Tetris DS

Tetris (DS)

Strengths: lots of different modes of play

Weakness: not as engaging as the Tetris of the late 1980s

Tetris for DS is pretty good game. It has lots of different ways to play. For single player, there is standard, catch, mission, puzzle, touch and push. Within some of the modes, there are additional choices. For example, Standard has the following choices: Marathon, Line Clear and vs CPU. Marathon is the closest to the original Tetris of old. But instead of playing endlessly, the goal is to clear...
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Tetris for DS is pretty good game. It has lots of different ways to play. For single player, there is standard, catch, mission, puzzle, touch and push. Within some of the modes, there are additional choices. For example, Standard has the following choices: Marathon, Line Clear and vs CPU. Marathon is the closest to the original Tetris of old. But instead of playing endlessly, the goal is to clear 200 lines. After each 10 lines cleared, then level increases and the speed of the blocks dropping increases. I feel that the difficulty ramps up too quickly. The game is less enjoyable and more stressful earlier. I have only made it up to about level 8 out of 20. The game show you the next 6 pieces. It also shows you a ghost image of where the block will drop - but this can be turned off in the options. The bottom screen is where you play and the top screen shows scenes from previous Nintendo games. You also have the option to hold a block as it is dropping and then play it later.

The music is from classic Nintendo games and can get very annoying.

Overall I would give Tetris an average score for a $30 game.

The different play modes may appeal to some and certainly provide more variety than just "normal" Tetris

By cheapfrag - Sep 7, 2006

Tetris DS

Strengths: familiar game play

Weakness: see below

After a few weeks with Tetris DS, there were a bunch of items that bothered me: - The changing/moving backgrounds were distracting early on. (newness) I found myself looking at was going on in the background vs. looking at the pieces. Eventually, the backgrounds were mundane and I was able to ignore them. - The 6 piece preview is too much. I wish it had an option to go back to the single piece...
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After a few weeks with Tetris DS, there were a bunch of items that bothered me:

- The changing/moving backgrounds were distracting early on. (newness) I found myself looking at was going on in the background vs. looking at the pieces. Eventually, the backgrounds were mundane and I was able to ignore them.
- The 6 piece preview is too much. I wish it had an option to go back to the single piece preview.
- In some cases, the piece gets chopped off enough so you don’t know what the initial shape is. I don’t know if that’s because of the screen or what.
- I have mixed feelings on the “infinite spin cheat”. I don’t like that you can keep the piece floating indefinitely by spinning it.

So overall, it’s an ok title, but if you grew up with the old school Tetris in the arcades, you might be disappointed with the “enhancements” built into this version of Tetris.

By bob330i - Jul 24, 2006

Great DS game

Strengths: Online play, Wi fi play, Tetris, 6 modes

Weakness: half the modes suck

Online play is amazing, 10 people can play off one cartage if you have 10 people with a DS in wifi range. Too bad On line support is only 4. Playing tetris, with power up mario kart style.

Of the 6 game modes half of them suck. The 2 puzzle modes are decent, but not to much fun. The touch screen game is nice. The push and catch games are completely boring.

By gwenevir - Jun 20, 2006

Tetris is Back!

Strengths: Great retro feel with Nintendo characters and music, lots of modes, addictive, online play.

Weakness: The retro Nintendo theme may turn some gamers off, ghost mode shows where peices will land.

Tetris is one of the most imitated games of all time with hundreds of wannabe puzzle games. But somehow, those titles never quite replicate the fun and feel of the original Tetris. As a big Nintendo fanboy, I was ecstatic to see Tetris get the Nintendo makeover complete with classic characters and themes from my favorite game developer. There are so many modes to play but I always end up going to...
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Tetris is one of the most imitated games of all time with hundreds of wannabe puzzle games. But somehow, those titles never quite replicate the fun and feel of the original Tetris. As a big Nintendo fanboy, I was ecstatic to see Tetris get the Nintendo makeover complete with classic characters and themes from my favorite game developer. There are so many modes to play but I always end up going to what I know best - standard mode. The LAN mode is great because it supports up to 10-players with just one cart. Online play is a lot more limited but it's great to still have competition whenever you feel like it. I highly recommend this game!

By sabin23 - May 31, 2006

Tetris updated-- but do we need it?

Strengths: It's Tetris! It's still a fun game.

Weakness: It's Tetris! There's not a whole lot MUST HAVE new stuff here.

Sorry for the lack of originality in the Pros and Cons, but it's true! This is Tetris. Tweaked nicely for the Nintendo DS; with an eye to some nostalgia with familiar Nintendo characters. But at its core, it's Tetris. The same game you've been playing now for coming up on 20 years. That said, it is still one of the most addictive puzzlers ever; even people who traditionally don't like puzzle...
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Sorry for the lack of originality in the Pros and Cons, but it's true! This is Tetris. Tweaked nicely for the Nintendo DS; with an eye to some nostalgia with familiar Nintendo characters. But at its core, it's Tetris. The same game you've been playing now for coming up on 20 years. That said, it is still one of the most addictive puzzlers ever; even people who traditionally don't like puzzle games tend to at least enjoy Tetris.

The new modes are sort of hit and miss, and online is a nice addition.

Basically, if you don't have another version of Tetris, or want to see the new rule changes (each 'official' version of Tetris must be officially licensed, and what constitutes official rules has changed over the years), this is as good a way as any. If you've played Tetris to death already, you may want to steer clear; yes, there's new stuff here but I don't know if it's enough to warrant an all-new purchase.

If you've never played Tetris-- 5 stars. It's a great puzzle game.

If you're a fan of Tetris and Nintendo, have some nostalgia for it all, or just want to check out a fun game-- 4 stars.

Otherwise-- 3 stars. It's a good version of Tetris with fun modes. 3 stars isn't a slam; it's a perfectly good game, there's just nothing in my head that makes it an ABSOLUTE MUST PLAY in this specific format (for the DS). If you've played Tetris to death, there's not enough new here in my opinion to warrant a purchase at full price. (but if you see a great price through Pricegrabber it might be worth checking out!)

By justin42 - Sep 28, 2006