Tetris Party Deluxe Hands-On

At a separate meeting that was not part of the Nintendo media summit, we had a chance to sit down with Casey Pelkey from Tetris Online Inc. to talk about Tetris Party Deluxe, which is coming out on the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. At the end of 2008, Tetris Party came out on WiiWare and had all of your traditional modes, as well as some new ones to keep things fresh. By now, many of us have seen multiple iterations of this classic game, but for those who just can't get enough, Tetris Party Deluxe adds even more to the previous WiiWare game--so much so that it will be sold in stores with the DS version.

On top of the modes that have been carried over from the previous game, Deluxe adds Bombliss, which is a mode where you have to clear everything onscreen using the bombs that are embedded in the tetriminoes. A large bomb at the bottom of the screen will set off a chain reaction if you set it off. You can also edit your own levels, as well as choose where you want to lay out your pieces and bomb. Sprint mode has also been added and is a fast-paced clear-40-lines game, which you can also play against three other players locally. For hardcore Tetris players, Master mode will put your skills to the test by having tetriminoes suddenly appear when they would normally be dropped, with a very limited amount of time to rotate and place them.

Such modes as Field Climber haven't been changed, other than the fact that there is an Everest option where you can climb continuously with no goal in sight. The same goes for Stage Racer (now compatible with the Wii wheel), where you can turn on the Abyss option and maneuver your tetrimino in a never-ending race. A fun but tricky mode is Shadow, in which you place random-sized pieces in the grid to fill up the shadow, without going outside of the image. Now you can create your own picture and share them with friends.

The Wii version will support the balance board once again and have the same modes that were available from the WiiWare game. The DS version is essentially the same game as the one on the Wii, with the exception of the balance board capabilities (obviously) and the co-op vs. co-op mode, which is another new addition for the Wii game where you can break off into teams of two. The beginner Tetris is still included for those who want to ease their way into this addictive game without worrying about annoying S-shaped pieces.

The Wii version will support Wii Speak and Miis. You can play with up to five people online, even those who own the original Tetris Party. Tetris Party Deluxe on the DS will let you play with up to eight players as in the original Tetris DS with just one game card. You can also play online and battle against up to four players. If you happened to miss out on Tetris Party, it is worth taking a look at because it features some great new modes and is a fun multiplayer experience.

Look for Tetris Party Deluxe on the Nintendo Wii and DS on June 8.