I’ve lots of brain crackers; sometimes I just want to wind down with something simple and restful. And I can see this w/out my glasses!

The bright colors are a pleasant change. Too many similar games have buttons that are hard to distinguish from each other and the background, and depict skulls and gargoyles or bugs.

Thecombinations of varieties of play and skill levels can be combined into ’something for everyone.’

Thank you GAOTD and RealApex! I really appreciate your time and effort and generosity.

Thank you Whiterabbit and Swan for interesting reviews.

HELEN…….. comment #29. Any of the Ricochet series are a must have for any arkanoid fan, especially the second and third in the series… Ricochet Lost Worlds and Ricochet Lost Worlds recharged; although I’d opt for the latter because recharged is made up of the best of fan made levels which I think are still available if you search deep within the fan site. On the fan site you’ll find 106 pages of level sets (approximately 700 sets) some of which have over a 100 levels each, making approximately 30 000 free levels, many of which are fantastic.

http://www.ricochetlostworlds.com/levels/

You get a levels editor with both games. The first in the series, called Ricochet Xtreme doesn’t have a levels editor and you can’t use the free level sets with it either, however it’s worth having as the game play differs enough from the later releases. The graphics on this game are outstanding, which for a game that was developed several years ago is great.

Check it out here:

http://www.reflexive.com/index.php?PAGE=game_detail&AID=153

The other arkanoid I would recommend is called Acky’s XP Breakout…. The title hides the fact that this is probably the best arkanoid game I’ve ever played. It is also several years old and the graphics aren’t as crisp as newer arkanoids, but the game play surprises you all the time. There’s a lot of depth to this game. You’ve got to try the demo to appreciate it though. This game also has a levels editor included. This game has more of everything that other break outs offer. I’d love to see an updated version with revamped graphics; however the graphics are okay still.

Get the demo from:

http://www.isotope244.com/games/ab/ackys-xp-breakout.html

There are lots more. Visit the following site for a run down of many:

http://www.arkanoid.com/

Unfortunately the guy who services this site seems to have left it because it’s not been updated since Xmas 2006; still most of the best arkanoids are reviewed there. You’ll find a few free downloads as well.

For wacky arkanoid versions try ‘X-Bound Deluxe’, which you can find as a free online game called X-Bound, but the Deluxe PC version is much better, and an even better arkanoid of this type try ‘Break In’. Both of these games are 360 degrees playing arenas.

I listed about twenty 2D and 3D arkanoid games earlier this year, that in my opinion are worth having in your games library. I don’t think any of them have been given away yet either, lol.

Except….when they are selling this product. Some people keep forgetting the fact that the game being free today for us here, if we want it, is normally being sold. If one is in business one does well by not making oneself ridiculous to ones customers. Please don’t forget that basic English is very simply. So simply in fact that pre-teens pick up so much English from music, movies and TV that by the time they hit High-school in a country where English isn’t a national language they already have a fair grasp of it.

14.95 USD for a game which is so primitive, although adding some variations as well as adding some other games which in themselves are also hardly original, that anyone with a bit of knowledge of programming can make is frankly an insult. Programming a game such as the one offered here boils down to a check for a certain condition (e.g. 3 similiar elements in a row) removing those elements, moving everything in each row down as many squares as there were elements removed.
A 9 year old can program it in basic. What makes a game such as that stand out is originality (hardly possible seeing how old the concept of the game is), graphics/animation (sorely lacking) and sound (hold on while I re-adjust my earplugs). It truly is not hard to make a game. It only becomes difficult if you want lots of different things happening at once, if you want to including one or more computer opponents and if you want to have stunning visiual effects. It has none of the latter.

A game that perhaps can induce a feeling of nostalgia to those of us who remember the days when games such as Pong, Frogger or even Dr. Mario where new and exciting. Or having a kid that isn’t spoiled by the PS3, X-box 360 or the Wii that it still can be enchanted by the littlest of things. Don’t be surprised tho’ if the kid asks for permission to spend 15 USD to buy what 6 months ago was a 60 USD game (and developed by a team of 35 people with a music score preformed by an actual orchestra) for one of the game machines.

I guess the developers decided to call it Deluxe because the original dated back to February of 2004 and seemed only to have 2 game modes and which is still for sale for 12.95 USD (10.14 Euro)
http://www.shareup.com/Lunch_Puzzle-download-14948.html

Several other similar programs allow both (+ & x moves).

Thanks anyway.

I’ll play it until I find one that does both.

Any suggestions??