GAME OF THE
MONTH COLLECTION! Tetrisphere
(Nintendo/H2O,
September 1997)
Ever wonder what Tetris would look like in 3D? Although
its been done before, in Tetrisphere it been finally done right! Believe it
or not Tetrisphere was originally suppose to be an Atari Jaguar game
but it got canceled when Atari started to fall apart in 1994. Besides, how many
people actually own a Jaguar, eh? Tetrisphere was then introduced has a new
Nintendo64 title in 1996 but despite all of the games unique features
like it's awesome light sourcing graphics, cool techno music, and addictive
game play, the game didn't really get a lot of hype or press because of the
lack of popularity of puzzle games at the time. "I'm here to right this
wrong!"
In the game you get to choose from 7 different robot character, each with their
own speed and power and then select a mode to play like Rescue, Puzzle, or Versus.
In the Rescue mode you have to free your friends trap inside the Tetrisphere
by dropping various pieces to break up and reduce the size of the sphere, but
if you waste too much time to the sphere will grow. Fortunately
if you break enough pieces or you even score a combo then maybe you'll get a
weapon to help destroy the some of the blocks in the way. If
the sphere grows too large than you'll lose a life (you only get three lives)
and your game is over.
In the puzzle game you only have so many moves to complete the level and only
so much time. Some of the later levels can get really difficult.
The Versus lets you fight your friend in a split screen game has you try and
beat one another to the center of the sphere.
There is even a training mode to learn this new form of Tetris which is a good
idea for first timers.
Tetrisphere's graphics are absolutely stunning! When you try rescue a friend
inside the sphere, a blight light will emit from the middle creating a very
cool effect. Let's not forget about the unique 3D graphics and the rendered
backgrounds and robots either. Easily one of the best looking puzzle games for
any system.
The game's music is a fix between new age and techno which works great for the
game's futuristic look. There are ten different soundtracks to listen to and
the sound effects are also well done, so when when something important happens
you'll hear it. "The
graphics and music are some of the best if not the best in any Tetris game ever!"
Tetrisphere is a very additive 3D puzzle game with tons of options and well
over 200 levels to master. Even if you manage to complete all the levels in
the game then you could always go for the high score again giving Tetrisphere
a lot of replay value then most N64 games out there. Some people may be disappointed
by the fact that this game plays nothing like the original Tetris and that you
can't even play the original game at all but Tetrisphere is so great
on its own that you don't even need the older game here. This game is truly
the Tetris of the future.