Tetris

THE BAD:
No 2 player option.

SUMMARY:
One of the first Russian games to make it to America, Tetris was a simple puzzle game-just position falling blocks of different shapes to make solid lines of 1-3 rows, or even a "Tetris" of 4 lines for big points. But the pieces fall constantly and at increasing rates and if the stack gets too high, Game Over.
Like most puzzle games, the appeal here is in simple gameplay. It's easy enough for a beginner to pick up quickly and learn, with it's slow relaxed pace at first, yet it quickly gets intense and fast enough to challenge skilled players. Getting high scores and making significant progress rewards you with a humorous cinema sequence at the end of the game. There's also a second game option that challenges you to clear a set number of lines form a pre-determined layout.
Graphics & sounds are simple yet clean, with no unnecessary flicker or slowdown even as the game speeds up. Controls are exceptionally simple-just move pieces let or right, and use A & B to rotate pieces. And while it's fun to play by yourself and go for high scores, a 2 player option would've made it even better (one did make it into the sequel, Tetris 2).
Basically this is the Game Boy version but in nice full color. If you don't have GB, pick this one up and set some nice time aside for it. Before too long you'll be at it for hours, always telling yourself "just one more game..." because you can't quit! 15 years later it's still as addictive as ever.