Ark: 3DRT BrickBlaster [by TLKgames]

Game: 3DRT Brickblaster
Release: November 20, 2003
Genre: Arkanoid
Developer: TLKgames
System Requirements: Pentium™ II or equivalent, 3D compatible 8MB Video Card Direct3D, Windows™ 9x, 2000, ME, XP
Price: $19.95


Each year it seems another couple dozen breakout games come out. Each of them tries to add something that hasn't existed in the genre before. One of the first of the 2004 gaming year is 3DRT Brickblaster.

I take my arkanoid-based games very seriously, and I attempt to try out any new game in the genre that is released. I have strong opinions about many of the games, and try to give each new game a fair chance when I get a chance to play it. I explain all this to give just a little bit of background into my experience with breakout games.

3DRT Brickblaster is one of the better arkanoid games that I have played in some time. The game seems to be aimed at the Ricochet/Rebound crowd. Much like Reflexive's breakout game, this game puts a lot of emphasis on flash and good sound. It suffers from some of the same problems in game play taking a back seat to style, but actually pulls of the concept a bit better than Ricochet did.

For those who played the original Super Breakout on the Atari 2600, you'll find some similarities with that great classic. Super Breakout introduced multiple levels of bricks. 3DRT Brickblaster also has multiple levels. So if you thought destroying one set of bricks at the top of the screen as a difficult task, you'll be overwhelmed to find out that there are 3 levels of bricks farther up the screen from the first one. The game allows you to simultaneously work on all the levels scaling out as your ball moves farther up the screen. The nice thing about this is that it allows you to keep your power-ups a bit longer than just one level.

The power-ups themselves are fairly standard affair except for a couple. The mine ball was an interesting addition, where the ball would attack to either a brick or enemy and then explode. These balls were particularly useful later in the game when each of the brick sets was divided by a solid wall that was indestructible until you had destroyed all the bricks on that specific level unless you had the mine ball. My personal favorite among the power ups was the Ball Control Bonus, which made the ball change its direction based on how long you held down the second mouse button. With this power-up engaged the ball does loops until you release the second mouse button.

The game also carries on the more and more common concept of end bosses in an arkanoid game. This game includes multiple end bosses and enemies. The paddle itself keeps track of your energy as you are continually fired upon by enemies up above. If the energy hits zero, then the paddle will freeze for a period of time.

Graphics: 9
The graphics in the game are very nice, though the horizontal scroll in addition to the vertical scroll seemed to be a little much. The first time I played the game I ended up very sick in a very short period of time due to the continual movement left to right, and up and down, and scrolling in and out. However, if you can get past all of that, the particle effects are well down with each strike of the ball producing neat sparks.

Sound: 10
The sound is absolutely awesome! While probably a bit too techno for some and too hard core for others, it presents a very good background to play the game to. Sound effects are likewise well-done and do not distract but instead add to the game.

Game Play: 7
Game play is a little difficult to work with initially, but quickly becomes manageable. When I first started playing the game I was quickly ready to turn the game off due to the paddle responding so sluggishly. After a couple of levels I had it under control, but the initial misgivings are due to the controls not being as easy to use as some other Brick Breaking games. In addition, certain aspects of the game, such as the magnetic paddle and the overall aiming scheme are a little difficult to pick up for beginners and can lead to frustration. Spin is also notably missing, and after several good games with it over the last few years it has become more of a necessity than an option.

Options: 7
Options are fairly standard affair. The game allows you to change the resolution, turn music or sound effects on and set the volume. You also have the ability to make a couple of modifications to make the game run more smoothly, but there are few abilities to change the actual way the game is played.

Concept: 8
Tried and true, 3DRT Brickblaster doesn't add anything really new to the genre instead working on making what is already available a little better. The mine balls and the implementation of the multiple levels are both very well done and lead to a decent score in this category.

Fun: 8
This is a pretty good game as Breakout clones go, but it fails to capture a full audience. The multiple levels will be overwhelming to many breakout fans as they do lead to confusion. (If you ever had trouble tracking your ball before, imagine trying to track it as it scales down to the size of a small dot on the screen) Still, for those who enjoy the breakout genre, this is one of the better games made in the genre. The game offers 240 different levels, that are split between 3 difficultly levels, which should provide plenty of challenge for a long time.

Overall: 9
3DRT Brickblaster is a very good breakout/arkanoid styled game that is several steps ahead of most of the competition. There are really only a few breakout games on the market today that may be better than this one. I say 'may be,' as some of the actual preference in arkanoid games is based on personal opinion. That being the case, I strongly recommend you download this game and see if this game might be your personal favorite.

Added: December 18th 2003
Reviewer: Russell Carroll
Score:
Related Link: Official Website
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Language: english   

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