Classic Tetris was truly one of the greatest games ever in that ANYBODY could play it. Even people that didn't usually play video games like moms, dads, and grandparents could pick up Tetris and play because it was a very simple and very addictive game.

Tetrisphere throws the game into the world of 3D with a slightly different approach. Rather than blocks that fall into a well, the blocks now cover a sphere in multiple layers. Rather than making a straight line of blocks across the well, you must match up blocks of the same shape to make them disappear. The goal of the game is to break enough blocks so that the core of the sphere is exposed, and a little robot dude can break free. However as the levels increase, the robots get larger, so you must uncover more blocks. Also there is a timer that gives a limit to how long you can wait before dropping a block. If the timer runs out or you drop a block in the wrong place, you get a strike. Three strikes = game over.

Learning Curve:
This game doesn't have quite the pick-up and play quality of the original Tetris. It doesn't make sense at first, and is kind of hard to explain. But, like the Matrix, "You have to see it for yourself." Fortunately, there is a very good tutorial that explains the game very well. And while Tetrisphere might not be as easy to pick up and play as normal Tetris, the game is MUCH deeper, and fans of puzzle games will eat it up. Once you get the hang of the basic game, try the advanced tutorial to learn about how to do combos to rack up major points.

Modes of play:
Although they are all similar, there are many different ways to play. The modes are:

Single Player:
Rescue: Basic game, just rescue the robot from the center of the sphere. About 10 levels with 10 sublevels each, all progressively harder.

Hide and Seek: A variant of Rescue, there are several different types of game in this mode. most of them involve uncovering multiple pictures of the robots.

Puzzle: Brainiacs, your game has arrived. In this mode, speed and accuracy don't matter. You have to clear all the blocks on the screen using only a certain number of slides or drops. Some of these can be VERY confusing.

Time Trial: This is a frantic 5 minute race to get as many points as you can. You definitely want to use combos here, as they will increase your score multiplier.

VS CPU: This is like multiplayer, but just for one person against the computer. There are many levels to play here as well.

Multiplayer: There are also modes for 2 players to play against each other. The biggest difficulty here may be finding a worthy opponent because of the learning curve.

Practice: This mode doesn't have any limits or levels and is just for getting used to the play system.


Graphics: The graphics are very clear. Nothing mind-blowing, but it is easy to tell the pieces apart, which is good.

Sound: One of the highlights of the game is it's incredible techno soundtrack. Easily one of the best on the N64. Most tracks are very upbeat, some a bit more ambient. All very good. If electronic music isn't your thing, you might not like it, but I found it to be very good.

Control: Tetrisphere is one of the few N64 games to exclusively use the D-pad rather than the analog stick. This is good because you have to move the sphere/blocks an exact number of positions to get a match. Other than that, you use the A button to drop pieces and B to move them.


All in all, an excellent puzzle game. Very fresh and innovative and a good addition to the franchise. However, if you don't like puzzle games, and would rather mindlessly blast aliens or something, this game might not be for you.

Recommended: Yes