Batty: 'Breakout' of the Mold
Batty is a free Arkanoid/Breakout clone for  handheld devices running Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system. The game features many colorful screens and loads of special power-up bricks.
Installation
Batty must be manually installed on your Pocket PC because it does not come with a self-installing program. The installation only requires a few simple steps which I will detail here.- Download the appropriate file for your processor (SH3, Mips, and ARM are available).
- Connect your Pocket PC to your desktop
- Open ActiveSync and select 'Explore'
- Copy the Batty application file to the 'Windows->Start Menu->Programs->Games' Folder.
- Enjoy Batty
Game play
Batty is a very good clone of the classic arcade hits Arkanoid or Breakout. You control a 'bat' at the bottom of the screen and your job is to direct the ball towards the bricks above. Normal bricks will break with a single hit, while other bricks may require multiple hits or may not be breakable at all. Don't let the ball go pass you bat off the bottom of the screen or you will lose a life.
The bat can be controlled using either the directional pad or the stylus. The controls using the directional pad take quite a while to get used to. Pressing up moves the bat to the left and pressing down moves the bat to the right. Tapping the center of the directional pad releases the ball if it is stuck to the bat, and it will also fire bullets if you've captured the special tile allowing that functionality. Controlling the stylus is much more intuitive than using the directional keypad. Sliding the stylus to the left and right moves the bat left and right accordingly, and a double tap will release the ball from the bat.
Special Tiles
Breaking certain bricks will release 'special tiles'. Special tiles may give you a longer bat, slow down the speed of the ball, give you an extra life, or make the ball stick to the bat upon contact allowing you more control over the balls movement. Although special tiles are often helpful there are a few special tiles that will cause harm. For example the special tile with a skull and cross-bones on it will cause you to lose your life, and there are also special tiles that will shrink your bat or speed up the ball making it more difficult to keep the ball on the screen.
Pros
I think that these breakout type games are some of the most fun games on any platform. Daniel Jackson has a very good implementation of the classic with Batty. The game plays very similarly to the real thing, and best of I can play all night long without running out of quarters.
I like the fact that there are various levels built into this game. Easy level would be great for entertaining your kids on a long trip, or when you're stuck in traffic somewhere. The medium level is great for an average player, and the hard level will be just right for those of you who've spent a few hours too many at the local arcade honing your skills. If you think you've mastered all the other levels try your had at impossible. I don't think that it's truly impossible, but if you've got the multi-ball and the speed up tiles you're in for some frenzied game play.
Cons
The biggest drawback to this game is the unusual key configuration. The up/down replacing left/right just isn't natural. Even after playing this game for a few weeks I still have trouble remembering which is left and which is right. I have alleviated that problem somewhat by using my left hand on the up button and my right hand on the down button. With that system I press with my left hand to go left and my right hand to go right.
A small bug that I found is that the ball will always be centered when you have a 'sticky bat.' If the ball is captured on the end of the bat I think it should stay on the end of rather than being shifted to the center.
Batty has no detailed documentation that goes over the benefits or advantages of each of the special tiles, nor could I find is there any explanation of the controls. Although this is not an extremely complicated piece of software it is always nice to have documentation to look at. Good documentation will often save at least a few users quite a bit of frustration.
Overall Impressions
Overall, I am quite impressed with Batty. The button problem is not a real big issue to me because I prefer the stylus control for this game. I think that the stylus control makes the game closer to the trackball that was used in the arcade. I give Batty a 7 out of 10 because it's fun, it's addicting, and best of all it's free. I definitely recommend giving Batty a test run on your machine. It's free so you've got nothing to lose other than all those minutes you'll spend playing Batty.
Screenshots
Batty: 'Breakout' of the Mold
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