For those who have not played Tetris before, here's a quick run down. Coloured blocks of different shapes and sizes fall from above. Your aim is to guide them as they fall so that they slot into each other to form complete lines. Each time a line is formed, it disappears and you are awarded a number of points. The blocks above it fall down to fill the space. Gameplay continues until the pile of blocks reaches the top of the playing area. This ends the game in some versions of Tetris, in others it merely results in the playing area being cleared and you lose a life.
Is Tetris II Strikes Back is "just" another Tetris clone? Well yes and no... Yes, it does include a faithful recreation of the original BUT also offers an alternative type of game which has a strategic element built-in along with a number of extras, making it more of a challenge than the original ever was. Tetris II Strikes Back (sorry about the long-winded name, Beast Software chose it, not us!) is in fact several game styles built into a single easy to use interface. The games on offer are Tetris Normal (the original game) and Tetris II, the modern day version. In Tetris II, each level sets you a challenge (for example you must destroy three lines at once, destroy two lines four times and destroy five single lines) and you must complete this challenge to progress to the next. The given tasks vary and get tougher with each new level. In addition, most levels already have blocks placed in the playing area and these must be destroyed fast to avoid a rapid decline in your chances of survival. Some can be eliminated in the usual manner, others need to be bombed, certain blocks are simply indestructable!
In addition to chosing Tetris Normal or Tetris II, you can select which game Type you wish to play. There are two types on offer. The first is as described above and the second (available in both Tetris Normal and Tetris II) furnishes your armoury with four bombs. These can be guided like missiles and used to target "problem areas". These are not atomic devices (they destroy the targetted area only, not the entire playing field), so use them wisely. Extra bombs can be earned by destroying three lines in a single operation.
Control is by keyboard or joystick. When in two player mode, you both play simultaneously on opposite sides of an enlarged playing area. Other features include passwords for every level (allowing you to recommence play from the last level achieved), excellent music (a compilation of old pop tunes) for ST/STe owners and user definable keyboard control. When running from floppy, no further disk accesses are made after the game has loaded (except for saving the highscore table. The game is hard drive installable. Tetris II Strikes Back runs on any ST or STe with at least 1Mb of memory and includes a printed manual. A TT/Falcon compatible version is also available. Please state which version is required when ordering. Tetris II Strikes Back is available now for just eight pounds + P&P (UK one pound, Europe two pounds, ROW three pounds). Payment can be made by credit card (Visa, Access, Mastercard, Eurocard accepted) or UK cheque/PO. Overseas customers not paying by credit card should make payment in UK pounds sterling using a cheque drawn on a UK bank, International Money Order, Post Giro, American Express Money Order or Canadian Postal Order.
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email: sdelaney@steil.wintermute.co.uk