Communists, Blocks

I mentioned some time ago on another post that Tetris was celebrating its 25th birthday this year. Its good to see that after a quarter of a century the game is still being sold on the app store for five fuckin dollars. Jesus Christ, that has to be what? $10 in 80's money? seems like too much, specially considering that there have been handheld knockoffs for years now and old phones use to carry the game as a standard feature.

Thankfully apple isnt above allowing cheaper Tetris clones to be sold on the App store, and one will be hard pressed to find any copycat better than the $1.99 Communist Blocks. Not only is that the best name for a video game ever but the game is exactly the same as the original (with the exception of rectangular as opposed to square blocks) it returns the game to its kitschy Soviet roots, and it saves the working man a few dollars while still giving him/her much deserved entertainment, comrade.

The interface looks cheap but its that cheap that became synonymous with the Communist Bloc during the waning years of the Cold War. Even though it does not include the original Tetris song, the games soundtrack features what can only be described as Soviet opera music accompanied with Soviet (or pre-Soviet) art which serves as background. Even though I will never be against the use of old Soviet propaganda, its omission here serves the game for the best as it feels less reliant on stereotypes and explores some very distinct aspects of Russian culture.

Its ridiculous to review Tetris at this point: everybody knows what it is, everybody understands how addictive it is and this version of it is Tetris and it is therefore that addictive and that good. Its replay value is huge and there is no better way to pass a long bus ride or lunch break. The only negative? the icon, its not as kitschy as the game, the name of which is shortened to C-Blocks on the screen, but I believe the hammer and sickle is already being used by another app.