Review: Mindjolt's Paddle Games Part 2

In the world of video games few legacies are as large as that left behind by Pong and Breakout. Few game fanatics could go through childhood without playing either game. So large is this legacy that Mindjolt has a catalog of games emulating the look and gameplay of both games. In this half of Bright Hub's review of Mindjolt's Pong and Breakout style games, we are going to look at four more games. One is a new take on Pong, another is the Breakout clone named one of the best games Mindjolt has to offer, and two more where you play both Pong and Breakout at the same time!

Pong out is an extremely difficult combination of both Pong and Breakout. The game board is split into two boards with Breakout on the left, and Pong on the right. You play both games at the same time with your mouse. Move the mouse left to right to control the paddle in the Breakout side, and move the mouse up and down top control the Pong paddle. Even on easy this game will drive you crazy with frustration. The graphics in this game look ancient, at least in terms of the video game world. The simplicity of the graphics only makes the game that much more frustrating. Something that looks this old school shouldn't be that hard, right? Trust me, no matter how frustrated you get, you'll come back for more.

Pong Out 2 gameplays is almost the exact same as the original. The only difference is it looks nicer and, although the gameplay is the same, it seems easier. Where the first game would not look out of place in the original Atari 2600 line-up, PongOut 2 has had a much needed visual overhaul. Unfortunately, the music and sound effects are the same in PongOut 2 as the first instalment which consists of a boring techno song lopping over and over, and a bleep when you die or get a bonus. The game is still fun and extremely challenging, but when a new instalment in a series is released, changing something of the gameplay should be a requirement.