Tetris

"Ladies & Gentlemen I present to you the very best of Tetris A.K.A "Pure Addiction in a Mini-sized Catridge"."

Tetris A.K.A ''The biggest reason why we don't hate Russia'' is a known classic quick-thinking puzzle game thats been in the industry since the later 1980's. Its been joked that if this was game is a secret plot to revive Communism it might've actually worked. The original Tetris has been in plenty of systems such as the Arcade, the Nintendo Entertainment System (twice but by two different companies namely Nintendo themselves & Tengen) and more but this is MOST definitely the absolute best version of Tetris ever made. The other versions certainly weren't BAD its just that this was a perfect attempt to fully capture the flavor of Tetris while the other ones were decent to good yet flawed ones.

For years the series has been a MAJOR staple in the genre of puzzle gaming and its quite understandably so. But one truly terrific thing is that you most DEFINITELY don't have to be a genre/Tetris fan in order to be able to truly enjoy this. (Heck before I started playing this game I was never really a Tetris fan all that much. Nowadays I actually am one thanks to this original GB classic. While wanting to convert into the fandom MIGHT not be an absolute guarantee lets just say its quite the possibility.) Its the absolutely old-fashioned, tried and true formula of matching various shaped blocks against eachover trying to make rows of block parts that'll disappear. (Make it so that all the blocks are connected in a row.) The goal is to either keep on making rows and make sure the block pile does not reach the top while the game's pace will go faster in A Mode. Or you can get a certain amount of matching rows in while of course making sure you don't overpile while the higher the level you go the faster it gets in B Mode. The gameplay is trying to figure out a way to move your blocks into the proper structures whilee the Control runs smoothly and just fine. Ever heard of the cliched quote known as ''There is beauty in its simplicity''? This game has got it in spades most definitely.

Its been said that Music can be one of the best things in a Video Game. And needless to say this game most certainly delivers on that QUITE well. This game originated from Russia and lets just say you can easily tell. Tetris has been known to have beautiful Russian-styled music and this particular version is most definitely the best reason why. It has three great pieces of music (the first one is THE best one as its most certainly ''Stay on your head for months'' material) that fits perfectly into the series. The music is lively, catchy, wonderfully composed and just adds a good level of fun into the game. While OK I admit that there might be a bit of ''tinnyness'' due to the Original Game Boy's technological limitations back then but don't worry you can barely notice it if at all.

The Graphics suit its source material while granted the series doesn't exactly demand a lot of graphical attention & detail this one does give a good amount of it. However speaking of visual entertainment it does have one small flaw, no extras. Oh sure its all fluff but the other games had extra bits of visual treats like various flying creatures, Mario & almost all the other known Nintendo Mascots having a musical block party and more when you finish levels. This version however has nothing like that and its slightly disappointing on that. However the rest of this games presentation is MORE than enough to make up for that small disappointment.

The level of Challenge is very good as its never frustratingly hard but never way too easy to truly bother. If you keep on playing this game long enough you'll be able to get through the game more & more without losing. (I remember playing the game very continously for a few weeks until I managed to be able to get to Level 9 on one sitting. Of course the same results might not happen to you if you tried to do such a thing.) The Tetris series has been well described as ''Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master'' and needless to say this game is a good reason why such a statement has been said.

In conclusion this is overall another game thats excellent on so many levels. Its not terribly hard to find nor is it usually all that expensive. This beautifully golden oldie is another one of the many examples why some games stay strong, never got too old and have not been harmed by the aging effects of time itself. The Tetris series has had plenty of imitators and sequels, and while some of them have turned out well none of them have went well as this. Give yourself a good amount of time on your hands and chances are you too will go for this amazingly addictive little game rather well too.

+ Quite possibly the best Tetris game ever that even Non-fans can enjoy.
+ Has the best music in the whole series
+ Graphics fit very well
+ Perfectly fine addictive gameplay and smooth control
+ Excellent example of Tetris' old motto ''Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master''
- Has barely any extras to it like how most of the other versions got.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/04