Two Atari classic games are now available in the App Store. Atari is touting Missile Command and Super Breakout
as “true evolutions of the original hits”. That statement is a bit of a stretch, especially for one of these games.
Missile Command feels like a real redux of the original. The gameplay is mostly the same, but the animation, graphics, and sound have all been given a serious makeover giving this game a contemporary feel. It’s fun, and looks great on the iPhone or iPod touch screen.
On the other hand, Super Breakout feels a lot like, well, Super Breakout. Aside from adding more spit and polish to the look and feel, not much else has changed. And that’s a darn shame because next to Tetris, Breakout is one of the most cloned games in the world and many of those clones are closer to “true evolutions” than this regurgitated game. Sure, you can customize the background with your own image, and even use a tilt feature that uses the iPhone’s accelerometer, but these hardly qualify as evolutions.
Today’s Super Breakout release explains why Atari’s legal team sent letters last week to the developers of Breakout clones for iPhone. Atari claimed infringement on their intellectual property, but they really just wanted to remove competition from the App Store. What happened to “imitation is the best form of flattery”? Honestly, Atari’s game creators could learn a few things from playing some of the Breakout clones out there that introduce innovative gameplay elements. Instead, they go back to basics with this one.
Missile Command and Super Breakout both support one or two players, and they allow you to play your own music during the game. These are priced at $4.99 each, a fair price for Missile Command, but only worth it for die hard fans of Super Breakout.
Missile Command [App Store]
Super Breakout [App Store]
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