Given the recent influx of shovelware on the Nintendo eShop — both on the 3DS and Wii U — it seems like the right time for new developers to ask themselves an important question before taking the plunge into the indie scene: why? There are already hundreds of thousands of games out there in the wild, doing many different variations on a select number of time-tested themes, and so it becomes crucial when starting a project to have a purpose in mind. Will you try for outright innovation, aiming to take gamers on a journey the likes of which they've never experienced before? Will you keep to the traditions of classic gaming, putting your own unique flair into the level design or the way the character controls? These are questions that any game developer should ask themselves before putting their project out to consumers — questions that are clearly not being asked by developers like this, whose Heptrix is a bleak, depressing, cynical retread of Tetris, the game that helped put Game Boy on the map back in 1989.
Like the classic Russian block-stacking title, Heptrix tasks you with organizing falling block formations inside a grid. Forming a full line of blocks across one row of the grid will clear it, netting you points. The "twist" here — although it can hardly be called that at all — is that there are seven blocks in each formation; that's about it. Even the description on Nintendo's official website can't make the game sound interesting (and yes, this is reproduced verbatim):
- Clear 7 lines to complete the level.
- Each piece landed give 7 points. Each line cleared 70 points and increase exponentially by the numbers of simultaneous lines.
- At every level completed, the speed increases.
That's really all there is to Heptrix. Unfortunately, it stumbles in a few basic areas that make the gameplay — even as basic as it is — pretty frustrating. First of all, the distance from the top of the grid to the bottom seems awfully long when you start placing block arrangements, making it often difficult to line up where the blocks will land with just your eyes. Other games have solved this problem with a "shadow" appearing to indicate what the formation will look like when it's in place, but that helpful feature is nowhere to be found here.
In addition, Heptrix mishandles the "quick drop" option that allows you to speed up the block formations' descent by pressing down on the analogue stick. In most block-dropping games you have the option to stop pressing down to return the blocks to their normal speed, but there's no way to do that in this case. This means that if you notice your formation is misaligned after you've already triggered the quick drop, you'll be totally helpless as it crashes down to the wrong spot. Simply put, if you've ever played Tetris or a similarly-themed game before, you'll undoubtedly find controlling these blocks unsatisfying by comparison.
Like some other Shop titles, the thing about Heptrix that nails its coffin firmly shut is the presentation. Tetris games — and titles taking inspiration from them — aren't exactly demanding on the aesthetic front, but these are about as depressingly bare-bones as video game graphics get. A limp title screen is all that separates you from the single mode, a title screen that cannot be returned to even when you lose and the game cringe-inducingly declares "Congratulation" alongside your high score (though considering it only offers one mode, it stands to reason that you'd have no need to return to the title screen anyway). Worst of all, the game doesn't even offer a way to save or display high scores — so you might want to have a pen and paper handy to keep track of your best efforts. It's an inexplicable oversight in a game that is, quite frankly, chock-full of oversights.
Conclusion
Heptrix is a dismal, barren bit of shovelware that doesn't even offer enough content to justify its budget price tag. It's little more than an adequate replication of far superior titles at best, and it embarrassingly misses the opportunity to include key features and modes that made said games more fun years ago. With Tetris Ultimate skipping Wii U, it may be tempting to get your console fix of the Russian classic through this cheap release, but remain steadfast — surely something will come along that beats Heptrix at its own game. After all, almost anything could.
Comments 22
zzz....
Ach! Had a nightmare about more shovelware!
Oh...
i give up..... and so do
Heptrix sounds like an STD
Remember kids, only you can prevent shovelware!
Bummer, this felt like a legitimate Tetris clone at first glance.
I might give this a try ... if it is at half price.
I have played worse and had fun.
But it does seem like a large missed opportunity.
Some of this stuff looks even worse than the shovelware that was on WiiWare. Now that takes effort to be that bad.
Because they like making video games, possibly as a side hobby, and figure they might as well put something out there. The chance of a modicum of money is a nice incentive.
Mobile devices' app stores sound like the better homes for this, though it seems progressively more like the eShop isn't much different from one of those.
@BearClaus I would agree, except I believe that developers who truly enjoy making games always try to bring something of their own to the table. This doesn't guarantee their game will be a masterpiece, but they try nevertheless. With this recent influx of shovelware, I feel there's absolutely no effort involved at all. These are, at best, C-grade homework assignments from a beginner's class in game design.
I firmly believe that the worst game driven by passion will always be more interesting than the best cynical cash-in. At least then you're given the opportunity to wonder what motivated the creation. Here, I know pretty much exactly what motivated it — the need for attention and the chance to make a quick buck off of someone else's idea.
Lol, I was going to buy this, but fortunately my copy of Tetris Ultimate showed up in the mail the day this came out, so now I won't have to.
I downloaded this the other night. I haven't had a chance to play it yet. To be perfectly fair, don't expect a lot from $1.99 games.
They couldn't even use an appealing custom font.
I'm willing to bet this version is inherently flawed because of its use of Heptonimoes. Please tell me it doesn't use all 108 of them!? It must be a nightmare trying to get them to tesselate properly!
I suddenly feel like eating multicoloured 'fruit flavoured' cereal...
@nightmaremoon This is what happens when developers have unplanned game creation, see how their child has been neglected?
@edhe dat times new roman
I played it. It's mediocre to the max but it is entertaining. It's really a dollar game and nothing more. It's sad that if we want Tetris in our Wii U we must play boring clones because the arrogant 3d parties feel they are too big to give us a proper quality game.
Was hoping for a decent Tetris Clone. But your review makes it pretty clear this isn't it. Glad you guys used the full scale of the 1 to 10 scoring spectrum.
That 'Silly Rabbit' thing... I know it's U.S.American and I know it's a common reference over there but, well, could someone please explain it to me? I'm 35 years old and I've never understood it!
@minotaurgamer or fire up Tetris Party through the Wii channel.
@cornishlee
It's simply referencing a popular phrase for a cereal commercial. With Trix there was an animated rabbit trying to take some cereal from kids. The rabbit would always get caught by the children no matter his disguise with the kids all saying simutaneously: Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids.
Other cereal american slogans include: Lucky charms are magically delicious and Frosted Flakes are Grrr-eat.
@brandonbwii
Thanks! I never would have guessed it was from an advert! I think I kind of assumed it was from some cherished children's classic.
Well I feel better about the 4.5 I gave this game on my website. I felt like I was a bit harsh but at least I wasn't the "harshest". The lack of soft drop was the biggest killer of the game.
Tap here to load 22 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...