Dr. Mario

Puzzle action game from Nintendo, starring the company's main mascot. In Dr. Mario, players rotate "pill" pieces as they fall, attempting to clear their screen without spilling over the top. Each stage has a specific number of viruses that must be eliminated instead of simply playing until you die. Each falling block is composed of two colored pieces, and lining up four or more of the same color (either horizontally or vertically) will zap them from your screen. The idea, of course, is to try and make sure you take one of those ugly virus blobs with you as you stack the colors. Once all the viruses have been cleared, players move on to the next stage -- featuring more viruses and faster pieces. Needless to say, the gameplay can get rather frantic in a hurry, especially in the series' staple multiplayer modes.