Software Review: Tetris

Tetris

There are a number of video games that could exist described equally a classic, but possibly none more than so than Tetris. The game that instantly brings to heed images of St. Basil'due south Cathedral and Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy had appeared on near every calculating platform and has spawned endless variations and spin-offs.

Tetris for Windows Telephone 7 is an Xbox Live game developed by one of the biggest names in gaming, Electronic Arts. With a classic game like Tetris, at that place's no question about the entertainment value of the game itself; the real question is how well the platform lends itself to the game-play. The total review is after the break.

Tetris - Main Menu

Controls

Tetris for Windows Telephone vii offers a couple of options for moving and rotating the pieces. Borer different areas of the screen will rotate your pieces in different directions, and swiping to the left or right will move the piece beyond the screen. Swiping downward on the screen volition "hard drop" your piece, meaning it drops direct down and you have no farther opportunity to movement information technology to either side; y'all can also slide your finger down the screen slowly to perform a "soft drop", allowing you the opportunity to move the slice afterward. You can also swipe upwardly to hold the current piece for later use.

I personally still prefer hardware buttons for Tetris if I accept the choice, only the touch-screen controls are reasonably easy to dispense, and there is almost no learning curve.

Tetris - Feats

Features

In add-on to the play-until-you-lose Marathon mode, there are a number of "Variant" modes that offer a number of different twists that add meaning difficulty to proceed even the most die-difficult Tetris fan on their toes.

Ane thing that I REALLY liked about Tetris that I haven't seen in any of the other Xbox Live games that I've played is that the game provides you with feedback on your progress towards your Xbox Live achievements. For example, i of the achievements is earned when you accrue m lines. You lot can easily find out how many lines yous have accomplished to that indicate, and accommodate your playing style in order to reach your achievements more quickly.

Tetris - Statistics

Conclusion

Tetris has been one of my favorite games for many years, and Electronic Arts has washed a very expert job of making this version extremely playable despite the limitations on hardware controls; though I practise still accept some trouble with the controls as the game starts to get faster. The improver of the Variants is especially highly-seasoned for someone like me who has played Tetris on numerous platforms for and then long that the standard game mode starts to get a piffling one-time.

My only real knock on Tetris is that at $4.99 it is i of the more expensive Xbox Live titles available; and though it'south a lot of fun, it doesn't compare in scope to games similar Need for Speed (also $4.99) or The Harvest ($half dozen.99). I would've liked to see the pricing closer to the $two.99 mark, merely even at the electric current price I remember information technology's one of those games that volition appeal to a lot of those casual gamers out there. My recommendation is to grab the free trial and see how fast your habit takes hold.

An internet connection will soon be required when setting up Windows 11 Pro

UH OH

An internet connexion will soon be required when setting upwardly Windows xi Pro

Microsoft has announced that afterward this year, users will be required to connect to the internet and sign-in with a Microsoft Account during the out of box setup experience on Windows 11 Pro. Microsoft has already been enforcing this requirement on Windows 11 Home since launch last October, and Windows 11 Pro is now expected to follow suit soon.