The New Tetris

by Nintendo

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000K39K
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Game Cartridge
• Release Date: August 3, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,759 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

It's 1999, and odds are you already own Tetris in one form or another, be it on the Game Boy, NES, PlayStation, or even some crazy freeware Tetris clone for the PC. They all pretty much played the same way. One of six different shapes, each made up of four blocks, descend into a pit. You can rotate and place the shapes wherever you wish. Your goal? Make lines that go across the entire pit. So with all these different versions of Tetris, and with one (Capcom's Magical Tetris) already available for the N64, does the world really need a "new" Tetris? Not really. Does that make the game any less exciting? Not a bit.

The single-player modes in Tetris let you play by yourself or against a computer opponent. It's pretty straightforward. If you clear more than two lines at once, one or more lines of garbage are sent to the computer player and vice-versa. Marathon mode is your standard never-ending Tetris game, while ultra mode ends at 150 lines. Sprint mode puts a countdown on the proceedings, and whoever clears the most lines wins. But enough about one-player. The multiplayer mode is where this game pays off, specifically the three- and four-player games. There are three types of garbage modes to choose from here. None is the boring way to play; this disables garbage altogether and makes it more like four separate games than one competition. Directed lets you choose which of your opponents will receive the junk lines, allowing you to gang up on a really good player and knock him out early. Hot potato highlights one of the players, and all garbage goes to that player. When the highlighted player clears a line, the highlight moves to a random player - maybe even the player who's already highlighted.

Other than the modes, it's roughly the same old Tetris, though there are a few more twists. If you can manage to make a four by four block, it will fuse together into a giant, hulking slab. Clearing this monster block gives you a lot more lines than a normal clear. Another nice touch is the hold piece, which gives you a go-to piece you can swap with the currently falling piece. This lets you save the straight pieces for later in the game, when you can do the most damage. Also, you can see the next three pieces; most old Tetris games only let you see one piece into the future. Finally, the ghost shadow of your currently falling piece appears at the bottom of your well for easier placement. Also, your lines are used to unlock various wonders of the world: You fit Tetris blocks together to build a pyramid or other building. Once you have enough lines to complete the structure, a lush 3D scene unfolds, complete with a mini history lesson on the structure.

Graphically, well, it's Tetris. It doesn't really have to do much. But the backgrounds are very nice-looking, and the blocks are, well, colorful. The little scenes that unveil the wonders are pretty well animated and really give you a sense of accomplishment. The music is surprisingly great. The game fires up to a remix of some of the old Game Boy Tetris music, and most of the in-game music consists of some pretty competent drum and bass.

The New Tetris puts on a good show. It's a great version of Tetris. Will you ever complete 500,000 lines and unlock the seventh and final wonder? Not if you're playing alone. N64 owners looking for a good multiplayer puzzle game would do well to pick it up, but if you're just looking for a great single-player version of Tetris, open up your closet instead of your wallet. Chances are you already own one. --Jeff Gerstmann
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Product Description

This is the game The New Tetris for the Nintendo 64. This is cartridge only and is used or preplayed. All of our N64 nintendo games are cleaned tested and guaranteed to work. We stand by our products and offer a 60 day guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for yo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing new twist on Tetris, November 16, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The New Tetris (Game Cartridge)

The New Tetris certainly lives up to its name, providing a new play strategy where the key to a high score lies in forming 4x4 blocks out of the normal Tetris pieces, while still completing lines as you did in the original. (See the screenshots for an illustration of one of these 4x4 blocks forming.) To make this task more managable, there is also a 'hold' piece that can be swapped in place of your current piece at will. The game is balanced so that you can play it old-school style just fine (even in multiplayer), but you will acquire lines and advance levels much faster attempting to build the new 4x4 blocks.

Mutiplayer is a blast, with up to 4 players and several game options. The music is absolutely awesome. The only serious flaw with the game is the lack of a challenging computer opponent.

For casual gamers looking for a fun game to play alone or with friends, this is an excellent choice. For Tetris fans, this is a must-have!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good tetris game for a console, October 18, 2002

By 

Brian Jacobson (Cedar Falls, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Tetris (Game Cartridge)

I picked up "the new tetris" because it featured my favorate game variaton from the excellant Tetris Worlds for Game boy Advance, only this version doesn't cut off at level 15. You can play for as long as you can. The tetris game on this package is pretty much the same as the classic version, but you only get one point for each normal line cleared, but it is still a pretty good scoring system. another good thing this game features is that it tracks how long you managed to stretch a game. I've been able to stretch some games for over an hour. thats because there are a few frills added to this game that make it more interesting
one, you can take 4 identical or differant tetroids and weave them together to form a solid 4x4 square and get bonuses when you clear a line containg a portion of the square. 2, you can use the "T" shape peice to rotate into a tight place and cause all blocks to seperate and collapse. This gets you out of a tough situation, and the lines you clear during the collapse count towards your line total, however, it also cancles out any remaining bonus square sections. even after you've unlocked all the wonders, you can still get good entertainment from this game with the multiplayer. the only thing I have a problem with is the music. it's just mindless techno-music in the style of what ever world your playing in, and this game is LOUD. you always have to turn your television set down when you play this game. it would be nice if they could of put in a recording of "the dance of the suger plum fairy" (which, if you've read my review for Tetris worlds, you know is my favorite tetris song) on a celesta.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An addictive game for the Tetris Fan!, December 8, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The New Tetris (Game Cartridge)

If you are a Tetris fan, this game is for you!

It'll keep you occupied for hours trying to get a higher/quicker score! It has many improvements on the "old" Tetris games from the original Ninetendo and PC versions. There are more music options than before and more options for versions and the number of players.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!