Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 49

49: Tetris (every gaming machine possible, at one time or another)
Developer: Russians?
Year: 1984

Any list missing Tetris is a list that should go to hell. There are a solid number of reasons to include the game on a list, from its great influence on video games – puzzle titles in particular – to its addictive and fun gameplay, and also because of its instant accessibility on any home console or the internet (type “tetris” into google and you’ll find dozens of websites providing you with the game for free). So, while this “review” with be – likely – the shortest one on the whole list, it isn’t because the game sucks or anything. Mostly because its hard to write a huge three paragraph review with an intro and “All in all” ender. Plus, classic moment? How do you write one for this game?

Since Tetris has no story to speak of at all, its only fair to talk about two things, really… the gameplay and the music. So, let’s do that, huh? The game plays in a very simple fashion, which is why its so addictive. Pieces of all shapes and sizes fall from the top of the screen and you have to line them up by moving them side to side and flipping them around to fit into places where they can fit. Doing so will provide you with a ‘line’ of bricks which then vanishes, giving you points. This goes on and on until you lose the game, pretty much, by having the blocks reach the top of the screen. As you get better at it, the lines fall faster and eventually fall too fast for the human eye to even reconcile. This pattern of simplicity makes for an engaging game play experience because any player of any skill can play the game and feel they are doing well, with multiple options for difficulty changes and settings. And there are two goals in play; reaching higher levels or getting a higher score. I for one was always interested in getting to the highest levels possible, to see how long I could survive, not caring about the end score (which was always high, anyway).

The music for the game – along with the shapes of the four-square pieces – are iconic and instantly recognizable to what I can only assume is a large portion of the world’s population (possibly not in third-world countries, I’d wager). And since there are so many different versions available across every kind of platform imaginable since its earliest days, that means that Tetris is becoming known to new gamers all the time, with no end in sight.

All in all, Tetris is a great game because of its simplicity and is just as influential at the same time. Its ease of play means it can be tackled at any time, between games, on the toilet, on a road trip (in which you aren’t driving). Cell phone versions are popular and with the free web versions at your fingertips, its likely the most accessible game in the history of video games. Thats gotta stand for something, right?

Classic Moment:
The last list I did (back in, like, ’03) had Tetris on it, too, and I found it just as stupid to try to include a “classic moment” then as I do now. So I’ll use the same exact thing, here, but instead provide a picture; the NES version had a screen at the end that showcased your final score. The higher, the more Nintendo characters appeared and helped play the game’s famous song. One of them was Samus playing a cello, as seen here:

Pretty cool? I think so.

PS: Sorry, better reviews to follow…!

---

Added February 28, 2017
You did the best you could, Young Skyler. Try doing it a third time!