To this very day, one of my top favorite puzzle games is still plain old Tetris.  But another puzzler I really liked back in the day was Pipe Dream, also sometimes called Pipe Mania.  In that one, you arranged pipes so water can flow through, and you tried to keep that up as long as you could.  But what happens when you combine Pipe Dream and Tetris?  You get Powertris, a downloadable puzzler for Switch and mobile devices, but reviewed on Switch here.

Actually, Powertris plays almost EXACTLY like an older arcade game from Taito called Tube-It.  But don’t worry, I never heard of that game either until I played it on one of the PS2 Taito Legends collections.  Anyway, in Powertris, pipes fall from the top of the well, and you must place them on the bottom.  If a pipe arrangement connects one end of the well to the other side, all the pipes are cleared out and you get points.  But you can’t connect pipes on one side, they have to go from one end of the well to another.  Sometimes helpful items like bombs can help you clear out pipes, too.  After you get enough points, the level changes and you must connect pipes higher in the well, or move around obstacles.  When your pipes reach the top, it’s Game Over.

And that’s pretty much the game.  It’s all right, but the game could’ve used more modes.  Like a two player option or something.  Also, the gameplay drags a bit.  But even though it’s a tad bare-boned, Powertris is still a decent and serviceable puzzler.

Kid Factor:

Nothing violent or objectionable here.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but not necessary just to play.  Powertris is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews