Tetris on the iPhone and iPod touch is more than simply a port of the game that EA published for the clickwheel iPod and iPod nano, thanks to its Magic mode, which lets you use the touchscreen and accelerometer to invoke various powers. While playing in standard mode, you use the touchscreen to move, rotate, and drop the pieces on the screen -- it works pretty well, although sometimes it's too easy to drop a piece into place when you meant to lightly bring it down the screen so you could slide it into a spot. You'll get the hang of the nuances, though.

The powers found in Magic mode, which you unlock as you progress through the levels, include: Minimizer, which lets you pinch a piece so that it becomes one block; Bubble Wrap, which lets you poke and pop as many blocks as possible before the timer runs out; Magic Crayon, which lets you replace the current piece with another one by drawing it on the screen; Wrecking Ball, which turns the current piece into four wrecking balls that you can shake around the screen to clear some space; and Smashdown, which lets you shake your handheld to break up locked-down blocks and clear space. All of them offer unique twists on the tried-and-true Tetris formula.

Wrecking Ball time

If you're a purist, you can always play Marathon mode, which is standard Tetris. The 40 Lines and Ultra options found in the clickwheel iPod version aren't here, although I didn't miss them. The bottom line is, Tetris is Tetris, and I'm sure you've played it a million times on a variety of platforms. It's a classic puzzle game that's perfect for those times when you find yourself with a few spare minutes, such as waiting in line for a coffee. However, Magic mode, which takes full advantage of the iPhone's capabilities, lets you experience the game in new ways, and for that alone, this new version is worth the price of admission.