RoyalRanger's NES Site - Zippidee-doo-da. Zippidee-ite. My, oh my, what a wonderful site.

Tetris
By Powell Angel Dude

When I bought Tetris I thought it was going to be one of those "last resort" games you play when all your other games get boring ... boy was I wrong! I popped the game in my NES expecting to play it for 15-20 minutes, little did I know I would end up playing for two hours! This game is great, an instant classic, and it should be in everybody's collection. And in this review I will tell you why.

Let me start by saying this is one of the most easiest games to pick up and play. Even if you have never played Tetris in your entire life, it will take you no longer to find out what to do. Basically, different shaped blocks fall from the top of the screen, you have to arrange these blocks to form straight lines at the bottom of the screen. You can make the blocks turn by pressing "A" so you can arrange them to form a line. If you get too many blocks stacked up, then the game is over and you must start over from the beginning.

You start the game on level 0, if you form ten lines on that level than you move up one level. A level advance is signaled with a beep and a change in the colors of the blocks. Every time you go up one level, the blocks fall faster and faster, making it harder for you to plan your strategy. Which, in turn makes this game very hard when you get up to the higher levels.

There are two kinds of games you can play - "Type A" and "Type B." Type A is just plain old Tetris where you stack up blocks and continue on levels. But Type B is played a little differently. In type B you can start with a "height.." The height ranges from 0-5. If you start on on height 5, there are misplaced blocks about halfway up the screen. This just makes it harder for you to form your line and makes the block stack to the top of the screen quicker. The different heights can make your game harder and more challenging, but it seems that that is all I play.

The screen is layed out very nicely. You have your statistics laid out on the left hand side of the screen. Your statistics are the number of times each block formation comes down. And on the right hand side of the screen, you have your score, your level, and what block will fall next. I really like how it tells you what block will fall next, this can really help you strategize so you can decide what block to place where. All in all, the game is laid out beautifully and everything is perfect.

The technical stuff in this game is awesome. I absolutely love the music. You can pick between three different tunes, personally, the music type C is my favorite, but when you get the game you can decide. Not too much can be said about the graphics, I mean the whole game is blocks. But I guess I can say they are colored pretty neatly. But seriously, I cannot think of one flaw in the entire game, The controls are tight and responsive, and the Title screen looks kinda nice.

All in all, this game is unbelievable. How can a game that is nothing but blocks be so much fun? The amazing thing is, after you get done playing, you will have noticed that you have been playing for 2 hours in what feels like 15 minutes. I highly recommend this game to anybody who doesn't have it. And if you do own it, good.

My Score: 9/10

RoyalRanger's NES Site
© 2001-2003 Stephen Maiorana (RoyalRanger)
This site is not authorized, sponsored, or endorsed by Nintendo of America, Inc.