Tetris DX

"This game will forever haunt you."

Close your eyes and it's there. Lie trying to fall asleep and it's there. Put a Tetris DX cartridge into you GameBoy and, believe it or not, it's there. I'm talking about the Tetris mindset. Falling blocks possessing your mind, endlessly being fit into each other. This is what happens when you play Tetris (or any good puzzle game). It stays with you.... FOREVER! Not that that's a bad thing, especially when it's portable.

Tetris DX is the best incarnation of Tetris I have ever played. There are four game modes (more one those later) on of which is very innovative. You also get color, something lacking from the most well known version of Tetris (the original GameBoy one), and a feature that quadruples the replay value. Prepare to enter Tetris in its truest form.

Gameplay:

The heart of Tetris DX'es gameplay is quite simple, and probably one you know. You are given seven arrangements of four blocks that fall one at a time from the sky. You can rotate most of the block combinations into two or four formations. You must arrange the blocks into horizontal rows that go across the screen and have no gaps. When you do this, the row disapears. You'll need to do this constantly, because if your pile of blocks reaches the top of the screen the game is over. You can get more points by clearing multiple rows at once, up to four at the same time to score the game's name sake, a tetris. Your score is very important because Tetris (atleast in it's original mode) has no end, you play for a high score. This is where the single best addition to Tetris DX comes in. You can now save your high score. This gives the game nearly infinite replay value since you can try to get a better score again and again. You can also save the game exactly where you are (the save dissapears when you turn the game on again, so don't try to take advantage of this for cheating) when you turn the system off, making Tetris DX an even better game to play when you're waiting for something. If you've never played Tetris this may not sound so addicting, but trust me, it is. Now on to the four modes of play:

Marathon

Marathon is the classic Tetris mode, where you simply arrange an endless amounts of falling blocks until the stack overwhelms you. The game gets faster and faster as you play, so getting a score in the hundred thousands will take a lot of dedication. Marathon is the best mode of the game, you can play it forever trying to beat your high score.

Ultra

Ultra is similar to marathon mode except you have a three minute time limit. Basically it's marathon mode if you like time challenges or are short on time.

40 Lines

40 lines is a mode where the game stops after you clear 40 lines. You can make it harder by filling up part of the screen with incomplete lines. In 40 lines mode you compete against the clock, trying for a quick time instead of a high score.

VS Com

VS Com is the innovative mode I mentioned earlier. Basically, you play a normal game of Tetris but performing combos sends additional lines to an invisible computer opponent. Your opponent can do the same to you. Whoever has their screen filled first loses. You can also play this mode two player. So what makes this innovative? You can make multiple player files on Tetris DX. The file records your stats and gives you a power rating based on how well you do overall. In VS com mode you can play against any (up to three) registered players on the cartridge, simulated by the computer based on their power rating. You can even play against yourself! Defeating yourself is much harder than you'd think.

Gameplay Score: 9/10

Graphics:

Tetris DX adds color to the classic GameBoy Tetris. The color is done well, with each block combination having its own color pattern. The backgrounds are pretty much nonexistent, they're just one color. The animations you get when your score is high enough in some modes are well done and graphically impressive for a GBC game. Still, graphics clearly aren't the focus of Tetris DX.

Graphics Score: 6/10

Sound:

Sound is the only area Tetris DX does worse than the original GB Tetris. The sound effects are improved, combo sounds more resemble sound effects than emergency broadcast system tests than in the original Tetris. The music however isn't as good. Tetris had enjoyable Russian tunes, while Tetris DX has more generic background music. It's not a big deal though, you'll hardly notice the music anyway.

Sound Score: 5/10

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 6/10
Sound: 5/10
Overall: (not an average) 9/10

Conclusion:

Tetris DX is an incredibly addictive game. If you haven't played Tetris you should go see what you're missing, and if you have this is the best version, worth buying even if you have another.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/01/03