Arkanoid Eternal Battle PS5 Review – Let’s be honest, this game is way overdue! I have waited since the 80’s when playing the block-breaking arcade game for an updated version to come out. It even stirs memories of the early 90’s when I was at high school and in form time, we were allowed to use the class computers to play this until our hearts were content.
That being said, something new did have to be done with the basic game other than just revamped graphics that were always basic at best. Well, the graphics have definitely been polished but added to that is an online mode. So here are my thoughts for AIR Entertainment.
Arkanoid Eternal Battle PS5 Review – Lets Break Those Blocks
Pastagames, the retro specialists of our time, have taken the time to get their hands on this classic title and bring a much-needed revamp whilst still capturing the essence of the classic arcade game. The good news is that they have largely managed to pull it off.
For those of you that are too young to remember the original game, the basic concept of the game is so wonderfully simple yet addictive. On the screen in front of you, you take control of a ‘bat’ (which is actually your spaceship) and bounce a ‘ball’ from it to destroy blocks on the screen. Once you have successfully done that, you move on to the next stage and repeat.
Thrown into the mix are Aliens on screen which can divert the track of the ball sending it off in all sorts of directions. Some blocks that you destroy can drop packages to help you which must fall on to your spaceship. These range from extending the length of your spaceship to weapons to help destroy the blocks. Quite simply, its timeless stuff that anyone can pick up and play. Even my 3-year-old has been addicted to it, and trying to get him off it so I could spend more time with it for this review has been impossible at times.
Arkanoid Eternal Battle PS5 Review – Is It Really as Simple as That?
Well, yes and no. The idea of the game is simple yes, but mastering it is a different matter completely. For the old-timers like myself there is the classic arcade version included which does show the same emulated graphics and sounds from the 80’s Coin-Op (now there’s a term we don’t hear anymore) game. Set on screen inside an old arcade cabinet frame it really did take me back.
But what else can you expect from the game? Well, obviously there is the upgraded version playable on this gen of console which, as you would expect, runs extremely smoothly. This all singing, all dancing NEO mode takes the original arcade concept and adds all new levels and power-ups for players to have hours of fun with.
There is of course a traditional 1v1 mode which takes the NEO mode and allows you to play head-to-head against someone, but the star of the show here is the titular Eternal Battle mode. This mode sees up to 25 players compete against each other online and fuses the classic arcade formula with an injection of the Battle Royale that everyone has become familiar with over the last few years or so.
The player with the lowest score after a round is eliminated and this continues until one player stands victorious at the end. The idea is fantastic and can be great fun, but there is an issue here. There simply aren’t enough players out there competing with this game. It isn’t going to be a title that will sell by the millions as far as I can tell and if it does it will be limited to the old gits like myself or really young kids which won’t be allowed to play online if their parents are anything like me with my above-mentioned Son.
Every time I did try to play online the game was filled with AI to make up the numbers and after a very short amount of time that becomes boring and too easy to beat. Even with cross play enable I found myself craving some sort of human competition and it didn’t happen. I think one of the issues with this is the price tag for the game; at £25on the Playstation Store here in the UK and only boasting 4 game modes, it simply isn’t going to attract enough new players to buy it.
Arkanoid Eternal Battle PS5 Review – Final Blocks left to smash
I love this game, I really do. I am from a generation of gamers that appreciated literally anything that was released which certainly wasn’t as much as we see today. Games were simple but very effective and in essence the 2022 release after nearly 40 years of waiting is very well welcomed by me. I just don’t feel that it will be welcomed by too many people with the price tag it holds. Drop the price by £10 and you will see more players risking trying the game.
If you are reading this review, please do give the game a go. It is one of those titles that will genuinely keep you entertained (and frustrated) for hours
