Tetris Worlds (GameCube) Review

By Crazy Ted 12.04.2003

Tetris is most famous video game in existence. Nearly everybody has played it in one form or another, from the very first Gameboy version the game has gone on to make an appearance on nearly every games system, and can also be found on the internet, mobile phones, digital TV, and nearly everything else that it can be put on, and now it's the time for Tetris to come home to a Nintendo system, and to the Gamecube.

Tetris is the perfect example of what gameplay is. Its an easy pick up and play game that also provides a challenge and being fun while all that goes on. Tetris is so simple that its pretty hard to mess up, and the developers have not done that, but they also have not done a hell of a lot else either.

There are many theories as to the origin of the Tetrions. The simple truth is that the Tetrions are the only evidence of a long since forgotten space-fairing species. Tetrions are Gateways to planets orbiting distant stars. They can only be opened by an intelligent species because it works only for those who unlock the secrets of the falling Blocks. We have called the gate opening activity Tetris. And while it is the key to connecting us to distant worlds, Tetris has been found to be very addictive by all intelligent species.

The Minos are a species found on a planet called Hadar 4. They are a robust mechanical species. It is possible that they were first built by organics, as is the case with most mechanics. Minos are intelligent and have just unlocked the secrets of the Tetrions. They now know that manipulating the Blocks in a certain way will turn a Tetrion into an interstellar transportation device. The Tetrions will soon turn out to be key to the survival of the Minos.

The Mission is to evacuate the Minos on Hadar 4 to six other planets that been identified as suitable for terraforming. Mino scientists have discovered that their star (Hadar) has become unstable and as a result the surface of Hadar 4 will reach 5000 Kelvin, which is well past the maximum operating temperature of the Minos. The best Mino Tetris players have been identified as the gate openers. Six Tetrinauts will be sent to the planets to open the Tetrion gates from the other side to facilitate the exodus.

And so begins the story for Tetris World Story Mode. The story mode told through a tiny little cut scene right at the start of the game, its not at all compelling, and while its nice they made an effort, it doesn't work, and just comes of as a desperate attempt to tell the gamer what exactly there playing for. There a six different forms of Tetris in the game, starting with the first and best.

The objective of Tetris is to manipulate falling Tetriminos forming horizontal rows of Blocks. A point is earned for each line cleared. Bonus points are earned for simultaneous line clears. Points earned are subtracted from you goal. When your goal reaches 0, the game levels up and becomes faster.

The objective of Square Tetris is to combine Tetriminos into squares in addition to playing Tetris. Lines cleared that contain a piece of the 4X4 square earn big bonuses. Also a T-Spin coupled with a line clear will cause Blocks in the Matrix to Avalanche. After an Avalanche occurs, lines cleared that were part of squares will no longer receive the square bonus.

The objective of Cascade Tetris is to clear lines that causes Cascades while playing Tetris. A Cascade happens when Blocks falling due to a line clear cause another line to clear. The more Cascades a player can cause with one Tetrimino, the bigger the bonus will be.

The objective of Stick Tetris is to clear the bottom line of Garbage Blocks. Gravity is turned on, as in Cascade Tetris, so Cascades happen. Blocks of the same colour stick together. When 25 blocks of the same colour connect, they form a Critical Mass and are cleared from the Matrix

The objective of Hot-Line Tetris is to clear lines of Blocks on the Hot-Lines. There are six Hot-Lines in the Hot-Line Matrix. The higher up the matrix, the more points are awarded for the line clear. If you clear a line that is not on a Hot-Line, you will not receive anything towards the goal.

The objective of Fusion Tetris is to connect falling ''Atom'' Blocks to the ''Fusion'' Block at the bottom of the Matrix. Clearing a line containing an ''Atom'' or ''Fusion'' will cause a Cascade. Neither Atom or Fusion Blocks are cleared in a line clear.

There are 15 levels of each of those games, and as they progress, they get a lot faster, making them ten times harder, which does provide a real challenge, but there to similar to Tetris, that they don't at all feel like a different puzzle. Hot-Line Tetris is way to hard to do, and does not have the pick up and play value that made Tetris famous. All these games are good, but like I said, there just Tetris with a tiny little change made in the rules, which really hurts the game. You will most probably just put the main Tetris game on, and play that for ages, but you won't care what level your on, or what your meant to be doing, you just want to play Tetris. The games story mode could have been something, it could have had some good cut scenes to explain everything, rather then the piece of crap you get at the start. Also the games should have been more varied, and not just Tetris with a rules change. I know the game has to stick to the basic rules of Tetris, but it does not even do anything to make the games at least feel like a different puzzle in the Tetris world. Six games is also a slap in the face, as they could have put a few more in there, after all, the games they did put in were not pushing the bounds of creativity. That said, the games are fun, though you will find yourself coming back to Tetris, which makes the

Its Tetris, it does not need anything special, and that's what the developers have clearly thought as well. The blocks are smooth, and the backgrounds get more busy the further you get into the game, but there not anything special then. The graphics never distract you from the game, and the background thankfully stays there, but it would have been nice for the developers to try something here, make the worlds look like you want to help saving, and more vibrant and fun. On the whole they get the thing done, but do nothing else. Shame.

Techno music and Tetris go with each other don't you think? Well yes and no. Techno is what you would probably think of with this game being a retro one, and that's what the developers have done, but its just that they have not done it very well. The music can get on your nerves when the action speeds up, creating one hell of an uncomfortable situation, and will piss you off when you really need to concentrate. The music should have helped you play the game, and when the action got fast, it should have helped you concentrate and not be so tense, but it does the exact opposite. Overall the sound is ok at times, but poor and annoying at the times when you really need it to help you out. Nothing is catchy, and once you've turned the game off, you might be surprised to know the game has speed in the early parts of the game.

Endless. Tetris is Tetris, and you will just keep playing, as the game is still fun, and Tetris is one of the few games that has the ability to keep single players coming back to beat there high scores, and waste ten minutes that will quickly turn to hours. It could have been so much more though, with lots more modes, this game could have kept the Gamecube on for days on end.

Cubed3 Rating

4/10
Rated 4 out of 10

Subpar

Tetris Worlds is not really a 'bad' game, after all it is Tetris, but the other versions of the game simply are not very different, or as addictive as main Tetris is. The game just feels plain, as if the developers just put Tetris in, added a few extras, made it at least look a little next gen, and were done. Tetris is everywhere, and this game does not offer anything that would make you want to play it more then Tetris on the Gameboy or on the net, or anywhere that you can find it. It needed extras that at least offered a brake from Tetris, that were addictive and fun, yet kept simple while staying to the general structure of Tetris. If you can get this game for

Developer

2K

Publisher

2K

Genre

Puzzle

Players

4

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  4/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  6/10 (1 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

Comments

Comments are currently disabled

Subscribe to this topic Subscribe to this topic

If you are a registered member and logged in, you can also subscribe to topics by email.
Sign up today for blogs, games collections, reader reviews and much more
Site Feed
Who's Online?
Azuardo, Ofisil

There are 2 members online at the moment.