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Nervous Brickdown Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Multiple variations of Atari's classic game; Fun multiplayer with just one cartridge.
In the end, it's still just Breakout.
Breakout was a fun game back in its day, with players controlling a paddle across the bottom of the screen while guiding a ball into awaiting tiles near the top. Nowadays, though, it can be rather dull, especially considering the more interactive efforts that await on multiple platforms. Thank goodness for innovation, though -- Arkedo Studio, under the watchful eyes of Eidos Interactive, have come up with a new-fangled format in which to appreciate Atari's classic. Welcome to Nervous Brickdown, aka "Breakout all grown up".
In the game, players will tackle a number of scenarios generally based around the paddle-and-ball format. However, a few of these scenes really take a creative step forward. The game starts out pretty basically at first, with players guiding the paddle with their stylus as blocks are removed with simple, free-flowing 3-D backgrounds move along. Later on, though, more complex situations come to light, including paper blobs that have to be eliminated with a hand-drawn paddle, ghosts that have to be evaporated from the screen and even space shooter scenes where players move around a ship while also watching over the paddle-and-ball action. It really works pretty well, despite the fact that the general basics of the gameplay don't really change that much at all. Keep the ball in play or lose a turn, skippy.
The gameplay works with the DS touch screen, and although it might take a little getting used to watching the ball roll from bottom screen to top screen, it still manages to get by without that much irritation. The graphics don't look amazing by any means (it is based upon a Breakout clone, after all), but the scenarios look better than expected, with just the right amount of style and flair. Surprisingly, the soundtracks do real good, too, with various themes playing in the background instead of droning background music.
The arcade mode offers a lot in single-player mode, with sets of ten stages to complete and bosses to challenge. Furthermore, players can check out a downloadable two-player mode, adding a friend to the mix as they keep two paddles and balls in play at the same time. No, it's not the world's most earthshaking multiplayer mode, but it really does entertain and it's nice not to require a second cartridge to get all the benefits out of the game. Kudos, Arkedo!
If you absolutely, positively hate Breakout, make a note to skip Nervous Brickdown entirely. However, if you could tolerate a few plays of it or are just experiencing it for the first time, this is a must-buy. Arkedo has poured a lot of unexpected quality into this game, including the stellar presentation and enjoyable gameplay. The multiple scenarios and likable multiplayer go a long way, too. Enjoy the Brickdown, people.
