When I was around 8 years old I received a good old GameBoy for Christmas and can remember having to prise it out of my dad's hands as he would often steal it from me! Fast forward twenty years later and how the tables have turned! My daughter had some pocket money to spend and as she only had one or two games for her DS, she decided she wanted to buy another and liked the look of this game. I'm not going to lie to you, I think she was attracted by the bright colours on the front cover and a certain adult forcibly persuading her! So we have now gone from my dad stealing Tetris from me, to me stealing it from my daughter!

This game is just as addictive and I had thought it may have lost its appeal over the years but I was hooked after the first game. As the concept of Tetris was always fairly simple, it didn't really have the option of not being as good. In fact in my opinion, with the extra modes of play that are available on the new Tetris, I think it has actually improved with age. Like a fine whiskey... sort of!

This game allows you to play with friends and can have ten players playing at once. The ten player mode is for playing in wireless mode to nearby opponents. You can also play through Wi-Fi and play up to 4 players anywhere in the world. This is a good option if you want to play 'real' people rather than the console, but can be frustrating if players drop out of the game half way through or before it has started as you have to wait for a new player to join before the game will begin. The wireless mode is quite good as it allows you to see the other players games in the top screen. There is also a ranking system which is good for a competitive edge if you play in multiplayer mode as you can see the scores of your friends.

The modes available have vastly increased since the 'olden days' (my daughters words) version, and include:
Standard Game Play Mode: This is the one we use most often and is basically the traditional Tetris game. You can play as a single player, against the console or as a multiplayer.

Mission mode: This allows you to beat your own or an opponent's score. You also have certain missions to achieve, hence the title. You raise against a love heart clock and as you complete your mission the love heart becomes more prominent and gives you a new mission. The player can play this mode as a time trial (see how quickly you can complete all the missions in) or a marathon version (the games get harder as time runs out).

Push mode: This allows 2 players (or a single player playing against the console) to play together, and sees players share the same pile of blocks and they must compete to push each other towards a line. It is effectively a game of tug of war (but with bricks!). This is my least favourite game and doesn't seem to really work all that well.

Touch mode: This is to be used in conjunction with the stylus. This starts off quite slow so can get you into the swing of the game slowly rather than chucking you straight in at the deep end. Touch will have you sliding the blocks to create rows and is a different take on the game as bricks do not fall from the top. When a set amount of blocks have been cleared, balloons are released from a cage.

Catch mode: This game works from a central block which can be rotated and moved, and you effectively have to catch blocks which will stick to the central one. The aim is to catch and create a block 4x4 or larger which will increase your energy bar and as the energy bar increases so does the speed. The game ends when the energy runs out or the central block fills the screen.

Puzzle mode: Fairly similar to the traditional game, this mode will see you play with a limited number of blocks and you must complete a full puzzle by rotating blocks.

The graphics of the game have vastly improved since the original game, but what computer game hasn't improved (graphics wise) on its original in the last 20+ years! The bricks/blocks are all pretty much as the traditional ones were, however they have changed colours and appear brighter and more vibrant. Although I love this game, I'm not sure if its nostalgia that has perhaps hooked me as my daughter is only slightly younger than I was when I first began to play on this on the GameBoy, yet she seems to have no interest in this game whatsoever! The fact that it is rated as a PEGI 3 seems only related to the fact that it is fairly easy to complete on the easy levels (although my 4 year old wouldn't have a clue what to do with this game, never mind a 3 year old), and doesn't seem to appeal to younger children, in my experience. The game is easy to navigate through the menu and the various modes, and it is the different game play modes that will allow players (and certainly myself) to carry on enjoying this game for quite a while, as you master the different modes of play.

The thing that I like about this most recent Tetris game is that it almost has a retro feel to it with different Nintendo cameos throughout, including Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. This game never seems to tire and although it has had a revamp over the years it is still as entertaining as ever. A good revamp of the classic puzzle game from the late 80s.

We picked this up for around £20.

Random Fact: "Tetris is known to have some wonderful effects on the human mind, in fact, in January 2009, a study at Oxford university reported that volunteers who played Tetris soon after viewing traumatic material were less likely to have flashbacks to the traumatic material." http://www.cracked.com/funny-2096-tetris/#ixzz1nEs xt4S4