Arkanoid tries to give some legitimacy to it's existence by having an actual plot. You the player control a paddle known as the "Vaus", and your task is to break all the bricks at the top of the screen (just like Super Breakout). Except it's been enhanced quite a bit by a series of "pills" that fall from the bricks you break that can give special enhancements to the Vaus - like the ability to fire at bricks, make the Vaus longer, make the ball stick to the Vaus, or multiply the number of balls on screen to three. It also deviates from the original formula in that the brick configurations are not always just a wall of bricks, some of them are built into designs and artwork, and patterns, to make things more interesting. Also, there are little aliens that come from the ceiling - DOH I think? And you kill them by hitting them with the ball.