Hitting the bricks causes all sorts of things to happen with the entire stack of bricks swaying back and forth as your ball hits the stack from various directions. As you hit each of the bricks multiple times they eventually fall from the stack down towards the bottom of the screen and your waiting paddle. This description gives you just a glimpse into one of the many different types of levels that players will encounter, each unique, and all of them are more entertaining than any level that you will find in any other game of this type.

In reviewing games there are plenty of games that you play because you need to in order to make your deadline and move onto the next game. BreakQuest was NOT one of those games. Instead it is a game that I played over and over again because I wanted to, and was continually struck by just how good it is.

Graphics 9/10
At first look most people may not fully appreciate the graphics of BreakQuest. The game doesn't have the immediate beauty of Reflexive's Riccochet series, but though the style is different, the quality is certainly not any less. BreakQuest provides a variety of different graphic styles that makes each level seem as though it is a level from an entirely different game. The brick sizes and shapes change along with their appearance to create a continually fresh look on each level. While it has been said of other games that the levels provide reason to keep playing so that you can get to the next level, with BreakQuest, the wonderfully varied boards within each level make for an exciting adventure that’s hard to beat.

Sound 9/10
I've mentioned before that the music has some moments that are reminiscent of the Falcom games of the late 80s and early 90s. Those games were almost entirely RPG games, and the music was heralded as some of the best music ever to be recorded for a game. It is really interesting that the music for this game would have some similarities with that music as you might not think that RPG-esque music would work very well with an Arkanoid game, but the tracks chosen for the game work very well and are quite memorable.

Game Play 9/10
The control over the paddle isn't quite perfect in BreakQuest. There are moments where you feel like the ball didn't go quite where you thought it would and where you miss a ball that you were sure you were going to get to. However, these issues are really minor, no more than you will find in any other arkanoid game, and are easily overcome. What players will really remember is just how varied the game play is. Games of this type have a tendency to become quite repetitive over time, but BreakQuest has managed to buck that trend. This is done partially through the different ways that the game plays. In BreakQuest both your paddle and your ball can change shapes by catching specific power-ups. Each provides a new challenge that is both entertaining and challenging to control. However, that is really just the tip of the iceberg for this game as the way that the game really shines is in the level design.

The levels have been carefully crafted in BreakQuest, to create a variety of different experiences. In some levels you will need to knock bricks off of a rope that they are connected to by hitting them multiple times. Other levels may present floating asteroids from the classic game, which must be hit multiple times, bowling pins that need to be cleared off of the alley, pseudo windmills with arms that must be hit multiple times, stacks of bricks that must be hit in a specific order, busy roads with cars that you must strike repeatedly and Piñatas that you smack with the ball like kids attacking them with a stick. These quick descriptions don't describe 1/10th of the level types that players get to experience when playing this game, and each level is both enjoyable and amazingly innovative.

Value 10/10
At $39.99 this game would have been a steal. At $19.99 it is a gamer’s dream! There are seemingly hundreds of Arkanoid/Breakout games on the market, and I've played most of them. I can say quite honestly that none of them come even close to being as good a game as this one is. Even for players who have been somewhat shy of the arkanoid genre stating that it really isn't for them, I'm convinced you'll be amazed by how good this game really is.

Concept 10/10
If you are wondering how an arkanoid game gets full points in the concept category, clearly you haven't played the game (and if that reason is for anything other than the fact that you are currently downloading it right now and reading this article while waiting for the download to finish, you need to change what you are doing and get downloading.) BreakQuest takes the typical Arkanoid game and turns it completely upside down. I strongly doubt that any arkanoid game will ever be better than this one. The variety of options in the way the game plays and the overall innovativeness of the levels is a wonder to behold.

Fun 10/10
With BreakQuest fun is the name of the game! One of the continual complaints that players have about Breakout styled games is that they are boring and repetitive. Certainly that is not the case with BreakQuest, which provides so many different experiences to enjoy that players will be pining to play the next level instead of wondering when it will be over so that they can move onto another game. The levels themselves are also not at all tiresome and I found myself often just watching the ball and different 'brick' types interact on the board.

Overall 10/10
With the release of BreakQuest there is no reason for there to ever be another breakout game...really! I've played most every arkanoid game that has ever come out and I’ve become an expert on the subject. I've never played anything that came remotely close to being as good a game as BreakQuest is. The demo is a nice little window into a game that only gets better and better the more you play it. Working your way through the different levels is an absolute blast that everyone should be able to experience. BreakQuest is a game that should be in every gamer's library.
Added: February 10th 2005
Reviewer: Russell Carroll
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