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Category: Games
Seller: Electronic Arts
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.2 or later
Compatibility: iPhone
File Size: 29.7MB
Version Reviewed: 1.3.51
Price: $7.99
Age Rating: 4+

Tetris is a game that defies explanation. More than 20 years after it was originally released, it’s still immensely popular on nearly every device that has a screen big enough to support its relatively simple gameplay. And maybe that’s its appeal; that it’s so easy to just pick up and play. Tetris for iPad further reinforces why we still love Tetris; because it’s so damn fun.

Tetris is more than fun, it’s compelling.  It’s the type of game that will keep drawing you back in; like I needed to tell you that right?  In terms of features and gameplay, I can’t say that the iPad version is very different from the iPhone version of Tetris, because it isn’t.  The only real difference is the upscaled graphics.  Like so many other games that grew up from their iPhone roots to the iPad, it’s painful to have to buy the same game again for what seems like just a cosmetic change.  But eventually, you’ll likely decide the enhanced graphics really do make the game that much more enjoyable.

For those of you who haven’t played Tetris for iPhone, let me walk you through Tetris for iPad (I’ll assume you already know the rules behind Tetris).  After the game loads the menu, you have several options.  Most notable are the game modes: Marathon and Magic.  Marathon is what we’re all used to, so it doesn’t need a lot of explanation.  Magic is completely different.  It gives you other tools to play the game with.  You can draw your own pieces, blow things up, and more.  Honestly, I don’t like it very much, but you may find this new twist to the standard gameplay to be refreshing.  I just love original Tetris too much to need anything else.  Still, it’s worth playing a few rounds to see if you like exploding lines or otherwise instead of just fitting the pieces together.  And if you’re just as predictable as everyone else out there, you can just choose Quick Play, which will resume where you last left a game or start a regular old game of Tetris.

Game mechanics are exactly as you’d expect.  There’s a tutorial if you’re really unsure, but it’s pretty intuitive.  To move a piece, just swipe left or right and the piece will move accordingly as if drops closer to the bottom of the screen.  To twist a piece just tap almost anywhere there isn’t a button.  If you tap to the right of the dropping piece it will turn clockwise, to the left and it will turn counterclockwise.  There’s a ghost piece at the very bottom that helps you visualize exactly where the current piece will drop to.  If you’re having difficulty fitting a piece in right now, you can hold one piece on the top left of the screen by tapping the “Hold” box, assuming it’s empty.  If it’s full, it will swap the current piece for the held piece.  And on the top right, you can see the next piece before it comes.

One of my favorite little touches on Tetris for iPad is the satisfying thwack a piece makes when it drops into place.  It’s such a small part of the game, but if you drop pieces to the bottom often, it makes the game all that much more satisfying.  It’s strange how one sound can really make the gameplay that much more enjoyable, but for me it did.

The only issue I really have with Tetris for iPad is that it’s not a universal app.  This is pretty common on the App Store right now, but there’s no good reason why it has to be the case.  I’ve ranted about this in the past so I’ll just say that I think users would be happier with a universal app option.

Tetris for iPad is a must-have. Its gameplay is so tempting that it will steal minutes, if not hours, of your time on a routine basis. The only bad part of this game is how addictive it is.