Zetriz is a version of the famous puzzle game Tetris, now available free from this site.
Due to the dimensions of the Z88 screen, the computer must be turned sideways during play. The screen is divided into three main windows: the scoring and status window, the game window and the information window. The first two of these (taking up about half the length of the screen) are entirely graphics-based, with the text in a rather nice-looking large font.
The status window gives details of the current score, number of lines completed so far, number of blocks on screen, speed, direction of rotation and a picture of the next block to be released. The game window is a simple well outline, with nicely drawn shapes dropping down from the top. For anyone not in the know, the idea is to place these blocks so as to completely fill lines at the bottom of the well (these are then removed from play). The game ends when shapes fill up to the top of the well.
The game plays very smoothly indeed, and gets extremely frantic as the speed increases (although as this only happens every 10000 points, you need a bit of practice first!).
There are options to customize the keys, initial speed, rotation direction, and even the depth of the well. However, the best feature is the addition of two extra variations to the game, using additional block types. The standard game uses only blocks found in the original Tetris, but the extended game adds a whole host of new ones which are a lot trickier to fit together. Finally, the advanced game dispenses with the standard blocks altogether, using only the new ones.
High scores are recorded in tables - separate tables are kept for the standard, extended and advanced games - so you can see just how pathetic your latest attempt was.
The game can be suspended at any time just as with any other application, and indeed you can have several games going at once. If you wish to suspend a game, it's advisable to first of all pause it, to prevent any cursing and swearing when you accidentally re-enter a game when you're not ready...
A great game, just right for passing the hours whilst stuck on the train or bus. It's obvious Interlogic have taken a good deal of care in getting it just right. And at the price they're asking, every self-respecting Z88 owner should buy a copy.
10/10