Meteos

"Meteos: A game to cherish."

So, another awesome game for people to toss in why the DS is better than the PSP in those rabid little wars. Here's Meteos from Q Entertainment for the Nintendo DS. :)

So, time for some story background, ok? The universe is threatened by this damned, evil planet called Meteo. Oh noes. So, Meteos releases this stream of matter called "Meteos", which crushes life and steals the sparkle of the universe. Many planets meet their demise. What to do?! But then, three Meteos of the same type aligned, and...they shot off into space along with their other high school dropout buddies! Meh, but you probably don't even read the story mode; you probably just read how to play then get into it. Ok.

How to Play - So, like I said, you just align three Meteos, and everything over them will be ignited into the air. But, you can only rearrange Meteos horizontally, not vertically. Thankfully, Meteos can actually be cleared both vertically or horizontally. It's best to use a stylus for this game; you'll find it a lot easier. If you twirl around the icon on the lower right, the game will speed up, giving you more Meteos to work with. If the stack raises to the top and stays there for too long, then you're dead, but you probably figured that out already, didn't you? :) If you highlight the planet you're facing on the left, and press select, you can view on your top screen how your opponent is doing. Don't you find that amusing? :) Alright, I think that's about it. Now go out there-no wait! Read the rest of this! :(

Gameplay - 10/10 - Anyways, I feel the gameplay is awesome. The planets are very unique in it's own way; some planets let you clear horizontally more easily then vertically, or vice versa. Some can only be cleared effectively one way. You have to decide this for yourself and adjust accordingly, or your demise is inevitable. For a game like that, it will require a lot of strategy to get through in one piece. The game modes are pretty cool too. Deluge lets you play on a planet until you die. If you gain enough metals, you can form new planets to play on this mode. "Star Trip" is like Mission mode; you just pick a good planet, and try to fight Meteo, facing other tough planets on your way. Good luck. "Simple"" lets you configure a game however you want, like lives, difficulty of the CPU, the planets you play, and the planet you use. "Time War" is where you have to either clear as many Meteos as you can in a matter of time or clear a certain number of Meteos as fast you can. For me, with this much options, it was hard to be bored of it. Now, if only we had online...

Sounds/Music - 10/10 - Some of the best music and sounds I've heard are in this game. It's like the whole game is a melody when you are playing. They have all different types of "genres" for the music in this game, depending on what planet you are from. The tempo and the sound of the music changes as you are in further danger of losing. Q did a great job on this. What's best is that you can get these sounds and music to play at your leisure when you get another Meteos to "fuse" them. :)

Graphics - 10/10 - The graphics in Meteos are practically flawless. The blocks are well detailed, and the designs are different depending on what planet you are playing on. I was blown away on how good graphics good be on a 32-bit system like the DS. Everything is neat, nothing looks scribbled in by any means. The backgrounds are neat as well, and the menu one is very high-tech looking. Overall, some of the best graphics I've ever seen in a game.

Replayability - 10/10 - As you clear different types of Meteos, you can get new planets to play with on Deluge and Simple, sounds to play at your leisure, rare items to use in the game to help you, and rare metals to help make all the rest of everything else said previously. That's probably going to keep you coming back for this game for hours to come. At least, it's kept me. That, and this game is addicting. :) This probably won't get a 10 from many people in this category since Meteos comes without online play. That would simply rock. There really should be online for a game as deep in strategy as this. Oh well. None the less, a game I can always keep coming back to, and who knows if I'll ever put this down for good.

In conclusion, My friend said I should get this game, and I'm glad I did. There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best games ever on the DS. I recommend you to buy this game, because if you love it, you'll be at it for a long time. It's worth it's price (if it's high), and definitely a game you should be proud to have in your collection. Cheers to Q.

I give Meteos a 10/10. Cheers to puzzle games, and back to trying to take down Meteo for the umpteenth time. :)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/17/06