Does it really get any better than Tetris? Some argue that it doesn't. After all, how many puzzle games have made such an impact on the world? Call it good timing if you want, but you can't deny this: Tetris is one of the few puzzle games that anybody can pick up and instantly figure out and enjoy. Arguably no other puzzle game, regardless of how good it actually is, can say that. Sure, there're plenty of great ones out there once you figure out how to play them, but it's hard to beat a good game of Tetris with your mum, or even by yourself while you're on the toilet for a few hours after having some bad pizza. [I know people who deliberately eat bad pizza just so they have an excuse to play Tetris for hours! Ed] Indeed, Tetris is legendary, but that doesn't mean every version of it is. Fortunately, Tetris DS is one of the lucky ones.

Instead of taking the Tetris Worlds route and including many different game modes that alter the basic Tetris formula, Tetris DS includes a variety of unique modes that make entirely new games without trying to recreate the basic Tetris game. Of course, the first mode is the one everyone knows and loves: the standard game of Tetris (with the hold feature introduced years back). This mode is the one you remember from the NES (or more likely the Game Boy) and includes Marathon mode, vs. CPU, and Line Clear, all with goals and high scores to try and strive for.

The new modes, as I've mentioned, don't play like regular Tetris for the most part, with a few exceptions. One of those exceptions is Mission mode, which plays exactly like regular Tetris but with a twist: you're given objectives, such as clear 3 lines with an "L" shaped piece or clear 3 lines, skipping one in the middle. As you progress the pace quickens and the challenges become much more difficult, especially with pieces coming down as fast as a meteor in a bad Hollywood summer flick. Actually, that would probably mean they'd be incredibly slow, so scratch that. [Five hours until impact sir! Five hours?! Damn it, does that mean we're going to have to fill most of this movie with excruciatingly slow character development?! Jade-Ed]

Puzzle mode is a unique mode that I personally consider the black sheep of the bunch. You don't actually control the pieces; you're shown a Tetris field with pieces already placed and then given three or so pieces you can put down. It's up to you to decide which one goes down where and in what order to successfully clear the screen. It's just not a lot of fun to pick a piece and watch it be placed - players will want to select from a small group of pieces and try to figure out where to put them on their own; not to mention it would be more difficult as well.

A superior puzzle mode is found in the Touch mode, however. In this mode Tetris pieces are stacked sky high and you have to move them with the stylus, carefully arranging the higher pieces so that they fall in the right spot when you clear a line and create a combo chain. Be careful here though, because it's very easy to end up getting stuck and unable to move any pieces, forcing you to retry. A spin off, as I mentioned, is Touch Puzzle where, like before, a field of pieces is already set up but this time you can interact with them and move them about to clear them away. It may sound easy, and it is right up until levels 45-50, which can have you throwing the DS down after you sit there for hours trying to figure out where the blasted "N" shape is supposed to go!

Another of my favourites, if not my absolute favourite, is Push mode. This unique battle pits you against an opponent in a very innovative fashion… the bottom of your Tetris field is the bottom of theirs! As you play on the top screen, you lay your pieces down on the bottom of another player's pile (which you see upside down). Players compete to clear lines and push the other person down into a huge flame, thus 'topping them out'. This mode really becomes fun when both players refuse to make a full line, knowing that if they do, the other player will be able to stick in the Line shape and get the popular four row Tetris clear; and the best part? It's playable online!

Catch mode is perhaps the most off the wall and far-fetched mode of them all. Instead of moving the pieces as they fall, you navigate a small block in the middle of the screen, rotating it and sliding it about as you catch the falling pieces to form a 4x4 shape, which then explodes and earns you points. Take out enemies with the explosion and you earn extra points, unless one of them collides with your Tetris Bomb, in which case you lose health. I bet you're confused… but as soon as I tell you that this mode is Metroid themed and that it takes place in the depths of a classic Metroid level, complete with recognisable enemies, then you should be good to go. I dare you to try playing it without attempting to rotate the pieces falling instead of the giant piece on the bottom when you first few rounds!

Speaking of Metroid, that brings me to the themes of each mode. Once THQ canned their DS version of Tetris (which probably would have been a port of Tetris Worlds), Nintendo picked up the pieces (or blocks if you will) and slapped their likeness all over it. Mario runs along the upper screen during Marathon mode, Link guides you through your Missions, Donkey Kong runs the Push factory, Yoshi's cookie factory is the base for the Puzzle mode and dozens of other Nintendo surprises await you inside when you start to make real progress (How about Excitebike? Balloon Fight? They're all here).

This doesn't just mean Nintendo pimped out their characters to appear in select areas; the whole game has an absolutely superb presentation that will make any old-school Nintendo fan feel like they're in heaven and it just goes beautifully with Tetris, as most of those fans consider Tetris to be a classic Nintendo game that they grew up with. Expect to see small things that are included for the most die hard of fans (heck, even all the classic and addictive 8-bit music and graphics from these games has been left intact!) Hearing the unforgettable music from the first level of Mario, or the classic and melodic tunes of Zelda while playing Tetris can't be beaten, especially when they've been modified to speed up when you're close to topping out. I mean it when I say that Nintendo has flawlessly merged what should have been merged from the beginning: the world of Nintendo and the world of Tetris.

As I've already mentioned, Tetris DS is playable online with the DS's WiFi service (the fifth game to include this, following Metroid Prime: Hunters, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land and Mario Kart DS). Up to four players can play in versus standard (the classic Tetris mode), four-way standard with items and versus push mode. Offline the game can be played with up to ten players at once, all from one cart, and that includes Mission mode in the mix. The great thing about Tetris DS, at the time of writing, is that you won't encounter Mario Kart DS syndrome, where you sit for minutes waiting for players. You're instantly matched up from players all over the world and you can even set up games just for friends and invite them in for some friendly competition.

There are a few things worth mentioning about the multiplayer mode, however. When playing the standard mode you will always give the other player trash pieces on the bottom of their screen when you clear two or more lines. It's unavoidable, which might be a turn off for some Tetris players. Luckily, the trash is always set up so that one line shape can clear most of it out (and thus give it back to the other player, assuming you can dig down to it). When playing with more than two people, a small target indicator switches between players in two second intervals to determine who will get your trash pieces when you clear lines, making for some strategic and harsh gameplay when you want to pick on a specific person!

Nintendo has also added some items to the multiplayer mode, but these can be toggled on or off. They range from a turtle shell that clears away some of your lines to a banana that completely reorders your opponent's pieces. The items are a lot of fun for those party games with players who don't take Tetris too seriously, but hardcore players will definitely want to leave them off. Something else certainly worth mentioning for said hardcore players is 'spinning'. For those unaware, spinning is the act of rotating your piece while it sits on top of your stack whilst you figure out where you want to put it. Like holding a piece for later, it makes the game easier, but Nintendo is aware of that and has limited each piece to only seven or eight spins when playing against human opponents. Who says Nintendo isn't smart?

Nintendo have succeeded at what many others have tried to do. They've taken Tetris and reinvented it without changing the basic formula. Instead, they've created new games based on the Tetris pieces, rather than altering the mode we all know and love. They've integrated their own characters and Nintendo touch into the franchise successfully, wrapped it up in a brilliant presentation full of nostalgic backgrounds that don't distract from the game at hand, included music everybody can hum along to and blasted it into the world of online gaming, all on a small little handheld with two screens. The game simply rocks and in my opinion this is the best puzzle game money can currently buy. Veterans and newcomers alike should pick this up immediately, and no DS collection should be without it, especially those with online capabilities. Long live Tetris!

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).