BreakThru!

Monday, May 8, 2017

Platforms:	PC. PlayStation, GameBoy, SEGA Saturn, SNES
Publisher:	Spectrum Holobyte
Developer:	ZOO Corporation
Genres:	Puzzle / Logic Puzzle
Release Date:	1994
Game Modes:	Singleplayer

In BreakThru, your goal is to tear down a wall of multi-colored bricks. You do this by clicking on a brick, which makes all the adjoining bricks of the same color disappear. Simple? Yes. Oh, and more bricks are falling from above as you do all this.

At first, I enjoyed experimenting with the different levels, the variable time limits, and the special “tools” the game allows. The difficulty levels, which range from Child (anyone can clear these stages) to Hard (it might take you a couple tries to clear these stages) determine how many colors you have to deal with. You can further customize the game by choosing how much time you have to clear a round — from two minutes, which can be pretty challenging, to ten (don’t even bother with this setting).

The various tools you get to help you tear down the wall add some nice variety, and a grid option lets you bring them into play with precision. And there are also troublesome objects, like cans and spiders, that you can’t get rid of unless you have those tools. The problem with BreakThru, however, is that despite the twists and options, it gets all too familiar all too quickly.