Tetris

"Very simple yet addictive and challenging!"

Tetris was one of the earliest Gameboy games that came out for Gameboy was a puzzle game. Is it worth playing? Let's find out.

Story: N/A
There is no story! There are pictures of Russian monuments and rockets. I'm guessing its a celebration of Russian heritage?

Game-play: 9/10
Ah! This is where the game truly shines! Very easy to learn, hard to master. Tetris is a puzzle game in which the player must build blocks and destroy it? That doesn't sound right, but it is! Blocks made of different shapes and sizes fall from the top in various speeds. You must use your logic to fit these pieces (like a puzzle) together, then destroy them for points. Once you reach to a certain amount of points, you reach a new level and the speed of the falling blocks increases, giving you less time to think, thus making it more challenging. Controls are simple and easy to learn. Move the pieces with the directional-pad, hold down for a fast drop, press A or B to rotate the pieces clockwise or counter-clockwise.

The shapes include: a horizontal L, another L but reflected, a Z, another Z but reflected, a box, a T, and a long stick. Each are made up of four pixels. You can move these pieces anywhere you want and rotate them in any direction to build your "monument", but you'll have to destroy it if you want to keep playing. Once a single (or double or triple or quadruple) horizontal line has been completely filled up, meaning no spaces are left, the line gets destroyed and allows the player more space for "destruction." The game title "Tetris" comes from the quadruple line breaking. Destroy four lines and you will heard a high-note sound indicating that you did a Tetris which gives a big point boast. You can only do this with the long stick.

But once it gets too crowded and the building blocks have exceeded the maximum height, its game over. You can enter your high score but its pretty much useless since the game doesn't save it.

Graphics: 9/10
Are graphics really important in a game? Yes, but not in this game. However, the graphics are pretty nice for a 1989 game. Smooth pictures of Russian monuments and rockets are found along with dancing men. Words are easy to read, and there is absolutely no lag in motion. Pieces have a crisp image. There are black pieces and white pieces used to distinguish between a reflected piece and the original. That's pretty much it for graphics.

Sound: 8/10
The sound is very good in this game. The sound is very clear when you move the pieces, when you rotate the pieces, when the pieces land, and when lines break. And of course, there's the tetris sound which you'll want to hear a lot. The game over music is very peaceful; it calms you down and calms your rage down after reaching so far into the game.
The music in this game is great. There are three types of music to chose from, Music A, B, and C. A is pretty much standard, B sounds cooler, and C sounds, well it's kinda hard to describe, you'll have to hear it for yourself. All sound classical and it keeps you in the game when the game gets intense. I don't think you can make it very far in the game without the music; the music is very inspirational. There's an option turn the music off but why do that? It just makes the player less likely to win, unless you're playing it under your desk during class or if you're running low on batteries.

Replay Value: 9/10
How much replay value does this game have? Infinite! There are two game modes to choose from. Type 1 is the standard non-ending tetris game, well at least that's what I think. I have never truly won but my score was pretty high such that I got an ending. I don't know where the levels end but they get pretty fast when you reach the over 15. You can go forever, I think. I don't know, why don't you try? Type 2, is a different kind of tetris game but this game actually does end. All you have to do is break 25 lines in the given height and level. You can choose the level and height but try beating it on level 9, height 5. There is also an ending for this one but I'm not gonna spoil it for you since you probably know what it is anyway (hint: smooth pictures).
There's also a 2-player mode which allows you to link up with a friend and compete. Basically, its the same as Type 1, except that whenever you break lines, the lines are transferred to your friend, making his height greater and more likely to lose. The same goes for your friend so watch out.
You can honestly play this game all day and not get bored. I've played for hours, non-stop. It totally sucks to get a game-over though. Take it anywhere, play it anywhere. You might get bored if you play it everyday and beat it, mastered it and getting no where while playing which is why I stopped. But it feels great to play it after not playing it for a long time.

Challenge: 10/10
This games is very challenging. At some point, you may find yourself in a situation where you're very close to losing. The challenge is to get from a very high point to a huge amount of emptiness. But first you have to think and make careful planning. I love how I got out of a sticky situation which was what made this game very challenging. The levels go on and on-again, infinite replay. Try playing the levels in the 20s; it's nearly impossible with the slow movement of the pieces with the D-pad.

Pros:
-Challenging
-Infinite replay
-Great music
-Good for on the go like waiting for doctor's appointment or airport
-Increases puzzle skills? It could
Cons:
-Gets boring if you play it way too much
-Pieces movement is too slow for those really fast level speeds, making the game "impossible to beat"

Rent or buy:
Buy it. Its worth every penny and it your friends will enjoy as well. Good to have on the go and just take it out for some intense puzzling.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/13/04