Tetris, by developer Electronic Arts, is just one of those things: It’s withstood the test of time, as well as more devices than one can shake a stick at, and yet it’s still a modern gaming staple. It’s surprising the Android app is only now making a free, official appearance in the Market, but it’s a welcome addition nonetheless. It’s not yet a complete package, but with more than enough retro Tetris gameplay to go around, the app will not disappoint.
Concept and Gameplay
Tetris for Android
If you haven’t heard of Tetris, you’ve been living under a rock for the last thirty years. The Android app edition of the classic arcade staple maintains all the same gameplay, allowing players to tap to adjust the alignment of variously shaped pieces to match up whole blocks for demolition. The app also adds the ability to hold certain pieces in the queue for use later, an interesting and much welcomed twist on the ye olden concept.
All in all, not much has changed over the years: Tetris plays the same on the Android platform as you’d expect it to. What has been added is a mountain of difficulty settings, the last few of which can be quite maddening. There’s also the addition of revamped graphics and reworked touch controls, allowing for easier access on modern screens.
That being said, I still would have appreciated dedicated buttons to control the pieces with. The touch controls work very well, but the fine-tuned level of manipulation needed to navigate the higher levels just isn’t here. The included leader boards also remain local, failing to connect to the Internet for global competition. This is a notable drag, and a tremendous oversight, considering Tetris’ arcade nature makes it a shoe-in for extremely competitive online play.
Graphics and Layout
The renewed graphics engine, however, looks fantastic on the Android platform. Colors are crisp and vibrant, making for an engagingly rich experience. Likewise, though the touch controls can be imprecise at high speeds, the mere fact that they’ve been reworked for modern devices shows impressive effort on the developer’s part.
As mentioned, though, online leader boards would have been tremendously appreciated. Likewise, different game modes would have been a godsend, as well. This is the free version of the title, with another premium flavor out there for download, but adding even one new rule to the mix would have made it that much more worth the effort.
Overall Value
Considering Tetris is free in the Android Market, there’s not much to lose by giving the app a test drive. If you’re a fan of the series, and want a bit of retro action with a modern facelift, you’ll find a lot to love in the offering. If you’re looking for a fun puzzler to kill the morning commute with, the price is right, and the gameplay golden: It’s exactly everything you’d expect from an official Tetris adaptation, and nothing extra.
Android Apps Review Details: Tetris app is free. This app requires Android 1.5 and up. You may download Tetris from the Android Market.
