ARKANOID II: REVENGE OF DOH

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Just when you thought it was safe to get back in your space pod, your evil galactic nemesis appears on the outer limits of the galaxy, primed to dust the intergallactic void with your neurons. It's DoH, that great space face you love to hate, and this time it's personal.

Arkanoid II borrows heavily from its predecessor, enhancing its familiar block-breaking strategies with no less than 13 types of Energy Blocks that surrender their special powers to you once you hit them with an energy ball.

The action in this version is thicker and heavier than in the first, but it's sometimes overshadowed by the less attractive graphics. Your space pod isn't nearly as well defined, for example, and some of the backgrounds are so garish that it's hard to pick up a passing energy ball before it gets by you. If that happens, you're space vapor.

Fortunately, you can overcome a problematic background with the program's Construction Set, which allows you to build your own space walls. Select a more stable background, or design your own Arkanoid levels, complete with reappearing, moving, indestructible, or energizing blocks of different hues.

With its 67 rounds of rousing arcade action, construction kit, and support of several PC sound devices, Arkanoid II is a worthy successor to one of the most addictive arcade games ever released.

PETER SCISCO