Since its initial release in 1984, Soviet computer programmer Alexey Pajitnov’s Tetris has been adapted for just about any platform that can play games (and numerous platforms like oscilloscopes and buildings that ostensibly can’t). We can finally take this newest generation of consoles seriously as gaming devices with Ubisoft’s announcement of Tetris Ultimate, coming out in summer 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox, and in the fall for PC.
This latest instance of the classic game features six modes for up to four players. Marathon, Endless, Ultra, and Sprint provide variants on the traditional gameplay, placing restrictions on time, speed, and number of lines to clear. Battle and Power Up Battle square you off against friends for standard games or games amped up with power ups such as Carousel, to force your opponent’s well to shift after every move, or Let it Rain, to dump Tetrominoes all over their game.
Tetris Ultimate also features social integration for keeping track of your friends’ scores and challenges. Interestingly, the game records your gameplay, allowing you to play with or against recordings of your friends asynchronously, or view their strategies to figure out how they topped your high score. That’s in addition to the expected global leaderboards and challenges that show how you measure up against the world’s elite.
