Difficulty:

Very Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

Falling block games reached the pinnacle of their evolution fairly quickly as Dr. Robotnik's MBM from 1993 is easily the most complex and fun example of the genre that began with Tetris, a primitive Russian strategy game from 1984 that has since become iconic. MBM is hardly an iconic game, but it is very cute if punishingly difficult.

I first played the game way back when it was first released at the age of twelve. I got to about level three before it got too hard from my kid's brain to cope with. Now, with the HD version on the PlayStation 3, I am able to save my progress and easily restart each level the moment I lose it is STILL nearly impossible and that's on medium difficulty.

There are 13 stages in total (the Robotnik level is a hidden final stage) and with each progression the falling beans get slightly faster with greater variation between them. It was certainly luck and not skill that took me to the final stage and end credits, but what a relief when it was finally over!

Graphics B Sound B Gameplay A- Lasting Appeal A-