BreakThru is one of many mid-80s Data East games that fell through the cracks and was quickly forgotten. It’s a fun game, but it’s also easy to see why it wouldn’t leave a lasting impression. In 1986, arcade goers were treated to several games featuring flashier graphics and larger character sprites (Data East’s own Express Raider, released just a year earlier, among them), but BreakThru gives you just a tiny car, a limited arsenal, and a lot of bland military vehicles to blast through.
The game plays like something similar to a side-scrolling shoot-em-up. The car itself is supposed to be a futuristic assault vehicle the player must guide deep into enemy territory to recover a stolen futuristic jet. There are some occasionally cool looking enemy vehicles to battle, particularly the flame-throwing tanks and a helicopter every now and then, but the game offers little time for sightseeing.