Isotope 244 Graphics' Acky's XP Breakout Updated

http://www.isotope244.com/games/ab/ackys-xp-breakout.html

It was just a month ago that I've reported about Atomic Cannon's, Isotope 244 Graphics' nice game, having entered 2.5 beta. Now, the final version is out – along with a brand new version of Acky's XP Breakout, which is one of the best arcade games for the Pocket PC's ever. The new, 3.0, version has the following changes, as far as gameplay/compatibility is concerned (I've left out stuff like installer sizes and the 44 kHz sampling rate of music – you could set it in version 2.1 too; therefore, it's nothing new): Increased the time you have a gun from 1min to 2min, and the blaster time from 100s to 200s. Fixed Windows Mobile 2005 VGA compatibility problem. The game now minimizes when a reminder or other application is activated. Removed info and buynow buttons and help link since they were causing lockups on some devices. 25% BIGGER ACTION - Added a new feature called Zoom Play Area which will make the brick/ball area bigger using up almost the whole screen. Only on QVGA. Any screen resolution is now supported, including square screens. You can now play game in portrait mode. Increased starfield star size on VGA devices. Removed the request for translations dialog box. You can now use 0-9 a-z A-Z keys when customizing controls. Fixed controls problem when the OS was set to a screen orientation other than portrait. I don't know if it's a free update for previous, 2.1 owners – I haven't seen anything on this on the homepage of the developer. As version 2.1 was released some 15 months ago and this is a major version step (from 2.x to 3.x), I seriously doubt it. It's up to you, if you're a registered owner of the previous version and would like to upgrade, to decide whether it's worth upgrading – if it indeed costs $15. If you have a VGA WM5 or a 240*240 Phone Edition device, you may really want to consider upgrading. Incidentally, I also had the chance (I'd like to thank Vassili Philippov this way too for making all the Spb products free for us Microsoft Windows Mobile Devices MVP's!) to compare Acky's XP Breakout to its direct alternative, Spb Arkaball, part of Spb AirIslands (which, incidentally, has just entered a new contest – make sure you check out this page on it if you have already purchased or plan to purchase the game ). Both are very nice games. I'd still go for the Isotope title, mainly because of the much better soundtrack and the support for both screen orientations. Spb Arkaball has definitely better explosion visuals, but lacks a really nice, non-repetitive soundtrack, unlike Acky's XP Breakout. On the other hand, if you don't want to listen to the music during playing the game or the repetitive music of the Spb title doesn't annoy you, you may want to go for it instead.