GAME
Ahmed Saad El Dawy has made a lovely freeware Arkanoid game... with a difference.  This one has a story behind it!  The story is that you have found a treasure map.  This ancient map tells you about some treasure, which you are determined to find.  You must travel the world, looking for 7 ancient stones.  Once you have found a stone, then you can move on to the next place to look for stones.  But not every level has a stone..... 

So how do you go about finding these ancient stones?  You do this by clearing the screen of bricks.  Use you ball and paddle to hit the bricks, and destroy them.  When all the bricks are destroyed, then the level is completed.  But it's not quite as easy as that.  To make things even more complicated, you will find many different types of bricks.  Some bricks take several hits before they will break.  Some bricks don't break at all, and you have to destroy all the surrounding bricks in order to destroy it.  Some bricks are invisible, and don't appear until they have been hit. 

There is a good selection of power-ups to find - 16 in total.  As well as the usual Long Paddle (makes your paddle longer), Sticky Bit (balls will stick to the paddle), and Split Ball (doubles the amount of balls on screen), you also get some new ones like Chain Reaction (random bricks will be destroyed), Coins (gives you money to buy things at the shop), and  Fan (blows the balls upwards).  There are lots more, but I especially liked Crazy Wall (a layer of non-breakable bricks appears above your paddle for 25 seconds).  This is very useful, as your ball bounces around destroying bricks, and you don't have to worry about catching it with the paddle. 

GAMEPLAY
The game is controlled by mouse, so it is very easy to play.  Simply move your mouse left or right to move the paddle left or right.  The paddle is used to catch the ball, as well as collecting power-ups that fall down.  Left-click to 'fire' the ball, or to fire (if you have caught the Machine Gun power-up) at the bricks.  At the start of each level, you are given a password.  I recommend you take note of these passwords, as the game gets very tricky in later levels.  If you know a password, then you can jump straight to that level, and you don't have to start right at the beginning again. 

One things I especially like about New Arkanoid is the Shop feature.  At the end of each level, you are taken to the Shop, and can buy extra power-ups if you wish (providing you have enough coins).  At the start of the game, you have 10 coins.  You are given another 10 coins for every level you complete, but you can also collect coins as power-ups.  There are 6 power-ups you can buy from the shop.  Simply highlight one, and then press 'Enter' the purchase it.  To use power-ups in the game, simply press the corresponding numbers 1-6. 

I must point out that occasionally the game will freeze, so you cannot play anymore.  You have to quit the game, and then restart.  Although this is annoying, you can enter a password, and begin from where you left off.  Unfortunately, you will lose all the coins and power-ups you have gained.

GRAPHICS
The backgrounds are beautiful.  As the wall is gradually destroyed, you are treated to a variety of mountains, landscapes, buildings, and other wonderful photographs, which are a joy to see.  Just remember to keep an eye on the ball as well!  As for the playing area, your score, the level you are playing, and all your power-ups are shown on the right of the screen.     

MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS
Unfortunately, there is no music or sound effects in New Arkanoid.  But that doesn't matter.  Simply stick on your favourite cd, and listen to that instead.

SUMMERY
New Arkanoid is a lovely Breakout game, with a story behind it.  You must find 7 ancient stones in order to find the treasure.  You will not find a stone in every level, however, so that keeps things interesting.  There is a good variety of power-ups to find, but sometimes if you go for a power-up, you will miss the ball and lose a life.  There are some beautiful photographs as the backgrounds, and they are a joy to see.  The 'Shop' idea was fun, as you could buy extra power-ups to help you with the next level.  Passwords are another useful feature in this game, and you don't have to go right back to the start each time.  Later levels can get very tricky, and this adds a lot of fun to the game, as you try to destroy all the bricks.  The game crashes occasionally, which I found annoying, but if you remember the passwords, then it isn't too bad.  All in all, a great game that I really enjoyed.