Tetris DX

"It's Tetris. What more do you need to know?"

The game of Tetris has been around for well over a decade, in various incarnations and formats. Almost every video game system has had one Tetris in some form or another. Heck, even N64 had one. So when Nintendo released their Game Boy Color portable system, the natural thought was to release a version of Tetris entitled Tetris DX. I should probably let you know that this is a new version of the classic Tetris game, not a port of an older Tetris game and most definitely not a atrocious bastardization of a Tetris game, like Tetris ''2''.

STORY: What story? There is no story. It's just you, a hole, and seven types of blocks. What else is there to know? n/a

GRAPHICS: The menus and intermissions are really nice looking, but besides that what do you want? Wait, how about 'There is a lot of detail added to each individual block. The best graphics I ever seen.' Seriously, it's nothing eye-popping. It's just a bunch of blocks falling down a well. That said, the best graphics I have ever seen. If more games were like this... 9/10

SOUND: To tell you the truth, the sound of any Tetris game is pretty standard. You should be able to distinguish different sounds. The music tracks on this version of Tetris are okay, although I much rather have preferred the tracks on the original Game Boy version. 8/10

GAMEPLAY: You line up blocks to form one solid line, they disappear, repeat. The whole process seems so monotonous, yet when you play the game, that doesn't seem to be much of a concern. Control is an absolute dream; the most responsive control I've ever had the pleasure of playing on. The various modes are alright, but I personally stick with the basic Marathon mode. 10/10

CHALLENGE: I managed to get up as far as Level 24 in Tetris DX from Level 0. I think that's pretty good, when I play classic Tetris on the old NES, I can only manage Level 9. This clearly indicates to me that Tetris DX is a little on the easy side. Not that I'm complaining. It does get harder as you progress higher, just that I'm much used to blocks seemingly falling at Mach 55 by the time I'm at Level 9. Still, it's a good play. 8/10

REPLAY VALUE: Like all the other Tetris games, Tetris DX is a game of skill that seems to have an infinite amount of replayability. I think a gaming mag somewhere said it best: when you get tired of all the 3D games and dancing joke games, Tetris and its seven blocks will be there for your gaming needs. 10/10

OVERALL: ''Come on! It's Tetris! Of course you should be getting it!!'' That would be an overemotional response, but it applies here. Despite being slightly on the easy side, Tetris DX is still an excellent game that stands the test of time. You should get it... now. 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/13/03, Updated 07/13/03