Tetris Evolution

Rating ESRB: Everyone Genre puzzle Publisher THQ External Links Official Tetris Evolution Website

Tetris. What a legendary game! Years ago those colored blocks fell into the hearts of families everywhere. It was a treat for the eyes and ears as something new. Most of us probably played it on what could be called the mother of video gaming, the NES. You may wonder as I have, after many incarnations of Tetris, what else can you do with the game? Now here comes THQ with it's latest incarnation, Tetris Evolution for the Xbox 360.

If you've played Tetris before, then you know what to expect. Blocks of various shapes fall as all too familiar music plays in the background. There are a few new twists added though. There are several modes that you can play to help put some variety in the game. Most of the modes are very slight variations of the Classic Mode. In Ultra Mode you have a time limit. In Race Mode you try to clear lines as fast as possible. In Score Mode, yes you guessed it, try to reach a certain score. The only mode that actually changes how to game is actually played is Cascade Mode, where bits of the Tetris blocks already in place will fall when there is nothing supporting them after clearing a line. It is not as amazing as one might think.

You can even play Tetris Evolution multiplayer at home or over the net. In Versus, lines that you clear are sent to the bottom of your opponent's screen. In Hotseat, you take turns placing a block. This particular mode has to be the most pointless excuse for a play mode ever. Do not fret though, you have the option to change what music plays in the background when you play all these uniquely individual modes, or you can change the background.

While Tetris was enjoyable during the era of the NES, there doesn't seem to be any room for such a simple title on the market. If someone has an itch to play Tetris they can either play it for free on the Internet or dust off their copy for the Commodore 64, NES, Gameboy, SNES, or even their cell phone. Tetris does have a place in our hearts, but does it have a similar place on the Xbox 360?