DESCRIPTION

Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog's archenemy, is the malicious mastermind of planet Mobius. His favorite hobby is teasing, taunting and tormenting the world and its people. His latest criminal creation is the Mean Bean-Steaming Machine, an infernal contraption that changes the jolly folk of Beanville into devious little robots bent on ridding Mobious of music and fun forever.

To carry out his plan, Robotnik has sent his henchbots to round up the beans and group them together in dungeons. This is where you come in: as each pair of beans comes into the dungeon, you must maneuver and rotate them into place, similar to how you would maneuver and rotate the blocks in Tetris or the gems in Columns. When two beans of the same color touch, they link. To make beans disappear from the dungeon, you must link together four or more of the same color.

When you drop a pair of beans horizontally on an uneven surface, the bean left suspended will separate from the pair and drop to the lowest point in the column. When you cause a grouping of beans to disappear, any beans remaining above the action will drop into place. This can be used to create chain reactions, which give you bonus points. In two-player games, chain reactions help you dump refugee beans into your opponent's dungeon. Refugee beans don't belong to any specific clan and can only be removed by a neighboring group of four or more beans.

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine includes three modes of play: Scenario Mode, 1P vs. 2P Mode, and Exercise Mode. A password feature is available in the Scenario Mode, enabling you to begin play at the next level at a later time. The game ends when your dungeon fills to the top with beans. Occasionally, when all seems lost, a couple of friends will drop in to lend a hand: Has Bean changes beans he walks over to the same color, and Big Bean clears the screen of beans just by dropping on them. ~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide