Tetris is one of the most well-known video games of all time. It's famous enough that many people who don't play games know what it is, or have at least heard the name.
The original Tetris was created at the Computer Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences on an Elektronica 90 by Alexey Pajitnov as a prototype. As this computer isn't well suited for games due to a lack of graphical capabilities, he used ASCII characters for the tetrominoes that drop from the top down. Shortly after the prototype was created, Vadim Gerasimov, then a high school student, converted it to DOS. It was then expanded by Gerasimov, Pajitnov, and Dmitry Pavlovsky, a computer engineer, from 1984 to 1986.
The goal of Tetris is to rotate four-piece tetromino pieces to make them fit within each other. The goal is to set the pieces up in a line, where they will clear if the line is completely full. The most points are awarded for filling the lines with four pieces using a straight tetromino.
Many different variations of Tetris have been released over time. but the original DOS version of Tetris is still interesting. It is also easy to acquire because it is available for free from Vadim Gerasimov's website. However, his version is lacking in features compared to newer versions, as it has no music, background images, or fancy graphical effects.
The original DOS version of Tetris is, without a doubt, an important piece of video game history. Without it, puzzle games such as Dr. Mario, Columns, Bejeweled, and many others would likely not exist. As it's the original version, other than the Elektronika 90 prototype, it is not the best variation out there. It is barebones, as it lacks sound and multiplayer modes. However, this version remains fun because Tetris is timeless no matter the variation played.
Final Verdict:
3½ out of 5
