Klax

"It's the 90's, and there is time for (playing the best version of) Klax..."

"It's the 90's, and there is time for Klax..." That was the line that introduced gamers to Klax, a puzzle game created after the enormous success of Tetris. While it wasn't the best, it was a very good try.

Story: NA/10

Graphics: 9/10

Simple, like in most puzzle games, but effective. You see a conveyor belt where the pieces go falling down while rotating (which is a nice effect), your paddle, and a place at the bottom of the screen where all of the pieces go. The background changes every few levels, and everything has very nice colours. Nothing to complain here.

Sound: 10/10

One of the most acclaimed aspects of Klax for the Lynx is its sound. The intro tune is great to listen to, and makes a great use of the bass. While there's no in-game music, the sound effects more than make up for it. Every piece has a different sound, your paddle makes a "Boing" sound if there's not any piece stored on it and you push a button, and the little chime when you make a Klax is unforgettable. But the best part is without a doubt the voices. A feminine voice will exclaim all sort of things depending on how well you're doing, and a crowd of people will clap if you clear the stage, or will say "Awwwww" if you get a Game over. And of course, you have your pieces screaming in a hilarious way when they fall to their death if you don't pick them up in your conveyor belt. I'm no exaggerating when I say that the sound is 50% in this game, and it´s in Stereo too.

Control: 9/10

In this game, you have to hold the Lynx vertically. This may be awkward at first, but you'll get used to it soon. Thanks to the Lynx screen flipping capabilitiy, you can have the d-pad above the screen and the buttons below, or vice-versa.It gets pretty comfortable in no time, although a bit tiring if you play for too long. The controls are very simple, Up throws a piece up again at the conveyor belt, Down makes the pieces go down faster, left and right
move your paddle, and either button drops the piece below.

Gameplay: 8/10

You have a conveyor belt where pieces are falling. At the middle of the screen you have a paddle, that can store up to 5 pieces for later use. Finally, you have the place where you have to put the pieces to make Klaxes. As you might have guessed, a Klax is when you put three pieces of the same colour together. Of course, there's more than that, and you'll have to learn some advanced techniques if you want to survive (like the big X).

Klax distinguishes itself from other puzzle games in that it has levels. In some levels you'll have to get a determined number of Klaxes, others will make you get only diagonals Klaxes, in others you have to get a determined number of points... The bad point about it is that it doesn't have that "play until you die" that other puzzles do, and it might get boring trying to clear the 100
levels. The difficulty is pretty high, and it gets more and more difficult if you don't finish the levels (called "waves") fast. It doesn´t feel as limited as Tetris, but you don't have too many time to do fancy combos.

Replay Value: 8/10

You can always try to beat your old highscore, but I think that the level based gameplay makes it a bit harder to do it. It wouldn't have hurt if they included an infinite mode that lets you play until you die, like in Tetris. Still, very good if you like puzzle games.

Overall: 9/10

While Klax has some flaws, the graphics and specially the music make playing the game worthwhile, and more fun than in the other versions. In the end, Klax is one of the best puzzles of the system, and the better home version of the game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/28/07