Tetris Attack

"Warning! Game may cause high blood pressure and/or lower grades. Play at your own risk."

Genre - Puzzle (Tetris Style)

A word of advice to all of you out there. Never, never decide to try this game out a few days before finals. Aack. It’s hard to concentrate on organic chemistry when all you see everywhere is bright multicolored blocks racing up towards the heavens. And why, pray tell, did I see these things? Nicotine fumes emanating from the cartridge? Or maybe it’s just a mind bogglingly addictive, challenging, and complex game that blasts Tetris to smithereens.

Here’s the gist of it. Rather than blocks falling to the ground like in Tetris, the blocks move upwards. Imagine as if there is an infinite supply of blocks below the screen, and it just slowly scrolls upwards. Instead of just filling up a row with blocks to make them disappear (which would be rather easy, seeing as the entire row is already full of blocks), you must match three of the same color horizontally or vertically. You can also get chains (knocking out anywhere from 4-8 blocks in one move) and combos (eliminating a group causes another group to be eliminated), which halt the upward progression for a short time (hereinafter, both will be called combos for simplicity). You move by switching two blocks or, if half of your cursor is over empty space, moving one block to the left or right. As usual, the game keeps speeding up. Keep going until you die (the blocks reach the top of the screen) or reach a certain level, depending on your mode. Got it?

Oh no you don’t. Simply knowing the rules will not make you a master in this game. Moving quickly, looking for combos while still eliminating pieces, and knowing when to do combos (they halt time longer if you are near death, but that’s more dangerous), and, if in multiplayer, sending junk over to the other side is what you’ll need. The trick, of course, is that you get the bonus of time stop for doing combos, unlike the simple point bonus in Tetris. This trick is absolutely essential in later levels. That’s what makes it so hard! And it is hard. This is easily the most challenging Tetris clone I have played, and it enhances the game completely. You can always get better. And you will always need every smidgeon of talent. Relax for a moment and you will soon find panic as five rows are about to hit the top and no combo in sight. Don’t care for Dr. Mario’s simplicity? Mastered Tetris? This game will keep you satisfied. It will also keep you incredibly frustrated, but in a very good way.

There are plenty of modes in the game to play as well. An interesting diversion is the puzzle mode, where you must eliminate all of the blocks on screen in a certain amount of moves. Certainly not as fun as the other, but at least there’s no time limit and can be fun for those that like that kind of stuff. A level mode, my personal favorite, pits you against faster and faster speeds, not to mention more blocks to start out with, and makes you clear out a certain number of blocks. Then there’s the timed game, where the goal is to get as many point possible in a certain time, and finally an endless run. And, of course, two player action. Maybe a few more types of games would be nice, but this is a pretty good selection here.

Something should be mentioned about Yoshi. In typical Nintendo (and most publishers, I guess) fashion, a popular franchise is used to sell this game. Unfortunately, the Yoshiness makes this game sickeningly cute. Overly bright colors, ridiculous text, and overly cute animals abound this game. Fortunately, you can ignore it. Do not let this be a turn off for you. It does not impair the game itself, and does not take away from the challenge. Just accept the cute dinosaur thing and play. At least it’s not Pokemon, like its N64 brethren.

In case you haven’t noticed, this is a distinctly positive review. And there’s a reason for that. I never cared too much for Tetris and was only mildly interested in Dr Mario (and don’t bother mentioning Pac-Attack). This game blew me away. For once, there’s a sense of depth other than recognizing the best place for a piece and moving it there as quickly as possible. It doesn’t rely on gimmicks, and it does not in any way feel like a Tetris clone. Instead, it’s fast, furious, frustrating, fulfilling, and fun. Not to mention addicting. The “one more time” curse definitely rests upon this game, where you keep saying one more time for hours on end. If you are a fan of the puzzle genre, definitely check this game out. Or get Pokemon Puzzle League or PP Challenge on the N64 or Game Boy Color, respectively. I haven’t played these, but I heard they are both decent enough conversions of this classic. I don’t know about any non Nintendo conversions, sadly, but if there are then I recommend those as well. It’s the best you’ll find.

9.3

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/02, Updated 03/06/02