Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

YIPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! This is a great strategy game. Although the one-player element may have a limited lifespan, it really comes into it's own in two-player. As all games of this style should be, it is easy to get into, but allows for a fair amount of mastery for such a simple concept. The satisfaction factor gained from having set up a massive chain of beans, or from thwarting someone else's plans, is hard to overstate. Tying it in as part of the Sonic franchise was always going to be about shifting more copies, and provides a wafer-thin plot for the Story mode, but that's not what these sort of games should be about, they're about fun and addictiveness. YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAA!

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-

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine was perhaps a bit too deep into trying to make spinoffs of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Really, nothing more than a florified Tetris with some extra features, it's an okay game, but I only got it because it was included in a collection of games. Get it if you want, but I'd suggest the other Sonic games first.