Tetris Splash

"Yet another Tetris title"

Tetris is the best puzzles to ever be made. Over the years we have had a number of other puzzle games try and take that spot away and while some are very good, nothing beats this classic. Well, this is the second time Tetris has hit the Xbox 360. The first time was with Evolution which was a retail game that ran for $30. Now it hits the Live Arcade like it should have but is it worth your MS Points?

Graphically they haven't done much to the game. The shapes look good, and I do like the vibrant colors. You can turn on or off a shadow mode which is a nice feature. The backdrops are ocean based and little fish swim around them. It sounds like a great idea but if you buy this game you should prepare to spend a ton of MS Points. Instead of including the fish you must buy them. All of them and while cheap it does add up. The fact that you need to buy half of a feature for the game is just absurd.

The sound is nice. The classic Tetris sounds are here. The music has a slightly up beat tempo and works well with the mood of the game and the underwater theme.

Control is easy and responsive. Move pieces with the left analog stick and flip them with the A button.

The idea of Tetris is to create lines across the board. Each line counts as a score. Now, each color has a different shape so you may find a cube piece, a t piece or even an L piece. You need to bend and twist these shapes to make these lines.

The game has the normal modes of play be it marathon, timed, or free play. It's nothing new and some of the different modes from other games in the series are missing. Maybe if the game offered every possible mode in either this release or updates it would be worth getting.

The game features multiplayer over a single console or Xbox live. I didn't bother playing it on-line but from what I hear it's fairly active in the evenings. The game also offers some good achievements and while most can be gotten after a few plays, a few will only be gotten with repeat plays and luck.

Tetris Splash is a great buy for those who don't own any copies of Tetris but be warned that all of the features aren't present without spending more MS Points. It's a let down that neat little features are missing but what's worse is that even after buying them you can't use them until you advance in the game.

Story - N/A
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 8/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 7/10
Replay Value - 9/10

Final Score - 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/24/07

Game Release: Tetris Splash (US, 10/03/07)