DX-Ball 2

DX-Ball 2
Boxart from the boxed CD version of the game
Developer(s)	Longbow Digital Arts
Publisher(s)	Longbow Digital Arts
Designer(s)	Seumas McNally
Composer(s)	Eric "SideWinder" Gieseke
Platform(s)	Windows
Release	December 16, 1998
Genre(s)	Brick buster
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

DX-Ball 2 is a brick buster game for Microsoft Windows, developed by Longbow Games. As a follow up to DX-Ball by Michael P. Welch, the sequel is foremost remarked by the introduction of its 16-bit high-colour engine, presenting textured bricks and background graphics in vivid colours. The game also features two new Power-Ups, an easy to play "Kid-Mode", and a hotseat multiplayer mode, alongside an original soundtrack by SideWinder. DX-Ball 2 also introduces the feature of board-set selection, allowing the player to select between different sets of boards to play. The free demo thereby comes packed with a total of 24 boards divided into 6 board-sets of 4 boards search. Additional board packs can then be installed for more boards, whereas Board Pack 1 will expand the demo board-sets to 25 boards each, for a total of 150 boards. While a total of five board packs were released for the game, DX-Ball 2 was eventually succeeded by Rival Ball in 2001.

As a common Breakout-style game, the object is to clear the screen of all bricks, in order to advance to the next board. The player controls a paddle at the bottom of the screen by using the mouse, keeping one or more balls in play by bouncing them into a field of bricks to clear them. Some bricks will take multiple hits before they clear, while other bricks will appear to be unbreakable, invisible or combustible. As bricks are being cleared, random Power-Ups will occasionally released upon impact (see Power-Ups). The player may choose to catch these with the paddle, or avoid them, depending on the specific Power-Up and its effect. For instance, some Power-Ups may speed up game progress by enhancing the paddle with guns or splitting the ball into multiple balls, while other Power-Ups may increase the difficulty by speeding up the ball or shrinking the paddle. If the player misses the last or only ball in play, a paddle will be lost. The game will end once all spare paddles have been lost, or after the selected board-set has been completed.

Unlike other Breakout clones, the ball on DX-Ball 2 can travel freely at any angle and trajectory instead of being fixed at certain angles. The ball's trajectory will also differ depending on how the player controls it with the paddle. The speed of the ball gradually increases over time as the game continues, and will produce sparks and unique sound on the paddle when it has reached its maximum speed. Sharper angles can be achieved by bouncing the ball up with the paddle's edges while moving, which results in a much precision trajectory.