It’s hard to find an argument against Tetris. Doesn’t matter what form the game takes or what platform it’s on, Tetris is a Russian gaming classic that broke into the mainstream on the Game Boy back in August of 1989. On the Live Arcade, it’s a bit of a mess, yet it’s still Tetris.
Six-player online play is the key feature of this $10 downloadable. You can see the other player's screens as you play, and as they eliminate pieces, you are stuck with their junk pieces. It’s frustrating in ranked matches, as six players need to be present for the game to start. Finding someone to join without dropping before all players have been found is difficult.
Other game modes are standard fare for the traditional puzzler, while fanatics will stick with the classic Marathon mode. The unique feature of Tetris Splash is the background. Here, fish swim inside various underwater settings behind the game play. There is nothing altered to the actual game. There is also a screensaver mode like this years earlier Live Arcade effort, Boom Boom Rocket.
If you find this engrossing, you can add more fish… at a cost higher than the game itself. The game itself comes in at around 27MB and $10. The downloadable content adds up to around 20MB and close to $12. This extra content (which is nothing more than different backgrounds) add up to less than the old 50MB limit on Arcade title. It’s absurd that content is released day and date yet costs more than the game.
That said, this is Tetris. It follows standard Tetris rules, including the ability to flip pieces in place, stalling the drop from completing. Purists will find this addition aggravating, though it has become standard in most modern releases of the puzzler.
Add up the downloadable content (which is hardly necessary though), and you’ll be spending more than the fully functional Tetris Evolution released in March which can now be had for $20. That version offers more modes, music, higher graphical punch, and far more value. Tetris Splash is fine by Tetris standards in terms of game play, but the price is off putting.
Tetris Splash is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB for Content Descriptors.
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