“Wizorb” is a game that takes Arkanoid and pushes it in a bold new direction. It adds enemies, magic, potions, coin collecting, a unique mechanic regarding continues, and more.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the “and more” for me is that, at several points in the game, you’ll find a door. Successfully entering it may lead to either a juicy power-up cache, or a bonus stage reminiscent to me of those in Devil’s Crush (aka, Devil’s Crash, a PC Engine/Turbografx-16 pinball game). The game even offers multiple ways to open these doors (collecting keys, or spending coins you collect).
I appreciate the continues mechanic; you can continue three times per level at no cost, but additional continues will cost you coins (that you could otherwise spend on power-ups, and the like). The magic imparts effects to the ball, up to and including teleportation, but its use is limited (you must fill up your magic meter first), which keeps the game from becoming a cheap magic-fest. Graphics have a low-res, but colourful feel that reminds me of Commodore 64 games, and it works well. All in all it’s an imaginative game that’s really worth checking out for its 240 Microsoft Points.
Here’s what the developer (Tribute Games) has to say about the game:
“The once peaceful Kingdom of Gorudo is threatened by an evil presence. The only hope for salvation is Cyrus, a wizard versed in a secret magic art called Wizorb! Explore many strange places from the derelict monster infested town of Clover to Gorudo Castle atop Cauldron Peak. Danger lurks around every corner so you’ll need to keep your wits about you and have quick reflexes in order to survive.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 
wizorb is quite probably one indie of the nearest to XBLA “perceived quality”. Surely it got much attenction from the usual suspects around the web. The game, just as said, is absolutely worth the 240 price tag. It oozes quality and style (dat graphics!)
Agreed on every count. And I’m totally borrowing “dat graphics!” :)
When I originally tried out Wizorb I wasn’t expecting much from it. I usually avoid variations on Breakout. But Wizorb does for Breakout what Puzzle Quest did for match-3 games: it takes something that could easily be too minimal and limited for today’s market and turns it into a deeper, more engaging experience.
Impressive stuff.
Wow… if I’d just said that, I could have saved myself the rest of the review! :) An excellent summation.
Haha, thanks. Maybe I should start a one-sentence review project.
I played the PC version of this game and love it. I am partial to arkanoid style games, but I loved the Zelda/RPG aspects to it. Definitely worth giving a try in my opinion.
A must buy for fans of Arkanoid or any breakout type of game. And if your a fan of RPG as well you will completely enjoy this game.
I had to come back and write about this game again. The more I play this the more I realize how good this game is. I normally don’t like games with “8-bit” graphics/sound but I absolutely love them in this case. It’s got a real nostalgic feel but at the same time the play is more next gen. I think Alan C. said it perfectly but still felt a need to put down how much fun this game is. I’ve always loved games like break out ever since I was really young. It was the first video game I ever played back in the 70’s but this game is light years ahead of those renditions.
Steven I want to thank you for your efforts here I really do enjoy coming here and reading about indie games and commenting on them. I own over 25 Indie titles and this is my fave….thanks to your efforts I found I haven’t bought a “bad game” since.