Kirby's Block Ball was recently released on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Here are my quick thoughts on the game so far.

Growing up, I put a lot of hours into Kirby's Pinball Land for the Game Boy, but I never played Kirby's Block Ball. After playing the first stage, it immediately brought me back to those days - just instead of pinball flippers, you got paddles.

I enjoy the simplistic, yet sometimes intense, nature of Breakout-style games. Bouncing the ball off the paddle sounds easy, but depending on the brick layout and power-ups available, it can get hectic real fast. Kirby's Block Ball ramps up the intensity by incorporating up to four paddles from all sides of the screen.

It was nice to see all the classic Kirby baddies here like the popular apple tree Whispy Woods and the cloudy eyeball Kracko. You got your classic Kirby dance routines at the end of stages, and several mini-games to earn extra lives.

Look out for my full review at theoaklandpress.com.

Get even tinier random thoughts at www.twitter.com/JeffHoard921