Martin Crownover

Have you ever suffered from the so-called Tetris Effect?

If you've ever played Tetris for a prolonged amount of time, I bet you have. Don't worry, it's okay to admit it – you're in good company, as I am also a Tetris Effect survivor.

I actually found it quite funny that there's a name and an entry for the Tetris Effect (which is attributed to repetitive stress, whatever that is) on Wikipedia. I always thought it was just me who, after a long Tetris session, couldn't stop seeing the falling pieces and thinking about how to make good fits whenever I closed my eyes!

Anyway, I was recently going through some old stuff of mine up at my parents' house, and I came across an old watch I used to have as a kid – a Tetris game watch, to be more specific. It got me thinking about how much I love Tetris, so I thought it'd be interesting to reminisce a bit and figure out just how many different versions of Tetris I've played/acquired over the years. All in chronological order!

Tetris (NES)

One of the first games I ever played, Tetris on the NES served to kick off my life-long love for the game. I remember playing the game with my brother and dad, with each of us trying to out-do each other's high score. Much excitement occurred whenever one of us finished and we were treated to one of the rocket launch "congratulations" screens.

Tetris (watch)

This was the watch I mentioned above. The playing field was smaller than standard, there was no color, and the buttons were hard to press fast enough for later levels, but this was still a fun toy to have for long road trips. My grandparents got one of these for both my brother and I, if I remember correctly.

Tetris (Game Boy)

I was late to arrive to the Game Boy scene (my first Game Boy was a clearance Game Boy Pocket), so I didn't play Tetris on a true handheld until much later than most fans of the game. I enjoyed this version nonetheless, as it introduced me to one of the best things ever: Game Boy during bathroom breaks.

Tetris Worlds (GBA)

When I picked up Tetris Worlds for a measly $20, I figured that even if the game was slightly bad, as long as it stuck to the roots of Tetris, it couldn't be that bad. It turned out I was half right – the game wasn't all bad, but it lacked a lot of things that I expected from a Tetris title, and it introduced "Easy Spin," which let you keep a piece alive as long as you continued to rotate it where it landed. This feature doesn't break Tetris entirely for me, but in Tetris Worlds, it was implemented in such a way that made it almost impossible to lose.

Tetris (iPod)

Upon hearing about Tetris making an appearance on my 5th generation iPod, I was excited, but controlling Tetris with a click wheel sounded incredibly difficult and stupid. Well guess what? It is.

Tetris DS (Nintendo DS)

This is probably my favorite version of Tetris thus far. It's got many different play modes, local and online multiplayer, global ranks, it saves your high scores, and it contains loads of sweet Nintendo-oriented stuff – all wrapped up to go as a DS cart. The one thing I don't like hate about Tetris DS is that the only people who play online seem to be grand masters at Tetris, so despite my being a pretty fast/decent player, playing online (and winning) is more often than not a slightly frustrating experience, unless I'm playing with friends.

Tetris (Cell Phone)

Chalk this one up to an impulse buy. Thanks to the tiny buttons on my LG Chocolate 2, it's only slightly more controllable than the iPod version I mentioned above, but it is handy to have when I'm out and about, and bored. I haven't played this much since I got Pictocross Mobile, however.

Tetris Splash (Xbox 360)

Though one could probably make the argument that Tetris Splash doesn't really push the envelope as far as new features is concerned, it's still a solid game, and I've had a few good hours with it. The fish/aquarium stuff is utterly useless, other than to provide a pretty backdrop for the main game, but with decent multiplayer and a few good single player modes, Tetris Splash isn't all bad. And hey, getting Xbox Achievements for playing one of my favorite games of all time doesn't hurt either.

Looking back on my list, I think my obsession with Tetris might go beyond the Tetris Effect, huh? To hell with mental illness! It's a fun game, and I'm going to continue playing it in every way possible!

Title image courtesy of tetris-gollum, Tetris watch image courtesy of Wonderland, Tetris DS image courtesy of GameZone