Games like “Breakout” appeal to me because they’re mindless, which describes me quite often.
Gameloft’s Block Breaker Deluxe 2 is a spiffed up version of the classic Breakout game. You have various levels of block formations to bust up and there are power ups like rockets, multiple balls, magnets, shields and other and bonus items.
Where Block Breaker Deluxe 2 differs is the levels are more inventive and complex, the graphics are visually more sophisticated and the audio is more complex than any Breakout-style game I’ve seen, including those on desktop PCs.
The graphics are bright, colorful and well-crafted. They have a sort of an appealing anime quality to them.
The audio is more sophisticated than the usual brick-buster as I mentioned, but man, the sound effects get annoying after a while. Also, when you hit a brick some nasally inner demon frequently yells “Good job!” I wanted all that noise to just go away, so I turned off the audio entirely. You have the option of adjusting the music, sound FX and voice levels independently, which you don’t often see in many games.
Game play is actually quite good. The physics are realistic, for one thing. The pad reacts quickly. It may be a smidgen slow for some quick-fingered folks, but it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. The main quibble I have with the game in several places it’s way too easy, even for fumble-fingered fools like me.
The block formation on several levels are dynamic — that is, the bricks move — and you can re-arrange and rotate block formations by tilting the phone. You can also elect to move the pad side-to-side by tilting the phone. I thought that was pretty cool.
There’s a two-player version of the game. The opposing players face off like tennis players on each side of iPhone. Instead of a net, there is a block formation.
The Help function is exceptionally comprehensive even though the game is simple enough to figure out without much guidance. There’s also a tutorial, if you really just don’t get it.
I paid $4.99 for Block Breaker Deluxe 2 but there’s a 40 percent holiday sale on at the moment, which drops the price to $2.99 and makes this game even more of a bargain. There’s no indication just how long the sale lasts.
