The Game: More walls, more balls. The object of the game is the same as the original Breakout, except this time, you face things like moving walls, “cavities” which, when opened, will release additional projectiles that you’ll have to keep in the air, and more. (Atari, 1980)
Memories: As with the arcade version of Breakout, Breakout on the VCS was one of the better-selling launch titles on that machine, so it made sense in both cases to follow up with a sequel that had a few new twists. Originally unleashed in the arcade in 1978, Super Breakout added those twists, and this cartridge brought them home.
It’s interesting to note that, with the Intellivision known to be at least in the test marketing stages during this game’s development, Atari’s sales pitch for Super Breakout stressed heavily that it featured new sound effects. You could randomly select which of these new sound effects could be heard when your ball struck a brick by hitting the reset switch. Man, sign me up.
Still, in and of itself, Super Breakout is a neat game, and it shows some visual advancement over the original Breakout cartridge. I always thought that the variations on the original game made Super Breakout so much better, at home or in the arcade.