Think Arkanoid meets Zaxxon.

This is one of the most interesting breakout type games I've ever seen. The sound and graphics are fabulous. What I would change on this is: nothing. It's great as it is! Thanks.

I downloaded this when it was recently offered and agree with the main review: decent graphics, decent sound - if you like this type of game you will probably like this one. I enjoy the somewhat slower pace of the default speed, and actively try to avoid catching the speed boosts. Some of the various boosts are cumulative, I've had a "paddle" nearly four times the width of the default (of course this also means you're more likely to catch unwanted items).

Installs and plays fine in Vista 32, and looks good on a 23" monitor.

One option I would like to see in many such games is a sensitivity adjustment. My default mouse speed is often too slow, but I don't want to invoke CP to change it (then remember to reset it after exiting a game).

............................Moderator Comment..........................

Thanks for your feedback jgf. Most mice now have sensitivity buttons that allow you to adjust mouse sensitivity on the fly; for example I use Razer mice, that have two buttons next top the mouse wheel that allow me to adjust the sensitivity up and down very easily (great when playing certain games).

I remember this game - though I'm not the biggest fan of breakout type games, this was more fun than most IMO. Not so much original in design but the bonus weapons and add-ons kept me interested long after I usually get bored. In fact, I don't remember getting bored with this game, it was more fun than challenging and I still have it from a previous GOTD. No suggestions for any changes. 7 of 10 for a breakout game from me, the old curmudgeon, not a bad rating. Try it, you'll like it too!
John

.........................Moderator Comment.............................

Thank you for your feedback John

Hi Stephen,

At the bottom of your first screenshot in this review, I see it says "version 1.0.0".

Cara in NC

This game never gets old. Thank you for offering it again.

I have downloaded, installed, and played this title a couple of years ago when it was a free giveaway then also. Personally I would look elsewhere for a "breakout" genre game. This is just not going to satisfy that urge for you.

A shame it is being voted down, perhaps because it is given away fairly often?

Actually the game is quite enjoyable to play if you one of the newer visitors to this website. It is of medium difficulty as "breakout" type games go.

It is a great game for free. I will not be downloading it today, as I have it from the previous giveaways. I have played right through all the levels several times over and still play it occasionally. That says a lot about a game, that you are willing to start all over again even though you have already completed it.

I have nothing negative to say about this game. Easy install on my laptop windows 7. I have this from a previous offering on my computer. It`s a Good Game. I enjoy this type of game. This game is a plus and I give it a Big Thumbs Up!!

Thanks a lot. This "Sawoid platform" has been used in different scenarioes, and I find exactly these kind of games very relaxing. Come on, guys, this game doesn't deserve to be voted down. Instead of a vote down.......you could consider giving a reason. Sharing is caring, you know. Greets from Denmark :)

I am in love with these 1st person arcade-style shooter games - and if there were a hundred of these offered = I would do my best to try & test every single one of them - I suck at them - BUT - I would try (lol) & Thanks & Have a great day GOTD & Sawoid.

Sawoid was created by Stars Ashes, the developer who also created two other familiar breakouts called Egyptoid and Egyptoid 2, as well as a shooter called Incinerate. All have been given away previously and are now available for free via Gametop, as is today’s game. :). Sawoid was previously given away last year September 2013 where it received a positve 68% out of 312 votes with 10 comments. Previous to that it was given away December 2012 where it received a positive 73% out of 290 votes with 12 comments, (May 2012) where it received a positive 69% out of 290 votes with 30 comments that can be read HERE, previous to that it was also given away back in July 2010 where it received a positive 47% out of 213 votes with 35 comments then again Feb 2011 when it received a positive 72% of 350 votes with 45 comments and finally September 2011 where it received a positive 65% from 306 votes with 34 comments; all of which you can read HERE (July 2010), HERE (Feb 2011) and HERE (Sept 2011), HERE (Dec 2012), HERE (May 2012) and HERE (Sept 2013). You will need to click on the view all comments link to see all the comments. Don’t let the relatively low number of positives put you off this game. It’s actually a well-made breakout with decent graphics that was released about 5 years ago.



The download size is 20.1Mb which when installed expands to 25.2MB. The game unpacks to a dual setup and activation module a security file called setop.gcd and a read me file. There is no activation code required as it is automatically activated via the dual activation/setup module. The default installation path is:

C:\Games\Sawoid



There is no shortcut installed or a start menu shortcut. If you're not sure how to create the latter, there's a short tutorial available in the game discussion forums. You'll find it easily as it's in the stickies on the front page of the gaming forum.

The game works on Win XP Pro 32 bit, Vista Home Premium 64 bit and Home Basic 32 bit and Win 7 Pro and Ultimate 64 bit. (these are just the iterations that I personally have, the game should work on all versions)

I've checked to see if there is a version number but cannot find one. The downloaded file and the installed game were both the same as the previous giveaway, so I can only assume that this is the same version. right clicking on the executable, selecting properties then checking details and previous version tabs gives no information as to whether it is an upgrade.

Story:

You volunteered to be assigned to the VIOLATOR ship. Your objective is to conduct a raid into enemy territory and destroy the troop supplies. For this particular long-term mission away from the supply ship, the scientists have developed Sawoid, a totally new type of armament not requiring resupplying! Nothing can stand the wrecking Sawoid; however, there is one shortcoming, Sawoid is hard to control!

Good luck, private!

reference accessed HERE 1st July 2010


The Game

There’s not a lot you can say about a breakout/arkanoid that most community members won’t already know, so I’ll try and keep this short. I’ll describe the features I found in Sawoid before writing a brief conclusion to the game.

The most striking difference between Sawoid and most other breakouts is that Sawoid doesn’t have a ball; instead it has circular saws. You get three lives to start with, but can easily build these up to several lives as there are a generous number of bonus lives available. Otherwise it’s a typical 3D breakout with average looking graphics. The game has 20 bonuses that include ball and bat changers, additional lives, bombs, a magnet, armor, different types of cannon and four different types of Sawoid power ups as well as a few other bonuses.

You can change the games resolution if needed to one of several choices via the options menu. There’s also the usual sound and music sliders, a windowed toggle and the ability to turn on improved lighting. I’ve posted a couple of screen-shots to illustrate the difference between the advanced lighting and no lighting.

When you complete a level the level scrolls onto the next level as though you are in a ship. There are three difficulty settings. On medium I found the Sawoid was a little too slow for me unless I picked up the speed up bonus a couple of times. You’ll find gun emplacements, and moving ships that fire back at you. When you start a level your ship has 100% armor. If you get hit by the pulse cannons or missiles you’ll lose 5% of your armor by each hit. They fire dual cannons so this can result in a 10% loss depending where you are in relation to the incoming shots; however, there are armor bonuses that are quite common, though most armor bonuses give only 1% armor back.

Thankfully there are three or four different sizes of armor bonus available. There is a damage indicator to the bottom right of the playing area. Some of the gun emplacements and ships are protected from damage when hit from the front. To destroy these you need to use your guns or hit them from behind.

You don’t get unlimited ammo with the guns and lasers, so you need to use these sensibly. I counted about 30 shots, which is ample to do a significant amount of damage to the level in terms of destruction.

When you are left with only a few bricks they are automatically destroyed by powerful lasers. All bonuses apart from new lives are lost when you move on to a new level, though any damage to your ships armor is automatically repaired.

Images

You can see lots of images of Sawoid as a slide show via the following link:
HERE




System Requirements

Processor - Pentium 1.0 GHz or equivalent
System RAM - 128Mb
Direct3D compatible3D graphics card
32 MB Graphics RAM
Windows 98/ ME/ 2000/ XP/ Vista/ 7



Conclusion

I found the default speed of the Sawoid too slow, and therefore too easy to win. (though I have played a lot of breakouts regularly for years so could be considered an expert) However you can pick up speed ups which when set can increase the Sawoid speed to a more challenging level. However if you are a novice to this genre of games I’m sure the speed of the Sawoid is fine. :) I’m a little biased over this issue because arkanoid's/breakouts are one of my favourite arcade genres. Another problem for me was the bat. It was mounted on two arms that took it a significant way into the level. You can see from the images posted that it protrudes about an eighth of the total depth of the playing arena. I rarely lose balls (or in this case saws) when playing breakouts but lost a significant number in this game despite me finding it easy. This occurred more often when the saws came at you in an acute angle as it was hard to judge where the saw was in relation to the bat. I would suggest the developer adds the ability to choose different sizes of bat at the beginning of the game to counter this problem or change the bat style altogether.


Compared to the 200 plus arkanoid's/breakouts that I’ve owned over the many years that the first breakout was created by Taito Corps I’d give this one a 7 out of 10 for decent game play and graphics. It’s not the best, but is playable and better than most free breakouts that are available.



I've also posted this review over in the forums where the images are visible. you can see that review HERE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Similar Games available for freel>


You'll find loads of Arkanoid/breakouts HERE, HERE (Giveaway forums) and HERE (Caimans - 169 breakout games)


You can also download today’s game every day for free over at Gametop as well as several others such as A-Ball (which is also known as Nuclear Ball), Geometry Ball, Scaraball, Cosmoball plus others, though you will get your browser opening every time you shut the game down. Thankfully this is one of the games they have had for quite some time so there’s no tool bar or home page tick boxes to bother with, but just in case they've changed it since I last checked make sure when you are installing the game that you watch each step of the installation wizard.



You’ll also find 13 breakout titles over at MyPlayCity HERE, that now include several of Alawars breakouts such as all of the Strike Ball games (Strikeball, Strikeball 2 and Strikeball 3), as well as one of my early favorites called Actionball Deluxe and it's sequel Actionball 2; oh yeah and not forgetting the second Hyperballoid game, which in my opinion was a big improvement on the original despite the first one having a massive number of levels (over a thousand) with gorgeous graphics called (not surprisingly) Hyperballoid Complete Edition (or if you purchase it from Big fish Hyperballoid Gold edition) - the down side w.r.t. the original, was that even with the speed up power-ups, the ball used to go too slow for me, (however; GMMan did create a speed-up mod for me); there's also previous giveaways (though not Alawar games) such as Egypt Ball and Egyptian Ball as well as several others that you can download for free. I recommend all of the Alawar titles especially Hyperballoid 2 (Which has an editor for making more levels - there may be custom made levels to download via Alawars site, but I've not checked in some time) and the original Actionball Deluxe (the sequel also has upgradeable power-ups) and Strikeball 3 (The third in the series is similar to the earlier Magic Ball games {Magic Ball 2} but with better graphics and power ups that are also upgradeable, plus the game is slightly more challenging than any of the Magic Ball series (which for some reason Alawar decided to change the name from Magic Ball to Smashball Frenzy)). Unfortunately the best (IMO) arkanoid/breakouts such as Ricochet infinity, Acky's XP Breakout, Reaxxion and Shatter are not available for free via any of the free game sites apart from illegal ones. You can purchase Shatter from Steam for £6.99, though during the big sales over the summer and Christmas period and maybe thanksgiving you can get up to 75% off. Both Ricochet infinity and Acky's XP Breakout have editors and for the former thousands (literally well over 60 000) of downloadable levels for free. There are also free level packs for Acky's XP Breakout, but not to the same extent as Ricochet. you download the levels for ricochet directly from the game and can upload your own creation from the game as well (which probably explains why there are so many - all the levels are graded for game play, graphics etc and get a score of A to D with +'s and -'s (for example B+; though the best of the best are starred as well). Please be aware of the problems associated with downloading games from the free sites such as Gametop and MyPlayCity, i.e. Toolbar installation, home page changes and search engine changes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Games, Games, and yet more Games plus Download, Installation & Game play Problemsl>:



If you have any problems installing today's game please go HERE for help.


If you're looking for something other than today's game check the didimatic site via THIS link for some brilliant deals.
There are several other deals available from Steam as well as many more from Gamersgate, Gamestop, Desura, Greenman Gaming and GOG; all of which you can find via the Didimatic site.

This weekends Steam deals include a free weekend play of the excellent PayDay 2, there’s also 67% off if you decide to purchase, you can also check out RPG Maker for free and if you deicide you like it you can buy it and all dlc for 75% off. (Hunble Bundle has a special on where you can purchase RPG Maker and some dlc for only $6), there’s 75% off Europa Universalis and selected dlc, 50% off State of Decay, 75% off Super Street fighter IV Arcade edition, 75% off Football Manager 2014, 75% off Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, 75% off Dead space Pack, 50% off Euro Truck simulator 2 Collectors Bundle, 60% off Brothers – A Tale of Two Brothers, 75% off Two worlds II, 75% off Primal Carnage, 75% off Titan Quest gold, 66% off Star Trek, 66% off Victoria II, 75% off Iron Front Digital war Edition, 54% off Cloudbuilt, 75% off Guncraft, 50% off Last Dream, 90% off Action Indie Pack (Larva Mortalis, Penguins arena, RIP Trilogy, Space Trader: Merchant Marine and Tank Universal – 7 game sin all for only $1.49/£1.09) 80% off Thunder Wolves. There’s over 100 game son sale a the moment.



You'll find details of all live game bundles over in the Game discussion forums HERE
Also don't forget to check out IndieGameStands 96 hour deal. The present game is Blueberry Garden a cute physics based platformer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Request for helpl>:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you’ve checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen