Tetris DS (Nintendo DS) Review

All access gaming... it's a term that is very much following Nintendo of late. It was a paradigm shift to create the DS, but now the DS has to be all access and allow all people to play its games. And as far as all access gaming goes, Tetris is king. So it's understandable that Nintendo wanted Tetris as part of its first wave of online games. Mario Kart, Animal Crossing and Metroid have all brought in their own section of the community and with it the wfc is growing and evolving into a smart piece of kit. Tetris brings in an entirely new audience, an audience who grew up with this game and may have slipped out the industry. So how do you convince these gamers that this Tetris is worth buying over the original?

Well first things first the original Tetris by itself wouldn't sell, so Nintendo have shoved it full of other Tetris themed games with variable success. Firstly, you have the puzzle themed modes; these are modes that are based in the Tetris world but are really puzzle games that tax the old brain cells. These are "mission" and (surprise surprise) "Puzzle".

Mission mode is a normal game of Tetris that is accompanied by a certain mission. This may be to clear 2 lines at once, or complete a tetris using a certain block or even get lines using only the one type of block. This requires a great deal more thought and skill than the normal tetris game and is Zelda themed.... Which is nice. Puzzle mode is very much like the chess games you see in the paper. A game in progress, you have to complete it. In Tetris DS you get a static Tetris screen and a choice of several blocks. You choose the blocks to put in and in what rotation and you have to use all blocks to clear all lines. The absurdly high difficulty level and total of 200 puzzles means this is one of the main long-term reasons to play Tetris DS.

We then have the down points of Tetris DS. Two modes that bring the whole game down from the dizzying high it was achieving, namely "Touch" and "Catch". Touch is the obligatory touch screen puzzle and consists of a tower of tetris blocks. You have to move them using the stylus to make lines. Clear the lot and you win. Now, Tetris is good because it combines frantic speed and taxing brainteasers. Touch has the exact opposite of both, not a great idea Nintendo.

Catch is difficult to describe. You move upwards through a Metroid themed stage and there are blocks falling down in typical tetris style. You are in control of a "core" block and you have to rotate this block and catch the falling blocks in an aim to create a 4x4 minimum cube. You do that and it explodes in 4 directions, destroying anything in its path. If it destroys blocks and enemies (yes, there are Metroid baddies present as well) then you get extra points. This is dire, very easy and poorly conceived. Simply speaking the energy bar, which determines how long you survive, is too long; thusly you can kick about for HOURS raking up ludicrous scores and not break a sweat.

Now we have the big guns, the golden jewels in the Tetris DS crown, "Standard" and "Push". Standard is legendary tetris goodness with a retro lick of paint. As you play classic Nintendo games play in the top screen, which is amazing for any fan of Nintendo. The Tetris gameplay is as good as ever and whilst fans of "limited turning" will moan everyone else will slip back into playing Tetris with ease. Push mode is (along with standard mode) the main multiplayer mode for Tetris DS. You have 2 players each taking a different side of the tetris board. As your blocks go down you have to create a minimum of 2 lines to "push" the lines down towards your opponents "danger line". Once the blocks pierce the danger line then it's game over. This is one of the big success stories of Tetris DS and works amazingly well even with the computer. Real skill is needed and frantic races to clear blocks is not uncommon... especially if you play someone of similar skill.

Standard and push are the modes used in the Tetris DS online mode. Yes, Tetris is finally officially online on a Nintendo console... and boy is it good. You see, whilst the other WFC games are open to abuse via using sneaky skills or skilful disconnections Tetris DS isn't. The game engine is impossible to abuse and disconnections count as a loss so 90% of games online go without a hitch. You have a choice of what mode to play; standard, standard with items and push. The items used in standard are basic Mario Kart style but work brilliantly. Mushrooms speed up how fast the blocks fall on everyone else's screens, stars give you limited infinite source of long blocks and so on and so forth. Games are always exciting and competitive and even the friend system is improved. You can now either host or join a game, so finding a game a mate is hosting is so much easier than past WFC games. One problem is that sometimes it's tough to find people to play, but that should improve as more people get the game.

All in all Tetris DS is an excellent package. The retro theme bring a smile to even the most cynical gamer as they see a game scene that they remember or hear a retro remix of a classic game tune. The majority of game modes are excellent with push and puzzle in particular being amazing additions to the Tetris canon. Unfortunately one or two of the modes are extremely poor and take the gloss off an otherwise great offline package. Online is sublime and a definite step up from the UK's previous exposure of the WFC, with multiple game modes and improved friend system making this the flagship wfc title... until Metroid Hunters hits our shores. On the whole the pros greatly outline the cons and this should definitely be a game any DS owner should think about purchasing.