Okay, yesterday I instigated a massive gaming craze with my siblings in law. It was awesome.

We played Mario Party and Mario Cart on the N64, with some excellent Tetris II, Super C, Ninja Gaiden II, and other NES game goodness. Actually, I shouldn't have put Tetris II in the goodness category.

Tetris II was very different from the original and deserves to be banned from any honor in the NES catalogue of classics. The sound was repetitve and atrocious. The most desensitized of auditory relations even commented, "Can we mute this or something?"

The gameplay was . . . weak, and sometimes confusing. Example: some blocks when placed will continue to fall to the bottom if additional space is present underneath its location. Others, merely sit there dangling above a deserved plunge.

I would venture so far as to likewise suggest the graphics, even for the NES, were stunted. Doctor Mario looked much better than Tetris II, and had more compelling gameplay.

One of these days I will get around to writing a scalding review of of one of the most puzzling puzzlers of the 8-bit era.

. . . and I am still king of the Mario Party.