Fiendishly simple, hugely addictive (Tetris (PC))

Member Name: Burning_Darkness

Product:	Tetris (PC)
Date:	17/08/09 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple, constructive and hugely addictive gameplay, suitable for all ages

Disadvantages: None

Made in 1984, Tetris was designed and created by a Russian computer programmer by the name of Alexey Pajitnov, and has since been ported to every games platform imaginable, selling over 70 millons copies worldwide and remaining as popular as ever. The gameplay is a simple case of slotting descending block-groupings of different shapes together so that they create unbroken horizontal lines of individual blocks, at which point the horizontal lines of individual blocks disappear, making room for yet further blocks which are endlessly falling down from above.

The block-groupings come in a number of different shapes all consisting of four individual blocks, and can be rotated around to better fit in and then dropped into place, whilst a little box at the side of the screen keeps you informed of what block shape you are going to get next. Blocks must be gotten rid of as soon as possible, and you lose if you allow the blocks to build up to touch the ceiling where the block shapes are falling from, with each new level upping the difficulty a little by making the blocks fall a little faster, requiring you to speed up your thinking and reaction times accordingly.

And that's it. The visuals are colourful but functional and the sound is minimal, but Tetris manages to be only slightly less addictive than crack by tapping into instinctive human behaviours of pattern-forming and constructive development. It is easy to pick up but very difficult to put down, and is almost certainly good for the brain, if not the eyes. There have been many versions produced over the years but this PC port offers the original, definitive version, and remains great fun for players of all ages, and will remain so for the next few thousand years, assuming we are around that long.

Summary: Simple, addictive arcade fun