Alexey Pajitonov's Tetris is a game that most people recognise and have spent hours enjoying. The game was designed and programmed by one man in 1985, Alexey Pakitonov, in Russia. It became a big hit and was soon brought by Nintendo who released in on their first Gameboy console. Tetris has appeared on a variety of consoles since its birth in a number of styles but the same core game mechanics which made the game fun in the first place. This review will be looking at the Gameboy version of the game.

There is no real plot as such for Tetris; the game is all about the gameplay. There are seven different blocks of varying shapes which can be explained using these letters; I, J, L, O, S, T, Z. Each block consists of four squares arranged in a different way to make puzzle pieces. All the blocks can be rotated by pressing the "A" or "B" button on the Gameboy, they can be moved from left to right and made to move down quicker using the D-Pad (directional pad).

The aim of the game is to stop the blocks from piling up and reaching the ceiling. This is achieved by making rows or lines of blocks, which will make them disappear and the blocks above the row will fall down to take their place. The idea is to make as many rows as possible to keep the block tower low and score points. The blocks fall from the ceiling at a steady pace depending on what mode of play and what speed setting the player is using.

In the Gameboy version, the player has the choice of two modes of play, "A" and "B" "A" is all about high scores and surviving, as each time the player hits a score landmark, the speed at which the blocks fall increases. Also the player can choose how high they want the blocks to be initially. If the player beats the game with 9 rows high to start with and at level 9 speed, then they will be rewarded with a small pixel sequence, which is very amusing. "B" mode allows the player to choose what speed they want and how high the rows should be, just like for mode "A", except this time they have a finite number of blocks to use and the speed does not increase during the play session. This mode is really there for people who like to practise before trying out the "A" mode of play, and for fans who like a nice, simple game.

The gameplay for Tetris is fun and rewarding. How well you do as a player relies on your hand and eye co-ordination. The game is all about quick reactions and puzzle solving. It will keep anyone amused for hours with its simple but challenging gameplay.

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