Mot Wakorb
12-04-2011, 01:42 PM
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/4016765803_8e92d3f13d_o.png
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6454386473_fdd4a0a1c0.jpg
Title: Tetris
Developer: EA Mobile
Publisher: EA Mobile
Platform: iPhone
Price: $0.99
When deciding what to review for this week’s Moving Target, I found myself torn. There are so many good iOS games out there that I decided to go back quite some time to when games were included with consoles – in this case, I went back to Tetris. EA has re-released their iOS version of Tetris with some new spins and some pay-for features that warrant some discussion further on.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6454751311_7b3b5b80a7.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6454751301_8472992ffb.jpg
Tetris, at it’s core, is still the puzzle game that many remember fondly. Spin those pieces (I still refuse to use the term “Tetriminos”) down and place them to remove lines. What did change is the way the game is played with three modes of gameplay that are included with Tetris. The classic mode: Marathon, a puzzle mode: Galaxy, and a totally new gameplay style in “one-touch” mode – which really is a hybrid marathon/puzzle mode designed for the touch platform.
Let’s start with the classic mode – marathon. Little has changed in way of gameplay – pieces are given to you randomly (although with more recent changes in Tetris, you’ll know what’s coming,) and you have to place to remove lines. Simple. Swap pieces once per turn, store that tall block for later, and go as long as you can. The touch controls here can be frustrating. With changes in Tetris as of late, you can spin a piece as long as you want to and it won’t lock down to the board until you stop. On the iPhone version, you can spin constantly, but moving while spinning is frustrating on the iPhone. EA didn’t feel a need to feature multi-touch in this game, so you’re limited to one action at any time.
Past that, controlling marathon mode is easy. Swipe left to move left, swipe right to move right and swipe down to force your piece down quickly. Tapping in the board spins your piece and touching the swap button will store/trade a piece out that is live on the board. For the most part, this works all right with a few exceptions where a swipe down is mistaken for a swipe left or right and your piece becomes misplaced. While this is easy to overcome on lower levels, overcoming this when the speed picks up can be maddening.
To be honest, people know Tetris by now, what most don’t know are the new modes included with the new version of Tetris. One-touch is a completely new control method/game where the swiping controls are taken away and now you’re given various options on where to place the piece. You can change the options by tapping anywhere other than the locations you have to place that piece. Instead of the speed of the piece drop changing, a clock drains down (depicted by color draining out of the piece locations on the board), letting you know when that piece will drop straight down, screwing up your board.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6454386237_b411d99f7b.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6454386631_2e8b17ded2.jpg
Swapping is still available to be used in this mode, giving you a sometimes-needed clock reset on choosing the location of your next piece. Other than those changes, this is still marathon mode by all other aspects, as the clock speeds up as you level up, you level via clearing lines, all the while enjoying the Tetris theme in the background. I found this mode to be more enjoyable as the controls are really simplified for the touch interface and gives a better level of control when playing. This mode was really a welcome change to me.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6454386579_055b562f01.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6454386687_0212974cf6.jpg
Finally, there is a puzzle mode that has been added into the game in the form of Galaxy mode. There is a goal at the bottom of the drop pit that is blocked by various lines that need to be cleared with the pieces you’re given. The control method is taken from one-touch mode, but the puzzles are entirely unique. As you clear lines, the screen will scroll down toward the goal. The game begins with some simple tutorials in the form of planets (stages in this case), teaching you everything you need to know.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6454386087_f311d7035a.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6454386323_a3b54d8951.jpg
The puzzles are entertaining and challenging, as the piece rules change a bit in Galaxy mode. Instead of orphaned remains that float in the air, those pieces now fall, which can help lead to a cascade, clearing multiple lines, changing how you may place pieces in order to cause a cascade, which will earn you more points and more T-Coins (more on this later). Each level ends with a rating that adds to your T-Coins (think experience). I found this game to be a really unique way of changing up the gameplay of Tetris and it is a very welcome addition to an already great game.
Graphically, this game is pretty. Some pretty neat visual effects are used and the entire game feels extremely polished. The presentation is more of a futuristic style – lots of quick transitions, bright colors and flashy changes when multiple lines are cleared. The menus are also well designed and simple, making getting into the game a simple task.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6454386785_62f51d3ab9.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6454386985_267e063246.jpg
This game also sounds fantastic – the sounds are crisp, clean, and add to the visual presentation. The sounds match with the graphics, they’re easy to hear and distinct, and are really well done. The music also sounds great, from the new music for the menus all they way through the classic (and updated) Tetris theme that plays whenever you’re playing the game. This game does offer more soundtrack options as unlockables. One of these is the original Game Boy Tetris music, reminding players of less-colorful times and adding a great throwback to an already solid experience.
Another thing that EA decided to do is promote a heavier online presence in Tetris. When you first launch the game, you’re given an option to tie the game to EA’s Origin network. This makes finding friends and setting up challenges between friends easy to do. You’re constantly asked to find friends in the post-game screens to setup more challenges to earn more T-Coins. There are also online features such as leaderboards, giving you the ability to see how you’re doing in the world of Tetris.
You’re also given a ranking system in the game – as you complete lines and earn T-Coins, you’re given a type of experience, which increases your ranking. I haven’t yet found any sort of use for this ranking system other than a way to arbitrarily rank you as a player. Another great feature is statistics keeping. Tetris does a great job of keeping statistics in-game and keeps quite a few of them for your perusal.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6454387147_420f24e485.jpg
DLC and subscriptions tend to be a hot button item for many people, and this game isn’t exempt from that. If you want to unlock items, you must earn T-Coins, which are earned simply by playing the game. The first bit of contention is that you can purchase T-Coins in-game. Purchases start as cheap as $1.99 for 2500 T-Coins, all the way through a whopping $99.99 for 200,000 T-Coins. I understand wanting to quickly unlock features – but as of right now, there is no point. In about an hour of gameplay I had already unlocked all of the various Galaxy levels, which makes the T-Coins a (mostly) moot point. The only other time you use T-Coins is when you’re using powerups in Galaxy mode.
The part that really gets me about the “online features” or subscription model is the T-Club. You can opt to subscribe to the T-Club for either $2.99 per month or $29.99 for a year. This earns you lower-cost (in T-Coins) unlocks as well as more features. I will tell you this now: as of this writing, there is no value in paying $2.99/month for these supposed unlocks. The only modification this made to my game was making unlockables that are already in the game cheaper. Perhaps after the game has been out a while this will change, but don’t waste your money on this.
As a whole – a very solid Tetris experience that changes the game for the touch screen user. EA introduces some new gameplay modes that keep the experience fresh, as well as some welcome unlocks that throw the player back to a simpler time in gaming. Some of the online features don’t seem like they have that much of a point, and the subscription is pointless altogether. However, as a whole, you can’t go wrong for just under a buck.
Score: (4 out of 5 Cogs)
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4.png
Curt says: It's Tetris. Updated visuals and music help the game by far, but I can't help think that the online "features" are a cash-grab by EA.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6454386473_fdd4a0a1c0.jpg
Title: Tetris
Developer: EA Mobile
Publisher: EA Mobile
Platform: iPhone
Price: $0.99
When deciding what to review for this week’s Moving Target, I found myself torn. There are so many good iOS games out there that I decided to go back quite some time to when games were included with consoles – in this case, I went back to Tetris. EA has re-released their iOS version of Tetris with some new spins and some pay-for features that warrant some discussion further on.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6454751311_7b3b5b80a7.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6454751301_8472992ffb.jpg
Tetris, at it’s core, is still the puzzle game that many remember fondly. Spin those pieces (I still refuse to use the term “Tetriminos”) down and place them to remove lines. What did change is the way the game is played with three modes of gameplay that are included with Tetris. The classic mode: Marathon, a puzzle mode: Galaxy, and a totally new gameplay style in “one-touch” mode – which really is a hybrid marathon/puzzle mode designed for the touch platform.
Let’s start with the classic mode – marathon. Little has changed in way of gameplay – pieces are given to you randomly (although with more recent changes in Tetris, you’ll know what’s coming,) and you have to place to remove lines. Simple. Swap pieces once per turn, store that tall block for later, and go as long as you can. The touch controls here can be frustrating. With changes in Tetris as of late, you can spin a piece as long as you want to and it won’t lock down to the board until you stop. On the iPhone version, you can spin constantly, but moving while spinning is frustrating on the iPhone. EA didn’t feel a need to feature multi-touch in this game, so you’re limited to one action at any time.
Past that, controlling marathon mode is easy. Swipe left to move left, swipe right to move right and swipe down to force your piece down quickly. Tapping in the board spins your piece and touching the swap button will store/trade a piece out that is live on the board. For the most part, this works all right with a few exceptions where a swipe down is mistaken for a swipe left or right and your piece becomes misplaced. While this is easy to overcome on lower levels, overcoming this when the speed picks up can be maddening.
To be honest, people know Tetris by now, what most don’t know are the new modes included with the new version of Tetris. One-touch is a completely new control method/game where the swiping controls are taken away and now you’re given various options on where to place the piece. You can change the options by tapping anywhere other than the locations you have to place that piece. Instead of the speed of the piece drop changing, a clock drains down (depicted by color draining out of the piece locations on the board), letting you know when that piece will drop straight down, screwing up your board.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6454386237_b411d99f7b.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6454386631_2e8b17ded2.jpg
Swapping is still available to be used in this mode, giving you a sometimes-needed clock reset on choosing the location of your next piece. Other than those changes, this is still marathon mode by all other aspects, as the clock speeds up as you level up, you level via clearing lines, all the while enjoying the Tetris theme in the background. I found this mode to be more enjoyable as the controls are really simplified for the touch interface and gives a better level of control when playing. This mode was really a welcome change to me.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6454386579_055b562f01.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6454386687_0212974cf6.jpg
Finally, there is a puzzle mode that has been added into the game in the form of Galaxy mode. There is a goal at the bottom of the drop pit that is blocked by various lines that need to be cleared with the pieces you’re given. The control method is taken from one-touch mode, but the puzzles are entirely unique. As you clear lines, the screen will scroll down toward the goal. The game begins with some simple tutorials in the form of planets (stages in this case), teaching you everything you need to know.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6454386087_f311d7035a.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6454386323_a3b54d8951.jpg
The puzzles are entertaining and challenging, as the piece rules change a bit in Galaxy mode. Instead of orphaned remains that float in the air, those pieces now fall, which can help lead to a cascade, clearing multiple lines, changing how you may place pieces in order to cause a cascade, which will earn you more points and more T-Coins (more on this later). Each level ends with a rating that adds to your T-Coins (think experience). I found this game to be a really unique way of changing up the gameplay of Tetris and it is a very welcome addition to an already great game.
Graphically, this game is pretty. Some pretty neat visual effects are used and the entire game feels extremely polished. The presentation is more of a futuristic style – lots of quick transitions, bright colors and flashy changes when multiple lines are cleared. The menus are also well designed and simple, making getting into the game a simple task.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6454386785_62f51d3ab9.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6454386985_267e063246.jpg
This game also sounds fantastic – the sounds are crisp, clean, and add to the visual presentation. The sounds match with the graphics, they’re easy to hear and distinct, and are really well done. The music also sounds great, from the new music for the menus all they way through the classic (and updated) Tetris theme that plays whenever you’re playing the game. This game does offer more soundtrack options as unlockables. One of these is the original Game Boy Tetris music, reminding players of less-colorful times and adding a great throwback to an already solid experience.
Another thing that EA decided to do is promote a heavier online presence in Tetris. When you first launch the game, you’re given an option to tie the game to EA’s Origin network. This makes finding friends and setting up challenges between friends easy to do. You’re constantly asked to find friends in the post-game screens to setup more challenges to earn more T-Coins. There are also online features such as leaderboards, giving you the ability to see how you’re doing in the world of Tetris.
You’re also given a ranking system in the game – as you complete lines and earn T-Coins, you’re given a type of experience, which increases your ranking. I haven’t yet found any sort of use for this ranking system other than a way to arbitrarily rank you as a player. Another great feature is statistics keeping. Tetris does a great job of keeping statistics in-game and keeps quite a few of them for your perusal.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6454387147_420f24e485.jpg
DLC and subscriptions tend to be a hot button item for many people, and this game isn’t exempt from that. If you want to unlock items, you must earn T-Coins, which are earned simply by playing the game. The first bit of contention is that you can purchase T-Coins in-game. Purchases start as cheap as $1.99 for 2500 T-Coins, all the way through a whopping $99.99 for 200,000 T-Coins. I understand wanting to quickly unlock features – but as of right now, there is no point. In about an hour of gameplay I had already unlocked all of the various Galaxy levels, which makes the T-Coins a (mostly) moot point. The only other time you use T-Coins is when you’re using powerups in Galaxy mode.
The part that really gets me about the “online features” or subscription model is the T-Club. You can opt to subscribe to the T-Club for either $2.99 per month or $29.99 for a year. This earns you lower-cost (in T-Coins) unlocks as well as more features. I will tell you this now: as of this writing, there is no value in paying $2.99/month for these supposed unlocks. The only modification this made to my game was making unlockables that are already in the game cheaper. Perhaps after the game has been out a while this will change, but don’t waste your money on this.
As a whole – a very solid Tetris experience that changes the game for the touch screen user. EA introduces some new gameplay modes that keep the experience fresh, as well as some welcome unlocks that throw the player back to a simpler time in gaming. Some of the online features don’t seem like they have that much of a point, and the subscription is pointless altogether. However, as a whole, you can’t go wrong for just under a buck.
Score: (4 out of 5 Cogs)
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4.png
Curt says: It's Tetris. Updated visuals and music help the game by far, but I can't help think that the online "features" are a cash-grab by EA.