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This months review is on Tetris. Sure, everyone whos anyone
has played it, but do you know the story behind it?
History of Tetris.
Originally envisioned by Rasputin, the mystical Grand Vizar of
the Russian Czar Nicholas II, the initial plans sketched out
designs for a mechanical machine that would allow manipulation
of falling block clusters. Rasputins intent was for the device to
be the core of a war machine capable of wreaking mass
destruction upon Mother Russias enemies. After the communist
coup a few years later, the design was shelved. After WWII
began the Germans betrayed Stalin and invaded the Soviet
Union. Then the design was unearthed by the NKVD and turned
over to top Russian scientists as a weapon against Germany.
After two years of intensive refinement and design, the scientists
had built a prototype. Before testing had begun, however, the
prototype and scientists were captured in a Japanese raid on the
Kamkatchka base, in which it was located. A few months later,
CIA operatives learned through some Russian POWs
exchanged from the Japanese to be returned to the Soviet
Union, that the Japanese had captured an operational Tetris.
Fearing that the Japanese would be unstoppable, President
Truman authorized the use of the Manhattan Project against
Japan before the Japanese military discovered what it
possessed. US Intelligence had narrowed down Tetriss
location to two cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Urging the
Japanese to surrender, but left with no real choice, the US
destroyed both cities, thus ending the Tetris menace. Or so it
was thought. The Soviet Union had not lost all of its research,
but after WWII, seeing the fate of Japan, opted to continue the
development through communist puppet nations. This resulted in
a long bitter cold war between the United States and
Communism, and led to several military confrontations. The first
of these confrontations was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The
soviets had begun construction of a Tetris deployment site in
Cuba, guarded by a host of nuclear missiles. The United States
adamant in its resolve to destroy Tetris,\ applied political and
military pressure, which resulted in the Tetris site being
abandoned and destroyed. The next in line of confrontations
was the Korean War. Soviet spies were leaking Tetris research
to North Korea, thereby letting North Korea develop a Tetris-
Clone, a small scale version of the Tetris Device the would give
North Korean a great advantage in conquering its neighbors.
The United States, under the pretense of fighting communism,
moved in military forces and fought a small-scale military conflict
until the Tetris-Clone was destroyed. The US, with its objective
accomplished, pulled most of its forces out and left only a small
garrison for peacekeeping actions, and incidentally to insure that
North Korea did not develop Tetris Weapons anymore. The
Soviets again tried a similar tactic in Vietnam, leaking Tetris
information to North Vietnam, allowing development of another
third party Tetris-Clone. Again the US brought in military forces
to destroy the Tetris-Clone. This time though, the clone was
well hidden, and the US was hampered by war protests on the
home front; it took several years to finally root out the Tetris-
Clone and destroy it. Afterwards the United States quickly
pulled out of South Vietnam, which quickly fell to the
conventional armies of the North. After Vietnam, the Soviets
decided that development through puppet states was a dead
end. Recent refinements of Tetris had led to development of a
low powered psychological warfare version in the early 1980s.
To implement their new design they called on Alexi Pajitnov, the
head of Soviet Propaganda in America, and the S.M.U.R.F.
Project (Soviet Men Under a Red Father. The Smurfs was
designed to show the benefits of communism, where all the little
smurfs worked for the good of the community under the
benevolent leadership of Papa Smurf.). Pajitnovs creation was
in the form of a computer game involving manipulation of
animated blocks, whose configurations were specifically
designed to transmit subliminal messages about the greatness of
communism, and the peaceful intentions of the Soviet Union.
Once it was unleashed, Tetris has continued to gain a large
following in the US. People dont know why they like it, but
they find themselves spending hours in its mesmerizing play.
Game Review
Plot. The plot is a true masterpiece in its subtly. The player
cannot pinpoint any key points in the plot, and yet, they feel
compelled to continue to advance the plot. Even though I
cannot define the plot in words, I felt as though I were actually
there experiencing it, and whenever I quit for the day, I went to
bed feeling very contented and productive in my days
accomplishments.
Graphics. Very elegant, high-resolution graphics. The detail is
absolutely stunning. Image clarity is so great, you dont feel as
though you are watching a screen, you feel as if they game is
hovering right in front of you.
Sound. The sound immersion is staggering, making you feel as
though you are actually playing the game. The cheesy sound
effects in Tetris-clone games doesnt even begin to measure up.
It is obvious where Lucas got the inspiration to create THX
sound.
Gameplay. The game style is totally unique. ANY other game
pales in comparison. The rich playstyle totally envelops the
player, making them feel as if they are one with the blocks.
Difficulty. Continuing in its superb track record, the game goes
forward in establishing a new holistic sliding difficulty scale that
instantly adapts to any player.
Replay Value. Due to the games innovative design, it has
infinite play value for two reasons. First, the nature of the plot
always gives the player new experiences. Second the game
utilizes a system called the High Scores List that always gives the
player new goals to work for.
Spiffyness. This game is just darn spiffy.
Final Ratings:
Plot: 10
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Gameplay: 10
Difficulty: 10
Replay: 10
Spiffyness: 10
Overall: 10.00
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