Disclaimer: The following post shows an arcade game that is on test and is not currently available for purchase. The game might change in a number of ways by the time it’s released, or it might not be released at all. Also, due to more shady websites out there re-using our posts without credit or permission, I’m having to be a little more aggressive on the use of watermarks for the images.
It is no secret that Play Mechanix and ICE Games enjoy a solid relationship, having been involved in creating a number of games together over the years. The most recent collaboration between them was Centipede Chaos, which launched just a couple of months ago; today, we have the fortune of looking at their next unique game. Thanks to mynameisru/John Bachman & SaraAB87 for the pics! John also provided some video; Sara’s photos are the ones that used a flash. Click on any image to embiggen it.
Tetris has also been a staple in gaming in every format you can think of; back in 1988, both Atari Games and Sega had their own versions of the concept out to arcades; various other companies have also produced official variations on the name. The last time that we saw Tetris in the biz was with Tetris: The Grand Master 4 in 2010, which was on sale at the same time as Sega’s Giant Tetris.
2019/2020 will see the return of the series to arcades, primarily as a videmption game with Tetris Dimensions.
Per mynameisru, here is what he experienced in coming across the game:
This past Saturday I was at the Walden Galleria Mall in my current hometown of Buffalo, NY which happens to have a Dave & Buster’s. While passing through D&B I noticed a new game called “Tetris Dimensions” that I’d never seen before. I was immediately intrigued, being a pretty avid Tetris player most of my life and a huge fan of games like Tetris Effect, Tetris 99, and TGM.
I made it a point to come back on half price games day to put an hour or two into it, and to my surprise there was an ICE Games employee there who kindly informed me that this is actually an initial prototype and supposedly cannot be found anywhere else right now (he seemed pretty legit as he was not an employee of D&B but still had keys to most of the ICE Games units on site).
Like PM/ICE’s other collaborative efforts, this is being presented primarily as a videmption game, but likely will come with an amusement mode so that centers that don’t or cannot focus on redemption can also feature it as a proper video game piece. I did reach out to ICE about this, but as of publication had not heard back from them on it yet. As such, I do not know more than what was received here; no release window or other details. Making an educated guess, I would venture to say that it will have both redemption and non-redemption (amusement) modes available for operators to set the game to.
As you can see from the cabinet above, it has a compact footprint, with a design that kind of reminds me of the Wheel of Fortune videmption game that Play Mechanix did some years ago. It controls using a standard joystick and two buttons placed in an ambidextrous pattern (that’s something we haven’t seen a while).
SaraAB87 added this about the gameplay:
It feels longer per play than your normal redemption game, its not the “10 seconds and its over” deal unless you are really bad at the game. If you’ve had some practice on Tetris 99 on the Nintendo Switch, then that will help. Also, it has the big block at the bottom with slots where you can insert the pieces (I am talking in game here); if you do that, the bottom block disappears and gives you more room on the board to play for longer. There is also a time extension if you clear lines, so it is exciting and you can get it down to the wire, then the lines will start clearing and you realize you have a few more seconds to play. What I played is a lot of fun.
I also promised video, so here you go. I am trying a new format with the VLOG here, much of this video also repeats what you’ve read and seen, but jump to 11:44 to see the game in an attract mode setting and get a feel for the gameplay. Seems pretty standard for Tetris, although with a stronger focus on racing the clock. Clear lines with gems to win more time and thus more tickets; I imagine that for an amusement mode it would simply be accumulate as many points as you can, earn time before the timer runs out.
We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more info on this one; while I mention in the video that this probably could make an appearance at IAAPA 2019, I forgot that the AAMA Gala is coming up soon (thanks for the reminder KWP). I’ve never been to a Gala, but there’s a chance it could be there too.
What do you think of Tetris Dimensions by what we’ve seen of it so far?
I would totally play this. Looks wicked.