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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Keith Stuart

Breakout of work tedium

Ever since I became hopelessly addicted to Arkanoid many years ago, I've always looked out for new interpretations of the Breakout recipe. Imagine my therapist's horror, then, when I discovered two fresh versions floating around in indie gaming cyberspace. If you find yourself with ten free minutes at work today, why not join me as I peel back the years (of aversion treatment) and indulge in some bat-and-ball action.

First up, BD Studio has Deep Ball Defender (pictured above) - perhaps the first Breakout clone to come from the Chinese casual game development community. It's a modern take on the genre with 100 levels plus a custom edit mode. There are also 78 different bricks. 78!

Even more progressive is Orb Buster a two-player competitive online version of the classic game, which runs on developer Blue Alien Games' own servers. Complete with chat room and live statistical updates, it is the ultimate in BreakOut-themed timewasting.

Any readers like to nominate their favourite indie updates of staple Atari classics?

Via Game Tunnel and Mad Monkey.

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