Tetris

Luettuna peli kiinnostaa suurinpiirtein yhtä paljon kuin puhelinluettelo. Jostain käsittämättömästä syystä sitä kuitenkin tulee väänneltyä parhaimmillaan tuntikaupalla. Tetristä on mahdoton pelata "vain yhtä peliä pikapikaa".

Tetris doesn't have the appearance of a highly addictive and enjoyable puzzle game until it's been played a few times. From then on there'll be no stopping you from returning to it time and time again.

Vanguar Works did a good job with the Wonderswan Color version of Tetris. The graphics are bright and colorful, the game contains the original Russian tunes and the control works fine. If you own a Wonderswan and are looking for a decent game, Tetris comes recommended. It's a very decent edition of the classic game without all the superfluous extra's of newer Tetris editions you're not looking for. The fact that it comes in English gives it additional bonus points.

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!

Simple games are often the most addictive. Tetris is a 3am, just one more game, unbearably addictive product. It was devised and written for the PC by Vagim Gerasimov, a Russian computer programmer. Of course he did not write the Amiga version – Russians are not allowed anything as high tech as a 68000, let alone the custom sound and graphics chips. The Amiga version was written by John Jones Steele, who has plastered his name all over the high score table to make sure you do not forget.

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.

Immerhin vier Jahre sind ins Land gezogen, seit Mirrorsoft dieses Spiel für den Amiga herausgebracht hat; vier Jahre, die uns unzählige PD-Clones und kommerzielle Nachahmer beschert haben. Jeder kennt Tetris, jeder hat Tetris – eine Neuauflauge braucht man etwa so dringend wie einen Systemabsturz!