Arkanoid Live! Reviews

Highlights

The Good: Intense & addictive nostalgia, easy to learn, 360 control works well in place of "vaus", 60+ levels, local co-op/versus/online mp, leaderboards and scoring are excellent

The Bad: Game does not include episodes 3 & 4, which are to be made available for DLC later, no save feature for running games

GamePlay:
Viewing a few screenshots for this game can provide you with most of the information you need on what to expect from this XBLA remake. To put it short, this game delivers in all areas it can. Many gamers are familiar with these "breakout" style games via flash games over the internet. However, these flash games cannot come close to comparing with this classic. There are numerous settings you can tweak before starting the game, including difficulty, rules regarding your lives or barriers at start, and whether enemies are turned on an off.

Gameplay revolves around a simple concept - eliminate all the bricks on screen with your ball, and don't let it hit the bottom. As simple as it sounds, it can prove to be a challenging feat from levels the gamer must face. Obstacles such as enemies, which are tasked with hitting your ball rapidly away in unexpected directions, unbreakable bricks, and the faster moving ball create a challenge which requires the gamer's full concentration. As the player breaks bricks, he or she can unlock power-ups such as laser, missile-ball, multi-ball, slow ball, catch, barrier, extra-life, large vaus, and mini vaus. Fans of the original will remember these well and should take comfort in knowing that the player has the ability to combine certain power-ups to enhance play, an example being lasers - where you can collect two to acquire the "power-laser."
^{5/5 stars}

Controls:
Very simple concept here. The original series used a knob known as the vaus that which players could spin to control. On this XBLA version, players can use either the joystiq or d-pad to move left and right. It's as simple as controls get and it works flawlessly.

The only thing that could have been possibly added here is the ability to move your "vaus" or space vessel faster. However, this can be argued against by noting that if it was possible to move any faster, the game may become too easy.
^{5/5 stars}

Sound:
The music for this game is based off a few looping tracks. There are very easy to zone out too, and some are fairly catchy. They are not great, but they get the job done. This is one area the game could have benefited slightly more from, maybe just a few more tracks.

The sound effects themselves bring old-school fans joy. It seems they've ported over many of the game's original sound effects rather than revamping them, such as the ball hitting the walls. This adds to the feeling of nostalgia. There is nothing annoying about the effects themselves.
^{4/5 stars}

Graphics:
Being an arcade game, and an old one at that, the graphics are not that big of a deal. However, they can add to the game itself as many game remakes have shown via XBLA. The makers of this game have added background visuals for both beauty and to enhance the difficulty at times. The HD remix and polish to this game is great on the eyes, and even after sitting through a game for nearly an hour without blinking, players won't find their eyes aching at all.

Lastly there are some great level designs here, both new and old which add to the beauty of the game.
^{5/5 stars}


Co-op:
Unfortunately co-op is only available locally. However, Arkanoid adds an interesting twist to the gameplay. The co-op gameplay has one player in the front, and one player in the back. Players alternate positions every level, with the player in the front pulling most of the workload, and the player in the back watching his back or collecting power-ups. This can prove a very fun way to kill time if you have a friend to play with in person, especially on a harder difficulty.
^{4/5 stars}


Multi-Player:
Multiplayer is both local and online. Players can square off against each other in two modes. One is a rush to destroy all of the blocks, and the other is more of a precision mode where players must only destroy a block of one colour. Adding to the battle modes of multiplayer are specific power-ups which players can collect. These power-ups will try to throw the opposing player off when collected by shrinking their ship, adding more blocks, or speeding up their ball. The multiplayer is nothing special due to the fact that much of the winning factor comes from luck rather than skill, based on what power-ups you acquire to help you destroy the blocks.
^{3/5 stars}

Replay Value:
This game has great replay value and is perfect for playing with friends anytime, especially since many people are familiar with it.
^{4/5 stars}

Achievements:
Estimated Time = 3-7 hours
Achievement Difficulty = 6/10
These achievements present a nice challenge that is within reason. Do not be scared of the "get to a certain level without continuing" achievements. The game allows you to tweak settings (aka easy difficulty & 7 lives) to make life easier. With some concentration and willpower, players will find that all of these achievements are attainable.
^{5/5 stars}