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Tetris Worlds
Console
GameCube
Publisher
THQ (Toy Headquarters)
Genre
Puzzle
Developer
Radical Entertainment
Release Date
06/23/02
6
ESRB Rating
Everyone
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Tetris Worlds
Review written by Lee
December 20, 2003 | 10:00 PM PST

by: Donny Simpson

Ever since Tetris came out in the 1980's, it has been an inspiration in the creation of many puzzle games. Even today, Tetris can still be pretty addictive. Many different versions of Tetris have been made in the past and have definitely evolved the game. Here in Tetris worlds, that's what you'll see.

You'll have your normal Tetris game and other variations including Cascade, Sticky, Fusion, Square and Hot-Line. There is even a story mode and the expected 4-player support. But when it comes down to it, Tetris Worlds just lacks in interest. In the story mode, you'll have 6 worlds to go through and you'll play in the 6 different play modes. But in actuality, there really isn't much of a story and besides; Tetris players don't play for the story, right? They play for the game.

Tetris
This is your most simple and basic Tetris game. What you do is move and twist pieces of different shapes, called Tetriminos as they fall down the screen. All these Tetriminos are made up of four blocks and with that in mind, that means you'll have yourself 7 different Tetriminos. The point is to clear lines before all the blocks pile up and reach the top of the screen. The more lines you clear at a time, the more points you get. Clearing four lines is called a Tetris. As you keep playing and your rank moves up, the game will get harder and the pieces will fall faster.





Cascade
The idea here is basically the same as regular Tetris. You are supposed to, of course, clear lines using your Tetriminos. But a difference in this mode is that left over Tetriminos fall down cleared lines… kind of like gravity. If these blocks end up clearing lines that they fall into, you have yourself a cascade. Cascades give you more points.

Sticky
In this play mode one thing you do is dig through the blocks already on the screen. These blocks altogether are called garbage. Clear the very bottom row of blocks and you win. When a line is cleared, pieces left over will fall through any spaces - that's gravity for you. The Tetriminos here are colored and when blocks fall next to a same color piece, they will stick together. When there are enough same-colored blocks stuck together, a "Critical Mass" comes about and the blocks are cleared.





Fusion
In Fusion, the goal is to connect descending blocks called atom blocks with the single red block at the bottom of the screen that's hidden underneath all the garbage. Gravity also applies here so clearing lines with atom blocks will cause cascades.

Square
Same rules here basically. You get the same falling Tetriminos and you still have to clear lines. But here, you can get bonuses for creating 4x4 blocks out of the falling Tetriminos. If you clear any lines using these, you'll get even more points. Plus, there is a way to get an "Avalanche" which allows certain blocks to fall.





Hot-Line
In the background you'll see six different colored lines. These are called Hot-Lines and your goal is to clear blocks on these Hot-Lines. You will not get any points for clearing lines outside them. The higher Hot-Lines are worth a lot more points, but sometimes it isn't worth the risk to go that high.

These modes are pretty fun, but they really aren't new experiences. Tetris Worlds just lacks that little extra something. The game does feature some pretty decent visuals and backgrounds. But at times they will just seem uninteresting, The setting is pretty colorful, but not vibrant enough. The music is basically the same thing. Decent songs and sounds, but nothing all that great. If you just want to play Tetris, going online and searching for a game would be a pretty good idea. Tetris Worlds just sometimes doesn't feels worthwhile.
Visuals
5.0
Sound
7.0
Control
5.0
Gameplay
6.0
Lasting Appeal
6.5
Verdict
6.0
[not an average]
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