Rebirth of a Tetris Classic

Ah, the heady days of yore. I remember it so well: junior high homeroom, all the spoiled kids with their brand new Game Boys, and the game of choice was a mysterious Russian number called Tetris. It was simple, it was elegant, it was difficult, it was FUN. And, it was addictive. Being one of the have-nots in the Game Boy universe, I suffered greatly for the few times I got the chance to bum a Game Boy from a friend and play a few games.

In the years since, I've played dozens of versions of Tetris, mostly downloaded freeware (does anyone own the copyright to this game?), but nothing came close to what was, in my mind, the original. Maybe the wrong music, maybe a slight change in controls (like only allowing you to rotate the pieces one way), but something was always wrong.

Flash forward to the era of Game Boy Color. Like other perpetual man-boys around the world, the Game Boy Color had to be mine. And with it, Tetris DX. It was like a reunion with an old friend, but better: it was like a reunion with an old friend who had really made good in the interim.

The controls were, once again, just right. Pushing down on the control pad causes blocks to accelerate, not warp to the bottom as it does in some Tetris implementations I've seen. Intuitive behavior on rotation and the one-block lookahead that is so important in competitive Tetris play were both there, just as I had remembered.

But there was more: more game modes, for one thing. In addition to Marathon (get as many lines as possible until you fill up the screen) and 40 lines (get 40 lines as quickly as possible), there is Ultra (get the best score in 3 minutes), and Vs. CMP (play against the computer).

And don't underestimate the improvement of color. This is no Turnervision paint job, folks. Visibility is remarkably improved, and the look of the game is generally very nice and arcade-ish.

One point of complaint. Nintendo, where'd the Russian music go? The music's okay, but nothing could ever rival the original. Thankfully, there is a no music mode, which, coupled with a Russian folk music CD and a stereo, does nicely in a pinch.

Overall, rebirth of a classic.