Rainbow Ricochet

Don't tell anyone, but I'm working on a great new game called Honic The Sedgehog.

I can't do that, you say? Well how about my Mac-Pan project? Or my new QTE-fest, following one man's efforts to avenge his father's death in a branch of Barratts, Menshue?

While paying homage to certain franchises could land you in hot water with some fairly weighty lawyers, it would appear others are fair game.

With more clones than modern day Star Wars, Atari's 24-year-old Breakout would appear to fall into the latter group, Rainbow Ricochet playing the role here of a colourful, but perhaps not especially expansive, tribute.

Whether you're a skilled veteran or a newcomer to the genre, the game's setup is fairly self-explanatory.

You control a paddle at the bottom of the screen, shifting it left and right to ping a series of balls – in this case, fairly cuboid - towards a pattern of bricks at the top.

Most bricks disappear on contact, with the idea being to clear each and every one before all your lives are spent losing balls into what the game ironically calls the 'goal' – i.e. the pit below your paddle.

This is more or less how all such Breakout wannabes play out, the only differentiating factors being the pace of play, the layout of the bricks, and the power-ups on offer.

The latter is probably Rainbow Ricochet's least successful element, with only three bonuses – seemingly triggered when you clear a mass of bricks in one run – popping up with any regularity; a Turbo mode; the addition of two extra balls; and a wider paddle.

Level headed

Each level's layout is, conversely, where Rainbow Ricochet shows most ambition. For instance, one stage requires you to navigate past lengthy lines of immovable red blocks before you reach the bulk, really pushing play forward as a result.

It's a feat that can be accomplished by even the green amongst its audience, however, because Rainbow Ricochet isn't the most pacey Breakout clone you'll ever come across.

That aside, it's all as you might expect. Entirely playable and addictive to boot, Rainbow Ricochet's safe take on a classic shows no sign of backfiring.