Wetrix+

Dreamcast

Acclaim/Xicat- 1998

Wetrix+, that's right, "+". What is the plus? I don't know, but it must be pretty cool because plain old Wetrix never even got made. And you don't even want to hear about Wetrix-, ouch. Let's just say I'll never think of Koalas the same way again. Uhhhh . . . yeah.

The game plays like this: Water drops onto a flat landscape. You must raise land using Tetris shaped pieces. By raising up a "lake," you can contain the water. You lose when too much water has fallen off your stage. In addition to the "upper" pieces, you get pieces that lower land, evaporate water, and bombs. Bombs are bad because they break holes in the ground.

Alrighty, what's next? Oh, yeah. Normally in a puzzle game the one player mode is for only-children and social outcasts, this game is the same way. But it's actually fun one player. Instead of being a sad outcast, you will be an entertained outcast. That is because it isn't just multi-player against the computer, it is actually a little different. There are a couple of modes and difficulties to mix things up.

2 player is, of course, where this game shines. The head-to-head action gets pretty intense. Not only do you compete to build the best lakes, but you interact as well. You build up attack power by evaporating water. Build up enough and you can launch attacks that drop water or bombs, cause earthquakes, and even . . . FREEZE THEIR WATER! (Bum bum bummmm) We can't really figure out what the point is. All it really does is keep their water from flowing away.

What I liked: I must tip my hat to these guys because this is a very original game. It passed up the matching colors style for a more interesting, yet equally simple idea: contain the water. I also like the way the game gets harder as you go. It would have gotten really old if it didn't change.

What I disliked: The player 2 side. The colors are such that you can't tell what is raised and what is flat. This results in countless holes in your wall which remain undetected until you try to fill the thing with water.

What to expect: A high-quality puzzle game: easy to get into, harder to get good at. Expect a little frustration if you are on the player-2 side because the colors stink bot.

What not to expect: An easy game, ever. While it is simple, it never gets too easy.

What sets it apart from the genre: No color matching. Wetrix doesn't use color coordination of any kind. Also, it is 3D, most puzzle games are 2D.

Ratings on:

Controls: 8 - Eveything I needed to play. Though, it was hard to line the pieces up just right.

Graphics: 4 - While puzzle games are usually uninspired, these were actually pretty bad. It was often hard to tell what was happening with the water.

Sound: 4 - Once again, not the puzzle games' strong point.

Style: 7 - It definitely has style.

2nd hour: 7 - 1 player or 2 player, it's still fun.

5th hour: 8 - We just learned about the attacks, even better.

1st week: 7 - Good when you just don't know what to play.

1st month: 6 - I still enjoy a couple of games every once in a while.

#1 thing I hate about this game: Re-bomb!

by Sundu with creativity ensued by Elan