Blockheads of the world, unite!

Hey, it's Tetris. New to this version, though, is a backstory with all-new characters searching for a safe planet before their sun goes supernova.

Welcome to Planet Tetris

Hence you travel to six different planets (essentially, different backgrounds), five of which feature a unique twist on the basic Tetris rules.

* Deneb, the Forest planet. Yer basic Tetris rules here.
* Mira: Mountains. In Square Tetris, you'll earn extra points for clearing lines that contain part of a four-by-four square, in which all the blocks are the same color.
* Aludra: Ocean. In Cascade Tetris, you will get extra points if you clear a line, then the falling blocks clear an additional line. This sounds a lot like the chains and combos in Pokémon Puzzle League.
* Antares: Volcanic. In Sticky Tetris, your main goal is to clear a bottom line of garbage blocks. If 25 blocks of the same color connect, they will clear.
* Talitha: On the Cloud planet, Hot-Line Tetris is the order of the day. The matrix is marked with horizontal lines. Cover one of these lines with blocks, then clear it to earn extra points. The higher the line, the more points you'll earn.
* Unukalhai, the Ice planet, where a game of Fusion Tetris calls on you to connect falling "Atom" blocks to the "Fusion" block below.

You can see as many as six upcoming Tetriminos, or shapes. You can also save a Tetrimino for later use. Each type of Tetrimino has a unique color. For example, the four-by-one column is baby blue.

Controls for Tetris have always been very much a matter of personal taste. Unfortunately, Tetris Worlds only gives you two very similar Controller configurations. Watch out for that Y Button -- in either configuration, if you press it by accident, your Tetrimino will "hard drop" (i.e. plummet) to the bottom.

Graphics and Sound

To repeat: It's Tetris. Nevertheless, developer Radical Entertainment has done a nice job with the look of this venerable standby. The Tetriminos shimmer alluringly, lines clear in colorful explosions, and the opening cinema sequence is a pretty piece of futuristic corn. Adding to the inevitable retro feel of any Tetris title is a techno score that's straight out of a mid-1980s disco.

Tetris Worlds also includes two multiplayer modes for as many as four players. In Race Mode, your goal is to beat your rivals to completing certain objectives. In Knock-out Mode, clearing lines on your side builds up inert garbage blocks on your rivals'. Both versions allow handicaps, but are short on options.

Bottom Line

At the risk of sounding boring, we got one last thing to say: It's Tetris. You can't really go wrong with this classic. If you want a version that looks nice on your big-screen TV, Tetris Worlds fills the bill.