Krypton Egg
| Company type | Video game |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Alexandre Kral |
| Products | Krypton Egg (video game) |
Krypton Egg (also known as The Ultimate Breakout) is a block-breaking title created in 1989 by Alexandre Kral for the Atari ST and Amiga 500/600 (OCS/ECS) platforms. Subsequent remakes were released for MS-DOS and Windows in 1995, followed by versions for iOS in 2009 and Adobe Flash in 2010. Additionally, the game was reissued for Windows XP through DotEmu.
Gameplay
The objective involves clearing each level by destroying every brick. Power-ups occasionally drop from these bricks, providing enhancements such as Glue, Multiple Ball, or Larger Ball that improve paddle or ball performance. Conversely, certain power-ups like Frozen Tray are detrimental and should be avoided.
Throughout gameplay, various monsters appear to obstruct the ball’s path. Players can eliminate these creatures either by hitting them directly with the paddle or by utilizing projectiles granted by specific bonuses. One monster variety possesses a protective force field capable of destroying the paddle unless it is shielded.
Stages
The number of levels differs depending on the version: Hitsoft editions feature 60 stages; the C2V shareware release contains between 5 and 10 stages; registered C2V versions expand up to 100 stages; DotEmu’s iOS demo offers 2 stages, with the full edition including 60 stages plus bonus levels.
Both C2V and DotEmu editions introduce horde attack levels after completing the fifth stage within each set of ten block-breaking stages. These vertically oriented challenges lack bricks and task players with defeating successive waves of monsters, starting with a single protective shield.
Following the tenth stage in each 10-level batch, horizontal monster attack levels occur. These involve facing one stationary monster while the player’s paddle can shoot horizontally or diagonally—the diagonal firing mode being an addition in C2V releases. Both player and monster have energy meters; if the player’s meter is fully depleted, it results in immediate Game Over, regardless of remaining lives.
In versions supporting this functionality, players can activate horde and monster attack stages separately or combine them using passwords.
Password
Within the C2V version, after losing all lives post completion of ten block-breaking stages (and the monster attack stage if enabled), a password is displayed on the menu screen following Game Over. This password encodes the number of lives available at the start of the next ten-stage segment, limited by the maximum lives allowed for that particular stage.
Passwords also enable players to resume progress at specific ten-stage intervals and toggle horde or monster attack modes.