TecnoballZ
| Developer: TLK Games | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: TLK Games | Sound: |
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| Year: 1991 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Brick breaker | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 2 simultaneous | Rating: |
7/10 | |
TecnoballZ is the enhanced version of Tecnoball, released the same year and developed by the same company. It’s a visually appealing brick breaker that brings to mind the aesthetics of Xenon 2. After each level, you’ll access a shop to stock up on bonuses (extra paddles, fire, glue, etc.), and at the end of every ten levels, you’ll face a shoot’em up-style boss!
The default difficulty (“EASY”) is fairly low, but it can be adjusted in the options menu. Solid sound effects and a few unique features—such as a two-player simultaneous mode (apparently requiring two mice), a “ball control” bonus, and up to four paddles—make it an engaging and, above all, accessible game.
That said, my praise would have remained unreserved if I hadn’t ended up stuck on a level where sections of the ceiling vanish upon contact with the ball…
To avoid this, always buy the extra paddle for the top wall and save your game before starting a level—preferably across two save slots.
I’ve also encountered the ball endlessly bouncing vertically (and even horizontally!)—a rather embarrassing flaw in a brick breaker. Fortunately, there seems to be a “tilt” function activated by pressing both mouse buttons simultaneously, which alters the ball’s trajectory. Oddly enough, I can’t seem to trigger it consistently.
The screenshots below are from the AGA version released in 1995.
The game takes a while to load, appearing frozen. Just be patient.
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