Welltris

Welltris is certainly the finest arcade game we've played so far this year. It will take one heckuva program to top this one as far as its total play-to-dollar ratio, and we doubt whether many gamers will ever grow tired of playing Welltris. The challenge, sights, sounds, and constantly changing facets make this game an experience not to be missed.

Reviewed in the September issue on the Amiga, this "follow up" to the classic Tetris has made it across to the PC in all its glory. Gameplay is identical and all the usual PC options (CGA/EGA and additional soundboards) are catered for. As with the Amiga version, Welltris does not exactly stretch the machine to its limits, but similarly to Tetris, its addictivity relies on its simplicity. An essential puzzler for PC owners.

The Russian game that sent the West mad is back with a vengeance. For the uninitiated, Tetris involved manipulating falling coloured shapes so that when they landed they might form a line with other shapes. The concept of the sequel is similar, but it has been expanded.

A compulsive successor to Tetris

Welltris is a worthy successor to Tetris in that it plays well. The only trouble is that it doesn't quite have a quality feel about it. Perhaps it's simply those ill-making graphics. Anyway, it's different enough to make it worth buying if you forked out for the original. But if you didn't like Tetris, forget this 'un. It requires the same kind of reactions, logic and concentration.

Welltris ist sicher kein Geniestreich à la Tetris, trotzdem werden Denkspielfreunde zufrieden sein.

Hoppla, das kommt uns aber bekannt vor? Gab es da nicht vor einem halben Jahr ein prima Geschicklichkeitsspiel mit dem Namen "Block Out"? Da ist der gute Alexey Pajitnov ein bißchen zu spät gekommen, zumal das Konkurrenzprodukt eindeutig der Sieger ist. Nimmt man das geniale Spielprinzip von "Tetris" mal vier, dann heißt das noch lange nicht, daß sich auch der Spielspaß vervierfacht.

Sieht man von den hardwarebedingten Abstrichen an Grafik und Sound ab, ist Welltris auf dem C 64 ein nettes Grübelspiel für Zwischendurch. Block Out macht langfristig allerdings mehr Spaß.