Left: Game Cover in plastic case; Right: The Floppy Disk

Left: Intro screen; Right: One-Player mode (Level 2)

So let's get back to more serious things. Don't Cock It Up is a Tetris game - no less but a lot more... especially when you see how smooth the game runs on your MSX, you really can say S.T.A.R. (Cocktail Burpman Square Neurrodancer), Darth 007 (Game Guts, Stab FX Surpervisor), Madonna Mark II (Audiotherapist & Rocket Miss CCCP) and Miss z-0 (Surgey Heavy Metal Gear) did a great job. The bricks fall dawn smoothly, rotation is very good and even fast right-left motion (when you hold the right or left keys pressed) is extremely powerful like in the original game. There is no lag at all, and compared to many other Tetris clones I've played, Don't Cock It Up is one of the few that also authorizes to slide a brick right or left once it touches the bottom layer (useful when you need to fill in an empty hole). Apart that it runs on MSX2 and above, the game is entirely made in Screen 4 and utilizes 224 raster lines instead of the conventional 192 meaning the action fills entirely your TV screen! Besides all 8 single-mode player levels come with different backgrounds and different PSG music. Really nice.
I was about to forget what Tetris is ... sure you don't know, so do I really need to explain? No, I don't think so.

Two-player mode: Double Prozac

Let's then go straight into game play. Upon loading the disk you have three game modes: Single player, Dual-Player 'Double Prozac' and Dual Player 'Freud vs. Hung'.
In single player mode it just the straightforward Tetris we all know except that each time you advance to the next level you not only get a preset number of bricks laid out on the screen but the games goes also faster and faster - thus incrementing slowly but surely your adrenaline levels the more you advance. To help you out, there is a nice set of statistics in the middle of the screen to let you know how many bricks of each form have already appeared - but from my expert advice, I just tell you - don't look at it too much as it just might disturb you and whenever you look desperately for that 4 bricks long line (black) - it will simply not come!
Double Prozac is the simple two-player mode with split screen action against another human player. Also here, like in single mode, the aim is to make as many lines as possible - the winner being the one who scores highest.
Freud vs. Hung is terrific and will guarantee a lot of fun against your friends. Not only it is important to make as many lines as possible, but you will also need to make them faster than your opponent! Each time you score a line more than your opponent your raise on the balance - and you will reach the hall of fame only when you have managed to created a half dozen lines more than your friend in the same timeframe. No time to relax, for sure - plus, high brain usage guaranteed to place the bricks in the best place!

Left: Two-player mode (Freud vs Hung); Right: Bengara won the game!

What's more to say? not very much except you can also choose between four different players: Boobie, Bengara, Musketeer and Pandonium. Each one has its own special caracter!
Even if we always find some little things we don not like (e.g. no possibility to start at a higher level, no artificial intelligent opponents, no possibility to configure keyboard ...) we believe this is from far the best tetris game on MSX that has really very little to envy to recent versions on today's PCs. Quite an achievement for a game using 1986 technology!
We finally come to an end of this review and can only encourage you to get it from Matra for only 9 Euros + shipping. And if you haven't had enough with 'Open your Mind' there are two more episodes to try out: Never Mind' and 'Read Your Mind'.

Pros:

• Very addictive game!
• Endless fun, especially in two-player mode
• Great music
• Cheap
• Simple but nice floppy disk, case and instructions leaflet.
  

Cons:

• No possibility to start at a higher level in single player!
• Not many options, missing the possibility to listen to music separately.
• Does not work on emulators
  

Game Specifications:
MSX2, PSG music, 1 single DD floppy Disk

Where to get it from:
Matranet