Atari 5200

Super Breakout

Although the controls are average, due to the 5200's joysticks, the gameplay is solid. I mean, the game was fun on the 2600, and it's fun on the 5200. Not jaw-droppingly so, but not bad either. It's good for the occasional game or two, but it's inexcusable as a launch title.

Super Breakout is the most unimpressive-looking game you'll ever see on the 5200. The blocks disintegrate when hit, but otherwise this looks and plays just like the plain-Jane 2600 version. You get the same variations: normal, double, cavity and progressive. Yes, they're fun enough, but you'd think they could have been more imaginative for this version. I was surprised by the control - I never realized those Atari 5200 joysticks were analog! That means you can actually control the speed of the paddle, and it works very well. There's a four-player mode, but Atari missed the boat on this one, since only ONE person can play at a time. Can you imagine how fun it would be to have four players controlling paddles on the screen at once? That would have been easy to do, but Atari was just lazy. It's easy to be critical of this game, but as my friend Scott pointed out, "You really can't blame Breakout for being Breakout". Truer words have never been spoken.