<s>
Tetrisphere	B-Application
is	O
a	O
puzzle	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
H2O	O
Entertainment	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
,	O
originally	O
named	O
Phear	O
,	O
was	O
slated	O
for	O
release	O
on	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
Jaguar	I-Device
in	O
early	O
1995	B-Application
,	O
but	O
was	O
reworked	O
into	O
a	O
Tetris	B-Device
game	O
for	O
the	O
N64	B-Operating_System
after	O
Nintendo	O
obtained	O
its	O
publishing	O
rights	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tetrisphere	B-Application
is	O
a	O
variant	O
on	O
Tetris	B-Device
in	O
which	O
various	O
shapes	O
are	O
shifted	O
across	O
a	O
wrapped	O
three-dimensional	O
grid	O
resembling	O
a	O
sphere	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
destroyed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
very	O
little	O
domestic	O
advertising	O
,	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
enjoyed	O
moderately	O
good	O
sales	O
and	O
a	O
mostly	O
favorable	O
critical	O
reception	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
Tetris	B-Device
titles	O
,	O
a	O
player	O
's	O
score	O
is	O
incremented	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
completing	O
"	O
lines	O
"	O
,	O
where	O
a	O
row	O
of	O
brick	O
pieces	O
that	O
is	O
without	O
gaps	O
is	O
removed	O
from	O
the	O
2D	O
playing	O
field	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
,	O
the	O
goal	O
is	O
instead	O
to	O
remove	O
bricks	O
by	O
forcing	O
three	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
type	O
of	O
piece	O
to	O
touch	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
drop	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
three	O
lives	O
are	O
lost	O
,	O
the	O
round	O
results	O
in	O
a	O
game	B-Application
over	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
modes	O
of	O
play	O
available	O
in	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tetrisphere	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
H2O	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
a	O
game	O
development	O
company	O
founded	O
by	O
Christopher	O
Bailey	O
,	O
Michael	O
Tam	O
and	O
Stephen	O
Shatford	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
based	O
in	O
Calgary	O
,	O
Alberta	B-Protocol
,	O
Canada	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
project	O
originally	O
started	O
as	O
an	O
Atari	B-Device
Jaguar	I-Device
game	O
entitled	O
Phear	O
and	O
was	O
on	O
display	O
for	O
playing	O
at	O
Atari	O
Corporation	O
's	O
booth	O
during	O
the	O
1995	B-Application
Winter	O
CES	O
,	O
featuring	O
gameplay	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
Tower	O
"	O
challenges	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
Hide	O
and	O
Seek	O
"	O
mode	O
of	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
,	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
involved	O
the	O
player	O
in	O
creating	O
a	O
hole	O
of	O
a	O
specific	O
size	O
(	O
3×2	O
for	O
example	O
)	O
on	O
the	O
center	O
of	O
the	O
sphere	O
's	O
core	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
progress	O
into	O
the	O
next	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	O
reportedly	O
secured	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
Phear	O
after	O
seeing	O
the	O
game	O
showcased	O
at	O
WCES	O
'	O
95	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
as	O
a	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
game	O
at	O
Nintendo	O
Space	O
World	O
that	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
the	O
time	O
the	O
company	O
went	O
public	O
,	O
Nintendo	O
announced	O
that	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
would	O
be	O
released	O
in	O
October	O
1996	O
,	O
boosting	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
stock	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
written	O
in	O
the	O
C	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
and	O
compiled	O
to	O
target	O
'	O
Ultra64	O
 '	O
development	O
boxes	O
for	O
testing	O
and	O
bug	O
tracking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Senior	O
developers	O
improved	O
the	O
engine	O
so	O
that	O
only	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
sphere	O
is	O
visible	O
at	O
any	O
time	O
,	O
thus	O
reducing	O
the	O
render	O
load	O
on	O
the	O
N64	B-Operating_System
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stephen	O
Shatford	O
was	O
the	O
Sr.	O
Game	O
Designer	O
and	O
Tetris	B-Device
creator	O
Alexey	O
Pajitnov	O
contributed	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
design	O
while	O
working	O
at	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
North	O
American	O
release	O
of	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
was	O
ultimately	O
delayed	O
until	O
August	O
1997	O
,	O
when	O
it	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
puzzle	O
game	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
techno-style	O
soundtrack	O
for	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Neil	O
Voss	O
using	O
FastTracker	O
2	O
on	O
a	O
Pentium	O
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
began	O
the	O
project	O
as	O
a	O
freelancer	O
when	O
it	O
was	O
on	O
the	O
Jaguar	B-Device
,	O
then	O
signed	O
on	O
as	O
an	O
audio	O
director	O
when	O
it	O
moved	O
to	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
with	O
a	O
cyberpunk	O
style	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
transitioned	O
to	O
the	O
techno	O
genre	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
uniqueness	O
"	O
of	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
as	O
a	O
puzzle	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voss	O
explained	O
that	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
features	O
only	O
stereophonic	O
sound	O
because	O
"[...]	O
for	O
a	O
game	O
where	O
the	O
action	O
is	O
all	O
around	O
you	O
,	O
it	O
could	O
enhance	O
gameplay	O
and	O
the	O
immersive	O
experience.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Tetrisphere	B-Application
received	O
"	O
generally	O
favorable	O
”	O
reviews	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregation	I-Application
website	O
GameRankings	O
based	O
on	O
nine	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jer	O
Horwitz	O
wrote	O
in	O
GameSpot	O
that	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
"	O
is	O
precisely	O
the	O
sort	O
of	O
game	O
that	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
really	O
needs	O
,	O
offering	O
revolutionary	O
gameplay	O
,	O
impressive	O
long-term	O
value	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
visual	O
effects	O
that	O
go	O
above	O
and	O
beyond	O
what	O
Sony	O
's	O
PlayStation	B-Device
can	O
handle.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Horwitz	O
,	O
who	O
saw	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
demo	O
as	O
Phear	O
at	O
the	O
Consumer	O
Electronics	O
Show	O
,	O
was	O
particularly	O
impressed	O
with	O
how	O
much	O
the	O
graphics	O
had	O
been	O
improved	O
over	O
the	O
original	O
Jaguar	B-Device
version	O
,	O
noting	O
the	O
smooth	O
spheres	O
and	O
moving	O
3D	O
backgrounds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
dissented	O
with	O
the	O
majority	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
"	O
Graphically	O
,	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
does	O
n't	O
live	O
up	O
to	O
most	O
other	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
games	O
-	O
the	O
most	O
obvious	O
flaw	O
is	O
an	O
annoying	O
pop-up	O
as	O
the	O
player	O
rotates	O
the	O
globe.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
GamePro	O
said	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
actually	O
requires	O
a	O
completely	O
new	O
mental	O
discipline	O
-	O
which	O
is	O
just	O
what	O
the	O
aging	O
Tetris	B-Device
franchise	O
needs.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
and	O
Shawn	O
Smith	O
and	O
Crispin	O
Boyer	O
of	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
both	O
contended	O
that	O
while	O
mastery	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
a	O
challenge	O
,	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
is	O
enjoyable	O
even	O
without	O
learning	O
the	O
nuances	O
of	O
its	O
strategy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
little	O
advertising	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
managed	O
to	O
sell	O
335,000	O
copies	O
in	O
the	O
region	O
between	O
its	O
August	O
release	O
date	O
and	O
December	O
31	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Out	O
of	O
42	O
titles	O
,	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
ranked	O
at	O
number	O
27	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
sales	O
for	O
Nintendo	O
games	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nintendo	B-Application
Power	I-Application
ranked	O
Tetrisphere	B-Application
at	O
number	O
50	O
on	O
its	O
list	O
of	O
"	O
100	O
Best	O
Nintendo	O
Games	O
of	O
All	O
Time	O
"	O
in	O
September	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
considered	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
soundtrack	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
fourth	O
best	O
of	O
any	O
N64	B-Operating_System
game	O
.	O
</s>
