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Tetris |
| Platform: Gameboy • Developer: Nintendo • Genre: Puzzle • ESRB Rating: N/A • Words: Man9child |
| If there was ever a videogame more unfitting of the traditional 10 point critique than Tetris, I've never played it. Not so much a game as a full-on phenomenon, for what it is, Tetris is entirely without flaw. |
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| I'm going to walk you through the basics of Tetris under the improbable assumption that you've neither played nor seen Tetris or any of its derivatives. The mother of all puzzle games, the object of Tetris is to stack up the blocks that fall from the top of the screen, each of varying shapes comprised of four blocks each, into complete lines at the bottom. You're capable of moving and rotating each piece into the proper position as it falls, and the next block in sequence is visible through a window on the lower right hand side. This allows you to plan out your actions, as simply completing a single line at a time won't do much for your score. The more lines you complete simultaneously, the greater the payoff, and consequently the greater the risk because as you wait on that one piece you need, you have to deal with a continuous stream of falling blocks that are starting to get dangerously high to the ceiling. This spells game over. |
| In Game A, this process repeats indefinitely, the twist being that the speed of the falling blocks increases with every ten lines that you complete. My personal favorite, and the one that Tetris is most known for, this means that however good you are there is always room for improvement as you can never actually beat the game. Game B runs for a measly 25 lines, but you're able to start the game with varying amounts of "garbage" already there, making things interesting, and this mode is a viable alternative to the lengthier mode A when you're pressed for time. |
| Despite its simplicity, the thing about Tetris that remains compelling is its sense of controlled chaos. Blocks fall down in a seemingly random procession, and it's your job to sort them all out. So while the premise and mechanics are simple, their application is exceedingly complex. |
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| It's only a slight exaggeration to say that every major console, computer, and now electronic device (including ipods and cell phones) has seen at least some official version of Tetris, if not an unlicensed knock off. However for me, the Game Boy version is the only one that really matters. More powerful hardware doesn't add much graphically to what Tetris offers, as the Game Boy's four shades of gray are more than adequate to differentiate the blocks, even after they've fallen. The soundtrack is superb in composition, if not quality, and the addicting and simple nature of Tetris's gameplay makes it the quintessential portable game. As far as I'm concerned, featuring Tetris as a pack-in was one of the big reasons behind the Game Boy's unprecedented dominance of the handheld market which, in its own way, continues today. |
Rating |
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8.0 |
 + Clean and functional, no complaints about the in-game presentation. - Menus are a little sparse. |
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9.0 |
 + Selectable tracks from the main menu, all of which are excellent. But Tetris just isn't Tetris without Song A playing in the background. |
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9.0 |
 + The perfect puzzle game, executed so well that any mucking around with the formula turned out to be detrimental, as seen by its myriad of inferior sequels and spin-offs. |
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7.0 |
 +/- Blocks? + Amusing "Russian Dance" sequences. |
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10 |
 + Timeless. |
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9.0 |
 + A classic puzzle game that deserves a spot in your handheld library. |
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