With EA's acquisition of PopCap Games, home of popular puzzle titles Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies, the studio has begun its shift into the social realm that has seen a reimaging of beloved IPs to better accommodate the shifting mobile culture.
Among them is Tetris Blitz, a fast-paced take on the 1984 classic from Russia, which I had the pleasure of getting my hands on recently during the EA gaming suite at GDC 2013. Like Bejeweled Blitz before it, Tetris Blitz features levels with two minute time limits and gameplay is aided by a number of power-ups and effects, which are either purchased or earned. It primarily utilizes a new OneTouch feature that relies on a silhouette based hint system to allow you to tap a piece into place. The faster you go and the more lines you clear, the more explosive and brilliant the effects, with a full on Frenzy Mode achieved for the speediest of players. Completely clearing the screen awards bonuses like Coins or Powerup bundles.
To keep things interesting, new powerups will be available on a weekly basis, either by purchase or earned through gameplay, and weekly tournaments will be held. Facebook integration will also allow you to keep track of your high score against friends.
While playing it for myself, I'll admit that the former competitive Tetris player in me felt cheated by the tap-based play style, in part because it felt too easy. However, it aids the fast pace of the two minute time limit well, and for the diehard fans who prefer the original, the classic gampelay mode is available too. Once I got over the initial reluctance to "cheapen" the Tetris experience, I had a lot of fun and could see myself playing this sometime on my iPad.
Tetris Blitz is expected on iOS and Android this spring.