I have to admit I was somewhat excited about getting to review Tetris Splash. I’ve long been a Tetris fan, first playing Alexey Pajitnov game in the 80’s at my local arcade. When the black and white Gameboy version came out, I spent an inordinate amount of hours playing Tetris instead of doing things I should have been doing like chores and my homework. Despite my love of Tetris, I found this review somewhat difficult to do. Tetris is a 20-year-old game that has appeared on almost every gaming platform known to man for the precise reason that it’s just that good. MSXBOX-WORLD’s review structure is generally set up to look at new titles. The question then is how do you quantify the review value of an older game that may have many other versions to stack up against? Should the review score be based on the core game or should the review score be based on innovations that improve that core game? After wrestling around with this dilemma I decided to stick with core gameplay when rating the game. Tetris is still very much the same kick ass game I remember playing as a kid … and now I even have the added benefit of online play on a console.

Gameplay:

Let’s call a spade a spade. Tetris is the grand-daddy of all puzzlers and still one of the best. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 years, I’m assuming most of you know the core gameplay mechanics. In Tetris Splash seven different shapes fall (individually) from the top of the screen, and an “upcoming” cue allows the player to see what are the next shapes coming up. You can rotate the current piece in play up, down, left or right before it hits on the ground. The object of the game is to fit these shapes together to form a solid line at the bottom of the screen. A completed line will disappear from the screen giving the player more space to work in. If the tetris shapes reach the top of the screen the player loses. Tetris Splash adds some of the newer functions seen in other Tetris versions, allowing players to “hold” a Tetris piece in reserve, swapping this piece in when needed. There is also a “ghost” feature that shows the player exactly where their Tetris piece is going to drop. By pressing “up” the Tetris piece will immediately be placed where the ghost piece currently rests. Both of these features can be turned off in the gameplay options, and many Tetris purists may choose to do so. Speaking of gameplay options there are a ton of them. Tetris Splash allows the player to map controls on their 360 game pad exactly how they want, as well as turning on or off various gameplay “features” such as controller vibration or the ghost piece and hold cue I mentioned a moment ago. In terms of single player gameplay options, the title offers two modes, Marathon and 40 lines. Marathon mode is your traditional old school Tetris in which the speed of the blocks falling slowly increases to a frantic pace throughout 15 levels. 40 Lines on the other hand, is a speed mode in which the player attempts to clear out 40 lines in the quickest time possible. Looking at the Multiplayer offerings Tetris Splash allows the player to play locally against a friend, or play against up to 5 other opponents over Live. Matches are fast and furious as players attempt to complete lines faster than their opponents. When a player manages to take out several lines at once this causes a “attack” on their opponents – filling the lower part of the opponents screen with incomplete lines. Timing your attacks is important as an opponent can counter an attack by completing lines as well.

Graphics:

The game takes place with a fish tank/aquarium as it’s background. While the backgrounds really aren’t all that important to the flow of the actual game itself, the fish tank visuals are pleasant. There are fishes that swim around in the background …they looked realistic enough that my cat tried to swat them. As an added bonus you can make the fish tank a screen saver, which is kinda neat even if it has absolutely nothing to do with the actual game itself. I think one sour note for me personally is that there are many game backgrounds and “fish” types that were purposely locked away, only available to be opened by purchasing them as premium content on the marketplace. The game sports better visuals but those are not included with the main purchase. It’s a crass money grab that doesn’t jive well with me … especially because I suspect the content is already included in the main game download, but locked away. To make a stand against such practices I am giving the game a 4 in the graphics department – because I feel the main game is incomplete. C’mon guys Tetris has been out for over 20 years … many of us can download it free on the PC with far better/just as good than what the 360 gives … the premium 360 content reeks of nickel and dime’ing for graphic content that should have been included in the initial purchase. The actual Tetris game board itself uses the same standard Tetris visuals we all know and love … it fits in pretty well with the whole underwater vibe.

Sound:

I really liked the music included with the game. The main Tetris song is suitably "Tetrisy" with a bit of a jazzy theme. Most of the music included with the game is actually very ambient in terms of how it’s mood … perfect for hours of multiplayer or single player fun. And to be perfectly blunt if it’s not to your taste there’s always custom tracks, right?

Longevity:

If you’re one of the two people out there that have never played Tetris before, be prepared to lose many hours of your life to this addictive puzzler. It’s my assumption though, that the vast majority of folks buying Tetris Splash are doing so because they want the added Live features that make the game valuable to 360 owners. There are 12 achievements to be earned, some of which are going to be extremely hard to get. There are also both single player and multiplayer leader boards which will track your Tetris prowess versus the entire 360 player base as well as that of those on your friends list. Most importantly the game seems to boast a healthy online community, with dozens of games available to be played when I checked – this bodes well for the longevity of the online multiplayer portion of the game.

Overall:

If any of you are a “casual” Tetris player like me, you probably passed on the overpriced 30 dollar Tetris Evolution, hoping that a reasonably priced Tetris version would appear on Xbox Live Arcade. Tetris Splash is the answer to that hope, and it’s priced decently despite the premium content cash grab. Thankfully none of the premium content affects the core gameplay, which is as awesome as it’s always been. The bottom line, if you’re looking to get Tetris on a console, you should grab Tetris Splash. At 10 dollars you’re getting the same kick ass core gameplay Tetris has offered for over 20 years, you’re also getting all the great online features that Live offers. I think it’s worth it even if the premium content isn’t.