When you take control of it, it takes control of you.

There's something I've noticed about Tetris DS: you buy it thinking it will be a great way to spend some time when you're bored. But no. Pretty soon you lock yourself in your bedroom, your family wonders why you aren't eating, and friends start to forget about you. "Oh, him? You mean he's still alive?" The once energetic and outdoorsy guy everyone knows starts seeing a different person; one that drools at the thought of rearranging furniture; one who prefers cuddled up in a small, artificially-lighted white-walled room with nothing more than a bed and a Nintendo DS; one who becomes so obsessive-compulsive that he works at UPS just to stack boxes.

I may not be that bad, but I'm scared Tetris DS will suck me in, too.

Gameplay

Tetris, invented by Russian native Alexey Pajitnov in June of 1985, was originally created as an addition to a new computer program he was making. Word in Moscow spread after copies of the program were handed out to friends and family, and people began playing Tetris (a portmanteau of the prefix tetra, meaning "four", and tennis, his favorite sport). In its 22 year history, Tetris has captured millions of players' hearts and minds due to its textbook "easy to learn, difficult to master" gameplay. It has sparked multiple variations that never got to see as wide a publicity, such as Hatris and Welltriss (both made by Pajitnov).

Pieces, also called Tetriminos, consist of I, L, J, O, S, T and Z shapes and are each made up by four blocks (hence tetra). One piece at a time is dropped into a 20x10 block grid, landing wherever and however the player chooses by rotating and adjusting the speed at which they drop. Blocks disappear from the grid when a horizontal row of ten blocks is achieved. Multiple rows can be eliminated at once, a "tetris" happening when four clear simultaneously. Bonus points are awarded for navigating the T shape into a hard to reach location (T-Spin), or if a tetris occurs multiple times without interruption (Back-To-Back).

As time goes on and a certain amount of lines are cleared, you reach higher and higher levels. In Tetris DS this means different backgrounds. It also means the pieces fall with increasing speed.

This is why Tetris itself is so fun.

Exclusive modes for Tetris DS

Tetris DS was originally created by THQ and was probably going to be a portable version of Tetris Worlds, which to many was a disappointing game. However, the rights were purchased by Nintendo. As expected, Nintendo added their own twist to the Tetris gameplay and added five more modes for players.

There's the Standard Mode (Super Mario theme) which is the original version of Tetris; Push (Donkey Kong theme) that in simple terms means Tetris tug-of-war; Touch (Balloon Fight theme) for stylus control; Puzzle (Yoshi theme) for turn-by-turn clearing of rows; Mission (Zelda theme) for completing goals under a time limit; and Catch (Metroid theme) that forces you to create 4x4 blocks by turning the collected pieces.

Each mode is extremely innovative and takes advantage of the Tetris style. Push is especially fun since it requires one person to react to the other person's movements. It is a modern interpretation of the original Tetris two-player where both players work in the same playing field, but on opposite sides. One player "drops" pieces upwards while the other drops pieces downwards, shoving the other opponent towards their side of the grid in an attempt to push them off.

That's not enough? Well, how about WiFi connectivity so you can play with nine other people in the room, or nine others around the world? It's madness!

I do wish the Hold function was assigned to the Select button and not the shoulder buttons. I can get hand cramps after half an hour of play due to readjusting my index finger over and over again to reach it. That, and it's extremely awkward using my left hand to touch the L button since I'm right-handed. A simple press of the Select button with my thumb would be much easier.

Sound

The remixed music from the old Nintendo games are fantastic. Remember that song from the first level in Super Mario Bros.? Imagine that with a rocking techno beat.

The menu music uses sound bites from their old games as well. It takes me back to the time I was five years old and got an SNES which I played for literally hours a day. It's retro done right. Thank goodness Tetris DS has a music menu so I can listen to it in my spare time.

Graphics

The Nintendo DS may not have the graphics of a Sony PSP, but Tetris DS is one of those games that makes you feel proud of owning one. This is probably because Tetris is simple and addicting by itself, but when you add a lot of bright, happy colors with hypnotic backgrounds, you got yourself a mental workout with eye candy.

The game designers know there's not much space on the screen (as compared to a television), so thankfully the pieces are designed and sized just right so it is impossible to get eyestrain.

Replay Value

Let's put it this way: After a few days of playing Tetris DS, I found a door. I opened it, and to my surprise I saw birds. And trees.

That's a dramatization, but my point is this: you will not put down your DS anytime soon. There's always that urge to get one more level; raise that score a little higher; get another Back-To-Back bonus. This is what has made Tetris so popular for over 22 years.

Overall

Tetris is the puzzle game all puzzle games wish they could be. It has staying power, and with new versions coming out year after year, I won't be surprised if I'm still playing it in 20 years.

Tetris DS is a faithful evolution of the original Tetris, and it just feels right to blend old-school Nintendo with Tetris, seeing how it was most popular on the Game Boy. I applaud Nintendo.

~Scott