Game Info
Bust'em follows the same main concept as any other breakout style game. You move a paddle around the screen and deflect balls in order to hit and break bricks positioned around the screen. That is where the similarities end - and where the real fun begins.
In most traditional breakout clones you are limited to moving the paddle either left or right. Bust'em adds a new dimension by also allowing upward and downward movement. Upward movement is limited by a horizontal line across the screen. The barrier can be raised with a power-up, but it can also be moved lower with a power-down. The horizontal movement comes with a twist. Every time a brick is broken it splits into many little particles. These particles scatter across the screen eventually settling down at the bottom of the level. As the level of these particles rises the piles may impede your left/right movement, or they may even trap your paddle. You must destroy levels quickly in order to limit the growth of the piles at the bottom of the screen.
Nearly every breakout clone comes with special power-ups hidden within the blocks, and Bust'em is loaded with different power-ups and there are even some power-downs as well. The standard power-ups/downs are all included. There are objects that will shrink or extend the size of the paddle. Other objects will speed up or slow down the paddle or the flight of the ball(s) in play. The above mentioned power-ups are the type that you would find in any breakout clone. Bust'em is not an ordinary breakout game. In this game you'll have power-ups like the soda can that opens to release additional balls into play, the slice of pizza that will cause one of the bricks to be eaten, the exploding bomb which blows bricks up, and the all powerful nuke which sends a plethora of balls shooting upwards. These power-ups are nice, but you need to steer clear of the nap time item which will put your paddle to sleep, and the skull and crossbones which will destroy all balls in play.
