Developed by Nurium Games, Published by Stardock Entertainment
Nurium Games, based in Barcelona Spain, has produced one of the best Breakout style games on the market. For those not familiar with Breakout, it was a game introduced in 1976, by Atari games, and can best be compared to Pong “with bricks.”
Your paddle sits on the bottom of the game screen and moves horizontally while you bounce the ball off bricks located at the top of the game screen. One might even consider this style of game “virtual racquetball.”
BreakQuest utilizes the DynaMo physics engine, an engine that allows all objects in the gaming environment to react like you would expect from real physics. This expands the level capabilities to including rotating spindles, bouncing bricks, chains, swinging chimes, and many other interactive environments. Imagine throwing a baseball at a long line of chimes. The chimes do not stand solid like a wall, but rather move around from the impact of the ball and smash off each other. BreakQuest follows this same model which requires the user to be “ready for anything” when your ball deflects off a moving object only to be shot back in your face.
Like other Breakout game designs, BreakQuest contains numerous unique power-ups. Some of the power-ups include GPS missiles, satellites, smart/dumb mines, rockets, machine guns, multi-ball, fireballs, and many more. To increase the challenge, BreakQuest includes many power-ups that hinder your performance. For example, Low-Octane slows down your paddles speed, and Freezer causes your paddle to slide as if on ice. As you become comfortable with the game, you will start to identify which power ups are good and which ones are best avoided. In many cases, you can avoid a bad power up as it falls, and attempt to fetch only the ones that will increase your chances to complete a given level.
You can enjoy a total of one hundred levels. Every level contains a unique design, unique distractions, and an ever-increasing difficulty. The beginning levels are fairly straight forward, featuring stacked bricks similar to the original Breakout game. As the levels progress, they start to utilize more creative methods for brick layout, such as a pinball level, a classic asteroids level, and a classic space invaders level. Bounce your ball around on the aliens and hit them each a few times to destroy them (the aliens act like “bricks”). One level is complete with a few dozen smiley faces that become saddened as you hit them until they eventually pop and fall towards the ground. Some levels are heavily populated with objects of all shapes and sizes that react with explosions, shattering of pieces, rain drops, and other distractions. The distractions add a level of difficulty and excitement to the game.
Once you defeat a level and unlock it, you will be able to play the level in “arcade mode,” which allows you to adjust the game environment. You will be able to adjust the frequency of power ups, limit certain power ups, change ball speed and paddle size, adjust the overall difficulty, and a host of other tweaks. Arcade mode is great if you want to play a few rounds before bed, or before your kids wake up from their nap.
The graphics are top notch for a fast paced arcade game, with a physics engine that is puzzling and entertaining to watch. The sound quality is great, and it contains various tracks to keep you moving in your seat, with a few tracks that may remind you of 70’s porno (if you were around to enjoy the art of porn in the 70’s, of course). The game play is constantly entertaining and addictive. So addictive, in fact, that you may find yourself developing carpel tunnel, or other wrist strains, from sliding your mouse across your desk to try to save your hide. Each level will take roughly five to ten minutes to defeat, and with one-hundred levels, it should supply hours of entertainment for your dollar. The full version of BreakQuest will set you back $19.99 and each dollar is well worth it. If you subscribe to the Total Gaming Network (www.totalgaming.net), you will pay roughly $14.00 (or two tokens).
The greatest value BreakQuest offers is the amount of fun and entertainment you get for a very small amount of money. Good games are rare enough, but, when you find one, you usually have to shell out much more of your hard-earned dollars than you’d like to. But in this case, for less than you’d probably spend on a single dinner out, you get hours of entertainment from a game that is truly unique and enjoyable.
Head to http://www.nurium.com/ or http://totalgaming.stardock.com/games/?id=BQ and download the demo for free, or watch the flash video of the game in action on nurium.com. You can try before you buy and see if this game is for you.
System Requirements:
Windows 9x/Me/XP/2003
500 MHz Processor
128 MB RAM
22 MB Hard Disk Space
24-bit or 32-bit Capable Video Card
Sound Card
DirectX 7 or Higher
