Lawrence.com

QuickView

Good: It's the Tetris you know and love

Bad: $30 might be a bit pricey for what's essentially the same game it was decades ago

Why: Wasn't this an Xbox Live Arcade title?

Like most videogame fans, I love Tetris. There really aren't many negative things you can say about it. It's the first big puzzle phenomenon, and it's still fun to this day. However, I don't know if I can justify spending $30 on a title that's been released time and time again in essentially the same form. Sure, this 360 version is online and features some extra modes, but this title would have been better suited as a $10 XBLA game.

The main difference between any version of Tetris is usually the presentation. The portable Tetris DS presented the game better than any other. It had online play, as well as some excellent Nintendo-based backgrounds and levels that didn't distract you from the gameplay. Tetris Evolution for the 360, however, features several backgrounds that actually made it harder to play.

There are tons of different backgrounds and player icons to choose from, and the backgrounds are videos by default. Before I played for the first time, I selected the lightning background. Within a couple minutes of playing, I noticed that the constant bolts covering my screen were noticeably distracting me from the task at hand. It's not just the lightning one, either. I had the same problem with most of the other ones, including rolling clouds and giraffes. Luckily, you can change the options so they display as slideshows or mere pictures.

Outside of that bit of visual flair, there's nothing new here. The actual game matrix takes up a tiny portion of a standard HDTV, and there is absolutely nothing within the disc that should have kept this from being an Arcade title. $30 may be "budget priced" compared to most 360 games, but it's far too expensive for this game. Online play is nice, but it's not enough to make up for the pricing mistake.

Graphics: 5.0

Sound: 6.5

First Play: 8.0

Replay Value: 7.5

Gameplay: 7.0

Overall: 6.5