I once said, in our forums, "touch-controlled Tetris makes about as much sense as d-pad-controlled Meteos." Since then, Nintendo has unveiled game play videos of three of upcoming Wi-Fi Connection title Tetris DS's gameplay modes — and they look genuinely interesting.
First off is the Super Mario Bros.-themed Standard Mode. Not much to see here; the gameplay is the tried-and-true hypnotic Tetris we've all come to love. The mechanic of being able to slide pieces while they're touching the bottom of the playfield, which is useful for fitting pieces under ledges, isn't shown; but it may well be present as we see dropped pieces pause briefly then exhibit a confirmation animation before the next piece begins to drop. The delay may well be the "slide time".
Next up is the Balloon Fight-themed Touch Mode, which is probably the biggest changeup in the entire game. Touch Mode sees you without a time limit, sliding pieces around and rotating them at the bottom of an apparently infinitely tall stack to collapse them into complete rows and make them vanish. With unlimited time, this mode will certainly play differently from the other modes; we'll have to see just how well it does when it releases next month.
Finally, we have our first glimpse of a new mode: the Donkey Kong-themed competitive Push Mode, playable both locally and over the Wi-Fi Connection. Push Mode sees you and a player both attacking the center of the screen with pieces; clearing two rows will push everything towards your opponent in a reverse-tug-of-war. This mode really looks like a promising take on how to make a good competitive Tetris game.
Tetris DS is still hitting stores in North America come March 20.