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| | Publisher: MacSoft  Genre: Arcade | | Mac OS X: Not Supported Mac OS Classic: Mac OS 8.5
CPU: G3 @ 233 MHz RAM: 32 MB Hard Disk: 350 MB |
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Breakout was a defining video game experience for many. Among other things it put Atari on the map, put the first mass marketable video game systems in the home, and became the starting point for the fabled business union of Apple Computer’s two Steves. The question we are here to ask is: Can the MacSoft revisiting of this timeless classic do honor to such a heritage while once again making Breakout a viable and dynamic member of the family gaming landscape?In a word -- no. The game play of Breakout is based on the mode that we all know: Hit the bouncing ball at the bricks to clear the bricks and advance to the next level. Subsequent levels begin to increase in difficulty until the ball moves so blazingly fast, you’d have to be superhuman to even survive. Or something like that. Add in a few tweaks to game play, like being able to angle your paddle and gain powerups, and you essentially have the gist of our modern Breakout. This reviewer wouldn’t have had issue with Breakout if it had been more like its cousin Pong. In fact, Breakout was developed by the same team who produced Pong, which is a title I enjoy greatly. If Breakout had stuck with clever puzzles and updated graphics, I would have had few if any reservations about the game. Unfortunately, the designers added something to Breakout that I can’t forgive. They added a plot.It’s like this: You and your friends (all anthropomorphized Breakout paddles) are frolicking on the beach. When your back is turned the evil Batnix gets the drop on you and imprisons all of your friends and kidnaps your girlfriend, Daisy. You also have a steel ball, named Coach Steel, ranking your performance as you go along. Your challenge is to traipse all over the map and rescue your friends one by one. As you rescue your friends, each of whom have different abilities, you will be able to play as them during the course of the game. There are different obstacles along the way like wolves, dragons, and (I kid you not) killer ducks. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a clever idea, but it lacks in its execution. There’s only one skill level (more on this later) -- and as I found certain levels horribly frustrating and too difficult, it’s an easy jump to say the younger set will most likely become frustrated and walk away rather than take the challenge to push on and rescue Daisy. It’s a plot, all right. Just not a very compelling one. Breakout attempts to configure its difficulty level dynamically as you play the game. At the end of every level, Coach Steel will bestow a demotion, promotion, or leave you the same depending on how you did. I didn’t see any difference however between rankings. Once you complete the game, you can go back and try any of the 6 single player levels again (6 levels x 4 sub-levels = 24 levels total or one evening of solid play to complete Breakout). As far as replay value goes, I will quote from the user manual, “Complete the game with an Average Ranking of ‘Superstar’ and you will truly be a Breakout master.” I didn’t find the replay value very rewarding.
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