This Week in Defunct Games - Dec. 23, 2011

What Is It? Tetris is a lot of things. It's the game that single-handedly created an entire genre of puzzlers. It is still one of the very best launch games of all time. It's one of the few games that has yet to be improved by technology. This is more than present in the original Game Boy version of Tetris, developed by Bullet-Proof Software and published by Nintendo. For those who recently suffered a blow to the head, Tetris is the game where blocks fall from the sky. You match up these blocks to make a line, which adds to your score and line count. Get four lines and you'll earn the ultimate prize, a Tetris. If the blocks reach the top of the well it's game over for you.

Does It Still Hold Up? With the exception of Tetris DX, this original Game Boy Tetris is my absolute favorite. It plays by the set of simple rules I grew up with. Subsequent games have included additions that, in my purist heart, feel unneeded and ruin much of the skill. This Game Boy version only offers a couple modes and the controls lack the speed of newer installments. Still, Tetris is a very playable puzzler that manages to hold up.

Is It Worth The Money? Normally I would tell you to wait for Tetris DX. Not because it's in color, but rather the fact that it saves your high scores. What was a major oversight once has been rectified thanks to the Virtual Console's save system. Now you don't to worry about losing your high score, making this a near perfect version of Russia's greatest import since Yakov Smirnoff. If you can get over the black and white (which my eyes prefer to the colors of the two NES versions) then Tetris on the 3DS is a great way to spend four dollars.

What Is It? When it comes to the PSone Classics store on the PSN, 2011 has been all about video game companies filling out their catalogs. We've seen Square release some of their greatest hits (Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story, Legend of Mana, etc.), Capcom port four different Mega Man games and Disney air drop a bunch of crummy movie games. I guess we can add one more company to that list: Atari. Over the last few months, Atari has uploaded a number of reboots of classic arcade games. The first was Missile Command back in May, followed shortly after by Pong in September. Now comes Centipede, the third (and hopefully final) trip down memory lane.

Much like the past two efforts, Centipede attempts to bring the classic arcade game into the present (or at least 1999) by adding things you might expect from a modern game. You get a forgettable story, complete with annoying cinemas. You can now fly through the entire arena, a welcome addition to the claustrophobic arcade game. And of course they added generic techno to the soundtrack, what else would you expect from a Centipede reboot? The result is a jumbled mess that succeeds at being a new game, but never quite lives up to the original.

Does It Still Hold Up? The controls take a little getting used to, however they are the least of the problem. I found the general presentation to be off-putting, especially the thumping tunes. I was left cold by the storyline, though I'm not sure what they could have done to turn Centipede into a narrative tour de force. There are three different camera angles, including the original overhead 2D style. This is probably the best part of the game, which certainly isn't saying much.

Is It Worth The Money? This is not one of Sony's top tier games getting a release right before Christmas. But after a year that brought us at least a dozen of the PlayStation's best games, I'm okay with a dud week every so often. Chances are you still haven't played through all of Square's involving role-playing games or mastered Capcom's recent fighting games. Now is your chance, because Centipede is a genuine dud. Neither Pong nor Missile Command are must-own PS1 titles, but they did a far better job embracing what made the original games fun. Save your money for the big games that are bound to drop starting next year.