Breakout Just Became Better With Arcazoid
Arcazoid (Free) by DeCafe is your typical “Breakout” game, but with enough differences to make it an anything but typical experience.
The new trend seems to be including bonus items hidden inside the bricks.
Once the brick is destroyed, the bonus will rain down until you hit it with the paddle. Multi-balls, extended paddles, missiles, and a “floor” are all the rage now, as seen in games like Breakout: Boost and Blocks of Pyramid Breaker.
This game has those, too, but it doesn’t rain bonuses; it pours them. Your standard game can go from zero to zany instantly as multiple balls are bouncing everywhere and your extended paddle is firing missiles.
But you’re not the only one with the upper hand. Some of the bricks will fire at you as well.
Three control methods are offered, including joystick, tap, and accelerometer. Joystick is the default, which offers one button to launch the ball or fire any available weapons, and (my favorite) a slider bar on the side to control the paddle.
One of my pet peeves with Breakout-style iOS games is how your finger can ride up the screen when moving the paddle by touch. That is certainly the case when using tap mode with this game.
But perhaps the worst form of controlling available is using the accelerometer. Tilting is so sensitive that the paddle strays from one extreme to the other, with hardly any middle ground.
Mastering this mode takes a fine touch and a much steeper learning curve. I’ll stick to the default.
Speaking of difficulty, two modes are offered for that: normal and hardcore. Those looking for even more of a challenge will want to try their fingers at this one.
What makes hardcore so hardcore? The speed of the ball. Instead of taking a while to ramp up to speed, as is typical for this genre, the ball hits mach five the moment you launch it. I was swiftly greeted by game overs in this mode.
Crystals are earned throughout the game, which can be used in the shop to buy bonuses that activate when you choose to use them. Of course, you can buy crystals if you’re really pressed to do so.
With all of the bonuses and customizations available, this game definitely rises above the other Breakout games. Its graphics and fun gameplay even further cement this app as a winner.
