Woz and I agree: 'Tetris' for the Gameboy is the best game ever

Tetris for Nintendo's Gameboy may well be the best video game of all time.

(Credit: Nintendo)

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--I was waiting to talk to Steve Wozniak last night at the 25th anniversary celebration for the Commodore 64 when I overheard him say his favorite video game of all time was Tetris for the Gameboy.

My eyes practically lit up when I heard that because, in a lot of ways, I have to agree.

In fact, as I told him a couple minutes later when I went up to talk to him, one of the things I made sure to do before I left for my Road Trip around the American Southwest this summer was go on eBay to buy a used Gameboy, just so that I could play that version of Tetris while I was traveling.

Woz seemed a little surprised that I agreed with him, but then he enthusiastically told me that, actually, it wasn't just the normal version of Gameboy Tetris that he loved. Specifically, he said, it was the version for the Gameboy Light, a rare version of the machine distributed only in Japan that has a backlit screen suitable for play on long plane rides.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak at the 25th anniversary celebration for the Commodore 64 on Monday night. Woz said his favorite video game of all time was Tetris for the Gameboy Lite.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)

Not only that, he said, but he'd just been thinking about going on eBay to try to find one of the machines and the Tetris cartridge for it. So this morning, I noticed a Gameboy Lite available for sale on Craigslist, and I sent it to Woz. Apparently, though, it didn't come with Tetris. Bummer.

For me, the Gameboy Tetris was fantastic because the game is so amazingly simple, yet addictive. And that actual version just works so well on that machine. It feels good in your hands; it looks good on the screen; it makes a really satisfying sound when you score a tetris (clearing four lines at once) and the scoring system was just about right.

One of the funny things about Tetris is that there are innumerable versions of it, and they all seem to work a little bit different.

Perhaps my second favorite version was a version for Windows I used to play back in the days when I was a technical support "specialist" for Borland in the early '90s. I realized that Tetris was the kind of game that really requires only your subconscious brain. And I know this because I used to play while I was on support calls. And, believe it or not, the more intense the call and the more involved I was in it, the better my Tetris score. I kid you not.

Anyway, this all got us to thinking: What is your favorite video game of all time, and why? If you have a thought on this, please feel free to post into the comments section.

[jason.worlledge]

James Bond: Goldeneye for Nintendo 64

Though a fan of many of the FF games, in addition to the Zelda
series, I think my favorite game of all time was Goldeneye. The
game play was really impressive for the time, but the multiplayer
mode set the standard for almost every game since. There really
hasn't been a radical change in multiplayer since. I am pretty sure
it was the first of its kind!

[sinfoniansumo]

Goldeneye was good...

...but Super Mario 64 brought a tear to my eye when I played it for
the first time.

Okay, maybe it didn't, but it's still my all time favorite game.

[FunkyTang]

Gameboy Lite for Woz

I have a Gameboy Lite at home as well as the original Tetris cartridge that came with the original Gameboy. I don't know of a special version of Tetris that came with the Gameboy Lite.

I think the Gameboy Advanced SP is a better platform to play on the plane because the screen is brighter with a white backlight. The Lite has a dimmer backlight. But the Lite is nice because you can just bring a bunch of AAA batteries for a long flight.

If Woz wants my Gameboy Lite, make me an offer.

[pyogenes]

Tetris 2

My favorite game of all time is Tetris 2 for the SNES with the original GameBoy Tetris a distant second. I somehow lost my Tetris 2 cartridge when I was moving around in college and when I bought used copies (3 different times) they just wouldn't work with my SNES.

This is the only game I play on emulator, but wouldn't think twice about buying a copy if it was ever released on another system.

[scc4fun]

Fave Game

I'd say my favorite game was the first game I ever owned--Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

[squidburns]

Lemmings

When mom brought Lemmings home for the Amiga I glued to the machine until I could go no further. One of the most original game ideas of all time. I think there was a verson for virtually every system out there. The Amiga version was by far the best of course! ;)

_s

[georgetang]

Does Anybody Knows?

Hi Everybody!

I remember playing a computer game about 8 to 9 years ago.

The game was similar to Lemmings, where you have to think about which tools to use and some strategy.

In a recent movie, they displayed the concept of that computer game, "Waiting...", starring Ryan Reynolds, and Justin Long. In the movie, you can see that game on a Blackboard.

If someone knows the name of the game, please share it with me.

Thanks,

George

[maxsteele2]

umm, id have to saaaaaaaay dot dot dot
(drumroll)
SUPERMAN SIXTY FO -- Wait, that game sucks!
(smacks computer)
Id have to saaaaaaaaaaaay dot dot dot
(another drumroll)
PAPER MARIO 2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
The second would (hehe wood) be Tetris Worlds,
and third be's Supa Shash Bros Melee