Tetris DS

"You can only enjoy Tetris for so long."

Tetris. It's Tetris. Just say “Tetris” and you'll start to see the blocks falling. The mountain of blocks, the final piece in place and watch it drop. Yes, anyone familiar with that scenario no doubt got lost in the fun world of Tetris. Since humble beginnings on the Game Boy, Tetris quickly became one of the most enjoyable and approachable of games, gaining elite status in the gaming world as the Puzzle King. Fast forward to Nintendo's newest handheld, the Nintendo DS, with the newest incarnation of the legendary series, Tetris DS. With new features and online play, is this the best Tetris ever?

If you don't know what Tetris is, looks like, and/or sounds like, it's about time to know. Tetris is arguably the greatest puzzle game ever created and one of the most legendary games of all time. Tetris DS includes the original Tetris in all its block falling, side flipping, line destroying glory. The game itself is still as straightforward as ever: block of different shape and color fall. You place the blocks in specific places on the board and can rotate the pieces before they are placed. Make a line from side to side of the board and destroy the blocks. Earn points. Tetris is and has always been one of the amazingly simple games of gaming history, and the classic formula is still perfect for a quick game. Nintendo, however, decided to mess with the formula, and what is left behind is far from great.

Nintendo decided to put in some Nintendo mascot themed modes along for the ride. It is sort of cool to see the familiar 8-bit faces of Mario, Link, Samus, and the rest, and you do get to see them a lot. But behind their colorful and pixelized faces Nintendo's characters hide the technicalities of the formula. Firstly is the line of seeing which blocks you'll get. In the classic Tetris, you see one block and the next block coming. One. Now you can see five. Five is far too much future information and even if you take advantage of the foresight, you'll find yourself mastering intricate combos in a matter of seconds. The second, and more annoying part of the new Tetris is the hold button, which basically is a “I don't want to use this line block so in an emergency (or getting a four line Tetris) I'll use it.” Because that's really what it is. The entire unpredictable nature of the Tetris game is limited, and you can't even turn the features off. Nintendo can be given some credit for trying to simplify the game to match modern standards, but Tetris was already simple and approachable enough on its own, and it seems that Nintendo didn't know that.

These gameplay changes don't help the game's credit, but what does are a few new game modes which can be quite fun. The Mission mode is a Zelda-themed mode where the player is shown different goals, like clear a line with a certain type of block or to clear a select amount in a shown time. This mode is good because it quickens the game's pace, and the spontaneity of the missions are interesting and diverse. The Zelda theme helps as 8-bit Link appears and so do the Hearts that keep track of time. Mission Mode is definitely a fun mode and is a good and interesting twist on the classic Tetris game.

Push Mode is a tug-of-war style game where players who clear lines pushes their opponent's screen to the top, where the winner is determined by who pushes the bottom of the Tetris blocks to the top. It's plenty fun, in fact, and it can prove to be a worthwhile inclusion, especially online. The Touch mode is a stylus selection of games, where you move the blocks with the stylus to complete lines. Surprisingly, the game, in fact, plays well because the game doesn't try to be Tetris. The stylus moves both the block's position and rotating, although the overall pace of the game can be a bit staggering and hesitation can be pretty common.

One of the most noticeable inclusions in Tetris DS is the Wi-Fi support. The game lets you play online the old or new way, or even the Push Mode. The Worldwide mode matches you up against a random opponent, who has all the new inclusions at their disposal as you. On the whole, the Tetris gameplay uses the good balance of logic and luck to make it cool for competition, but the big problem is that all the new modes which are new aren't used for online play. You can play Tetris with or without powerups and the good Push mode is fun for competition, but a lot of the new modes, both good and bad, would be even better online. The game isn't the best online DS game, but there's a healthy dose of competition in Tetris's online community.

Pros
+ It's Tetris
+ Online play
+ Good modes
+ Nintendo characters make good presentation

Cons
- Not all modes work
- New gameplay functions cannot be turned off
- It's Tetris, again...

Tetris DS is a fun revitalization of the tried-and-true Tetris formula, but the new modes and gameplay functions tend to be more frustrating than fun. The fact that you can't turn the functions off is a huge problem, and although some game modes work, they can run the line of gimmicks. Regardless, the gimmicks can be fun (as shown in the Touch and Push modes) although many of the good gimmicks aren't playable online. If you absolutely want Tetris, Tetris DS is definitely one of the legendary series' better incarnations. It's a good rental, but don't expect the same greatness that Tetris was on the Game Boy.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/16/07