Breakout was an arcade game, influenced by Pong, introduced by Atari in 1976. The game was ported to several consoles thereafter, most famously appearing on the Atari 2600. Breakout was the original brickbreaking game that captivated countless players with nothing but a paddle, a ball and several mines lines of multicoloured bricks. The more things change, the more they stay the same. In this day and age of high definition, stereo sound and first person shooters, it’s no wonder that the 35 year old brickbreaking game is still as popular as ever, with new iterations released every year and sometimes twice a year.
Released on April 22, 2010, by iSquared Games, Hyperballoid HD, is a PSN game boasting over 100 levels, trophy support with 1080p resolution, a bass-heavy techno soundtrack, and realistic physics. The gameplay is classic brick breaking and consists solely of moving the paddle left to right to hit the balls, and grabbing the multitude of powerups that are common in today’s brickbreaking games. The layout of the levels are actually reminiscent of Peggle more than anything else, with various brick shapes on an image in the theme of the level. The game does not bring much to the brickbreaking world that we haven’t seen or heard before. If you are looking for a warm-up game to play prior to going hardcore gaming, this may be an option, but to boot up the PS3 to play this game is not likely to cross your mind. Peggle, Magic Orbz or the superior Shatter will satisfy your urge for a new spin on a classic game.
Exciting news for Hyperballoid HD fans: the Original World Campaign downloadable content (DLC) will be included in today's European PlayStation Network update. The Original World Campaign DLC gives players access to fifty new levels for Hyperballoid HD, the addictive brick-breaker that launched in Europe last December.
The ArmChair Empire: Such a simple concept for a game: bounce a sphere off a paddle into “bricks” with the goal being to entirely clear the level of each and every last one. First with Breakout and even more so with Arakanoid, it became known as the brick-breaker game, relatively popular in the early, early days of gaming in the 1970s and 1980s.
Gamer 2.0 writes: "With a number of games with twists to the brick-breaking formula having appeared on PSN in the past year, it’s surprising to see that nothing more traditional has been released on PSN in the last three years. Hyperballoid HD is the new PS3 iteration of a PC line of Arkanoid clones from Alawar Entertainment, which offers about 100 new levels for just $4.99. While the game is cheap, it does come with some unfortunate issues that keep it from being a perfect purchase for a cheap price."
This game stands in the shadow of Shatter, PSN exclusive game.