If you’re old enough to remember the original Game Boy, you probably remember that Tetris was its defining game. Tetris on the go is basically perfect, if done well. I picked up Tetris DS on Friday, and I’m happy to say it was done very well. Basically, this game is a no-brainer for anybody with a DS.

It would be easy enough to leave it at that, but I’ll try and make this a little more elaborate. Tetris DS will instantly appeal to anybody who remembers the NES. Every mode, menu, and song drips with old-school 8-bit goodness. The traditional marathon Tetris mode is visually the most interesting. The game itself takes place on the bottom screen. The top screen is occupied by the likes of Mario or Link. For example, as you clear lines, Mario will progress through an old Mario Bros. level in the top screen. It has absolutely no effect on the game, but it just makes me all tingly for the days of yore. It’s really brilliant marketing on Nintendo’s part, because it makes me want to break out all those old games.

As for the actual gameplay itself, it’s just Tetris with a few adjustments. First of all, you are able to see the next six blocks. If you have the cognitive skills of Rainman, you can plan ahead six steps. Mostly I found myself looking to see if the piece I needed was coming any time soon. The second addition is the hold feature. This feature lets you pull the current piece out of play to save for future use. For example, you can hold a line piece until you have an opportunity to erase four lines at once. This is a very handy feature for multiplayer matches, allowing you to wait for just the right moment to attack. It’s a great feature and good addition to the game.

That, however, is just the standard game of Tetris. Tetris DS introduces five more modes of play. These different modes each bring something new to the game. The best mode–which is also available for online play–is push mode. Push mode is essentially a Donkey Kong themed game of tug-of-war spanning both screens. One player’s pieces drop from the top and the other player’s pieces rise from the bottom. There must be solid pieces below yours or they will simply fall through and disappear. Players have to keep an eye on their opponents actions or a brilliant maneuver could be stolen. Clearing more than two lines pushes the middle line closer to the opposing player. The goal is to push the playing field all the way to the bottom or top of the screen. These games can last a long time, about on par with a good game of Puzzle Fighter.

The other modes are mission, puzzle, touch, and catch. Mission mode is a Zelda themed mode that challenges the player to clear lines in a specific way. For example, clear two lines at once with a specific piece. It’s an interesting idea but there are far too few missions to keep it fun. Catch mode–with a Metroid theme– defies description and I doubt many people will be spending too much time with it. It feels like a different game and it’s not nearly as fun. Puzzle mode–true to its name–has lots of pre-designed puzzles to solve. The player is given three pieces to choose from and must clear all the lines using all three pieces. It’s a nice diversion from the regular game and allows the player a breather from the traditional game.

Touch mode is played only with the stylus. It has two sub-modes, tower and puzzle. In touch mode the pieces are stationary and manipulated by dragging them with the stylus. Players tap the pieces to rotate them. In this mode the pieces are effected by gravity and will fill crevices if broken into pieces. Touch mode is almost an entire game in itself. It’s a lot of fun and some of the puzzles are pretty devious. I found Touch mode to be a great way to relax between regular games.

Of course, all of these modes are in addition to the excellent WiFi mode. Wireless LAN play allows up to ten people to play with a single cart. Online WiFi offers two player, four player, and push mode. All three work very well. It’s a blast to play. Four player mode even has items to trip up opponents or boost player performance.

Overall, Tetris DS is a great package. Excellent single player modes coupled with online play that can be enjoyed almost anywhere make this nearly impossible to pass up. The only people who will not like this game are people who absolutely hate Nintendo. For those of us who dig the nostalgia–or can at least stomach it–Tetris DS is just about perfect. Go get it.

I may have been a little premature in my bountiful praise for Oblivion. As highlighted by Ctrl-Alt-Del, the AI for your allies is pretty wonky.

Scenario 1: I’m leading a couple of characters to my next quest location. We’re all on horseback, it’s great. Off in the distance I spy a wolf. Being an assassin, my first response is to dismount and sneak within shooting distance. Martin, though, his first response is to dismount and charge the wolf. Now, Martin is much stronger than me, no doubt designed to help less experienced players. So, I can risk shooting Martin in the back, or just let him kill the damned wolf. Still, I’m trying to gain XP, right? How am I supposed to do that if the computer kills everything for me?

Scenario 2: Same quest, leading characters to the next quest location via horse. Hearing the gentle clip-clop of my allies, I’m virtually certain their behind me. After a minute or two I spy an imp. I dismount and kill him. Notice anything strange? That’s right, no AI buddies tried to kill the imp first. So, I turn around and, sure enough, my companions are nowhere to be seen. I backtrack to a wooden bridge. One of my buddies is lodged within the bridge, his horse frozen in a freakish merry-go-round pose. The other guy is gone completely. It was about that time I decided to insta-travel, and I think I might just do that more often if I have to play escort.

Scenario 3: This is the one that really kills me. Seriously, it actually killed my character. Martin and I have just killed off a roguish bandit. Job well done, we walk back to our horses. Now, by mistake, I mount Martin’s horse. Naturally this pisses him off. Instead of asking me–his friend mind you–to get off his horse, he decides to effing smite me. Realizing my mistake, I get off his horse pronto. Does that appease Martin, my plot-centric character/friend? Nope, he just carries on slaying me. I don’t even fight back. I tried to talk to him. No go. So, he just kills me. And now I begin to remember the old paranoia of having to save constantly or be ruined by a fucking glitch.

I’m still going to keep playing it though.