How to play Bionic Breakthrough online
Be aware before you start: this cartridge expects the MindLink, and the MindLink is not emulated here. AtariAge describes the prototype as unplayable without it, so the paddle may not respond properly, or at all, to the keyboard. If you want to play the game itself, try Super Breakout, which it is based on.
- Try to move the paddle: left and right arrow keys
- Button: Space bar
- Start a new game: F12 (the consoleās Reset switch)
- Choose a game variation: F11 (the consoleās Select switch)
What is different from Super Breakout
The game starts with a calibration screen: the word āMindLinkā slowly scrolls down the screen, and the player moves this block of text left and right to check that the headband is working. When the controller is recalibrated, the paddle and walls change colour to show it. Because the MindLink was hard to control precisely, the paddle is longer than in Super Breakout. The two childrenās variations of Super Breakout were replaced with two new cooperative variations, in which a second player controls an extra paddle. The ball can bounce off that paddle from above but passes through it from below. The lettering and the score display were also redesigned. Two versions of the prototype are known, one of them dated June 1984.
The MindLink and why it was never released
The MindLink was a headband that plugged into the joystick port. It was presented as a way to control games with your mind, but it really picked up small movements of the muscles in your forehead and face. In early tests it did not work well, and players complained of headaches and dizziness. The controller was dropped, and the games written for it were never sold. Bionic Breakthrough and Telepathy are the two surviving 2600 prototypes made for it.
