Tetris Zone

Pros

• Contains four clever approaches to a classic game
• Loaded with nostalgic imagery and music
• Easy to operate

Cons

• Looks more outdated than it is
• Fun music quickly becomes grating
• Only the trial is free

Tetris Zone provides a radical retro romp through the challenging worlds of a classic digitial delight. This blocky puzzle game is a tricky thrill for witty minds and clever thinkers. Plus, the purposefully outdated graphics recall nostalgia for the original era of entertaining virtual interactions.

Players receive a full dose of quirky imagery from the late 1980s. The excessive abundance of pixels in the title screen are purely for aesthetic purposes, and the visual details pick up sharp definitions once the actual game has started. Overall, the display is an eye-catching mix between old school gaming and modern programming.

The menu is succinct and helpful. Keys are incredibly easy to program and switch. Difficulty settings pretty much only adjust the speed of descent, but this is useful for learning the rules. Meanwhile, music options are delightfully offbeat. With a score that heavily utilizes techno MIDI tracks, an anachronistic tribute is completed. The high-pitched looping can become excruciatingly repetitive during long intervals of play time; therefore, it may be wiser to mute the tunes in favor of a personal playlist. This substitution can stave off many future migraines.

There are four distinct modes of Tetris for players fro, which players can choose. Marathon is the version that most closely resembles the iconic original. Here, players simply try to withstand 15 levels of rapidly accelerating madness. Challenge is a twist on the previous mode that adds a timer to the ordeal. Gamers only have 10 minutes to amass high scores in this section, and surpassing 120 seconds on any given stage is grounds for disqualification. Then, there is Sprint, which is a recorded race to clearing 40 lines. Finally, the truly elite Tetris fans can pursue Master mode. The main change for this last rule book is the inclusion of blocks that drop instantly, so a usual approach consisting of slowly guided motions will certainly fail.

In all of the aforementioned game varieties, controller input remains the same. All of the changes that occur are mainly assessed during assembly and scoring. This is welcome news for long-time Tetris aficionados. Even though alternate variations of Tetris do a disservice to veterans of the on-screen sport, they have become the norm in today's gaming industry. Luckily, this title was clearly crafted to preserve the refined integrity of the game. Every generation of gamer can find something to love in this release.

Installing the program is a cinch, too. The process practically takes care of itself, so users can just click the affirmative button to get going. The trial has plenty of fun features, but the bulk of the action is limited until the software has been activated.

Pros

• Contains four clever approaches to a classic game
• Loaded with nostalgic imagery and music
• Easy to operate

Cons

• Looks more outdated than it is
• Fun music quickly becomes grating
• Only the trial is free