Arkanoid Live (Xbox 360)

[aruljothi]

   Release Date: 05/06/2009
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
Genre: Shooter
Publisher: Taito
Developer: Taito

While Arkanoid isn't one of Taito's most championed franchises, the simple gameplay -- essentially the same as Atari's classic Breakout -- is familiar to many, and it's become one of the great arcade "lifers" for over 20 years now. And in a technical sense, the various power-ups you can grab in the game make the block-busting more fun and/or challenging depending on the situation. Plus, it's just good for zoning out as you bounce a ball back and forth against a carefully designed wall of bricks. After an appearance on DS last year, Taito's brought Arkanoid back for another round, this time as Arkanoid Live on Xbox Live Arcade.

Purists will argue that Arkanoid shouldn't even be on XBLA at all, since there's no Xbox controller that replicates the jog dial of the original arcade machine (or the dial controllers for the NES and Japanese DS versions). While haivng a dial would be nice, I can say that as someone who played the NES Arkanoid for years with a regular controller, you get used to it, and the game's still good. The ball isn't always moving at a lightning clip, so it's easy to see where it's going and move the paddle (that is to say, the Vaus spacecraft) accordingly. Regardless, pressing LB or RB doubles the speed of the Vaus when needed.

Still, while this Arkanoid feels as fine as its predecessors, its presentation is sorely lacking. It starts with the drab menus and plain sans-serif fonts, and doesn't get much better in-game. The stage backgrounds start off looking inoffensive, but as you reach later stages, the art progressively clashes, dressed in sickly colors that won't do your eyes -- much less your TV -- any favors.

It shouldn't be too hard to do Arkanoid justice, and again, the main game is just fine on its own, but with super-simple games like this, a little extra TLC in the art department can go a long way. Arkanoid Live is good for some occasional casual fun -- as it's always been and always will be -- but with an iffy aesthetic and not much more variety outside of a standard two-player versus mode, it's probably not something you'll want to boot up often.