Tetris Plus

"A great addition to Tetris"

Ah, yet another Tetris game. *Marks another line on the giant tally board* Anyways, I’ll review it for your viewing pleasure. But before I do, I need to explain the whole professor/ceiling deal; basically, there is a stupid idiotic archeologist roaming around your blocks. The object is to get him the floor (where there are no blocks stopping him from getting the treasure below him). But, occasionally, the giant spiked ceiling that for some reason is in Egyptian tombs will come down and attempt to bonk our little hero. When blocks land on top of the professor, he’ll climb up them, possibly to the ceiling, where he’ll die. That ain’t what we’re wanting, so you need to know not to let that happen. Now you know. Onto the review, eh?

Graphics: 7/10
What can I say about the graphics for a Tetris game? Quite a lot, actually. Although I’m sure we all realize that graphics are REALLY unimportant to a Tetris game, these are NICE. The folks over at Sony managed a nice backround and the professor also has nice features.

Sound: 6/10
Well, sound is alright. I’ve never really left the volume on anyways. But, the new music is decent, listenable-to, you know? And the sound effect of the blocks falling sounds nice, too. But the noise when the professor dies... just awful. I could make better sound with a spoon and a saw. Oh well, what can you do?

Storyline: 6/10
Whoa, a Tetris game with a storyline. What’ll they think of next? Apparently, an archeologist and his assistant (who does nothing throughout the game) find an old Egyptian map, and go to unearth some ruins. But, as luck would have it, for some reason or another, multi-colored blocks start falling from the roof. And thus we got Tetris Plus. It’s not the world’s worst storyline, I’d say perfectly average.

Replay: 8/10
As with all Tetris games in the history of gaming, this game has serious replay value, especially because of the twist with the professor and spiked ceiling. Of course, you also have your original classic Tetris mode if you want nostalgia. And, of course, what would modern day Tetris be without Vs. Mode? Unfortunately, vs. mode is the same as puzzle mode, no classic mode with another player. And, because of Sony made the genius decision to have only two controller ports on both the PSX and PS2, only two player action is allowed. Still good with another person though, especially if they present a good challenge.

Difficulty: 6/10
This game is difficult at first (puzzle mode, if you can’t master classic mode, you are a... well, not a Tetris person), but after an hour or so of playing, its pretty tame. Still, with another person to play against, it can get pretty tough.

Overall: 8/10
I like this game, the professor and roof really add a whole new dimension, setting this game apart from the other 1,589 Tetris games there are (in my opinion). A definite buy, assuming you’ve got a PS2, of course. $10+ is what I’d spend on this. You should too. Or find it on the internet, whatever works for you.

Pros:
The whole professor/ceiling concept adds a whole new dimension to the game.

Cons:
Yet another Tetris game

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/01/02, Updated 12/01/02