Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Old-school"

The Good:
--Still fun to play after all these years
--Online multiplayer is imperfect but still enjoyable
--New modes and rule-set complement the game well

The Bad:
--Only two of the game's four missions come with it
--Multiplayer depends too much on luck
--Stage backgrounds can become distracting
--Nothing spectacular from a technical perspective
--Might not last you longer than a few days, if that


Joining a growing list of old-school remakes on XBox Live Arcade, Arkanoid Live delivers a retro gaming flavor whose roots can be found in two of the most vintage of video games -- Breakout and Pong. Originally played in the arcade using a circular dial as a controller, Arkanoid has seen different variations throughout the years, including an NES version that included a separate dial controller and a more recent Nintendo DS version.

Arkanoid Live is the latest addition to the Arkanoid library, and players will find something old and something new as the game contains two 31-stage chapters containing replicas of the game's classic puzzles and also adds online multiplayer to the mix, as well as a new rule set and other goodies to go with it. Arkanoid's simple gameplay formula is as fun as it ever was and will give players a good blast from the past, but the overall package Arkanoid Live delivers is not without imperfections.

The premise is simple -- break all the required blocks on a given stage by guiding a bouncing ball with your small rectangular ship called a Vaus. Players guide the Vaus horizontally across the bottom of the stage, using it to keep the ball bouncing upward and not past the bottom of the screen. Enemies fill the screen which can hinder or help your progress, while various power-ups fall from the sky as you break blocks throughout the stage. The bouncing ball speeds up the longer you play a particular stage, and victory will depend on your skill on using the Vaus to keep the ball in play and position it properly as well as perhaps a bit of luck in which power-ups fall your way.

The game is primarily split between Arcade Mode and Versus Mode; Arcade Mode is where players will find the classic Arkanoid stages that can be played alone or with a friend (offline), while Versus Mode pits players against either an A.I. opponent or an online opponent on XBox Live. Arcade Mode consists of two rule-sets -- one being the default "Lives" ruleset, in which you have a finite number of lives before reaching game over, and a new rule-set in which a barrier is placed at the bottom of your screen below the Vaus and can take a certain number of hits from the ball before disappearing. If the barrier is gone and the ball gets past your Vaus, the game ends. Each rule-set has advantages and disadvantages; the Lives rule-set offers a limited amount of chances throughout the game but will result in a reset of ball speed when a life is lost, while the Barrier rule-set allows players multiple chances per stage but does not slow down the ball when the barrier is hit.

The game's controls are simple -- use the thumbstick to guide the vaus, while holding down either the right or left shoulder button will speed up the vaus to twice its normal speed, and holding down both shoulder buttons to move even faster. The A button is used to fire lasers if you are fortunate enough to get the power-up which enables it.

Arcade Mode can be as easy or as hard as you'd like it to be. You can set the number of lives to 1, 3, 5, or 7, the number of barrier bounces between 1 and 5, set the difficulty to Easy, Medium, or Hard, and turn enemies off or on. The ability to control these variables along with the option to continue the game upon losing all lives or barriers makes Arcade Mode beatable for any player and a perfect 200 out of 200 XBox Achievement score well within reach. Arcade Mode also includes a multiplayer option in which one player's Vaus is stacked above the other player's, with positions flip-flopping with each stage.

Versus Mode can be played against the A.I. or against a human opponent over XBox Live. The difficulty of the A.I. can be controlled, and the default normal difficulty A.I. is actually quite dumb at times, which will allow most players to win fairly easily. Games can be set to a various number of rounds (one round, best of three, best of five) and two different styles (break all the blocks on a stage or break only blocks of a certain color). There is also a worldwide leaderboard that keeps track of wins and losses in online play.

Game flaws can be found within each mode. Aside from a possible frustration factor that can set in on some of the more difficult stages, Arcade Mode suffers a bit from some strange choices in backgrounds. Certain backgrounds contain weird lighting and shooting objects that can make the ball a little harder to see. It's possible this is intended, but either way it proves to be more of a distraction than a fun challenge. Versus Mode, while fun, is dependent too much on luck, especially against a human opponent. Very often a versus match will come down to which player is fortunate enough to have the right power-up fall into their lap.

Arkanoid Live as a package also might not last you very long. As previously mentioned, the achievements can be obtained fairly quickly, and Arcade Mode can be completed in one sitting if you so desire. Unless you really enjoy playing the game or want to climb up the leaderboards, you might find yourself not playing the game too much after reaching those initial goals. The game is also not overly impressive technically as it doesn't do a great deal to add a large amount of style and flash to the already-existing formula.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Arkanoid Live, however, is the fact that forking over your ten dollars to buy it will not get you the entire game. There are actually two more Arcade Mode missions that are part of the game, and the option to play them is unavailable upon purchase. At the time of this review, it was unclear whether or not these missions would come at a later time for free or if players would be forced to pay extra for them. If it is the latter, then that would without question be a major black eye on this game and would be the latest in a disturbing trend of companies making people pay extra to play portions of the game that arguably should have been included in the original package in the first place.

Regardless, Arkanoid Live at the very least resurrects an old classic in fine fashion. It may not be a perfect package and for hardcore fans may not replace an old-school coin-op machine, but issues aside, players looking to relive this game or discover this game for the first time will find a worthy representation here.