Eidos and Arkedo's new DS action-puzzler Nervous Brickdown is an interesting, stylish mix of new-school meets old-school gameplay mechanics, graphics, and control schemes, all wrapped up in one neat little package.

Nervous Brickdown is aptly named – the apparent goal of this stylish retro title is to throw wave after wave of unexpected challenges at the player, who needs to rely on twitch skill to make it through the 135 wildly different stages. Old school gamers weaned on arcade titles of yore will eat it up, but for everyone else, this game will make you angry. Thankfully, there’s enough variety, style, and genuine originality that all is forgiven.

The game is essentially a collection of takes on the classic title Breakout, wherein the player controls a small horizontal paddle on the bottom of the screen, keeping a “ball” in motion in an attempt to hit “bricks” up above. It’s a simple; decidedly old school mechanic that’s given a new treatment in each of Nervous Brickdown’s various modes.

The game begins with the option to choose multiplayer, arcade, or bonus. Arcade is where you’ll find the initial game modes, “Pow” and “Paper”. Each mode represents a different world (and way of playing Breakout), and they vary wildly upon the actual mechanics of gameplay. Some modes offer twists on the traditional physics while others have you switching the color of your paddle on the fly or scrolling through a stage breaking bricks to forge a path to survival.

Upon selecting a mode, players go through a sequence of difficulty-ramping levels (the game autosaves every few stages for good measure), and then encounter a boss battle. The first few stages typically introduce the new gameplay, and add obstacles and objectives as they go along, until the boss battle tests all the newly acquired skills – very traditional. New modes and bonuses are unlocked as more stages are beaten and medals are earned.