My first encounter with Tetris was in the ’80s / ’90s cross-over, as one of the handful of games on my dad’s DOS word processor. While the graphics, various gaming modes, music and themes have been adapted and updated over the decades, it still boils down to the same basic addictive concept, whichever way you dress it up. For those moored in RPGs, or engulfed by first-person-shooters or football games, and unaware of Tetris – it’s a Russian designed puzzle game from the mid-’80s where the player has to arrange various falling block shapes, fitting them to fill up levels which is eliminated, avoiding it piling up to the top, resulting in a loss. Here Nintendo gives the enduring Tetris the portable 3D treatment. Advantage: it looks pretty cool. Disadvantage: the hypnotizing nature of Tetris will have you playing for eternity (if you didn’t need to eat, drink, and fulfil other essential functions of life), which can seriously mess with your eyesight in 3D mode so after a few minutes, pull the 3D slide down to 2D. Gaming options expand the basics to include up to 8 wi-fi linked multiple players (with a single game cartridge), and varied modes covering Marathon, Fever, Computer Battle and Survival, each giving the game a different angle (plus 9 Party Modes and on-line battle modes).
But the most exciting is the Augmented Reality option where you get to play 3D Tetris within your own environment!
