Clean Sweep is an obscure early videogame designed by Howell Ivey in 1974.
Players try to erase a field of dots by directing a bouncing ball with a joystick-controlled paddle that is moved horizontally across the bottom of the screen. Each time the ball passes over a dot, the dot gets erased and the player gets a point. If he erases all the dots, he scores a "clean sweep" and can win a free game.
Though Clean Sweep is clearly a variation around the popular pong theme of the time, this game looks more like a mix between Breakout (destroy everything up there with your paddle) and Pac-Man (eat all the dots), but ... many years in advance!!! Breakout was released in 1976 and Pac-Man in 1980. [source: old-computers.com]
Clean Sweep is a very original game for the time, which must have inspired other designers/manufacturers.
Distribution : Retail - Commercial Platform(s) : Arcade