Tetris Worlds

What do you do when there is a game that is more that ten years old, totally addicting, simple to play and most everyone has a copy? You make it more complicated, add color, a story to accompany the game, multi-player ability and a slo-mo effect for learners. In addition to the basic Tetris game, there is Square Tetris - aside from filling a line - you get extra points by placing them to form 4x4 squares; Cascade Tetris - extra points when a falling line causes another line to clear, which in turn causes a cascade effect; Hot-Line Tetris - Clear lines of blocks on special existing lines on screen; Fusion Tetris - connect two special blocks and cause a cascade and Sticky Tetris - same color blocks stick together as you try to clear the bottom line.

There were some good effects that will make it easy for beginners, like Ghost Pieces which show you where the piece will land and the Next Pieces preview. There were some strange artifacts such as the Esc key not ending the game as it should have - maybe more testing? I am glad the game is on the PC but it cries out for Game Boy controls.

Reviewed by Genevieve 12/01