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Tetris DS Review
Written by Justin Davis on Friday, March 17, 2006
The new modes are genuinely compelling and don't feel tacked on
Lack of options and stat tracking
Tetris DS has taught me two things. The first is that I'm not nearly as good at Tetris as I remembered being- rough high-level AI and rough human competition have now handed me many losses. The second is that the basic Tetris formula is still as addicting and as adaptable as ever. Tetris DS is a monster of a game, filled with more features and modes and options than any previous Tetris iteration. Some disappointing design choices keep it from being perfect, but I still believe that this is the definitive Tetris release.
Even after reading up on Tetris DS's six Nintendo-themed single player modes I was still unprepared for the amount of gameplay variation found within the game. It isn't just that all six modes look and feel completely different from one another. Its details like Standard mode being playable three ways - vs. CPU, as a marathon, or allowing gamers to set the starting height and speed. Its things like Puzzle mode include two hundred puzzles to solve. Its details like Mission mode including five time trial difficulties, and a marathon mode. Tetris DS is simply huge, and goes above and beyond the call of duty with its single player offerings.
The other big thing that struck me about the game's single player is that the new modes all feel great. Each one could have been its own Tetris spin-off. It doesn't feel at all like Nintendo had to stretch the Tetris formula to spread it across six modes. Puzzle mode is a perfect slow-paced diversion. Its 200 puzzles start gamers with a tower of blocks to clear, and only a few specific pieces to do it. Other puzzle games have implemented similar modes (Tetris Attack comes to mind), but it seems to fit perfectly with the traditional Tetris formula. Push mode is another instant-classic, and the tug-of-war-style matches it creates feel so natural that it's hard to believe we haven't been playing it for years (and hard to imagine Tetris without it, now).
My personal favorite new mode is Catch, where you control and rotate the entire group of blocks instead of the falling Tetriminos.
Not all the new modes are quite as compelling, however. Mission mode tasks gamers with completing specific tasks such as clearing 3 lines at once or clearing a line with a specific piece, all as fast as possible. It's enjoyable, but not as memorable as Push or Puzzle. The same goes for Touch mode, simply because stylus control doesn't work as well as traditional control methods. Neither mode feels like it doesn't belong -- they just felt a little more diversionary.
Multiplayer options are equally robust, and if the 20-or-so rounds I've played over Wi-Fi are any indication, online portable Tetris is a very tough proposition to deny. Even if I did lose almost every time. Via Wi-Fi, gamers can play two or four player "standard" multiplayer, where clearing multiple lines sends trash blocks to your opponents, and everyone plays within their own well. The true Wi-Fi star is Push mode, however. It's fast, frantic, and forces players to rethink their play style, since you're both building off each others' blocks. I had lost every match until I realized that the way I was placing pieces made it easy for my opponents to clear four rows at once, over and over.
If you have DS-owning friends, you can play standard mode locally against up to nine other players. It's certainly fun and certainly hectic, but we found eight player Mario Kart to be more wild and more enjoyable than 10 player Tetris. Push mode and a version of Mission mode are also available for local multiplayer. Nintendo gets major props from us for the single-card multiplayer options being so robust. Other DS developers, take note.
With so many options and so many ways to play, it's a shame a couple of simple design choices keep the Tetris DS from receiving a perfect score. The biggest problem with the game is that once a piece has reached the bottom gamers can keep rotating it, and it will never stick. This is an easy and cheap way to get out of tight situations at fast levels of play. My other issue with Tetris DS is that your next five pieces are viewable no matter what. It would have been nice to be able to toggle this off or change the number of upcoming pieces previewed.
Despite these issues, Tetris DS is quite simply one hell of a game. I'm extremely impressed with the amount of care and attention that went into creating such a robust single and multiplayer package. It is a must-own for gamers even remotely interested in puzzle gaming.
