[05.08.11] Review: 'Colorful Tetris (HD)'

jfmsoft.com

jfmsoft.com

Colorful Tetris (HD) for Android

Rating:

2 Stars

Everybody loves Tetris; and you wouldn’t think it was possible to really mess it up. Unfortunately for Colorful Tetris (HD), it pulls off that outstanding feat. The game presents itself in a pleasant way, promising a high definition user interface compatible with tablets and sporting relaxing classical music to play too, however everything else just seems to fall short.

The Good:

The graphics are gorgeous and the soundtrack compliments it nicely, but that alone isn’t going to get you anywhere. Colorful Tetris (HD) also has a convenient dedicated pause button on the side next to the help, sound toggle, and back button.

The Bad:

The developer disgraces the Tetris name. Throwing authenticity out the window, Colorful Tetris (HD)has its own random color scheme where any block can be any color instead of giving each tetromino a unique color to keep it easily identifiable. The playing field is also 15 blocks wide, 5 more than the original game’s ten block spread. Although the soundtrack is nice, it isn't the original or a reimagination of the original.

The Ugly:

The controls are utterly horrible, and make the game virtually unplayable. Each control has an invisible button that shows up for about 5 seconds at the start of the game, or any time you press the help button. This wouldn’t be all that bad if the buttons lined up with features on the UI, however the most important part, the left and right arrows, do not. Throughout the course of the game, you’ll find yourself frequently missing the buttons, and in a game where speed and accuracy is crucial, something as little as that can break the game completely.

Bottom Line:

Colorful Tetris (HD) is a free download, so don’t be afraid to check it out for yourself, however if you’re a serious Tetris gamer, I suggest you look elsewhere to get your Tetris fix. Once you get into later rounds with tetrominoes blazing across the screen, you’ll find yourself way too frustrated to keep playing.

Colorful Tetris (HD) was created by jfmsoft for the Android operating system. It’s a free download in the Android Marketplace.