Good entry in Tetris franchise, but falls short in online play...

Another puzzle game has been released on WiiWare?! There are a couple of sure things in life. The sun will come out at some point. The sky will always be blue. Puzzle games will be consistently released on WiiWare. WiiWare is home to tons of cheap, cash-in, puzzle games that will never be remembered (with the exception of World of Goo). There is one puzzle game though that seems to stand the test of time, no matter where or when it is released. Yes, I’m talking about Tetris. In this version of the legend of all puzzle games, there are plenty of single and offline multiplayer options to go around. The graphics are bright and fit the game. The familiar music everyone loves from the original Tetris is still there, but there are lots of other tunes as well. The only real letdown here was… the online mode.

I tried to hate this game. The whole concept sounds dull on paper. A bunch of odd shapes fall out of nowhere and one tries to arrange them so they fit. How is that fun? It shouldn’t be, but it is. The classic Marathon mode remains a solid fixture. It’s fun to see how many lines you can get. Sure, it might be agonizing to get 200 lines only to see your luck suddenly crumble. But the urge to do it again and see if you can get to 201 lines is overwhelming.  
 

There are plenty of other single player options as well, five in all. The one I found most satisfying was Field Climber. In here, the blocks have to be arranged in a way to help this little stick figure-like person climb to the top. When the path is too steep for him to climb, then no progress is made. Some of the lines will have to be cleared in order to make a smoother path. There’s a great feeling of accomplishment when that figure gets up there, knowing you created that gently sloping mountain of blocks. Stage Racer was also a good idea to include. The idea of moving a block through a course as fast as possible seems simple in nature, but it gives a much needed break from the deep concentration the other modes require. The least fun option is Shadow, where the blocks have to match exactly the shape of the shadow in the background. When a mistake is made while playing Shadow, the amount of time taken to fix that small misplaced block is not worth the effort. But who knows, maybe others will like Shadow.
 
Then there is multiplayer. Most of the single player options appear here again and can be chosen as a multiplayer game for up to four players. The standard VS Battle option is the first option. As always, playing in a match against friends or even the computer is a blast. There are also some extra modes such as Co-op Tetris and Duel Spaces, both of which are fun. When there aren’t any friends around, the computer can be the partner in both of these. But I wouldn’t recommend teaming up with the computer for Co-op, as it just seems to get in the way too much. In Duel Spaces, the blocks have to be arranged in a way that creates an enclosed space between them. It gives a nice change of pace to the game in the same way Stage Racer does. In all, there are seven different ways to play this game in offline multiplayer. That is pretty good and will satisfy those who aren’t into online play.  
 

It’s a mystery that all of the extra options don’t exist for online play. The only type of game during online play is regular VS Battle with two players, which would be just fine for me, but would it have been so hard to include Field Climber or one of the many other extra ways of playing? It also continues to be frustrating that one can’t communicate with random opponents. Their Mii name can’t even be seen while playing. There are leaderboards at least. Also, the amount of time it takes to connect to a random opponent seems a lot shorter than most Wii games. Even with the online flaws, it is still Tetris, no matter how limiting the online options seem. It is still the amazing puzzle game that glued everyone to their old Game Boys back in the day. Once you hear that familiar, catchy tune for the first time in years while playing Marathon, you’ll forget about the online shortcomings. Even if by some chance a single player only Tetris was ever released, it would be hard to write a too critical review because the underlying structure of what makes Tetris fun is hard to ruin. Think of any other options as icing on the cake.

The fact that online play admittedly could have been better is sadly true of tons of Wii titles. Thankfully, the multitude of offline options in Tetris Party will keep anyone busy for hours, unlike the lack of things to do offline in Bomberman Blast for example. The other puzzle games on WiiWare don’t stand a chance against Tetris. Heck, most of the other puzzle games on WiiWare don’t even have online play. So maybe I was nitpicking on that part. Download this title. Play this game. Then enjoy the wonderful blue sky.