Just when Blockhead Shiuming Lai thought he'd seen every Tetris variation along comes this release...
There can't be a computer owner on the face of the planet who hasn't encountered the game Tetris in some form or other. The Atari platform is well catered for, with various GEM implementations, slickly presented efforts like the amusing (but highly accurate) Gameboy emulator, or more recently, Super Tetris. Tetris II Strikes Back is the latest offering, one of a crop of games to emerge from the Czech Republic recently. Skipping the scary-sounding intro for Beast Software displays the game selection screen which deserves detailed scrutiny, because accounting for a second player, there are a total of eight game variations!
The first is the original, no-nonsense Tetris. Things get more exciting in Tetris II, because there are additional objectives to be met. A certain quota of one, two, three and four-line clearances must be made. Blocks, including indestructible ones, are pre-arranged at the bottom of the well to get in the way or help things along, depending on the exact blocks involved. Then there is Type II (still with me?), introducing bombs and a bundle of extra block shapes - which really tests your spatial awareness. It's all quite confusing initially but you'll soon get the hang of it due to the simplicity of the whole Tetris concept. Soundwise there is a choice of sampled effects, or a soundtrack of several catchy tracker tunes, which use sampled instruments for a realistic sound - not a chip bleep anywhere! It would have been nice if the STe sound hardware had been supported because that would have reduced the background noise. The only criticism I have of Tetris II Strikes Back as a game is a fundamental one, based on the control mechanism. In the original version and most Tetris clones, it is possible to steer the blocks at the same time as pulling down to make them drop faster. Here, it's only possible to steer or drop. This is not too much of a problem on the slower levels, but later on, or for seasoned players who like to slam the blocks down fast, it does feel awkward. This program doesn't seem to like NVDI or TOS 2.06 but this still leaves plenty of potential users. Tetris II Strikes Back features solid game design which sounds good, looks great and plays well.
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