Wetrix+ (Sega Dreamcast, 2000)

Product Specs

Description

The Dreamcast's first U.S. puzzle game, Wetrix+ involves manipulating falling pieces over a 3D landscape. Sound familiar? The twist is that you are trying to position these pieces so they can hold water. Each game begins with a flat area of land floating in the middle of the screen. Unless you build raised edges to store the impending water, which falls from the sky in the form of bubbles, the liquid will trickle down the area's edges and gradually fill a vertical meter called the drain. If too much water spills off the playing area, the drain will overflow and end the game. An update of 1997's Wetrix, which was released on the Nintendo 64 and PC platforms, Wetrix+ features six modes of play: Classic, Pro, Practice, Challenge, Handicap, and Multi-play. Each mode involves manipulating one of seven pieces over the landscape. Uppers raise the landscape, while "downers" lower the landscape. Fireballs evaporate water, while bombs eliminate pieces of land and create holes. Ice cubes will freeze water for a short time, and mystery pieces combine multiple objects. Besides positioning pieces over the landscape, you'll have to watch out for various dangers, such as earthquakes that trigger when there's too much land. Both the Classic and Pro modes involve trying to accumulate as many points as possible. A practice mode offers a series of eight lessons to help explain each piece as well as different strategies needed to earn high scores. Challenge mode is designed to test expert players in how long they can last in six different scenarios: one-minute challenge, five-minute challenge, 100-piece challenge, 500-piece challenge, preset sequence A, and preset sequence B. Handicap mode offers an additional seven scenarios that feature events such as ice layers, raised land, a half-full drain or random holes.