There were countless Arkanoid clones directly after the release of this game, especially on the Amiga. Few had anything new to offer, even just in terms of graphics, but then again, few were as brazen as Giganoid. Contemporary reviewers were even expecting a lawsuit. That never happened, but the publisher, Swiss Computer Arts, seems to have changed the title to Gigandia later.
But actually they might have changed the wrong part of the name, for Giganoid is a clone not so much of Arkanoid than of the 1986 Sega arcade machine Gigas. Ah well, maybe it is a combination of both.
Though published by Swiss Computer Arts, Giganoid is not a Swiss game. It was created by Lars Bendrup and a team of Danish artists. Which is good part of the reason why it is here at all—I didn't have a Danish game yet, I had to have one. Otherwise, there's not much to say about Giganoid. It was well done, but in spite of the Digeridoo samples it got lost in the flood of similar games at the time.
Press the 'Caps Lock' key on the player select screen (another source says: press the 'Caps Lock' key on the player select screen, so the key light is on. Now press and hold the 'Caps Lock' and press 'Fire') and a message appears. Start the game and you will have more lives. If you hold down the 'Fire' button a little too long, the game may start and bypass the message, but it still gives you the extra lives.
