DuelTris

I fondly remember downloading the shareware version of DuelTris despite the long distance phone rates (thanks AppleQ in Queensland!). It was around that time that Apple had rolled the last IIGS off the assembly line and there was an air of doom and gloom. IIGS software was drying up. DuoTris had been included in the GS<>IRC's demo and showed a lot of promise. Then DuelTris was released and surpassed all expectations.

First of all, Dave Seah's graphics became instantly memorable - exceptional artwork. Secondly, was the wonderfully unique music and sound effects by James Brookes.

Thirdly, when you actually start playing the game, you'll notice Steve Chiang has coded an utterly brilliant variation of Tetris. I would go so far to say it is the best version of Tetris EVER, on any platform.

The game can be played like normal single player Tetris (boring) or as a two player game against either a human opponent or the IIGS itself. It's a shame human 2 player action is hindered by the limited number of keystrokes the IIGS could handle - which made it less than the best experience (although you should be able to get around this limitation via emulation on a Mac or PC using the keyboard and a gamepad? If you've got a blue and white G3 Mac, using a USB keyboard and an ADB keyboard might circumvent those problems). Playing against the computer is wonderful - highly challenging.

What makes DuelTris stand out? Powerups! You can remove or place bricks by shooting them! You can drop bombs and weights to remove bricks. And when you're really in a jam, your opponent can invert your directional controls - just to make things even more interesting. Ah yes, DuelTris has it all.

It's a shame DreamWorld didn't go beyond this and DreamGraphix (the 3200 colour paint program for the IIGS) and complete its other games in development - Time Lord and Ragnarok, because this was quality stuff.

The archive doesn't include an operating system, but you can run the game from either System 5.04 or System 6.01. The version included on the Fairway is the full retail version, which has been reclassified as freeware. At the time, it was sold in a jewel case once the shareware fee was paid.