Enjoy the Tetris DS- Have A Challenge
I picked up Tetris DS on release (march 22nd for me) and have played the game solid for over a week now. I usually don't review games on Amazon but with so much mis-information in the other reviews I figured I'd step up to the plate and help out any gamers that may be on the fense about this title.
Single player offers quite a rash of modes to play through. Here's a breakdown of what they are.
Standard - Multiple modes of the regular standard tetris puzzle game, however with new changes as sanctioned by the people that own the Tetris license (not nintendo). The main changes are multiple preview boxes for upcoming pieces, the ability to rotate a piece indefinitely while you figure out where to go, and a hold box where you can put a puzzle piece you currently have (and if you have a piece in the hold box this will store the current piece you have and replace it with the one from the box). There are multiple modes of play within standard mode. The infinite rotate doesn't hurt things at all since in the higher modes where you need it the pieces appear at the top of the stack automatically without dropping.
Catch - If you've played games like Katamari Damacy, this pretty much flows along the same lines. You have a ball of tetris pieces that you can turn, move up and down, and you use it to "catch" or run-in-to pieces that fall down. It's almost like a vertical scrolling shooting game. The goal is to create a 4x4 block which then explodes after 10 seconds. This is actually a really great mode of play and could have been a standalone game easily.
Mission - Standard tetris, except you are given a task to do (like clear 2 lines at once) and a limited time to do it. Fail and you get junk pieces in your playing field and move to the next mission. Overall this mode is highly challenging and will challenge even the most hardcore tetris veteran.
Puzzle - This mode starts off quite simple but gets devilish as the levels increase. You are given 200 puzzles, each one presents you with the task of clearing the screen with the available pieces. The trick is, you must atleast clear one line with each piece placed, and you have to tell the game (through touch screen) which piece to place and what direction it should aim. Some of the puzzles are mindbending... some I find simple. It's really a great training mode for playing the full tetris game as it makes you realize all the various shapes possible that need filled and how to do it with a few pieces. I love this mode because if I only have a few minutes i can usually work through a few puzzles.
Touch - There are actually two very robust modes within this one. One is called "Tower" and you get to move the blocks with the stylus (or finger, or whatever) to create lines that help move this massive tower of pre-setup pieces until the cage at the top reaches the bottom. There's no gravity on the specific pieces or parts of pieces... which ads some complexity to the game. Also you can't rotate pieces in the level 4 & 5 settings which makes you think more about creating smaller parts. The other main mode is called "Puzzle". There are 50 puzzles in this mode and you have the same restrictions as tower except you are given a smaller pre-setup of pieces and you have a Mission such as 'clear all the pieces but leave one L piece'. It's really another great mode and really great for when I've only got a few minutes.
Push - In my opinion this is the best of the best new modes. In it it's you versus the CPU. The field is similar to a football field with yardlines... and while you try to work to create your stack and get tetris's the cpu below you is doing the same thing. With completed lines, the stack moves. The goal is to force your opponent over the "end zone" area on their side of the field. While simple at first... quickly upping the AI to it's levels 3 through 5 settings will put you on your toes. Which you'll need if you take the game online.
Nicely with all these new modes, which all seem pretty wonderful (and i'm hopelessly addicted to the Push mode), Nintendo was nice enough to theme each mode off of one of their classic frachises. Here's the breakdown of modes and their themes. This is great if you have a history with Nintendo that dates back to the NES because the artwork is nearly all NES stuff.
Standard - Mostly Mario, but as the levels go up you will see stuff from most of Nintendo's key franchises... and a nice treat when you get to level 19 for Tetris fans. There are plenty of Tetris Game you can choose to play. Why not have a try playing Tetris Battle Hacks.