INTRODUCTION

One of the few puzzle games on 3DO is actually quite a good one. Trip'd is a lot like the game Columns and Tetris. 3 blocks come falling down and can be rotated. You have to get four of the same color block touching for it to disappear off the screen, however if you form a square with your four same colored blocks it turns into a creature which stays there until you get four more of the same colored blocks touching without being a square. If you make a second square you get yet another creature placed on the screen. The creatures aren't very helpful in the one player game, but the creatures make the game quite interesting in two player game. Basically a Columns/Tetris puzzle game with a little extra and different twists.


GRAPHICS-6.5/10
They aren't the greatest but I like them much better than those of Tetris. Quite colorful but a little gory(two player is pretty disgusting when you lose). Blocks look fine and the creatures too. Backgrounds are average too. Typical, slightly above average stuff, that's been done on SNES. Definitely not one of those titles that pushed the 3DO.


SOUNDS-5/10

SFX of the blocks is allright but nothing great. My main concern with the music is that it never changes when you advance in levels. Just goes on and on the same through out the entire game. Voices sound weird but I think they're supposed to?!


CONTROL-7/10
Not much here to do but move the blocks around and press A to rotate um. Tough stuff, but still gets the job done.


GAMEPLAY-8/10
The gameplay totally in this game. It's very addictive, as well as challenging. Only one gripe...... the game never progresses on to a new difficulty, just stays the same and doesn't change whatsoever, except the level which has little meaning since it doesn't get harder or anything. No new backgrounds, music, block coloration, nothing! The one player mode is short lived but still fun every now and then. Now for the two player mode, simply splendid! I like it better than Tetris and Bust-A-Move. The gameplay borrows concepts from each, well sorta. It takes from Tetris what every other puzzle game does, blocks flying down the screen which must be positioned in an appropriate fashion to make them disappear. From Bust-a-Move it took the whole thing where you throw a whole bunch of crap to your opponent. As explained before you have to put four of the same color block into a square and poof you get a creature, But in the two player mode when you get rid of the creature it can shift to your opponent or throw more blocks over to him. On a certain color(I think pink) though the game gives you more blocks when you get rid of the creature. All out terrific two player mode though, which is easy to play and figure out. Then there's the 1P vs. Computer mode which is fun, but has some flaws that I don't like about it. 1st you pick who you will face off against, each person with varying difficulties. All of them are oddballs but at the end if you beat them there is no reference as to who you beat. This gets really lame. Sometimes I forget who I picked too so you see where this could be a problem.


OVERALL-7.5/10
A great puzzle game for 3DO. The 3DO finally has it's tetris clone, now if we could just get a good pinball game. Real Pinball blows, but that's a totally different review for next time. Grrrreat game that deserves more credit than most give it(couEVERY GAME MAGAZINEgh).

I would pay up to 8 to 10 dollars for it, if you have friends that like playing puzzle games.