Game Of The Week: Tetris Party Deluxe (DS)

The classic arcade game of the 1980's is back for another round on the Nintendo DS. For those of you who might not be familiar with the game - is that even possible??? - Tetris requires players to strategically place different coloured blocks of various shapes and sizes in rows to create several straight lines. Every successful line of blocks earns points and the speed of the falling blocks increases with each level. It might sound easy but anyone who has actually tried this game for themselves will tell you that it is both difficult and very addictive.

Tetris on the NES

Tetris was created by Russian computer engineer, Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov in 1984 and has been reincarnated in many forms during its twenty-six year history and was previously released on the Nintendo DS in 2006 under the name of Tetris DS and went on to sell 2.5 million copies worldwide before going out of circulation. However the original DS version remains a very sought-after item and can often reach up to £35 per time in online gaming auctions.

Tetris on the latest iPod system

The latest incarnation of the Tetris series is adapted from a downloadableWiiWare title, and promises to be even more successful than its predecessor.

Screenshot from Tetris Party Deluxe

With over twenty different modes of play, Tetris Party Deluxe is definitely worth a try. Some of the more interesting modes include Bombliss, which challenges players to create lines with pieces which contain animated bombs. The bombs then create chain reactions of Tetris points.

Sprint is a standard time-challenge mode. Players must try to clear forty lines of blocks in the shortest time possible.

Master is one of the most difficult modes in the game and should only be attempted by hardcore Tetris fans. In this mode, the game starts on the fastest speed and the highest level, which means that blocks merely appear at the bottom of the screen and players only have a few seconds to sort the blocks into lines.

Tetris Party Deluxe (DS) features several game modes

 The game also features different multiplayer modes for up to eight players on a single game cartridge. Furthermore, DS players who are connected to the internet can also communicate with other players via the DS microphone in the new Tetris Battle Lobby.

Tetris Party Deluxe Trailer

At its heart, this puzzle title is still the same old Tetris repackaged for the next generation of gamers, that said, this DS title may yet prove to be the biggest and best collection of Tetris games ever produced. Old and new fans  of the series are bound to enjoy hours of fun with this game. Overall rating: 8/10

HAVE YOUR SAY...

Have you bought the new Tetris game? What do you think of the new game modes? Is Tetris still as appealing as it used to be?

Why not share your thoughts with other gamers on this site by leaving a comment in the comments box (or by clicking on the 'comments' text link in the main window)? We welcome your thoughts.

One To Watch: Patapon 3 (PSP)

The latest edition to the ever popular Patapon series is scheduled for release in early November 2010, and it is already shaping-up to be a really enjoyable game.

For those of you who are new to the world of Patapon, the game tells the story of a tribe of tiny creatures called - you guessed it - Patapons.

They are a defeated race of warriors who have been oppressed by their enemy the Zigotons until they are almost destroyed.

Tired and down-hearted, the remaining Patapons pray to their god, the Almighty to guide them with the use of the four Spiritual Drums.

Patapon 3 continues the saga of the Patapons in their quest to find the place they call Earthend and the contentment of the mysterious "IT".

The game itself has made some important changes and additions this time around. You can now choose which type of Hero warrior you wish to be at the start of the game.

There are three main classes of Patapon Warrior to choose from - Yumiyacha (bow and arrow warrior), Taterazay (a defence warrior with shields) or Yarida (a spear warrior).

Nevertheless, you have to choose carefully as each warrior will have its own special abilities which will either help or hinder your tribe throughout the game.

For example, the Yarida warriors can now throw twin flaming spears at the enemy, but this can also have the adverse affect of making the grass around the Patapons catch fire, which in turn, can also set your own tribe members alight.

Fever Mode has also been improved in Patapon 3. In the previous games it took at least eight consecutive successful rhythms to whip those little warriors into a frenzy, which at times was time consuming and difficult to achieve. 

It now only takes three consecutive successful rhythms to get your Patapons into fever mode, which is great news for all the casual gamers out there.

However, the biggest change to the third game is the addition of Infrastructure Mode to the Multiplayer portion of the game.

This means that as well as gaming with friends using Ad-hoc Mode, you can now instruct your PSP to find other Patapon 3 gamers online, so that you can play special co-op mission together.

The Infrastructure Mode is a great new feature. It even allows you to 'chat' to your fellow team members by using pre-selected phrases.

You can still equip and deploy your Patapons in the same manner as the previous games, but you now have a 'live' tribe to instruct and keep rhythm with, which adds to the fun.

Patapon 3: Teaser Trailer

However, there are a few teething problems with the new Infrastructure Mode  - the most common one being that you may not always have all the varied types of warrior needed to defeat the enemy.

For example, if your fellow players all tend to favour the Taterazay warrior you will ended up with three or more Patapons with shields but no warriors with arrows or spears, which is necessary when trying to complete the level.

Furthermore, it is possible for the Host to simply terminate the online game without warning, thereby ending the Multiplayer mission.

This can lead to confusion and frustration if you happen to be defeating the main enemy at the time and you suddenly find that the screen has gone black and a little pop-up message informs you that your Multiplayer session is now complete.

Nevertheless, the new modes and additions help to further the Patapon universe and do make for some really interesting an varied gameplay.

 If you can't wait for the game to be released and you have at least a spare 110 MB still left on your Memory Stick, then the multiplayer demo is now available to download from the Playstation Network Store. Take it from us - it is well worth a try!