Some games are better left simple. But some games are too simple, making them boring. Some games are better with a certain depth of complexity in them, but the learning curve might be too steep, and many might stop playing. There are few games out there that I can hardly stop playing when I pick up. One that perfectly matched simplicity with addictiveness was Tetris. Ah yes, I remember it as if it were yesterday....I was at a car boot sale, and I saw a Game Boy and a couple of games for a fiver. It was my first retro gaming console. And with it, Tetris. You could play the game, and days could pass without you knowing. How could such a simple game become to popular and addictive without becoming boring? Lets have a look.

The game, as the cover suggests, is Russian Themed, with quite Russian music and some Russian buildings behind the Tetris title screen. I hope you like Russia, because this game is full of it. Just need to play it in the snow and you have the Russian Experience right there. The story is....wait, there is no story? Well, in a way, that's a good thing. Could you imagine the silly story Tetris could have?
"The evil Tetrius has waged war against Russia by sending different shaped blocks to destroy the place! You, the hero with huge physic abilities, but move the blocks as they fall into a neat 2D wall. If the wall is wide enough, you can destroy these blocks and leave room for more to add to this wall. Do what you can until the Russians....um.....can build a space ship to destroy the evil Tetrius once and for4 all! But be careful not to build the wall too high. If you do, it'll collapse, crushing you underneath it!"
Just imagine the cut-scenes it would have....

*after level 1*
Hero: Your not going to win, Tetrius.
Tetrius: I think I will, when I send more blocks at a slightly faster speed!

*after level 2*
Hero: Your not succeeding, Tetrius.
Tetrius: Watch me send more blocks at an ever sightlier faster rate than before!

See? But I'm digressing. As you start, you have a choice between two modes: Mode A and Mode B. After that, you get to choose three different songs to listen while you play. You even get a preview of the song, how nice. Mode A is your basic game play. You arrange the blocks that fall into a neat wall. When the wall is filled up to the sides (with no holes in the middle), those lines then disappear, and you have more room to place more blocks. The more lines that disappear at once, the more points you get. Clearing four lines at once is called a Tetris. You can press A to rotate one way, and B to rotate the other way. You can press down to speed up the block falling down (but it doesn't work the other way =P). In fact, you gain some points if you press down before the block naturally hits the ground, depenmding on how far it went down. When you clear ten lines, you advance a level. The next level is slightly faster than the previous level. At first, you don't notice a thing, but when you get to level 9, you'll notice that your struggling slightly to keep up. If the levels are too easy for you, then try holding select at the title screen and continue to hold it until you start playing. There you go, faster levels now (can be easily reset by turning off the game and turning it back on). You can choose the level you want here, from level 0-9. You can also press select in game to hide what block will come next, to add a bit of challenge.

Mode B is for more of a puzzle and challenge for those who want it. It's basicly the same as Mode A, only once you clear 25 lines, the game ends. You can choose the level of your game level 0-9 once again, but you can also choose a height of 0-5. 0 being normal and 5 being over half the screen covered with random blocks placed there. When you clear your 25 lines, your score gets counted up, depending on how many you cleared at a time. It's hard to get a high score here as you are limited to how many lines you can clear. But not as addictive as Mode A, I must admit.

The music is quite calming to listen to, to be honest. My favorite being Theme 01. But the others aren't half bad. The game over music and the title music is also very nice to listen to. The graphics are about as simple as you can get. The best of it is the title screen, to be blunt. One problem with this game is your building these walls, and you get the same block five or six times very quickly, and your going to stack them on top of each other. Then you get that piece again and decide "this is ridiculous", and place it over the place you've been waiting to put a long one in for a Tetris. And then a couple of moves later, you get the piece you wanted a moment ago! Which puts a damper on your plans to get rid of this towering wall. I suppose it's all part of the game play. Don't you love irony? Another thing I'm not quite sure of is when you get a game over. There is a message "Game Over, Better luck next time" with a heart next to it. Why is there a heart? What does it mean? Is the game hitting on me? For what ever reason, it's probably better not to know.

Overall, I give this game a 9.2/10 Although it is a very simple game, it's a very addicting one at that. The music and game play really makes what this game is. It's a game that feeds off human life bit by bit, by the hour and by the day, and even by the week if it's lucky. This game could be the death of you, but look on the bright side. it's a life skill. You can use your Tetris skills when packing stuff in the fridge, the car, and even tiding your room. But it won't get rid of the items column by column. Well, if you haven't started already, play the game. It'll provide hours of entertainment. Just don't let that Tetruis win the battle of Russia and Blockonia....

Tetris is a great classic to own, I actually own the game irl. Its pretty fun and addicting. I like it. Good game, and good review too.

Thanks for that. Always glad to hear feedback of my reviews.