| Everyone needs to take a break every now and then to relax with a little mindless entertainment. The BrickBreaker application fills this need well (see Figure 13.13). Figure 13.13. Playing BrickBreaker can be addictivewatch out. 
The goal of BrickBreaker is to clear the bricks from each level by breaking them with a small ball that bounces around the screen. Over time, the ball will move faster and faster, making the game more challenging the longer you go at it. At the bottom of the screen is a paddle that you use to keep the ball from falling off the screen. You can control the ball somewhat by making the ball hit the paddle in different places. When the ball hits closer to the edge of the paddle, it will bounce with a shallower angle and go faster. When the ball hits closer to the center of the paddle, it will bounce with a steeper angle and slow down. Some bricks require multiple hits before they are broken, and in higher levels, some bricks cannot be broken at all. Fortunately there are some power-ups that will help you out along the way. These power-ups fall from predetermined bricks when they are broken. Generally only one power-up can be active at one time, but there are a few that work in addition to any existing power-up effects. Below is a list of the power-ups that are available. Slow This is the most common power-up. It reduces the ball speed to its slowest speed. This power-up does not remove the effects of the currently active power-up. Multi This power-up causes the ball to break into four balls. This is nice for clearing an area of bricks, if you can keep them all in the air. This power-up does not remove the effects of the currently active power-up. Laser The Laser power-up adds two laser cannons to the paddle that you can fire by pressing the Space key. Two laser hits are the same as one hit by the ball. Gun This power-up adds a missile launcher to the paddle and gives you three missiles to shoot. You can shoot a missile by pressing the Space key. When a missile hits, it completely destroys the brick, no matter how many hits are required. A missile will even destroy a brick that cannot otherwise be destroyed by the ball. Long The Long power-up causes your paddle to become extra long, making it easier to make sure it is under the ball. The Long paddle is exceptionally helpful when you have the Multi power-up active. Flip The Flip power-up causes the paddle to move in the opposite direction than it had previously. This power-up tends to be more harmful then helpful. Catch This power-up causes the ball to get stuck to the paddle for a short period of time each time it hits. This allows you time to move the paddle to a position that may be more beneficial once the ball is released. You can release the ball by pressing the Space key. 1-Up This power-up gives you an extra life. This power-up removes any existing power-up effects, but is always worth it. Wrap This power-up is new to version 4.0 of the handheld software. Normally the paddle will not move past the wall, but with this power-up, moving past the wall causes the paddle to wrap around to the other side of the screen. Bomb This power-up is new to version 4.0 of the handheld software. It turns the ball into a bomb that will explode when it hits a brick. When the bomb explodes, it counts as a "hit" to each of the surrounding bricks as well as the brick that the ball actually hit.
There are many more games and utility applications available from third-party vendors. See Chapter 13, "Other Applications on Your BlackBerry," for more details on how to do this and where to find them. |
