[b]minoes[/b] is yet another spin on the ever-popular concept of tetris, and it's a bloody good one. it takes a [b]more horizontal approach[/b], with multiple pieces falling at the same time, and [b]you can only place blocks manually after catching them with your platform[/b] before they reach the top of the board and fall where they are. even if you see a falling 2x2 shape, it's made up of single blocks and they can be caught (or missed) individually, and an upside down L-shape won't stay that way after landing on the platform, the unsupported top bit will fall to the bottom.
making things a bit more interesting and challenging is [b]valid shapes on the right of the screen[/b], meaning blocks will only disappear from the board if they're matched like those, not just any 3 or 4 of the same color in any direction. of course, if 2x2 is a valid shape and you quickly create a 3x2 rectangle, it works too, as it's 2x2 from one end and 2x2 from the other.
[b]2 game modes[/b] are available: [u]adventure[/u] offers [b]100+ levels[/b] in 12 constellations or systems, while [u]endless[/u] is, well, endless, as long as you don't screw up, and this mode can be started on any of the 12 difficulty levels, so things can be faster from the start or you can warm up on lower settings. speed increases after every 100 points, and the 3 valid shapes on the right change to something more complex as well.
progression in [u]adventure mode[/u] is mostly linear and [b]you need to complete every level in a pack to unlock the next[/b] (I think this is a bit much, half or 2/3 would be enough, so people like me could see more of the game), but each constellation represents an animal, and based on their shape [b]often multiple levels are available to try[/b]. stars at the bottom of level selection represent difficulty, 1-star is easy, 3-star is already very difficult or even impossible for me, and I haven't reached 5-star levels, but they should be doable if you're good at tetris.
[b]board and platform size can change from level to level[/b] (it starts with a 3-tall I-shaped platform, sometimes it's 3x3, etc.), and there are [b]different level goals[/b], such as catching a certain number of blocks, making enough points by creating shapes shown on the right, makiing a number of each valid shape, or including so-called 'fuelomino' blocks in the creation of valid shapes. there are a few other [b]special blocks[/b], like a bomb that clears a good chunk around it if matched properly, another one changes the color of an entire row, or removes blocks in four directions. [b]levels aren't timed[/b], the only way to fail is if any column fills up and another block lands on it.
[b]controls aren't rebindable, but they're fine[/b] and a help screen can be brought up to check them. move your platform with left/right or a/d, rotate its contents with q/e (so both directions), space to drop whatever's at the bottom, up or w to bounce whatever's at the top of your platform, back to the top of the screen, and down/s to make things fall faster.
separate volume settings are the only settings, no windowed mode or resolutions. the [b]music is excellent[/b] (the artist and track name appear in the corner when a new song starts), graphics are nice, but [b]some color combinations are distracting[/b], they can cover blocks or make things hard to see, so [b]background settings would be necessary[/b]. there's an in-game representation of achievements, that's always nice even if I don't care about getting them all.
[b]the game is a lot of fun and an easy recommendation even at full price.[/b] great presentation, only a few smaller issues mentioned above, plenty of levels and an endless mode, though I got stuck in the 6th constellation (diagonal shapes are the bane of my existence in tetris-land), so the second half of the game will probably remain a mystery, but I still had several hours of enjoyment and never had any illusions of completing all of it anyway - I love tetris, but I'm not good at it, and this can get even more hectic with multiple things falling continuously.
