Update: the new version (1.0.3) has been released and will fix the ads removal issue. It also increase the stability but we could not reproduce all issues so please let us know if you experienced any issue. Thank you for playing Ancient Bricks
If you clear the stage enough (approx less than 30 bricks on the ground) you will get a stop opportunity. You can activate it with swipe up or down anywhere on the screen. You can see at the bottom on the UI how many grinder stop you have.
Alright. Shame I didn't review this earlier.. somehow I never got around to to do it... Graphics They work well. Nothing super fancy, nothing extraordinary but the framerate is super smooth even when lots of stuff is happening in the mines, the effects and power ups/downs are easily distinguishable. The ball is clearly viable even if stuff happens so I like them. They work well but they could be a bit more "cool"? In cool to look at time. At times (if not much is happening) it feels a bit boring to look at but that is a super minor detail and I really like what the devs did here. 4/5 Sounds Well this is a weakpoint of the game. 2 sound tracks (one for the missions, one for the mines) one sound for most of the interactable objects like the bricks etc. And the one music track is not even looped correctly: You can clearly hear when it stops and starts from the beginning. The sounds in the mines are annoying to listen to after a while and overall the sound effects are just not very cool. They are not terrible by any means but they lack polish and refinement as well as most importantly variety. They do their job ok but there is much room for improvement. 2/5 Gameplay Super solid brick breaker gameplay. Nothing really fancy, some cool powerups that do not last for very long, even though the duration is upgradeable and an endlessmode with gamecenter integration which is really nice. I like the gameplay. There is nothing out of the ordinary here (maybe in future updates?) but what's there is extremely polished: I never had an unreachable brick and out of the 61 levels I did there were only 2 that were frustrating. I like the endless mode which is not super challenging but I regularly get about 2k out of 1 mine run which makes the upgrades affordable. I find the campaign a little bit boring in comparison but as there are permanent upgrade to get (stone tables) I want to finish them eventually. I never felt, that it was out of my control to save the ball. The gameplay is satisfying the level design is creative and the endless mode is fun to play. Additionally there are daily missions (sometimes 7 days long) as well as special (random?) missions that give you extra rewards for extra conditions e.g. 200 gold if you finish a level without power ups or with a speed ball etc. The controls are spot on and variety is fine though it could be improved. 4/5 Payment model Free to play so try it out. As much as 99 cents give you a full premium experience and some extra cash by removing the ads. The game is still a bit grindy but mostly for unnecessary stuff and after a few days of playing I have most of the stuff I need almost maxed out with only a 99 cent purchase. It's one of the most fair f2p models out there. 5/5 Conclusion What you get here is one of the most polished and solid brick breakers you have on the appstore. Endless Mode, Daily missions, a campaign so to speak and upgrades to unlock. I would say that this is one of the most modern Brick Breackers to date which stayed true to the roots of the genre. The payment model is excellent and if you like brick breakers you should sink your teeth into this one! 4/5 Suggestions: - I would really like to have more variety in obstacles. More stuff that explodes, maybe even different paths during the mines? - More unlockables. I feel like I will get most of I want to to a level I am content with pretty soon. - Skins! Skins for balls, for my paddle for the background. Purchaseable with gold. - Sounds! Improvements mostly
Wow, hard difficulty is indeed quite challenging sometimes. It takes just one negative power up and you're gone. Any news on the upcoming update?
People always say they go for the mine in order to get some coins. Time to question this strategy. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SKCnGkzaapI The mine is fun to play but in relation to the outcome it seems to be not that efficient.
Can someone please tell me where I can find explanations on what some of the Power ups do? Eg. the brown one with an arrow up: The fireworks starts at the bottom corner but I cannot see what it gives me. It looks like the grinder speeds up a little but not sure. The yellow one, I get a tail on my silver ball but cannot see what is the advantage/disadvantage. Someone mentioned that it gives me gold when it hits a brick but that doesn't always happen. Also, what can I do when I get all Stone Tablets? And what do the relics do other than give me coins? Is there a list of rules somewhere where I can see what all these do? Cheers, S
