Commodore Amiga

Giganoid

Giganoid (in case you hadn’t guessed) is a variation on the Break-Out/Arkanoid formula, with 50 screens of block groups to destroy. This is an Action game, developed and published by Swiss Computer Arts, which was released in Europe in 1988. The number of Arkanoid clones on the 16-bit machines is already remarkable, and here, complete with ‘- anoid’ suffix, is yet another. Indeed, Giganoid is the most blatant version yet, with identical bat, bonus capsules, and screen surrounds. Stand by for a possible joint Imagine/Taito legal case against Swiss Computer Arts! The game of Giganoid itself, though, is unlikely to cause any ripples, as it is just the usual very competently programmed affair with no real improvements over Impact, my own favorite of the genre. Anyone who hasn’t seen the many other interpretations of the theme should be well impressed with Giganoid, but only an unusual highscore table screen with impressive rotating coloured bars and didgeridoo samples stick in my mind. If you already have the Imagine original or Audiogenic’s impressive Impact, don’t bother with Giganoid, if you don’t, this is the one to check out.