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NERVOUS BRICKDOWN (DS)
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Publisher: Eidos Interactive.
Developer: Arkedo Studio. Released: September 2007 (Europe). Genre: Breakout clone. Posted 18th March 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
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Nintendo’s DS acted as an unlikely haven for arcade-orientated games during the first decade of the 21st Century. These would often take the form of 70s or 80s classics revitalised via a fresh coat of paint and clever implementation of the stylus and touchscreen combination. On the surface, French developer Arkedo’s Nervous Brickdown (we love a bad pun) appeared to be a cheap ‘n’ cheerful Breakout clone. Sink your teeth into the game, however, and you’ll discover a fiendish, superbly creative experience. It’s also a perfect illustration of what made the system so appealing to players and developers.
A new take on the classic bat ‘n’ ball theme with party/puzzle elements, Nervous Brickdown comprises nine themes, each consisting of nine levels and a boss. Add to this a final six-level boss section and you’ve just shy of 100 stages with which to test your mettle. Every area shows an appreciable degree of design evolution, making for a satisfying and challenging endeavour. For players chasing a quick-fix bit of portable action, the Shuffle mode throws out a random sequence of five levels, a great way of showcasing the game’s surprising versatility. The real meat of the experience, however, can be found in Arcade.
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Nervous Brickdown spans a remarkable array of themes and styles
The first theme, entitled ‘POW’, appears a straightforward reskin of Arkanoid, with the player utilising the stylus to drag the bat along the bottom screen, bouncing the ball into bricks above, prompting combos and power-up drops. Even from the thematically simple early rounds, the idea works well: sliding the bat along with the stylus proves a lot of fun and a decent test of your hand-eye coordination, with the controls typically responding well. As the opening area progresses, NB gradually ups the stakes, adding new shapes and challenges. This is something Arkedo handled brilliantly, the gradual development of each theme’s ideas in tandem with an increasing challenge. It’s rarely a case of levels simply getting busier or faster, as the mounting difficulty nearly always derives from a raft of new ideas, a good majority of which pay off. It’s a fine example of a game building brilliantly from its base.
You’ll encounter a litany of changes as Arcade progresses, providing a bewildering array of Breakout reimaginings. ‘Paper’ sees the player drawing their own baton, nudging blocks and scrubbing out ink stains. ‘Ghost’ tasks you with blowing into the microphone to shoo pesky ghosts from your path, whilst ‘Curve’ has the player using the same technique to open windmill doors amid crazy golf courses. ‘Water’ requires the player to bop sharks with the stylus and catch survivors falling from ledges with the bat (which takes the form of a submarine). ‘Switch’ has Peggle vibes, testing the player’s pre-emptive skills by requiring that you quickly select yellow or blue to correspond with the colour of the last brick your ball contacted before returning to the lower screen. All the themes described above deserve more credit than I’ve room to give them here, each developing in absorbing and unexpected ways.
You’ll encounter a litany of changes as Arcade progresses, providing a bewildering array of Breakout reimaginings. ‘Paper’ sees the player drawing their own baton, nudging blocks and scrubbing out ink stains. ‘Ghost’ tasks you with blowing into the microphone to shoo pesky ghosts from your path, whilst ‘Curve’ has the player using the same technique to open windmill doors amid crazy golf courses. ‘Water’ requires the player to bop sharks with the stylus and catch survivors falling from ledges with the bat (which takes the form of a submarine). ‘Switch’ has Peggle vibes, testing the player’s pre-emptive skills by requiring that you quickly select yellow or blue to correspond with the colour of the last brick your ball contacted before returning to the lower screen. All the themes described above deserve more credit than I’ve room to give them here, each developing in absorbing and unexpected ways.
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There are a small handful that don’t translate quite as successfully. ‘Shoot’ is disappointing purely because it looks like it could have been awesome. The player controls a ship like in a vertical-scrolling shoot ‘em up, dodging bullets and lasers from both screens. These are quite fiddly, however, as guiding the ball through small gaps becomes tedious and slow-paced. Then there’s ‘Retro’, an increasingly brain-scrambling, multi-tasking nightmare that requires the player deal to deal concurrently with one or more games of Breakout and a simple platformer, jumping to avoid enemies and pitfalls. If you’re especially good at dividing your attention, you may enjoy these tough levels. However, I found juggling two block-busting games simultaneously with a platformer to be more stressful than fun, even at the relatively sedate pace it plays at.
Nevertheless, credit must go to Arkedo’s vibrant, quirky presentation. Not only does it attempt a superbly diverse array of gameplay themes, but the graphics adapt markedly to reflect this. It jumps between sleek, frenetic, Tron-inspired wireframe levels, and cute ‘n’ colourful sketchbook style. Artistically, it can appear traditional or futuristic, cartoony or elegant, there’s a bit of everything. There are some top-notch, straight-bat approaches that resemble a zapped-up Arkanoid, which contrast with humorously abstract ideas, notably a kitchen table covered with cereal and toast, and the player using a croissant as a bat. The ‘Water’ levels feature attractive, single-tone colour schemes, whilst the ‘Shoot’ sections proffer a machine-heavy, 16-bit vibe evocative of early nineties shmups and pinball games.
Nevertheless, credit must go to Arkedo’s vibrant, quirky presentation. Not only does it attempt a superbly diverse array of gameplay themes, but the graphics adapt markedly to reflect this. It jumps between sleek, frenetic, Tron-inspired wireframe levels, and cute ‘n’ colourful sketchbook style. Artistically, it can appear traditional or futuristic, cartoony or elegant, there’s a bit of everything. There are some top-notch, straight-bat approaches that resemble a zapped-up Arkanoid, which contrast with humorously abstract ideas, notably a kitchen table covered with cereal and toast, and the player using a croissant as a bat. The ‘Water’ levels feature attractive, single-tone colour schemes, whilst the ‘Shoot’ sections proffer a machine-heavy, 16-bit vibe evocative of early nineties shmups and pinball games.
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Perhaps surprisingly given its immediacy, Nervous Brickdown has lots of staying power. Part of this is due to the difficulty, as area checkpoints only become available now and again. Some levels you’ll beat on your first try, whilst others will seem brutal, draining your lives in no time at all. Fortunately, perseverance is ultimately rewarded with area checkpoints, lives and occasional abilities. Levels encourage replayability through the rewards of a medal, with every area challenging you slightly differently, though it’s normally linked to collecting/clearing all the items in a level before its end. For each one you achieve, there’s a mini gallery bonus, which proves a small but nice incentive. It’s a pity there isn’t an Endless mode, or some means of playing for high scores, as the game seems ideal for this sort of session. Nevertheless, you’ll be returning for weeks.
Yes, the music can get repetitive. Yes, there are occasional difficulty spikes. All told though, the nearly 100 levels of revamped Breakout prove significantly more creative and well-designed than even the most expectant of retro fans could have dared hope for. It isn’t as mesmeric an experience as the very best puzzlers, but for on-the-go sessions, its moreishness is a good match for the handheld. As love letters go, it’s brilliant: Arkedo hasn’t gone into it with the aim of having the graphical make-over do the heavy lifting. Despite the name, gamers should harbour no anxieties about trying Nervous Brickdown. The gameplay feels fresh, engaging and challenging, and players will find themselves absorbed for a lot longer than you might think.
Yes, the music can get repetitive. Yes, there are occasional difficulty spikes. All told though, the nearly 100 levels of revamped Breakout prove significantly more creative and well-designed than even the most expectant of retro fans could have dared hope for. It isn’t as mesmeric an experience as the very best puzzlers, but for on-the-go sessions, its moreishness is a good match for the handheld. As love letters go, it’s brilliant: Arkedo hasn’t gone into it with the aim of having the graphical make-over do the heavy lifting. Despite the name, gamers should harbour no anxieties about trying Nervous Brickdown. The gameplay feels fresh, engaging and challenging, and players will find themselves absorbed for a lot longer than you might think.
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VERDICT
"A victory for creative design. Nervous Brickdown takes Breakout's blueprint and reinvigorates it through a mix of smart stylus controls, eclectic presentation and a raft of fun levels." OVERALL: 7/10 |
OTHER ARCADE CLASSIC REVAMPS REVIEWED
Space Invaders Extreme (2008, DS)
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Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition (2012, Xbox 360)
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