Post by Pilgrim John on Apr 10, 2006 15:36:52 GMT -5
TETRIS DS, for the Nintendo DS (Published by Nintendo)
****review by Pilgrim John
When Alexey Pajitnov created the wonderchild Tetris, the world was immediately obsessed with falling blocks. Its influence could be seen in every puzzle game since: Dr. Mario, Super Puzzle Fighter 2, Puyo Pop, and even as a minigame in the Mortal Kombat games.
Now, nearly twenty years later, Nintendo does the unthinkable: try to outdo the original. If that sounds next to impossible, that's because it is. However, Nintendo has always had this bad habit of making any critics eat their words; this talent takes to great effect on this insanely new and fun take on the original Tetris.
(GAMEPLAY)
Okay. This one is is easy. We're talking about Tetris here, how in the world can it be horrible?
The first thing you'll notice is that Tetris DS is decorated with Nintendo's all-stars in all their 8-bit glory: Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Balloon Fight, plus a couple others. This doesn't quite entangle with the gameplay often; but it is quite the pleasant surprise!
In addition to the traditional stack-up gameplay mode, Tetris DS also pushes several other new modes: Mission, Catch, Push, Touch, and Puzzle.
Zelda-themed Mission mode pits you in what appears to be the classic Tetris, but... You have an objective to accomplish (such as clearing a certain line, or a certain number of lines with "x" block), and with only a limited number of time to accomplish it.
Metroid-themed Catch is the only mode that really entwines the gameplay with the theme. Believe it or not, you control the pile of Tetriminos rather than the individual blocks. You move the pile around, catching blocks to build yourself a 4x4 pile, which then turns into a bomb. You take the bomb and blow up falling Metroids to regain health (you lose health when the Metroid hits your pile, or when you miss a Tetrimino).
Donkey Kong-themed Push mode pits against an opponent, but not in two separate fields. Instead, you're both on the same field, trying to push the same pile of Tetriminos on each other. It's very challenging, and worth a play.
Balloon Fight-themed Touch is the most challenging aspect of this game. You move the blocks about with your stylus in an attempt to bring the cage of balloons down to the ground. It's much, much harder than I make it sound, though. Also included in this mode is Touch Puzzle, in which you must move the blocks onscreen to accomplish the directions in the top window. I've only managed to solve nearly half...
Finally, Puzzle Mode is themed after the more obscure Yoshi's Cookie. Living up to its name, Puzzle Mode has you trying to solve huge, brain-bending shape puzzles using only the Tetriminos they give you. That's right: the ONLY Tetriminos they give you. The beginning might be rather easy for some, but it doesn't take long for it to become fiendishly tricky.
Multiplayer is a puzzle fanclub's dream come true. You might only be able to play select modes (rather than all), but completely pwning some jerk is still just as satisfying as it's ever been. WiFi, much like in Mario Kart DS, is a must for Tetris multiplayer enthusiasts. Get connected, and take on the world!
(GRAPHICS)
8-bit peraphernallia (I don't think I spelled that right...) completely washes the screens here. The top screen displays the game being played as according to the theme, but that only proves to be distracting. As unnecessary as it was for Nintendo to put NES themes in the game, they outdid themselves to the fullest. It's unbelievably cool to watch DK drop Tetriminos and the Balloon Fighters going at it in the background, even if it distracts you.
(MUSIC/SOUND)
Along with the NES games being plastered on the graphics, it even includes MIDI remixes of the songs each game came from. However, when I looked at the Sound Test option, there were songs marked "??" I wonder what that means...
(OVERALL)
This is Tetris reborn with a flair nobody expected but everyone can enjoy. If you think that the first Tetris could never have been outdone, here's proof that miracles can most certainly happen.
(GOOD)
*The Nintendo themes
*All the new play modes
*The music (Oh, the memories)
*It's Tetris!
*WiFi lets you lay down the Tetris law on your friends
(BAD)
*The fact that you can turn off your DS
SCORE: 9.5/10
Get this game. It's Tetris, with insanely original play modes, and hosed with Nintendo classics. If you don't like this game, you have NO SOUL.
****review by Pilgrim John
When Alexey Pajitnov created the wonderchild Tetris, the world was immediately obsessed with falling blocks. Its influence could be seen in every puzzle game since: Dr. Mario, Super Puzzle Fighter 2, Puyo Pop, and even as a minigame in the Mortal Kombat games.
Now, nearly twenty years later, Nintendo does the unthinkable: try to outdo the original. If that sounds next to impossible, that's because it is. However, Nintendo has always had this bad habit of making any critics eat their words; this talent takes to great effect on this insanely new and fun take on the original Tetris.
(GAMEPLAY)
Okay. This one is is easy. We're talking about Tetris here, how in the world can it be horrible?
The first thing you'll notice is that Tetris DS is decorated with Nintendo's all-stars in all their 8-bit glory: Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Balloon Fight, plus a couple others. This doesn't quite entangle with the gameplay often; but it is quite the pleasant surprise!
In addition to the traditional stack-up gameplay mode, Tetris DS also pushes several other new modes: Mission, Catch, Push, Touch, and Puzzle.
Zelda-themed Mission mode pits you in what appears to be the classic Tetris, but... You have an objective to accomplish (such as clearing a certain line, or a certain number of lines with "x" block), and with only a limited number of time to accomplish it.
Metroid-themed Catch is the only mode that really entwines the gameplay with the theme. Believe it or not, you control the pile of Tetriminos rather than the individual blocks. You move the pile around, catching blocks to build yourself a 4x4 pile, which then turns into a bomb. You take the bomb and blow up falling Metroids to regain health (you lose health when the Metroid hits your pile, or when you miss a Tetrimino).
Donkey Kong-themed Push mode pits against an opponent, but not in two separate fields. Instead, you're both on the same field, trying to push the same pile of Tetriminos on each other. It's very challenging, and worth a play.
Balloon Fight-themed Touch is the most challenging aspect of this game. You move the blocks about with your stylus in an attempt to bring the cage of balloons down to the ground. It's much, much harder than I make it sound, though. Also included in this mode is Touch Puzzle, in which you must move the blocks onscreen to accomplish the directions in the top window. I've only managed to solve nearly half...
Finally, Puzzle Mode is themed after the more obscure Yoshi's Cookie. Living up to its name, Puzzle Mode has you trying to solve huge, brain-bending shape puzzles using only the Tetriminos they give you. That's right: the ONLY Tetriminos they give you. The beginning might be rather easy for some, but it doesn't take long for it to become fiendishly tricky.
Multiplayer is a puzzle fanclub's dream come true. You might only be able to play select modes (rather than all), but completely pwning some jerk is still just as satisfying as it's ever been. WiFi, much like in Mario Kart DS, is a must for Tetris multiplayer enthusiasts. Get connected, and take on the world!
(GRAPHICS)
8-bit peraphernallia (I don't think I spelled that right...) completely washes the screens here. The top screen displays the game being played as according to the theme, but that only proves to be distracting. As unnecessary as it was for Nintendo to put NES themes in the game, they outdid themselves to the fullest. It's unbelievably cool to watch DK drop Tetriminos and the Balloon Fighters going at it in the background, even if it distracts you.
(MUSIC/SOUND)
Along with the NES games being plastered on the graphics, it even includes MIDI remixes of the songs each game came from. However, when I looked at the Sound Test option, there were songs marked "??" I wonder what that means...
(OVERALL)
This is Tetris reborn with a flair nobody expected but everyone can enjoy. If you think that the first Tetris could never have been outdone, here's proof that miracles can most certainly happen.
(GOOD)
*The Nintendo themes
*All the new play modes
*The music (Oh, the memories)
*It's Tetris!
*WiFi lets you lay down the Tetris law on your friends
(BAD)
*The fact that you can turn off your DS
SCORE: 9.5/10
Get this game. It's Tetris, with insanely original play modes, and hosed with Nintendo classics. If you don't like this game, you have NO SOUL.