Tetris Evolution

"That nasty little T-spin..."

Tetris Evolution, to be blunt, is mediocre. We all know what the game is, what it's about, how to play, and that there have been many incarnations throughout the years of this time-honored classic. There isn't much you can do to add anything new or innovative to this puzzle game, but it's a decent game nonetheless.

The graphics are crisp, clear, and easy to look at. The game offers a variety of backgrounds and photos to add to your screen so that you're not just looking at a bunch of blocks falling everywhere. I'd say the graphics are poor for an Xbox 360 game, but this is Tetris we're talking about here, so we need to be fair. For a classic like this, the graphics do the job well enough.

The controls are very easy to get used to and feel natural to use. After some time playing this game, you can get really good and really fast! This is a good thing because many of the achievements require speed and accuracy to obtain. I like the fact that I can use the D-pad most of the time as well. It just feels like the right way to play Tetris.

If the classic Tetris songs are on here, I've only heard a remix of only one of them. But even though those are gone, there are about 15 tracks or so to choose from so that you can jam while lining up your blocks. The sound effects for the gameplay are pretty good, too. When you pull off a combo, the sound that is emitted makes it clear what you just did, whether is was clearing a line or triggering a cascade combo, you know what you did just by the sound. I think the sound effects are pretty appealing, but nothing revolutionary.

There are a handful of new "modes" you can play now as well, such as Eraser. You get more than just your typical Marathon type gameplay, but they are all generally the same, they just have different goals. Some, you are beating the clock. Others, you are trying to clear a certain number of lines before time's up. Or you can just go for a high score. But one of the neatest things about this is the online play. You can either do ranked matches against one opponent (and some people on there are REALLY good) or you can do up to four player face offs with varying game types. Just the fact that you can play such a classic game with other people from all around the world really says something about games and the history of the industry.

I'd say just based on how addictive this game can sometimes be and all the achievements that were thrown in, this could potentially have a high replay value. But don't get me wrong, there are PLENTY of better games out there. I would recommend this one for the hardcore Tetris fans or anyone who can find it for under $20.00 (like me!). Bargain shop it!

And one more thing: Watch out for the T-spins!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/08

Game Release: Tetris Evolution (US, 03/19/07)