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lacks the addictiveness of the original

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 23 / 23
Date: January 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ever since I first played Tetris on the Gameboy, I was hooked. It was an insanely addictive game, simple to play but challenging to master. This past year, I picked up a copy of the game for the original Nintendo (NES) and I found the game to be just as fun and addictive as I remembered more than a decade ago. When I saw that Tetris was available on the PS2, I was interested in picking up the game. It would be fun for my fiancé and I to play the game together. Unfortunately, this game didn't live up to the standard set by its 8-bit predecessor.

In addition to the classic Tetris, there are several other ways to play Tetris in this game. They all work from the same basic formula of various 4-block shapes falling and needing to be manipulated to form lines. What is different is the goals of each game. Some games require you to form combinations of the same colored blocks, others like "Cascade" allow blocks that become unattached after a line clears to drop down, permitting new scoring combinations. Initially, these new games were interesting, but I found myself craving the classic tetris. That is here, too, but the blocks on the screen are rather small, and there is now an option to play with a time limit.

Even if I didn't like the new Tetris games, I expected that I would be as addicted to the classic tetris. I wasn't. I don't know what was changed, but the game just wasn't as fun and addicting, and yet I can play the NES version today and still get wrapped up in the game. This game doesn't seem to be as fast, the screen is way too small, and whatever was changed causes the game to be not as good. It's the same Tetris, but the updates detract from the game rather than add to it. I can't recommend this. I would suggest you find a NES or a Gameboy and play the original. I'll be much more fun to play.

How could someone screw up Tetris?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 24 / 25
Date: June 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

We love Tetris, and we loved the version for the N64. We were eagerly awaiting Tetris Worlds to come out. After finally playing it, it is a disappointment. No longer can you go head to head against another player until one of you builds up enough blocks to "die". Instead, you have games which are fast, with a timer, and goals. This would be cool if you could change the time limit and set the goals on your own, but you can't. I thought they would never be able to screw up Tetris, but THQ has proven me wrong. My wife used to love this game, now with Tetris Worlds, she is pretty much disgusted with it. She misses the fact that no longer can she play against me, without a time limit, to see who can go the longest. She can only do that in story mode.

If you like short quick games of Tetris, you will like this version. If you would like a game with more customization, where you can actually set a goal, and choose whether or not to have a time limit, you will hate this version of Tetris.

We decided to give this a 2 because the little quick games are ok, but it is disappointing that you can't actually customize it the way you want to play it. It seems like the makers of Tetris didn't give a thought to people who actually like to play long games at all.

Intreging

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 20 / 21
Date: September 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Forget what you know, the variations offered in this game let you learn how to play tetris all over again. Some of the variations are fun and others will probably turn out to be not for you.

I know I had a problem playing the squares version of this game where you had to make 4x4 squares out of the same types of pieces. I never quite figured that out.

There's another version called collapse where the pieces fall down as rows below them are cleared. This is kind of like Dr Mario, where extra pieces fall down to the playing field below, and unlike classic tetris where you have to clear the rows above a gap to fill the gaps.

There's a version where the same colored pieces stick together. This was challenging because pieces also fall down as you clear the rows like the version above and when two of the same color pieces touch, they stick together. Its an interesting twist.

In both versions pieces are both traditional and segmented, for example sometimes the straight piece made up of 4 segments will be all in one piece/color, sometimes it will be made up of 2 or 3 or 4 different pieces/colors. Which makes it all the more challenging, you have to plan for how the segments of each piece will fall as well.

Another added bonus is that now your piece preview shows you the next several pieces that are in the queque (I think it shows the next 6), not just the next one up. The only version of Tetris that I think is missing was the version for Nintendo '64 Tetris Sphere. That game brought the Tetris game to a 3-Dimensional level where you had to get rid of groups of pieces instead of organize them into groups. When they bring that game over to the next-gen systems then my tetris collection will be complete.

Plus you can customize a little cube to look as you wish and you can name it as well, it will serve as your guide and watch you and let you know how you are doing.

There's a couple of other versions and of course classic tetris but for each one the challenges and strategies are different. They wrap a story around each version to explain why each game plays the way it does, pieces collapse because of a higher gravity and they stick together because its hot. Fortunately the same basic traits that kept you playing the original tetris games are still there. Its one of the oldest games out there that is still played today.

Worse part of this game: Time Limits

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: January 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game was a huge disappointment. The original Tetris arcade did not have a time limit. You went head-to-head with your opponent until one of you hit the top. You can't do that in this version. Your game ends in 2 minutes (that's right -- there's a time limit!). You don't have enough time to do anything -- all of the other games have a time limit also. The point of Tetris is to see how many lines you could get, or how many points, or how many tetrises, before you hit the top. Sorry, can't do that here. This version does not capture the true spirit of Tetris.

Not to say that change isn't good. Some of the improvements are new Tetris games that they added, and the ability to have 4 players at the same time, but again, all have time limits. Other disappointments:
- cheesy dance music only (you can pick different music, but they're all oompha-oompha electronic dance tracks. We ended up muting the TV.)
- counter-intuitive menus (not user-friendly, very confusing)
- silly little cartoon characters and story line (this could be fun if done right, but this just added to the aggravation)
- tiny game pieces that will ruin your eyes (the screen size is TINY!)

If you want a normal Tetris game for your PS2, stick with Tetris Plus for PS1. You have most of your normal games, including 2-player games, but you still don't have a true head-to-head game where both players start with a blank screen and the other gets lines when his/her opponent gets rid of lines.

Why can't someone just make a Tetris game for Playstation that captures the old spirit of classic Tetris? Throw in all the new changes that you want, but still leave an option to play it the old way.

Worst rendition of Tetris ever...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: January 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is a waste of money and sadly the only Tetris game for PS2 I've found. It's hard to imagine making a simple game frustrating to play, but THQ has succeeded in doing just that. My biggest complaint about the game is the blatant lack of customizable options, especially for the controller. You are stuck with the buttons they've chosen which I found to be less than ideal. Game play in multiplayer is lame too as you can't turn off the 2 minute clock or the stupid annoying 'Nino' character that constantly bounces around the bottom of the screen. Who comes up with this stuff???...you can add eyebrows to Nino but you can't configure the buttons on the controller!!! If that wasn't bad enough it seems to forget your settings between games so you're constantly adjusting things instead of playing the game. Graphics are lame too...would rather play it on a gameboy.

Tetris with some twists

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: May 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you didnt enjoy the original Tetris, this game isnt for you, cause lets face it, Tetris is Tetris. But if you did, then this will be a lot of fun. It offers the original gameplay, along with several new versions to challenge you and keep your interest. It also has a new story line for those of us who need to feel like we're reaching a goal other than "Top Score", and has some really cute graphics that go along with that.

How could someone screw up Tetris?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 13
Date: June 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

We loved Tetris in all of its forms, especially the N64 version. However, this game was a BIG disappointment. No longer can you play head to head with someone until one of you builds up enough blocks to "die", instead you can only play as long as you want in story mode, which is one player. In the multiplayer mode, you can't play a long, involved game against someone. Instead, you play a game that has a time limit, and goals. This would be ok if you could turn the time limit on and off, and if you could manually adjust the goals. Since you can do neither, this [is bad].

My fiance asked how could someone [mess] up Tetris, and this is the answer, this game. The N64 version is a much better game.

This game is only good if you are someone who likes short little games in multiplayer. If you happened to like 45 minute challenges between people, then you're [out of luck].

Disappointing

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: June 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Tetris Worlds had two modes, arcade (which I haven't played) and story (although you wouldn't know the story unless you read the manual). There are several different game styles, most of them are pretty fun. The problem is that it seems to miss the point. Tetris is about staying "alive" as long as possible, and the next time you play you try to go longer. With this version after you get through level 15 you "win" and the game is over. I was able to do that for most of the game styles the 1st time I played them. The only place to improve is to get through the levels faster, and (for me) that's not fun.

They try to allow you to make a character or sorts (a cube with an eye) but the customization is pitiful (2 eye colors, 2 hair styles) and really would have been better without it.

It also takes an inexplicably long time to load both the start menu and the game board.

Tetris Worlds

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: January 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I'm not all that crazy about TETRIS WORLDS because of the new style of game play. I'm not all to fond of the mission modes that Tetris has now. It still plays like the original, you drop block and other shapes and the objective is to clear lines and get the four line score called a Tetris. The graphics are pretty good and the backgrounds are pretty cool as well.

I'm still going to give this a 3 even though I originally wanted to do give it a 3 ½. I still think it's closer to 3 than it is to 4 but for those of you that love the series, this is for you and you might enjoy this one. This is a great title for younger gamers because the game is very easy to play and the game is really never the same twice. In any case, for you older gamers, rent this one first and for all you younger gamers check out this one.

I can't contain my disappointment!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Holy crap, this game blows! The graphics are muddy, the colors are washed out, the music is annoying, the game modes are just plain goofy, the multi-player modes are a snore, and I am SO burned that it isn't anywhere near as good as the Tetris game for the N64. Garbage, junk, total waste of money. Avoid!

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