Tetris for iPad Game Review

Tetris [rating: 4.5/5]

EA Bring Tetris into the 21st Century With All the Fun of the Original & More!

I’ll confess, I’ve been a fan of Tetris ever since I got my very first GameBoy, I would play for hours in the hope of reaching the Holy Grail of the Space Shuttle launch. The great thing about it is its simplicity, so when ever it’s launched on a new device I’m always happy to check it out to see if it still retains it’s simple addictiveness.

Well EA have now released Tetris for the iPad so it doesn’t get much more modern than that. With a port of any game the dilemma is whether to stay true to the original game or do you add new feature to take advantage of the new devices in the hope that you add to the game rather than take away from it. Well with Tetris for the iPad from EA you get the best of both worlds.

TETRIS for iPadThere are three modes in total, fans of the original Tetris will be at home in the Quick Play and Marathon modes while those looking to take Tetris to the next level will want to take a look at Magic mode with all its new special items.

Marathon and Quick Play are your classic Tetris modes all be it in glorious technicolor as your scream is ablaze with the classic set of bricks as they fall down the screen for you to use. Needless to say that the look of the game has improved greatly since its original monochrome incarnation but the game play is still as simple and intense as ever.

There are now two methods to control the movement of the colored shapes as they fall. Firstly you can use the touch screen where dragging left or right on the screen will move the shape in the respective direction will dragging your finger down the screen will increase the speed that your shape is dropping. If you are happy with the position of your shape you can flick down on the screen to force a hard drop and place your piece. You can still rotate your pieces in this mode by taping either side of the screen to rotate the shape clockwise and anti-clockwise respectively.

The iPad version also includes a new D-pad control. Using this mode will place a D-pad on the left side of the screen and your rotate buttons on the right. While the touch touch controls were my preferred option the D-pad controls did work well and there placement on the iPads screen was just about right.

TETRIS for iPad_2One new feature compared to the original Tetris is the addition of the ‘Hold’ feature. When the hold button is pressed it will move the active shape into a holding cell and will continue with the next shape. At any point when you are ready to place the shape that was in the holding cell you can press the hold button again to swap out the currently active shape with the one that was previously put on hold. It’s a nice feature and certainly helps you progress allowing you to put a hold on shapes that you don’t have a fit for at present.

For those of you are looking to take Tetris to the next level though you’ll want to choose Magic Mode. Here you get the classic Tetris with the challenge of clearing a certain number of levels, however in addition to the usual method of clearing lines you now have extra special tools to that you can unlock and use. There are five special tools in total, you start with a vice that allows you to squeeze the active piece to a single square. Then there is my favorite, the bubble wrap, giving you a few seconds of popping joy! The pencil shape then allows you to draw your own shape, the mines will blow up any pieces that they hit while the hammer will crush any block in it’s path.

For me Magic Mode is never going to replace the simple addictiveness of the classic Tetris but it’s a nice distraction from the main game when you want to try something a little different.

At $7.99 this is a premium priced app but for anyone that want’s to get their hands on the ultimate in classic puzzle games it’s worth every penny. Don’t get me wrong there are things missing. Considering the size of the iPad it would be nice if there was a 2 player version on the single iPad and it’s also missing online leader boards so that you can compare your skills to the rest of the world. Perhaps they will come in future releases but regardless of that they are bonus features and should prevent you from buy this classic piece of nostalgia.

The Good

  • Slick upgrade of the classic puzzler
  • Multiple control options
  • Magic Mode for Tetris with an edge

The Not So Good

  • No multi-player mode
  • No online leader boards

Price: $7.99 (iTunes Store Preview)
Released: Apr 01, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.3.51
Size: 29.7 MB
Language: English
Seller: Electronic Arts
Tetris ®&© 1985-2010 Tetris® Holding. All Rights Reserved. Game code © 2010 Electronic Arts Inc.
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later.

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