As an abstraction, as a puzzler, or as an archetype of the complexity of simplicity in gaming, Tetris has become an institution and a legend to the world at large. Part twitch luck title, part idiot-savant playground, the magic of Tetris has permeated popular culture on an international level. Coast to coast and across the seas, people are dropping blocks and creating lines in the last bastion of high-score-ism and the ultimate in friend-humiliation. Tetris, for many gamers in the world, is pure perfection.

So in a lot of ways, the release of Tetris DS is a no-brainer, no-risk endeavor for Nintendo. And yet the addition of new Tetris-remixed game types and a whole slew of multiplayer local and Wi-Fi options presents a lot of new problems to overcome. Inventing a new genre means creating new expectations for people, but tackling what is arguably the most played game in the known universe means having to meet existing expectations. And people sure get picky with their Tetris.

But Nintendo knows Tetris. The level of simple perfection involved in Tetris remains intact. For the price of admission, the game alone is worth its weight in multiplayer local and Wi-Fi options. Playing Tetris locally in a 10-man head-to-head knock-down-drag-out brawl might sound tempting enough, but the fact that this can be done using only 1 Tetris DS card has to clinch the deal. So for any readers looking for the short-long of it, Tetris DS provides more than enough bang for the buck. Buy it now.

But for the more discerning reader, let’s discuss some of the features of this little powerhouse. Sure, one might skeptically say, “Why do I need Tetris DS when I have a perfectly fine original Gameboy with the original Tetris and at least 6 working pixels?”

Sigh.

Aside from the original Tetris mode of gameplay, complete with ghost blocks and quick release options to help speed up the process, Tetris DS also offers five new gameplay modes. Each mode of the game, including original Tetris mode, is themed with an original Nintendo Entertainment System style. While creating lines in original mode, for instance, Super Mario Brothers levels and characters appear in the top screen, as old school tunes blast through the DS speakers. The entire experience is built to play like an old memory of a time gone by, and may be missed on younger gamers of a post-GTA world. Older gamers will enjoy the throwbacks, though, in a very undisruptive kind of way.

The gameplay modes differ as wildly as possible given their dependence on being Tetris-related. For most gameplay the stylus is optional, though one puzzle mode, entitled “Touch Mode,” surprisingly requires it. In Touch Mode, a stack of unmatched Tetriminos (the franchise name for Tetris blocks) towers into the grand horizon, far above the bottom and top screen of action. Atop the tower sits a cage full of balloons. The goal of the game is to slide the Tetriminos left and right, sometimes rotating the pieces to form lines, ultimately bringing the cage of balloons to the bottom level of the screen. Puzzles increase in difficulty in this mode, though not in speed, and a reset option is available for players who find themselves stuck with no moves left. Without a doubt this is one of the best uses of the stylus yet executed on the DS.

Push Mode was created with player-versus-player in mind. In Push, players use a playing field to try to push their opponent into an endzone of sorts, or off the edge of the screen. Against the computer, the player views the action from the top screen and drops pieces towards the bottom screen. The computer drops pieces from the bottom screen towards the top. Completing lines clears the lines out, but completing multiple lines at once pushes the entire mess of pieces into the opponents screen. By successfully hitting multiple lines and confounding the opponent, the whole thing can be pushed into their endzone for a win. In addition to a Donkey Kong theme, the screen is marked with numbers on the sides so players can see how well they are progressing.