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NDS
Arkanoid DS + Paddle Controller
- Partial Shipment |
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NCS
Shipment Update
«©NCSX»
Half of our shipments of the Arkanoid DS +
Paddle Controller bundle arrived
today and we'll process and ship the first batch of
preorders this afternoon. Please note the remainder
is scheduled to arrive on Saturday. We also received
only a partial delivery of the Paddle Controllers
and we'll fill what we can today. The remainder is
expected by Saturday or Monday and we'll update our
customers once they're in stock.
NCS
Game Synopsis
Taito revived the Atari "Breakout" brand in a big
way in 1986. That was when Arkanoid reached arcades
and swept across Japan and the USA like brushfire.
The game's gist is this: Players control a paddle
which bats a ball which in turn smacks into colored
bricks above. The aim of the game is to clear the
bricks on each stage with the ultimate goal of
reaching and destroying an entity known as DOH.
Since hitting bricks ain't easy, power capsules
would occasionally drop from broken bricks to imbue
the paddle with laser fire or magnetic force.
Conditional modifiers would also drop which slowed
down the velocity of the ball or split it into three
balls.
We were hooked on Arkanoid from the get-go and it would take NCS
about a decade before we had the wherewithal to buy
a pristine condition machine along with an Arkanoid
II cab for the 'ol private collection. Taito
announced Arkanoid DS a couple of
months ago but it was only over the past weekend
that preorders were finally opened up in Japan. The
NDS Arkanoid game features 140 stages and a Wifi
multiplayer mode. A Quest Mode and new BGM
soundtracks round out the feature set to make
Arkanoid DS a worthy successor to its coin-op
forebears.
Jan Code: 4988611207154
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NCS
Game Notes
» Based on the intro, the DOH of old is
gone. In its place is a shadowy munchkin who
threatens the safety of other munchkins (with oblong
Vaus shapes for heads) across the galaxy. To combat
the threat, a group of Vaus (paddles) are sucked
through a warp to do battle with the threat.
» Press START or tap the title screen
and the following options pop up:
1P GAME / Play a CLEAR GAME, a QUEST GAME, or a
VS COM game
VS GAME / Go head-to-head against another
player in the local vicinity
WI-FI / Go online to look for competitors and
see who's the top Vaus
RESULT / View the top scores and
ranking of players
OPTION / Adjust settings, buy items in
the Shop, and Decorate (see below)
» Tapping on the OPTION setting unveils
the following:
• SETTING / Change paddle speed and
adjust Sound and Bgm volumes
• SHOP / Use earned game points to
purchase goodies such as wallpaper, frames, music
jingles, brick replacements (including Space
Invaders bricks), and newtype Vaus designs.
• DECORATION / Change the look and sound of
the levels across the eight planets to your liking.
Note that the items that you purchase in the SHOP
are used to provide the backdrops, bricks, etc for
each planet's levels. At the outset, since you have
no game points, the selections are sparse.
» Despite the "gap" in the viewing area between the
two screens of the Nintendo DS hardware, the game
plays well. Gamers may use the stylus to swish the
Vaus left and right to block the ball and bat it
back at the bricks overhead. The early levels are
simplistic but as you grind deeper into the game,
elaborate brick designs appear - the Space Invader
level appears in Round B-5. The sound effects and
opening jingle from the original coin-op version are
spot-on.
» The purple mega-ball capsule which was originally
seen in Arkanoid II occasionally drops from a brick.
The mega-ball cuts through entire layers of bricks
and can potentially clear a brick-filled screen with
a few rebounds. The capsules are usually beneficial
except for the miniature black capsule which will
induce Vaus shrinkage.
» Note that Taito programmed D-pad movement control
in the game in addition to stylus control and rotary
paddle control. Right-handed players who hold
the stylus with their right hands fire the lasers by
pushing down on the D-pad. Left handed players who
hold the stylus in their left hands will push the
"B" button to fire the lasers after the red "L"
capsule is collected.
» Completing each level successfully grants the
player a 1000 point Barrier Bonus.
» The planets in the game are: Rhea, Kronos,
Artemis, Neith, Operon, Idana, and Deimos. The names
are primarily from Greek and Egyptian mythology.
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This document is ©NCSX 2007. All rights
reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of
this document may be made without express written
consent of National Console Support, Inc. |
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