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BREAKOUT 2000
review | JAGUAR
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Publisher: Telegames.
Developer: MP Games. Released: December 1996. Genre: Breakout. Posted 11th December 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
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Breakout 2000 delivered one last slap in the face to Atari Jaguar owners when it was released during the 1996 festive season, with the system by this point in its death throes. The jarring contrast between promise and execution will not have been lost on hardware owners. Those who bought into Atari’s vision were promised a system so powerful it would effectively leapfrog a generation of incoming consoles. The sorry reality was never more perfectly encapsulated than by this duff reboot of an already 20-year-old arcade game, one that comes off second-best next to a lot of PlayStation homebrew titles of the time.
MP Games’ effort represents a dispiritingly bare-bones reboot of the iconic bat-and-paddle brick buster of yesteryear. You know the score: clear the screen of bricks to move on to the next level, lose a life if the ball slips past your paddle. Designed to tentatively showcase a 3D perspective, the gameplay is largely the same as the original, except that the camera is placed above and behind the paddle. The positives this brings are relatively limited, with the main one being a basic depth effect as we see the ball moving into and out of the background. On the flip side, this makes judging quick or acute bounces a bit of a guessing game, with the 3D effect largely unimpressive due to the game’s bland graphics and naff digitised sprites.
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The above-and-behind camera angle adds some unwelcome problems
Poor controls don’t help. The responsiveness is passable, but it’s the lack of precision that really hurts the gameplay. The paddle moves in big, ungainly increments, and there’s no semblance of finesse to the manoeuvring. This is also true of the angles the ball rebounds at, meaning trying to get stray blocks can be a finicky process. The physics feel barely any more sophisticated than the ageing arcade game, which by the standards of 1996 was staggering in itself.
Set in a featureless, sci-fi space location, Breakout 2000 adds a few power-ups to the mix, with some Arkanoid-inspired tubes launching down the screen. Extra lives are by far the most welcome, but you can look forward to increased paddle surfaces, explosive lightning bolts that can be charged and lobbed to target specific blocks, and multiball, even if this is difficult to take advantage of in practice. There are also a few penalty powers to be wary of, including paddle reducers and swerving balls, which make a tricky enterprise tougher still. Occasionally, you’ll have a flying craft fire shots at your paddle, punching holes in its surface, though these instances are more of a distraction than an active threat.
Set in a featureless, sci-fi space location, Breakout 2000 adds a few power-ups to the mix, with some Arkanoid-inspired tubes launching down the screen. Extra lives are by far the most welcome, but you can look forward to increased paddle surfaces, explosive lightning bolts that can be charged and lobbed to target specific blocks, and multiball, even if this is difficult to take advantage of in practice. There are also a few penalty powers to be wary of, including paddle reducers and swerving balls, which make a tricky enterprise tougher still. Occasionally, you’ll have a flying craft fire shots at your paddle, punching holes in its surface, though these instances are more of a distraction than an active threat.
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Sadly, this is about it. Even fans of Breakout, of whom I count myself very much amongst this number, will find this game an exercise in tedium. Whilst levels feature different brick formations (and fractionally different space hanger backgrounds), there’s precious little variety or addictive qualities. It’s chronically short of atmosphere and excitement, and thus the whole package feels very underwhelming. Breakout 2000’s one truly positive feature is its novel two-player mode, which allows a second player to control a paddle on the ceiling, effectively mirroring the standard playing space. It doesn’t magically transform the game’s fortunes, but it’s a noteworthy approach and a novel way of sharing the experience with a friend. Certainly, it’s a bit more lively than playing on your own.
Rather undermining the reboot angle is a serviceable sample of the original in the form of a mode entitled Breakout Classic. I say sample, because despite offering three difficulty settings and an option for the ball to break through blocks, the game abruptly finishes after a couple of levels. It’s difficult to ascertain why this would be, short of the developers feeling it would prove too much of a distraction from the ‘new’ approach. As a result, you can’t play a proper score run, so it represents little more than a curio, a short demo.
Rather undermining the reboot angle is a serviceable sample of the original in the form of a mode entitled Breakout Classic. I say sample, because despite offering three difficulty settings and an option for the ball to break through blocks, the game abruptly finishes after a couple of levels. It’s difficult to ascertain why this would be, short of the developers feeling it would prove too much of a distraction from the ‘new’ approach. As a result, you can’t play a proper score run, so it represents little more than a curio, a short demo.
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Sadly, this is about it. Even fans of Breakout, of whom I count myself very much amongst this number, will find this game an exercise in tedium. Whilst levels feature different brick formations (and fractionally different space hanger backgrounds), there’s precious little variety or addictive qualities. It’s chronically short of atmosphere and excitement, and thus the whole package feels very underwhelming. Breakout 2000’s one truly positive feature is its novel two-player mode, which allows a second player to control a paddle on the ceiling, effectively mirroring the standard playing space. It doesn’t magically transform the game’s fortunes, but it’s a noteworthy approach and a novel way of sharing the experience with a friend. Certainly, it’s a bit more lively than playing on your own.
Rather undermining the reboot angle is a serviceable sample of the original in the form of a mode entitled Breakout Classic. I say sample, because despite offering three difficulty settings and an option for the ball to break through blocks, the game abruptly finishes after a couple of levels. It’s difficult to ascertain why this would be, short of the developers feeling it would prove too much of a distraction from the ‘new’ approach. As a result, you can’t play a proper score run, so it represents little more than a curio, a short demo.
Rather undermining the reboot angle is a serviceable sample of the original in the form of a mode entitled Breakout Classic. I say sample, because despite offering three difficulty settings and an option for the ball to break through blocks, the game abruptly finishes after a couple of levels. It’s difficult to ascertain why this would be, short of the developers feeling it would prove too much of a distraction from the ‘new’ approach. As a result, you can’t play a proper score run, so it represents little more than a curio, a short demo.
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Occasional power-ups are a welcome diversion, but ultimately make little difference
Breakout 2000 looks incredibly drab. Its space setting should have allowed for something visually interesting. Instead, the vibe we’re treated to is closer to an abandoned hangar or a disused warehouse. Menus look ugly, and even the high-score tables are joyless and austere. The general monotony is reinforced by a repetitive, ear-pummeling BGM theme that’s an unwelcome throwback to early MS-DOS games, whilst the sound effects are jarringly basic.
Released a few months after Bust-a-Move 2 lit up the PlayStation and Saturn systems, Breakout 2000 would fall desperately short of Taito’s arcade brick-breaking benchmark. Devoid of style, personality, game modes and staying power, this half-hearted attempt to reboot a classic would instead drive a final, definitive nail into the Jaguar’s coffin. Hopelessly outdated, technically woeful and lacking any features that could see it stand against nineties competition, Breakout 2000 felt ancient on release and, by the competitive standards of late 1996, entirely redundant.
Released a few months after Bust-a-Move 2 lit up the PlayStation and Saturn systems, Breakout 2000 would fall desperately short of Taito’s arcade brick-breaking benchmark. Devoid of style, personality, game modes and staying power, this half-hearted attempt to reboot a classic would instead drive a final, definitive nail into the Jaguar’s coffin. Hopelessly outdated, technically woeful and lacking any features that could see it stand against nineties competition, Breakout 2000 felt ancient on release and, by the competitive standards of late 1996, entirely redundant.
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VERDICT"Intended as a refresh of a legendary arcade game, Breakout 2000 instead proved an indelible reminder of the Jaguar's weaknesses. It feels completely ancient next to its competition. There's nothing noteworthy here, either for fans or newcomers." OVERALL: 3/10 |
OTHER GAMES INSPIRED BY ARCADE CLASSICS REVIEWED
Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition (2012, Xbox 360)
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Ball x Pit (2025, PlayStation 5)
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