Bog standard Tetris ripoff
Here comes another one of those games which just makes you wonder at the reason behind its creation. As the name suggests, Ultris is just another Tetris clone, like Teamtris, Kentris and the like but which unlike Wordtris simply doesn't add anything new to the formula whatsoever. If you've been liking under a brick for the last thirty years and have never been introduced to the joys of Tetris, it's a truly classic puzzler where the goal is to make solid lines with falling blocks. It might not sound much on paper but in practice it remains as compelling today as it ever was, a sure testament to the genius behind its design (along with the sheer number of copies which exist). Ultris takes this standard template and adds, well absolutely nothing at all, being a complete and utter copy which no originality of its own. It's tragic when so many people believe that they can simply take the work of others and turn it to their own ends, with the simple aim of making a quick buck, but what is equally disheartening is the way the public keeps falling for it. From a dispassionate perspective, there's nothing really wrong with Ultris, offering as it does the same familiar puzzling fun, with controls that are satisfactory and visuals which maintain the elegant simplicity of its inspiration. However, it's utterly soulless and completely lacking in the magic which make the original so remarkable and this is where it falls down. If you really need to play another Tetris variant or are an avid collector, then by all means check this out, but otherwise do yourself a favour and stick to the original or one of the more imaginative variants like Welltris.
