Back in the 1980s, it was clear that the USSR was losing the Cold War. Its economic model was just too inefficient to be sustainable. Nevertheless, something great did come out of the “Empire of Evil”: Tetris. This game is probably one of the most addictive ones that has ever been invented and the best thing to have come out of the USSR.

Graphics: 5/10

One does not play this game for its graphics, which are rather simplistic.

It’s limited to the Tetrominos falling from the upper screen down, and your goal is to assemble them so they create lines, give you points and eventually make you progress to the next level. The only variety that exists for these levels are the different colors the blocks turn into once you change to the next level.

However, there is a little more variety in the B mode, which consists of completing a required number of lines before the screen overflows. They come with different heights of botched rows and you need to fill them up. The more difficult the setting, the more elaborate the “animation” becomes. At the hardest level, you see St. Basil’s Cathedral take off. These graphics were better than the PC version, with which I was most often playing.

Music: 4/10

Tetris is not a game you play for its music either.

There are only three main tracks in this game. While people who played the game on the original NES might find a nostalgia aspect to them, they get pretty annoying pretty quickly. Granted, there was an effort for diversity by making each track accelerate as your lines come closer to the top. If you get too annoyed, you can even turn the music off. But it feels… unnatural .

But if you do turn it off, that would leave you with only the sound effects, which are as “varied” as the music – although I found them more tolerable. There are sounds for swirling Tetrominos around, having them touch the ground and moving them left to right, completing a line, achieving a Tetris (four lines at once) and changing levels. Sound effects-only gaming can be enjoyable.

Addictiveness: 10/10

This is where the game shines.

Despite simplistic, dull graphics and repetitive music, Tetris is made in such a way that, at least back in the 1980s, you just couldn't’t stop yourself from playing. While my two-year-old nephew could easily beat the default scores (the highest one is 10k points), the personal scores you make will stay as long as you don’t turn off the system.

With a reasonable difficulty level that progressively increases, you will be able to master the basics of this game at your own pace. Sure, you will obviously aim at having a Tetris every time but the long bar doesn’t come down quite often so you will learn to complete your line (singular most of the time) using the L-shaped pieces or the “squished” cubes and work your way around them.

The B mode is actually the best one to learn the ways of a Tetris Master. It teaches you to make your way through an uneven playing field and use every little bit of available space to try and create lines.

Depth: 7/10

For such an early game, Tetris has a lot to offer.

There is the game proper (Mode A), where your goal is to score as many points as possible. You earn points for bringing your Tetrominos to the ground but also for completing lines. The more you do at once, the higher you score.

Then there is Mode B, a limited, easier version of Mode A. Your goal is to complete the required number of lines with the highest score possible – the higher it is, the better your reward at it end. It may look easy but you usually start with half the screen already filled with botched lines. Good luck!

Difficulty: 6/10

While challenging, the game is not too hard and can be enjoyed by all levels of gamers.

The very early levels have the pieces fall very slowly, making the planning on where you drop them rather easy. But as the levels increase, so does the speed of falling. After level 6 or 7, they drop as though you were holding the down arrow constantly, making you want to know what the next piece is so you can plan a little better (because you can turn that off, which I believe gives you a few more points).

The challenge is increased by the fact that the music speeds up when the screen is too full, increasing the tension and your dire need to complete more lines.

In short Tetris is an all-time classic game that needs to be tried by everyone. Despite simplistic graphics and annoying music, the structure of the game will make you want to play over and over again to see if you can beat your old scores. Plus, the second mode can help you master the game better and have “animations” that were quite impressive for the NES.