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Arkanoid DS  - Review

Arkanoid DS
Ages: Everyone

Taito is coming out with the games of my youth. Back from the days where there was no story, no quests, no knights with oversized swords - just shooting at things. Arkanoid's basic play is hit blocks with ball using bat and don’t let ball fall to the ground. Of course there are embellishments: falling power-up items that look like vitamin pills; a barrier at the bottom that acts like a trampoline - sending your ball back and essentially giving you an extra life, since you get only one ball; there are different types of blocks to contend with; sometimes you get a sticky bat, and there are two modes of play.

  • Clear is where you just go though the levels bopping along.
  • Quest has specific objectives like only hitting the ball a specific number of times, or clearing blocks with a certain color, or clearing a field within a certain time.
For either mode, finishing a game requires playing through 7 zones each with 5 rounds. There are 28 worlds in all.

You can play with the stylus or the D-pad. I found it easier with the stylus - but nice to have a choice. The action takes place on both screens and in a narrow area between the frames. I don't know why - but maybe it makes the game faster. You get a time lag between top and bottom frame that you can use to your advantage. The music is jingly and occasionally you get a voice over, "You are in an unauthorized location remain where you are", which I thought was bleed from another game - but it was just Taito trying to make it feel like more of a battle. The intro screens go along with this concept, saying something about protecting planet Arkanoid. A nice touch.

The game supports multiplayer - up to four on one cartridge, where more strategy is involved, but the game works well as single player. It's quite fun to get back to a mindless game where all you have to do is figure how to put "English" on your ball.


Fun Factor: Pleasantly addictive
Player Friendly: There are saves so you can continue your scoring.

Reviewed by: Editor - 06/08

  • Arkanoid DS
  • © Square Enix /Taito
  • Platform(s): GBDS PSP
  • To Order: GBDS http://www.amazon.com/ $19.99

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