The level in Coda I found to be the hardest is called Tough Hallways. I don't even know how much time I've spent on that level, I shudder to think about it. The level is set up so the ball keeps bouncing back and forth between walls and seems to get stuck in a pattern. Figure D shows you what I'm talking about.

FIGURE D

My ball kept getting trapped in Tough Hallways.

The ball couldn't get out of the hallway because the bottom bricks would reappear. This is where patience is a virtue. I let the game run long enough for the pattern to change. It eventually did, and I went on to complete all fifty levels of the LevelPak.

In case you were wondering, I wasn't concerned about killing the batteries in my device, since Atom Smash comes with a battery voltage meter. This can be seen at the top, right hand side of the screen in Figure E.

FIGURE E

The battery voltage meter lets you keep track of your power supply.

Create your own levels
After I completed that LevelPak, I began to create my own levels. One challenging thing about creating levels on a grayscale screen is that it's difficult to tell which type of brick you're using. Most bricks tend to look the same. Figure F shows a level under construction.

FIGURE F

Atom Smash allows you to design custom levels.

The only way I could tell which brick I used was when I tested the level, as shown in Figure G. My LevelPak is still a work in progress.

FIGURE G

It's a lot of fun playing levels of your own design.

Conclusion
After spending hour after hour draining the battery on my device while playing Atom Smash, I still think it's time well spent. After all, fun is important because it helps you de-stress. It's a great game that comes in handy while waiting at the doctor's office or sitting through a long plane ride.

If you create a LevelPak and upload it to the Red Mercury Web site, let me know. I'd love to have a new challenge!

Craig is a consultant who has been using Palm devices since 1996. He is the author of over 150 articles on all facets of computing. Craig can be reached at Cbobchin@csi.com.