The Final Word game review

Tetris Attack -- Nintendo

The latest in a long line of Tetris games, Nintendo's Tetris Attack for the Super NES adds a new realm of possibilites to the challenge. In this title, Bowser and his minions have kidnapped all of Yoshi's friends, and now it's your job as Yoshi to save them. Face off against each foe in the puzzle challenge -- only a true master will survive.

R.I.P.
Ok, to date, this was the most addictive Tetris type game I've ever played. I think I must have blown nearly a week (as did one of the other staff members here) in hammering at this game, and I solved a good part of the title in the process. Graphics are decent for a puzzler, and the sound was above average due to good music along with great overall effects. The one big problem was how the game kept enticing you with bonuses under "Vs. Computer" mode, so that you would play the next skill level and then didn't pay off with a special ending (which I finally gave up on trying to achieve). Very un-Nintendo like to be sure, but since Salamander was actually the one who finally managed to pull it off, I'll relinquish complaining rights (grin). All-in-all, while I was frustrated at the time, I soon let the whole issue slide and I feel I should highly recommend this game to puzzle fans. Salamander on the other hand, who solved the game at around 5 A.M. one morning, presented me with the wonderful job of preventing an ugly phone call to Nintendo at 8 A.M. to tear off someone's ear. As for the other game modes, all of them were pretty fun, and solving them was a satisfying challenge. Oh, and just so I don't go out on a bad comment, I must say that this game gave me a good feeling of satisfaction at one point when I went back and played "Endless" mode after having spent countless hours on playing "Vs. Computer" and then had absolutely no problem with stages that only a few days before I had written off as beyond my dexterity skills. Cool.

Salamander
The stuff I liked: Although essentially another Tetris/Poyo Poyo knock-off, the play mechanics were more unique than most. The game is also extremely fast-paced, forcing you to use complex moves just to keep up. The computer gets pretty fearsome, and when you both get going it's something like if you could watch Norton Speed Defrag run on a Cray. Plenty of game modes provided for a lot of variety, too. The stuff I didn't like: Ooooh, somewhere there is a programmer-type I would really like to beat senseless with a pillowcase half-full of soap. As you solve each section/mode the game consistently rewards you with Easter-eggs and other treats. All throughout the "Vs. Computer" mode, it hints to truly beat Bowser, you have to play it through without continuing as Yoshi on "Hardest" difficulty (which you can't even open until you get the hint at the end of "Hard". Ok, fine; that's cool. In the other levels, it keeps saying how cool yellow Yoshi is, so I have my buck on the table if it through on "Hardest" maybe I can play as yellow Yoshi. So I beat my head senselessly against a brick wall ("Hardest" is REALLY damn hard) and finally solved it. Do I get to play as yellow Yoshi? Nooo. Do I get a special animation, or hint, or other treat? Nooo. Just a sentence saying "let's go play under clear blue skies yackitty smackitty blah blah blah" and "The End" in Japanese. What gives!?! The game tricks you into playing that insane level with no continues by constantly rewarding you, and at the end it gives you nothing. I EARNED MY COOKIE. WHERE THE HELL IS IT? Overall: So as not to end this review on a sour note, Tetris Attack is a really great game. It's fiendishly fast-paced, and when you're ready to slow it down the puzzle-mode is good fun, too.

>>>>> 41.5/50 <<<<<		R.I.P.	Salamander
Graphics		3.5	3.5
Sound		4.5	4.0
Gameplay/Control		4.5	4.0
Longevity/Playability		4.5	4.5
Overall		4.5	4.0
Total		21.5	20.0

(09/96)