Break 'Em All

Rating ESRB: Everyone Genre puzzle Publisher D3 Publisher of America External Links Official D3 Publisher of America Website

From Breakout to Arkanoid, the brick-breaking genre has seen several iterations over the years. I have played several of them, but I typically prefer my puzzlers on portable platforms. My all-time favorite version has long been Alleyway, Nintendo's 1989 Game Boy launch title. What it lacked in visual luster it made up for with simple, enjoyable gameplay. Hell, I even spent countless class periods playing a homebrew Breakout knock-off on my TI-83 graphing calculator in high school. That was several years ago, though, and it seems like the genre has faded in recent years in the wake of 3D graphics and motion-sensing controllers.

I'm not complaining (much) - I would almost always rather play a recent game than an ancient one. Still, I have craved some block-busting goodness recently, and I have to assume that many others have as well. Luckily, D3Publisher of America and developer Warashi sensed this need, and recently released Break 'Em All for the Nintendo DS. Certainly, the control issue needs to be addressed before anything else. Though the DS has a standard d-pad, Warashi opted to ignore it, defying decades of tradition. Two control schemes are included: the shoulder buttons and the touch-screen. The shoulder scheme is most akin to the usual d-pad arrangement, but still differs significantly. Instead of one nub that you can slide your thumb across, you will have to get used autonomous buttons set in slightly uncomfortable locations.

No thanks. I opted to get used to the touch screen, and though it was initially a bizarre feeling, I quickly found it to be the superior scheme. I hate to deal in heresy, but it may even be as good as the old-fashioned d-pad arrangement. After a couple hours of practice, I started to note the strategy of it, as I was placing the ball where I wanted to on a regular basis. True, the touch screen can make the game easier, but I really don't have a problem with that. Power-ups are a major part of the gameplay experience, and function much like those in the Gradius games. Prior to starting, you will choose six of twelve progressive power-ups, which you can activate during the game. Your use of these power-ups will determine your success in the game; I found that activating defensive power-ups before offensive ones made for a much longer experience. For example, I always made sure to have the Wide (wider paddle) and Safe (additional barrier) power-ups active before I used the powerful Laser ball.

Break 'Em All has a stunning amount of available content, starting with the Tokoton Mode. This mode is most similar to the brick-smacking games of the past, where your goal is simply to destroy everything on the screen. The Standard Play mode features fifty specially designed levels, but the Random Play mode features over three million randomly generation levels. Sure, you will see some similar designs, but it's hard to beat three million levels in any game. As you progress through the levels, an on-screen character will evolve from an amoeba into the Supreme Being (no kidding), with all sorts of other animals in-between. It is so weird. Quest Mode changes things up a bit, as the game is no longer concerned with busting up everything in sight. Rather, you must guide the ball into the goal, which is blocked by odd arrangements of bricks. This mode features 48 levels, with twelve of them being boss battles. Sure, some of the bosses repeat, but they are unique battles that throw a wrench into our expectations for a game of this sort.

The third and final gametype is Survival Mode, which is... really terrible. I am still unsure as to what is actually happening in this mode, but this is what is supposed to be happening: after choosing a paddle, you move freely around a space with seven other A.I. characters, dodging balls in the process. Here's the issue: it is merely chaos. I was somehow winning, yet I was totally lost. Consider this the opposite of Quest Mode - while Quest modified the genre with positive results, Survival Mode modifies it with absurd, generally pointless results. Break 'Em All features a fair amount of multiplayer capabilities, and supports up to eight players with a single game card. Quest Mode can accommodate up to four players, while Survival Mode ups that number to eight. But you probably will want to avoid that.

Break 'Em All features average presentation and graphics firmly rooted in the 16-bit era, but contains enough strong and varied gameplay to make it well worth its $20 price tag. It has been some time since the last great Breakout clone hit stores, and I am happy to report that Break 'Em All makes good on its promise to update and enhance the fading genre. It probably will not blow anyone away, but expectations of those sorts would be a bit excessive. Now, I would like to toss out a recommendation. Hey Warashi... have you considered making Break 'Em All for the Nintendo Wii? Imagine the possibilities!