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.
Daniel Terdiman is a staff writer at CNET News covering games, Net culture, and everything in between. E-mail Daniel.
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!
the first time.
Okay, maybe it didn't, but it's still my all time favorite game.
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.
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.
_s
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
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by maxsteele2
July 4, 2008 8:15 PM PDT
- umm, id have to saaaaaaaay dot dot dot
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Reply to this comment
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(8 Comments)(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