this game is really cool and a great original concept! for me it was extremely difficult to have any control whatsoever over the ball, unless i trapped it in a corner/against blocks with my paddle, which definitely seemed to be the best strategy. it was also how i killed the boss which happened in probably less than a second. i liked being able to pick up items that increased my stats but i had no idea what each of the stats did and there didn't seem to be any difference no matter how they changed. the graphics and audio were great and the gameplay was fun despite my issues with it. great job!