There’s a lot of Breakout clones out there but this one is special, we’ll get to why in just a moment. Almost everyone is familiar with the concept, you have a paddle and you bounce a ball against the blocks in order to break them. You may have played Arkanoid, Block Breaker (generic title), Breakout, or even a basic Breakout clone on your cell phone but here’s what sets Thunder & Lightning apart from the rest.

Thunder & Lightning not only requires skill but also some strategy due to the different Power-Ups and obstacles on the stages. Once you’ve played it enough, you’ll start to develop some strategy and approach each level with some sort of plan. Strategies may involve sending the ball in a different direction at the start of each level, declining certain items, focusing on breaking the blocks in a certain area first, etc – once you’ve played this enough you’ll start to realize there’s some strategy required to advance some of the levels.

The game has mixed level difficulties which means there’s really no pattern to how hard each level is. One level might be very hard while the next could be easy. This is where strategy can also come in, on easy levels you should take your time and try to hit the Power-Up carriers as much as possible, there’s 8 different items that they can drop so you have 1/8 chance of getting the 1UP because you’ll really need them for some levels.
What also sets this game apart from the rest of the Breakout clones is the fact that most of the levels have a unique twist. Level 1 introduces Anemones which break your ball into 2 smaller ball when caught, Level 2 introduces a vase that when hit releases an Octopus which will try and latch on to your paddle which slows you down, Level 3 introduces turtles who add more blocks, 6 introduces a bird that when hit starts to break everything in sight but will completely change the balls direction directly at you, 7 introduces the Thunderwarrior that when hit by the ball will strike lightning down at you and if you come in contact with that lightning, your paddle with temporarily freeze but in return, he’ll break almost all the blocks for you. In other words, this game doesn’t get boring as quickly as most Breakout Clones out there.

Graphics: 9
The graphics really set the mood and I really love the drop shadow effects that every level has

Sound: 7
While I really like the music used for the game, there really isn’t a lot and barely any sound effects

Replay Value: 7
Each level is different enough to reduce boredom

Story: 3
The only way you’ll learn about the storyline is by reading the instruction manual, which isn’t an option for most people, especially since most people discarded their manuals for their NES games which means you’d either have to find a PDF of it or purchase the game in the box which could be spendy

Difficulty: 6
The concept is very simple and it’s easy to learn, while some levels are easy, there are some levels which are very hard and 2 levels which seem like they were laid out by a 4 year old