Currently really enjoying Tetris Worlds on GameCube.I'm at Rank 14 (of 15) for most of the games now, still on Rank 12 for a couple of the more difficult ones but working my way up!
Here are the games in order of difficulty [with my current rank in square brackets]:
Sticky Tetris: "Clear the Bottom Line". Players must try to clear the bottom line of "Garbage Blocks" - as well as increasing in speed, each level introduces a random stacking of garbage blocks for extra difficulty. Same-colored Blocks stick together in this mode, hence the name. If 25 same-colored blocks connect, a Critical Mass is formed and are cleared from the Matrix. Sticky Tetris also features the gravity/cascade game mechanic, but is made slightly less predictable and more difficult to manage because the tetrominos are made up of blocks which can separate from one another, adding to the mayhem! [Rank 12]
Fusion Tetris: "Activate the Atom Blocks". In this mode, as well as garbage blocks there is a single "Fusion Block" at the bottom of the Matrix. Players must try to connect falling "Atom Blocks" to the Fusion Block. Atom and Fusion Blocks are not cleared in line clears, and clearing a line containing an Atom or Fusion Block causes a Cascade. This is only slightly easier than "Sticky Tetris", mainly because the Atom Blocks are single bricks, which makes them easy to manoevre amongst the garbage blocks. It's also that bit more predictable, making it feel more achievable even though it is technically just as difficult as Sticky Tetris. [Rank 12]
Cascade Tetris: "Go for a Cascade".The player must try to clear lines that cause Cascades. Cascades occur when a cleared line cause other Blocks to fall and clear another line. This game is mainly to introduce the gravity/cascade game mechanic for the later games which feature it. It's tricky but fun. [Rank 14]
Square Tetris: "Go for a Square". While the player plays Tetris, they also must try to combine Tetriminos into 4 x 4 "Squares". Lines cleared containing "Square" blocks cause large bonuses. This takes a bit of getting used to but is fairly easy once sussed. [Rank 14]
Hot-Line Tetris: "Go for a Hot-Line". In this mode, there are six "Hot-Lines" in the Matrix. The player must try to clear lines that are on the Hot-Line. Lines cleared anywhere else earn no points. This is essentially lots of edge-of-seat gameplay trying to clear lines near the top of the matrix. Oodles of fun. [Rank 12]
Regular Tetris: "Go for a Tetris". A normal Tetris game, where bonus points are awarded for Doubles, Triples, Tetrises, T-Spins and Back-to-Back Tetrises. Losses occur when the Tetriminos reach the top. [Rank 14]
Good points:+ The music is excellent, very immersive and can be randomised so you're not hearing the same tune over and over.
+ Interesting and absorbing variations on the game which I've never seen previously (I particularly enjoy "Cascade" and "Hot-line").
+ Includes the "easy spin" feature which I think dramatically improves any version of
Tetris in which it's implemented - it gives the player that bit more control over the game, and allows for much faster and longer gameplay.
+ The "story mode" is quite cute and gives the game some character. The "worlds" themselves are also quite a nice feature, adding a bit of peripheral interest to the game (literally!). It kind of foreshadows the much more extravagant and immersive
Tetris Effect in this regard.
Room for improvement:- None of the games reward combos (where consecutive lines are cleared), with the exception of Back-to-Back Tetrises (4 simultaneous line clears). I didn't realise how much I actually relied on combos to increase my score/rankings in other Tetris games I've played until I played
Tetris Worlds. The flip-side of this is that it has re-trained me to prioritise other aspects of the game - namely T-spins, back-to-back Tetrises and faster clearing (i.e. all of the games are played to a 2-minute clock, which brings me onto...)
- All of the games are played to a 2-minute clock! This is fine for challenge modes in other versions of Tetris, but there's no escaping it in
Tetris Worlds. You
are allowed to play beyond the clock if you're still clearing lines and haven't topped-out, and each time you "Level Up" you get another shot at the 2-minute task, but you can only successfully "Rank Up" if you manage to complete the task within the 2-minutes.
It actually makes "Levelling Up" a
bad thing if you haven't managed to complete the current task, since the task then becomes harder - for instance, it's possible to be on Level 15 (the highest level) and Rank 12. If you managed to complete the Level 15 task (having missed out on 13 and 14) you'd only rank up to Rank 13, despite completing the more difficult task. What this essentially means is that if you miss the goal, the tendency is to just hit "restart" (which starts you again from the level below your current ranking) rather than carry on playing, which is very unlike any other version of Tetris I've played, and not necessarily in a good way.
That said, I'm generally loving
Tetris Worlds; each game is in fact "completed" once you achieve Rank 11 (having completed Level 10) - that "world" is then "freed" (story mode) and playing beyond that is simply for the personal bonus of being on a higher Rank. So, I have fully completed story mode and yet I'm still genuinely excited about reaching Rank 15 on each of the various games, so it does have that compelling factor to it.
It's a good solid 8/10