Jardinains

An old block busting ball bouncing game.

Most people are going to be unimpressed with this game if they play it today, and that is partly a criticism of the game and partly because of the way modern gamers are spoilt for choice. The game has a classic format where a bunch of blocks are suspended at the top of the screen, and you have to hit them with a ball that falls back and bounces (or attaches to) the stick you move from left to right at the bottom. It is a clone of a game called Breakout (1976), Arkanoid (1986) and DX-Ball (1996).

It Is Not Better Than Previous Versions

Jardinains was created in 2002, and frankly, you would expect it to be better than its predecessors, but it isn’t. The graphics are tinny and overly retro in a seemingly negative way. If you are going for a retro feel, then that is okay, but it almost feels as if the game was designed on an Amiga computer. The soundtrack is no better, and the visuals (such as the falling prizes) are just not up to scratch.

There Are More Of These Games

If the game was created back in 1990, then one could excuse these flaws, but it was created less than 15 years ago, when graphics and computers were advanced enough to make better games than this. Maybe this is the reason why better versions have been released because the sequels are far better by a massive degree.

Blender For Better Versions

People are spoilt for choice these days, and most people could find a better version of this game for free within fifteen minutes. Even novice game makers can download Blender for free, take a few weeks to learn it, and then create a better version of Breakout than this.

What About The Thousands That Love The Game

A point has to be made that Jardinains has had over 1,500,000 people download and play it since 2002. That is a staggering amount, which does suggest that a lot of people enjoy this game. With that being the case, you should probably look up the game and give it a try before you take any reviews seriously. It is unfair to criticize a game across the board when so many people have played it and it has grown in popularity enough to enjoy such success. It also has sequels, and even though sequels do not indicate quality (after all there are plenty of Michael Bay Transformer movie sequels), they do indicate a fair amount of interest from consumers.

Pros

• Lots of people love it
• Another take on a classic game

Cons

• The sequels are far better
• They should have done more with the graphics