CD-i

Tetris

It's still Tetris, which means it's still fun, but the change of control sets this version of the classic game a step back from my favorite versions of the game. In my humble opinion the best versions to get are Tetris Max (Mac/PC shareware) and - still going strong - the original, gadget-free version for the black & white Game Boy. Overall, Philips didn't make Tetris "legendary" for their infamous CD-i console. They remade Tetris in an excellent style, but they also managed to diminish the gameplay of the classic game, making it less fun and less of a classic. When you think about it, maybe that is an accomplishment which can be labeled "legendary" indeed!

It would seem nearly impossible to screw up the gameplay itself, but Philips managed to find a way. First of all, the actual game is played on a small vertical strip that barely covers a quarter of the screen. The game board, score, number of lines, and next piece are all crammed onto this small piece of real estate. The bricks are too small and there are no sound effects, even when you clear a row. But the game's biggest sin is the control. Instead of using the tradition method of pushing down to make the blocks move faster, a separate button is used. You'd think that using two buttons would be no problem, but it's easy to get confused. All in all, this is definitely the best looking Tetris I've played, but nowhere near the most fun.