Atom Smash, by Red
Mercury $14.95
Reviewed March 2002
Remember the old Pong game? Atom Smash
is a game with a similar concept. You use a paddle placed at
the bottom of the screen to bounce a ball and break bricks. Atom
Smash has moved several generations beyond Pong with its superb
graphics, artistic design, great sound effects and endless level
selections. Not only can you download some great looking new
levels from their web site, you can also edit your own levels
on fly. The program gives you the ability to create your own
layouts with any selection of bricks, and test the your design
immediately after you've it. The program even gives you intuitive
instructions on how to edit levels. How cool is that? If you
get lost in games for hours, you'll appreciate the battery meter
displayed in the game's menu bar (why don't more programs do
this?). You can map the controls to your Palm keys or use the
stylus. I couldn't use the button keys to save my life. Give
the stylus a try!
Playing Hints and Tips
Different color bricks have different
characteristics. Normal bricks can be broken with one hit,
Silver/Black ones two hits, Gold bricks can be broken only
when you get a Red power up, Regenerating bricks will regenerate
after being hit.
Remember not all the things falling off
of the bricks are good. Blue is a power up that will give
you 3 balls bouncing at the same time. If you are below or
outside of the gold bricks or regenerating bricks, you should
catch your bouncing ball first; but if you are inside or
above the gold bricks or regenerating bricks you should try
to catch the Blue power ups to increase the number of hits.
The Red power up is a must have, because it cuts through
any color of brick. If you have Red power up, try not to
catch anything that might change it. Small Blue gives you
extra life. So catch them when you can. Other than those,
I wouldn't catch anything else if I could help it. But here
is the info for other falling paddles: Pink-returns your
ball back to slow speed; Orange-will make your current paddle
longer; Black-will make your current paddle shorter.
Get the feel of the ball movements.
It's like playing tennis. Try your power shoots, slices,
volley drops, etc. Practice makes for a high score.
Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):
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