Tetris Evolution Review - Xbox 360

3

Gameplay: 4
Graphics: 3
Audio: 3
Multiplayer: 4
Innovation: 2

While the Nintendo DS still suffers from no good Tetris game, THQ have released a brand new Tetris for the Xbox 360 in Tetris Evolution.  Born in the golden year of 1985, Tetris has grown on the world and is one of the largest selling video games of all time with over 70 million games sold across 30 video game systems.  THQ has brought the Tetris brand to the new generation of gaming on the Xbox 360, and with loads of customisable games and Xbox Live capabilities, is Tetris Evolution the evolution Tetris fans have been waiting for? Or would this game be better off on Xbox Live Arcade?

Gameplay

Tetris fans have got to be feeling pretty happy about this new Xbox 360 game, but only the true addicts will get more than about 4-5 hours gameplay out of this one.  Tetris Evolution has a whole heap of gameplay modes.  If you think you’ve thought of a new way to throw blocks down and try to get lines, think again, because it’s most likely in Tetris Evolution.

Gameplay modes include Marathon - the popular time-honored version, Ultra – racing against the clock, Cascade – clear lines that cause cascades to receive bonus points, Race – clear the required number of lines as quickly as you can, Score – reach the set score as fast as possible, Hotline – Earn the highest score by clearing specific lines on the matrix, Go Low – keep your blocks as low to the ground as possible to score the most points, and Eraser – similar to hotline, but you choose how many lines you want to clear.

All gameplay modes have been seen before in previous Tetris games, and there’s really nothing new in the game at all, except for the online multiplayer action.  However, when you jump online, you’re soon confronted with a system that puts you up against pros even in your first match, which is actually not quite so bad because you can learn some really good Tetris tricks from them, which would be a benefit if you ever meet a lady/man that gets turned on by those sorts of things.

Luckily the Xbox Live Marketplace brings a bit of life to this game, with some extra themes and downloadable content to brighten the game up a bit, but in the end it’s still just Tetris, that game you played to death on the original Gameboy.  Also, the DLC costs extra, and we can’t see why people would want to pay any more than the store price for Tetris Evolution. Perhaps it’s time to bury the Tetris franchise in the “never to return” video game archive/graveyard once and for all, or just keep it to handhelds, and the arcade sections of this generation of consoles.

Graphics

Tetris Evolution delivers (continued next page)