As a gaming industry old-timer, who remembers the early days of Pong and far more primitive gaming, I’ll admit that while it’s dull to return to now, I do remember playing a fair amount of Breakout back in the day. As the years progressed that basic brick breaking formula got refined, but then the release of Arkanoid clearly showed the way forward, adding a number of power-ups and different block types to the mix, revitalizing a game that had otherwise not changed that much fundamentally since being introduced.

Now, following up on the tradition set by Arkanoid, we have Bob the Brick Breaker. Granted, outside of the game’s aesthetics it doesn’t take any large steps forward, but it does at least honor the legacy before it and proves that simple style of play can still be engaging when done properly. In general you’ll simply be moving back and forth holding a girder above you, trying to reflect balls to keep them in play, as well as picking up the random power-ups that will continue to fall. It isn’t rocket science, but it can still be a challenge and reasonably entertaining.

In terms of what it adds to the conversation there isn’t all that much, though you will at least hit periodic boss fights of a sort that at least help to break up the more generic action with something a little different. In addition, there is an option to battle with a friend in split-screen play, but whether or not that’s something you’re interested in, that's a feature that could go either way since it’s more novel than groundbreaking. It’s a decent option if you’re looking for your old-school fix, but I’d argue a game like Shatter Remastered Deluxe would be a far better option.