Topic: IMPRESSIONS: Tetris Party

[MegaByte]

It's time to dance to Korobeiniki again.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressionsArt.cfm?artid=17036

 The venerable Tetris is back again with several new takes on the classic puzzle game.  While it doesn't duplicate the selection from Tetris DS, Tetris Party includes several novel modes for single player as well as local and Wi-Fi multiplayer.    

Of course the standard Endless Tetris mode is included, and it follows the modern Tetris rules including T-Spins, Infinite Spins, and a single block hold.  But that's really only the beginning.  There's a quirky race mode where Tetris pieces must be dropped and rotated through increasingly narrow passageways as quickly as possible.      

Another mode involves helping a tiny stick figure to a goal by building stairs.  The character can climb up one block at a time, so blocks must be carefully stacked so this is possible.  Along the way, the little man must collect flags.  Squishing the character sends him downward into the next available open space, and recovery can be frustrating since many lines must be cleared to retrieve him.  This mode really forces players to plan out their moves.    

Two players can play Tetris in a larger field simultaneously like the banned NES-era Tengen version of Tetris.  Another co-op mode turns Tetris on its head.  Here, instead of trying to complete lines, players try to enclose spaces using the Tetriminoes.  However, these structures must be built carefully since both players place blocks in the same field.  Whoever claims the most area wins.    

There's even a mode that uses the Balance Board.  To accommodate the increased difficulty of playing with your entire body, the playing field size can be altered, with much larger blocks set as a default.    

Tetris Party's Battle mode should be familiar to anyone who's played Tetris DS or TetriNET, on online PC Tetris clone.  However, some of the attacks are new, and involve shaking or pointing with the Wii Remote.  There's a smoke screen attack, which must be cleared by wiping the attack away with the Remote.  Certain attacks can be targeted by pointing at an opponents field.  Blocks will still keep on dropping while these attacks take place.  Another attack brings in the little man from the single player mode.  This time, players must avoid squishing him for a time or be penalized with added junk lines.  Up to four players can play locally or through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.    

Tetris Party should show up on WiiWare this month, at least in Japan and North America.  Though Tetris Online is taking a risk by setting the price point at a nearly unprecedented 1200 points, the game is so full-featured (especially compared to the similar Dr. Mario Online) it could very well be worth it.  The new modes on offer may sway those who dislike Tetris, and therefore even you may find something to enjoy here.    

   

[D_Average]

Anyone pick this up yet?

[NWR_Lindy]

Yeah D, I got it.  It's awesome.  I posted my Friend Code in the WiFi forum.

[D_Average]

Excellent, I think I'll be picking it up this weekend.  Not having played it, my only pre complaint is, why is the actual Tetris screen so small?  In past iterations on the Cube and 64 I remember the game utilizing at least most or all of the vertical space.

[Mesu]

I downloaded this and:

Of course the standard Endless Tetris mode is included, and it follows the modern Tetris rules including T-Spins, Infinite Spins, and a single block hold.

It doesn't have Infinite Spins. You get a few seconds of spinning but it isn't infinite. Infinite spinning was what kept me from buying Tetris DS. I read other reviews that said they were gone.

I've never played a modern Tetris game(only NES tetris, GB tetris, and Tetris 2) so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm glad I got it. Being able to play tetris without to connect my NES is great(also my NES controllers aren't as responsive as they were new).

The game is a little different. The top speed(level 15) is noticeably faster than NES tetris' level 20 speed so you need those few seconds of spinning to survive. I still like the NES version better so far. Surviving past level 20 on NES tetris is hypnotizing in a good way. Tetris party might be like that but I haven't noticed it yet. There seems to be more emphasis on using the next block list to plan more moves ahead of time at high speeds(I hope I get good at doing that).

I played over 5 hours online already. There are some very skilled players on there. I thought I was going to go online and win easily because I got 308 lines on NES tetris before. That didn't happen. In fact, the majority of people I played had a winning record against me. One person defeated me in 35 seconds and then defeated me probably 12 in a row. I read that there is going to be online tournaments where there are prizes like Wii points. I going to need a lot of practice to stand a chance.   

I haven't tried all the modes yet. Stage climber seems really good so far.

[AV]

I downloaded this and:

Of course the standard Endless Tetris mode is included, and it follows the modern Tetris rules including T-Spins, Infinite Spins, and a single block hold.

It doesn't have Infinite Spins. You get a few seconds of spinning but it isn't infinite. Infinite spinning was what kept me from buying Tetris DS. I read other reviews that said they were gone.

I've never played a modern Tetris game(only NES tetris, GB tetris, and Tetris 2) so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm glad I got it. Being able to play tetris without to connect my NES is great(also my NES controllers aren't as responsive as they were new).

The game is a little different. The top speed(level 15) is noticeably faster than NES tetris' level 20 speed so you need those few seconds of spinning to survive. I still like the NES version better so far. Surviving past level 20 on NES tetris is hypnotizing in a good way. Tetris party might be like that but I haven't noticed it yet. There seems to be more emphasis on using the next block list to plan more moves ahead of time at high speeds(I hope I get good at doing that).

I played over 5 hours online already. There are some very skilled players on there. I thought I was going to go online and win easily because I got 308 lines on NES tetris before. That didn't happen. In fact, the majority of people I played had a winning record against me. One person defeated me in 35 seconds and then defeated me probably 12 in a row. I read that there is going to be online tournaments where there are prizes like Wii points. I going to need a lot of practice to stand a chance.  

I haven't tried all the modes yet. Stage climber seems really good so far.

I own Tetris DS and like you said having the infinite spins isn't bad really. You can abuse it, however when your at level 46 you NEED them or else you can't play. The blocks are already on the bottom level and you have a split second to decide where to put them, so with infinite you have have more help and can play this game infinitly if your really that good. The NES game you can't go infinite you will reach a point where no human can win, in Tetris DS the only limit is your reflexes.  I have gotten just under 2 Million points in Tetris DS playing on infinite mode and I got ot level 56 or something.

In tetris DS you can see like next 4 or 5 blocks ahead and when your at a high level none of that matters. I can't go back to the primitive old school tetris like you speak of. Holding items, ghosts are two things I love.

I wonder if this had a mode called gravity. My cousin had a handheld tetris that had a mode where if you had a piece gravity will make it fall down instead of floating, which changed things up pretty well. SO no holes would ever exist because gravity will force them down. It made for some great combos and really was cool. Outside of that mini handheld tetris i never saw that mode again.

[NWR_Lindy]

In online mode you have to strategically hold tetriminos or you're toast.  I've held my own so far, but I'm never wiped the floor with anybody.  Usually it'll turn out 50/50 over a series of games.

[UltimatePartyBear]

I own Tetris DS and like you said having the infinite spins isn't bad really. You can abuse it, however when your at level 46 you NEED them or else you can't play. The blocks are already on the bottom level and you have a split second to decide where to put them, so with infinite you have have more help and can play this game infinitly if your really that good. The NES game you can't go infinite you will reach a point where no human can win, in Tetris DS the only limit is your reflexes.  I have gotten just under 2 Million points in Tetris DS playing on infinite mode and I got ot level 56 or something.

As someone who has maxed out the level and line counts in Tetris DS, I thought that infinite spin meant anyone could play the game until boredom set in, but it looks like I was wrong.  I guess it isn't quite as worthless as I thought, but I still want to play without it.  Of course, that would also require turning the speed back down to pre-infinite spin levels.  Basically, I want an old school mode, and I want to be able to play all the new twists on the gameplay in old school mode.

[planetidiot]

Can someone tell me exactly when and why garbage became mandatory on multiplayer?  It isn't fun, I can't imagine why anyone would want it, and who exactly would it kill to make it OPTIONAL?  Is the N64 version of tetris REALLY going to be the last good multiplayer marathon tetris game ever?  I don't want new stupid interpretations of Tetris, I don't even care what "field climber" and "hot lines" is.  I want to play multiplayer tetris with the normal freaking marathon rules. 

And why does the speed jump to "insta-drop" after like 5 minutes of play?  It's absurd, you can't even place the piece before it hits bottom.  The DS version had this problem but for some reason let you spin the piece infinitely to try to make up for it.  Rather than fix the speed, they arbitrarily determine that you've tried to spin too much and just set the piece for you.  Great, thanks, now no amount of skill will let me play the game beyond that.  Awesome.

I remember playing over an hour solid on The New Tetris on N64.  What the hell did they do to the gameplay?  This may be where I give up on Nintendo.  They have completely lost touch with me.  The only good addition to Tetris in the last decade was the "hold" piece, yet they can't get the rock bottom stupid simple gameplay down.  HINT: take The New Tetris from N64, add 480p graphics and online play and you're freaking golden. 

Instead they add a bunch of idiotic nonsense modes.  Yes.  Stage Racer.  WTF. 

Great, thanks for the single player marathon mode.  Exactly what I needed: another game for my wife to watch me play by myself.  Yeah, for some strange reason she doesn't like playing tetris where loads of garbage lines are thrown on her screen, imagine that. 

Please tell me I'm just missing the option somewhere, I'm fully prepared to apologize fully and admit that after 30 it's just too hard to find these gosh derned option menus that actually give you any gameplay options.  Oh also I will give you a dollar if you can tell me how to turn off garbage in multiplayer mode.

[UltimatePartyBear]

This may be where I give up on Nintendo.

Blame The Tetris Company for the crappy gameplay changes.  At some point their target market became cell phone gamers, and they have a ridiculous stick up their butt about changing the rules from platform to platform, so we have crap like infinite spin.  Infinite spin lets people cope with crappy cell phone button controls, and I'm guessing it's what led to the speed increase.  They had to get some amount of challenge back after adding such a game breaking feature.

This is all spelled out in an interview here on NWR somewhere.  I'll see if I can find it again.

Personally, I wouldn't even buy a new Tetris game without new modes that add new twists to the formula (The DS version's Push mode is the best take on multiplayer Tetris in my opinion), but I fully agree with you about options.  Almost every feature in Tetris could easily be customizable.

Edit:  Here it is.  He blames "competitive play" in short bursts for the infinite spin and speed increase, but it's still about cell phones.

[planetidiot]

This may be where I give up on Nintendo.

Blame The Tetris Company for the crappy gameplay changes.  At some point their target market became cell phone gamers, and they have a ridiculous stick up their butt about changing the rules from platform to platform, so we have crap like infinite spin.  Infinite spin lets people cope with crappy cell phone button controls, and I'm guessing it's what led to the speed increase.  They had to get some amount of challenge back after adding such a game breaking feature.

Edit:  Here it is.  He blames "competitive play" in short bursts for the infinite spin and speed increase, but it's still about cell phones.

Good to know, thanks.  Sorry Nintendo!  It makes sense, this game plays almost exactly like the DS version.  Lack of a "garbage off" option makes no sense in any context though.  I could have sworn I read that there was a 2 player marathon game, and that was the whole reason I jumped on it.

I'm just pissed off because it is so rare I hear my wife say "Can we both play that game?" Then she gets mad at not being able to play because I'm inadvertently piling garbage on her screen.  We went back and played The New Tetris, and I'm sorry.  Everything about it is better than the Wii version short of screen resolution and wireless controllers.  Even screen resolution is almosts a moot point because they make your board so small on the Wii version.

What drains me of all hope is that the article you linked is from April 6, 2006.  Meaning the changes for customization he's talking about didn't go in.  Suffice to say it's the last version of Tetris I'm buying before trying.  Wii Ware needs demos :C

[UltimatePartyBear]

Incidentally, garbage was part of the Game Boy version of Tetris, so it goes back at least that far.

[planetidiot]

Incidentally, garbage was part of the Game Boy version of Tetris, so it goes back at least that far.

Garbage is fine as long as you can turn it off