games with the word �party� in the title. That was the thing on Wii. Just claim to incite

parties, and you were gold. And there�s a few reasons for that. One, the Wii was an

absolute blast for local multiplayer. Two, obvious marketing is obvious.

And three...well, all the lazy, copycat development on the Wii.

Now, largely due to reason three, most of those 60 games were just...terrible. On an

unthinkable scale. But there were exceptions to the rule. There was Boom Blox Bash Party.

There was Wii Party. And on WiiWare...there was Tetris Party. This wasn�t the same old

Vomit Party. This was a party worth getting drunk for. And hey, if we can repackage it

onto a retail disc two years later for double the cost?

Now that�s a party. Open the bubbly.

So obviously, this is one party I kinda have mixed feelings about. Tetris Party was an

exceptionally good game, easily one of the best on WiiWare. And you know, a deluxe version

of a great game should be a great game, right? But there has always been something about

Tetris Party Deluxe that�s bothered me.

I don�t know. Is it a better product than Tetris Party? Yeah, it is.

But is it really worth twice the price?

Tetris Party Deluxe was released in 2010, the last truly great year for new Wii games.

Obviously, this was a deluxe retail edition of the 2008 WiiWare hit, Tetris Party. So

the game is largely the same. It�s a collection of several variations on Tetris, perhaps the

single greatest puzzle game of all-time. Only in this case, it�s a party.

It�s a...mad Russian party.

So all the great new modes from Tetris Party are back in this version. That includes Field

Climber, which has you building stairs out of falling tetrominoes. If the little stick

man can reach the goal at the top of the screen, you move on. That�s pretty brilliant. There�s

also a Shadow mode, which has you filling in shapes to essentially create sprites. And

that�s really brilliant.

In fact, what�s great about this game is how clever it gets with the variations. I

mean, some of them aren�t as great as others, but the ones that work really work. And there�s

so many of them, it�s almost overwhelming. Tetris Party had about 18 different modes,

and this one adds another six...including Bombliss, brought back from Tetris 2.

Now, you can always just play regular Tetris, which is as great here as it always has been.

But the focus of Tetris Party is obviously multiplayer, and it�s ridiculous how much

multiplayer is actually here. I didn�t have anyone to play against to record here, but

the game�s pretty...stacked. You see, that�s a pun. Anyway, there�s a classic battle

mode, there�s a tag-team co-op mode for two teams of two...and most of the new modes

actually support multiplayer. So...I mean, Tetris Party was packed with content.

Deluxe just adds a bit more.

But you know, therein lies my issue with Tetris Party Deluxe. What do you make of a game that

just...adds a bit more? I mean, to its credit, it is a nice amount more. And as someone who

always prefers the permanence of a physical copy, there�s obviously an advantage there,

as well. But I mean, it�s not like this version improves the original�s bland graphics

or its generic presentation. It�s not like it�s twice as good.

Deluxe is the best Tetris Party, but...you gotta pay double

the cover.