New Guide TETRIS

It’s one of the most recognizable video games of all time, and it’s definitely the most popular puzzle game of all time. Heck, you probably owned the original brick-thick incarnation of the Game Boy because of its Tetris cart pack-in.

In a world where you can practically reach up into a tree and pluck a Tetris game from its branches, news of a new installment isn’t all that interesting. EA’s iOS “revamp,” however, gives the franchise a sleek aesthetic makeover, and adds some good ideas that lend much-needed precision to touchscreen Tetris.

The premise behind Tetris is as old as time, or at least it extends back into the ’80s. You fit vaguely letter-shaped blocks into each other, then swear at the screen until the game gives up its coveted “I” piece. You clear lines in this manner, ideally four at a time. Depending on your preferred play method, you can shoot for a high score, or challenge yourself to create as many lines as possible before the letter blocks stack up to the top of the screen and ignite the apocalypse.

Playing Tetris successfully requires accuracy. It’s not enough to let blocks fall where it will, you must turn them, move them, slide them into nooks and crannies in the space of a bare half-second. Even a virtual d-pad is no substitute for the real thing when you’re driving a Tetris block. Even if it might put off some Tetris veterans the “One Touch” mode. Simply, your blocks are suspended in the air, at the top of the screen. Shadows below mark possible drop zones. You can even cycle your blocks to observe a fresh set of possibilities. You have a certain amount of time to ponder, so as in original Tetris, you must think quickly.

By now, Tetris purists have no doubt pulled a face and said, “Ew, no.” They can’t be blamed. At first, playing with One Touch does feel distasteful, like being asked to swallow bugs. But when you toy around with it for a while, you come to appreciate it as (if nothing else) a whole new way to experience an old classic.

Besides which, EA’s Tetris insists that you revert to the old-fashioned way of doing things for the game’s “Marathon” mode (which instructs you to clear a certain number of lines), and you receive a grim reminder of how difficult it is to play traditional Tetris on a touch screen. It's one of the most recognizable video games of all time, and it's definitely the most popular puzzle games of all time. Heck, you probably owned the brick-thick original incarnation of the Game Boy Tetris carts because of its pack-in.

In a world where you can practically reach up into a tree and Pluck a Tetris game from its branches, news of a new installment is not all that interesting. EA's iOS "revamp," however, the franchise Gives a sleek aesthetic makeover, and adds some good ideas that lend much-needed precision to touchscreen Tetris.

The premise behind Tetris is as old as time, or at least it extends back into the '80s. You vaguely fit letter-shaped blocks into each other, then swear at the screen until the game Gives up its coveted "I" piece. You clear lines in this manner, ideally four at a time. Depending on your preferred play method, you can shoot for a high score, or challenge yourself to create as many lines as possible before the letter blocks stack up to the top of the screen and ignite the apocalypse.

Playing Tetris successfully requires accuracy. It's not enough to let blocks fall where it will, you must turn them, move them, slide them into nooks and crannies in the space of a bare half-second. Even a virtual d-pad is no substitute for the real thing when you're driving a Tetris block. Even if it Might put off some Tetris veterans the "One Touch" mode. Simply, guide blocks are suspended in the water, at the top of the screen. Shadows below mark possible drop zones. You can even observe your cycle guide blocks to a fresh set of possibilities. You have a Certain amount of time to ponder, so as in the original Tetris, you must think quickly intervening.

By now, Tetris purists have no doubt pulled a face and said, "Ew, no." They can not be blamed. At first, playing with One Touch does feel Distasteful, like being asked to swallow bugs. But when you toy around with it for a while, you come to appreciate it as (if nothing else) a whole new way to experience an old classic.

Besides which, EA's Tetris INSISTS that you revert to the old-fashioned way of doing things for the game's "Marathon" mode (which instructs you to clear A Certain number of lines), and you receive a grim reminder of how difficult, it is to traditional play Tetris on a touch screen.