Tetris DX

"A colorful update of the original classic."

Tetris is a classic, fun and challenging game. It was such an ingenious pack-in with the original Game Boy in 1989 because it perfectly defined what a portable game should be: engrossing, and yet simple enough that you can just pick it up and play.

Nine years after the original Game Boy, Nintendo released the Game Boy Color, arguably the first major technical update of the portable system. The Game Boy Color was sleeker, more powerful and much more colorful than its predecessor. What better way to celebrate the hardware's release than with an updated version of Tetris?

That's exactly what Tetris DX is: it's the original 1989 release, but updated to full color and with a few additional gameplay modes thrown in. And that's about it. But, that's all I would ever want. I don't need better graphics, a story, etc. I just want Tetris, and that's exactly what you will get with Tetris DX.

The standard gameplay, and what you're used to, is Marathon mode. Here, you align falling blocks into rows and delete them. Over time, the blocks begin to fall faster and you will be able to delete multiple rows at once, earning large point bonuses. You keep doing this until you get a game over, as the objective is to earn as many points as possible. Marathon mode is exactly like the 1989 original, except now you can "hold" certain pieces and use them later. This is useful because now you can save the more valuable pieces for a later time when they'd be needed to clear more lines. In addition to full color, there are also three tunes you can choose from for background music.

A new gameplay mode to Tetris DX is "40 Lines." This is played almost exactly like Marathon mode, except the game ends after you clear 40 lines, or rows. Here, the objective is not to amass as many points as possible, but to clear the lines as quickly as possible. The timing element adds some pressure, and thus I think that this game mode is harder than the standard Marathon.

Another new mode is multiplayer. Here, you can challenge your friends (or the computer.) This mode is played as a hybrid between Marathon and 40 Lines. The objective is to earn the most points, but if you're too slow, than your opponent can send their cleared lines onto your screen, which means that you will have less space to clear lines of your own. Thus, the only way to be successful is to create many rows at once, as fast as possible.

Tetris DX is one of those games that will likely appeal to everybody. It's simple to play, and yet hard to master. Sure, it doesn't break any ground in terms of innovation, but there's really not much more that one could ask for from Tetris. It takes the classic formula and adapts it beautifully to the Game Boy Color experience.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/30/02, Updated 03/27/09

Game Release: Tetris DX (US, 10/31/98)