If there is one game that has been played by almost anyone that got close to any kind of computer, it has to be Tetris. It is everywhere: From key-chains, over mobile phones, TV set-top boxes and pocket calculators to high end PCs. Think of any platform and you can be sure this game runs on it. If there ever are refrigerators with Internet connections, you will certainly be able to stack some blocks while checking your milk re-order. Tetris is one of those rare games that have outgrown copyright struggles and has become a commonly shared idea, which massively contributed to its success. Still, under this myriad of clones and copies, there are some versions many people consider the definite version. Like Spectrum Holobyte's Tetris – which often is (wrongly) thought of as the first – and the probably most famous one, which we are going to talk about today: Tetris for Game Boy.
What is a M.U.L.E.? It stands for Multiple Use Labor Element, the robotic backbone of the economy on planet Irata which is about to be colonized by members of different alien races. And, well, from human history, we all know what 'colonisation' implies: Grabbing land before anyone else does, exploiting it for profit and when you've milked it dry, move on – leaving political and economical chaos behind.
OK, so the long-term socio-economic aspects are not really part of this game. It is even completely unknown whether the planet has a native population to start with. It all plays rather like a board game: Each player can acquire one square piece of land per turn which they can then choose to develop to produce one out of four trade goods: food, energy, coal and gems. This is where the eponymous M.U.L.E. comes into play: One of these devices need to be deployed on each square. Otherwise, no produce.