Tetris DX review

Game: Tetris DX
Platform: Game Boy Color
Genre: Casual (Puzzle)
Developer: Nintendo

Reader review by iamtheprodigy

August 11, 2007

You know what Tetris is. Yes, you. I'm talking directly to you, reader, the one on the other side of the computer screen. I can say this with certainty because if you're on this website, reading this review right now, the chances of you not having played one of the millions of Tetris spawn are treading on nothing. In the very least, I'm sure you've seen Human Tetris (and if you haven't check it out because it's hilarious). Anyway, because I can say with great certainty that you know what Tetris is about, I promise that I won't tell you again. Instead, I'll hit on the points that make this game stand out from one of the other nameless Tetris clones.

Okay, so, starting things off, you kick into a first-player game from the opening menu. Here you have to make a file for yourself to track your own scores. Next, you pick your play mode. First is Marathon, which is your standard play-until-you-lose Tetris. Next is Ultra, which is a version of Tetris in which you have to collect as many points as possible in three minutes. Third is 40 Lines, which, as you may have guessed, is a race to get 40 lines as quickly as possible. Finally, you have Vs. Com mode. You select your music, pick your level, and your off.

And here's where we hit the game itself once again. As promised, I won't bore you with a retelling of Tetris gameplay. So instead, let's rewind a bit.

Now Marathon we all know, and Ultra and 40 Lines are pretty self-explanatory, but what about Vs. Com? Well, this is a weird version of Tetris in which you are playing "against" the computer. How do you do that? Well, you basically just play Tetris as normal. Whenever you make lines, you slowly fill up a bar on the left side of the screen. When you fill up the bar all the way, you win. But, if you take too long, the dirty SOB Com will add lines to the bottom of yours, forcing you up. The longer you take, the more the Com will add. So the goal is basically the same as all the other game modes: get as many lines as you can as fast as you can. The whole game mode of Vs. Com just feels like a cheap gimmick, like a loose idea that was never really completely worked out but tacked on anyway for good measure.

The rest of the game modes at least don't feel cheap, but they aren't anything mind-blowing either. Sure, we all love a little Tetris here and there, but if you're not a Tetris freak, this game certainly isn't going to make you one. For the casual Tetris player though, it does do a lot of things to keep it playable. It has ten levels for each game mode that all increase in speed and therefore difficulty, and it keeps track of the top three high games for each level. Playing well and always getting high scores increases your Power, which is proudly displayed under your file. The ability to see how all your high scores for each level and difficulty match up to your brother's or cousin's or whoever else has a file on your game is cool. The game makes it easy to see all of these things, as well as stats from your games like numbers and percentages of single lines all the way up to Tetris's's's (eliminating five lines at once for a bonus). So everything is there and in front of you, and it's all straight-forward and easy to play, but there's no ground-breaking or exciting different modes to play, so veteran Tetriserians (?) will likely be a bit bored. Still, it's probably one of the best time-killing Gameboy titles, if you still play your old GB.

There. See! I told you I could make it through a whole review without telling you that Tetris is a game where you line up the falling blocks and try to make horizontal lines with them. *corny 'irony gong' from bad cartoon endings goes here*

Rating: 6/10

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