bittos+ Review
Howdy:
- Unique take on the Tetris formula
- Play at your own pace
See Ya’:
- Can be hard at first to understand what you should be doing.
Any downloadable game service will be filled with puzzle games and WiiWare is no exception. In those markets if you want to be successful you have to create something completely unique and new that people haven’t seen before. Unconditional’s latest WiiWare offering bittos+ is exactly that.
While it may initially seem like a Tetris clone, mainly due to the use of the familiar Tetris pieces bittos+ puts a unique twist on a familiar formula for a completely new and interesting game that any puzzle fans should check out. You’re required to complete boxes of differing sizes beginning with small 2×2 squares and gradually getting bigger. In order to do this you place random pieces onto the game board and as the appropriate shape is created it is removed and your score increases. Be careful after you’ve placed your pieces though. If they spend too long on the board without being removed they will turn red and freeze in place. Once this happens the only way to remove them is by completing a bitto in an adjacent set of squares that will catch the frozen piece in the explosion. Placing pieces so that they continue the bitto chain will award you with score multipliers. Any piece that is placed properly to continue the chain will be accompanied by a chime letting you know the chain continues. There are a number of audio and visual cues in the game to help keep you on track for a higher and higher score. It’s not one of those things you may notice at first, but the first time you place a piece and you don’t hear the chime you wonder what’s happened. It’s a very nice touch that many puzzle games should adopt.
There are three different play modes that you can choose to participate in. The first is the Adventure Mode where you can play through the game’s 80 levels which are broken up into 8 different levels with 10 stages each. There is no story to speak of and the make up of the levels seems to be simply to give a beginning and an end to the game, which is unusual for a puzzle game. There is also a Time attack mode where you can choose between three different times and rack up as many points as possible in that time limit. The last mode is the Survival mode which is simply and endless gameplay mode where you play as long as you can until you’re game ends.
One of the beautiful aspects of the Wii system is the variety of control options and bittos+ takes full advantage of those. You can choose to play with the Wii Remote on its side using the d-pad to move your pieces and the 1 & 2 buttons to rotate and set pieces on the board. You can also use the Wii Remote pointer and point to where you want pieces placed. The B button will then be used to rotate with the A button setting pieces in place. You also have the option of using the Nunchuk attachment for controlling movement and you can also plug in the Classic Controller for even more options. Some of these control methods, such as the Wii Remote as a pointer are only available in the lower difficulty setting.
While it may seem daunting at first and a bit confusing you will very quickly get the hang of what you are supposed to be doing and you’ll find the game taking on a new life and new level of enjoyment once the gameplay clicks with you. Fans of achievements or trophies have plenty to look forward to in bittos+. While you can’t share your accomplishments with your friends over the internet there are a number of awards given for expert players. Gaining multiple combo chains will gain you trophies and creating large bittos will also be accompanied with a nice in game achievement. Puzzle fans, or people looking for a unique game should definitely give bittos+ a look.
Final Score: 4/5 Above Average
Review copy of the game provided by Unconditional.
