A passable update to an arcade classic

If you were around during the heyday of the arcade, you might recall a little game by Atari called Breakout. Arkanoid was one of the better rip-offs of that game, adequately duplicating the rudimentary gameplay of its source material. Arkanoid DS is developer Taito's portable version of that game, revived for the Nintendo DS with updated graphics, music and dual-screen action. The title isn't very striking in either a good or a bad way, but at just $20 it might be worth checking out if you're a casual gamer looking for a decent distraction.

The line at the bottom will prevent the ball from going out of bounds a certain amount of times.

Arkanoid DS's gameplay is laughably simple. You've got your vertical playing field, a Pong-like paddle on the bottom of the screen and an arrangement of blocks on the top. A ball will drop down, and the player bounces it against the paddle until all of the blocks are destroyed. Power-ups drop down every so often, and the ball bounces a little faster everytime it hits the paddle.

Arkanoid DS contains all the familiar sights and sounds of the arcade original, a surefire nostalgia trigger for longtime fans of the series. Taito's also included a surprisingly catchy techno soundtrack that's almost reason alone to buy this game. The main game contains around 30 levels, with other levels that challenge you to fulfill certain tasks such as "Destroy all yellow blocks within 45 seconds."

Some of the backgrounds are pretty snazzy.

 

The DS's dual-screens are utilized about as well as one can expect. The ball travels between both screens, briefly disappearing in the gap dividing them. It's during this moment that the player is forced to mentally track the ball's trajectory. It takes some getting used to, but once you've got a handle on it, the game plays just fine.