Tetris DS

What could POSSIBLY be more exciting than yet another variation on Tetris? I’ll tell you what’s actually exciting: Playing Tetris with retro music and graphics runing around everywhere. Nostalgia Heaven, that is. But is the actual content of the game as good?

Story:
Uhhh… Super Smash Bros. in 8-bit. I don’t know. Read the manual… or something. Do they even write stories in game manuals anymore?

Gameplay (7.333/10):

This is hard to judge; The different modes are really divers, so I’ll judge them seperately and average it.

Tetris: The classic mode. Umm… Duh. 10/10

Push: Nintendo has decided to make an actual competition version of Tetris. There are two sides, mirrored vertically, and the two players will attempt to clear lines for the middle area between the two players to be pushed further towards the edge of their opponents’ screen. This mode is simple and addicting, just like the original. Finally, a multiplayer Tetris without needing those silly items. 9/10

Catch: This one’s a weird one. There is a plus-shaped central core, and you have to move the block into random falling shapes to create 4×4 square. Then you’re able to detonate it and cause any enemies or  falling shapes nearby. Very dumb, in my opinion, and not worth playing for very long, compared to the many other types of games. 4/10.

Mission: Clear a line with a certain shpae, or clear a certain amount of lines, or ect, in a certain amount of time. Simple, really, and not too addicting or original. but it’s still pretty fun. 6/10

Puzzle: This is also a puzzle-game trope that Tetris is not known much for. Solving puzzle-type missions sound more like the Puzzle League series, not this. But luckily, they do it well, and use the obscure Yoshi’s Cookie as a template, which rocks. Anyway, whoever thought of using Tetris pieces to solve puzzles was a genius; it fits extremely well within the rest of the modes, and some of the missions are really challenging. 8/10

Touch: How do you use a touch screen to play Tetris? You have to make it where there is a whole tower of randomly generated tetris pieces, and flip and slide them to try and clear lines. It is really lame, indeed. Luckily, there’s also a puzzle mode for touch mode, which does work. 7/10

So out of all the game modes, it ends up being:   7(.333)/10

Graphics(10/10):

Look at that, man. Retro grapchis everywhere, complimented by HD-ish backgrounds? It looks REALLY nice. I have no more to say.

Sound(9/10):

Remixing 8-bit music is always a win on the internet, and this game is no exception. Only problem is the amount of NES sound effects in the theme music, which detract form the overall experience. I mean, seriously. “Dirty Remixes, in my Tetris?” It could happen to you.

Challenge(10/10):

It’s Tetris. Puzzle games are naturally infinitely hard, because of their lack of ending.

Frustration(3/10):

Puzzle games can get you nerved-wrecked, but not frustrating. But the puzzle missions can wear on you.

(Frustration scores do not count after 4)

Replayability(10/10):

Yet another quality that puzzle games should naturally possess. Plus an online community that is still active as of April 2010. Dang man, this review is easy to write! =P

Value (10/10):

This game used is likely around 15-25 bucks US, thanks to Gamestop’s near-monopoly on game stores (in the eastern US, at least). It’s worth every penny.

(Value not counted)

Overall:

9/10 (also 9.1, 91.66%, or 49.5/54.)

It doesn’t even matter what genre or franchise this game belongs to. It is extremely well-designed, and is extremely addicting. Not to mention the fact that it has great multiplayer. Out of all portable Tetris titles, this one is by far the greatest one.

Thanks for reading my review. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the next reviews I do, PM me at nintendo City, or comment on an article
at http://ncbblog.wordpress.com/ . It’s off for me to do… something else. Oh yeah, read my comic The Mushroom Kingdom at http://tmk.smackjeeves.com/ , it
is what inspired me to write so many of these dang Mario reviews. =P
Ciao!