KLAX

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Exacting some sweet revenge...
by Gregory D. George

September 17, 2002

What do you do, if you are Atari Games, and you just lost a huge battle with Nintendo over the rights for Tetris? Why, you try to out-Tetris Tetris!

In Klax, you simply have to stack three or more tiles together to make them disappear. This is called a Klax. As we all know, puzzle games start out easy, but end up becoming logistical nightmares when the tiles begin to pile up.

Because not all levels are simply "stack three tiles on top of each other" you must learn the tricks to complete levels. What must you do to survive a tile onslaught? How can you get 3 Klaxes out of only 5 tiles? How do you get a diagonal Klax?

The graphics in Klax are phenomenal for a console game, let alone a handheld. The tiles are animated nicely, and the background graphics give the player something to look forward to.

Sounds and music are spectacular. I often popped this game in just to hear the opening tune! There are sampled voices cheering you on, sounds of tiles flipping towards you, and a host of other sounds that fit with Klax's comical nature. (I love the "boing!" sound when you don't have any tiles on your flipper!)

The gameplay and control is very tight. Your flipper slides around collecting tiles even smoother than in the arcade. The only time there is any slowdown is when there are dozens of tiles on their way to you. But you are usually about to lose at this point anyway. "Awwww."

I cannot heap enough praise on this version of the Klax. It has the perfect combination of graphics, sounds, music, and gameplay needed to keep a player entertained. This version is often called the best one, and rightfully so. Even if you don't like puzzle games, you will like Klax.