"This game makes use of the touch screen like no other!"

Meteos

The Nintendo DS was created as a means to innovate gameplay and a way to bring new styles of play into a staling industry. Meteos achieved this aim perfectly, making better use of the touch-screen than any game out. Meteos was created by Q Entertainment in 2005. At the time Q Entertainment was well known for its other great puzzle achievement; Lumines for PSP. The company had proved it had what it takes to create one of the most-loved games for the PSP at the time. It was round two, this time aiming to produce magic for the DS.

Meteos is a puzzle game unlike any other. This game gets fast-paced and intense quick and players will have to keep refining their skills and expanding on strategies to master it. Meteos makes near perfect usage of the DS's touch screen. As in Tetris gameplay takes place in a bin. Meteos fall from the sky at an increasingly rapid rate and fill up the bin. Each level starts with three rows filled with Meteos of varying elements. Elements are differentiating factor of the Meteos. The look of the Meteos depends on the element type. The point of the game is to line up three Meteos of the same color, either horizontally or vertically (which allows for a maximum of five base Meteos in a fusion). This is much more fun than it sounds.

The game can be played using both the D-pad and stylus however it is practically impossible to play using the D-pad. The action becomes too frantic making it impossible to win without the use of the stylus. The game will have users frantically moving the stylus from block to block. Pinpoint accuracy is needed and although the blocks are tiny most times gamers will have no trouble at all selecting the exact block they're after. This game does allow for some cheap play by some gamers simply moving the stylus up and down the screen in hope that Meteos will launch although this method is fruitless and get rids of most of the fun. Not to mention that after enough experience playing properly is a lot easier and rewarding than simply sliding the stylus all over the screen.

When Meteos are lined up they don't simply disappear allowing those stacked on top to fall into place. No, they fuse and literally launch causing all Meteos stacked on top of them to launch into space. The fused row of Meteos become incinerated and turn into grey blocks. Meteos that leave the top of the bin are launched out of the planet and disappear however the rest fall back down to the surface. It possible however to fuse Meteos when they are airborne to give them an extra boost and give them that push needed to leave the atmosphere.

Even more interesting is the ability to join launched stacks of Meteos with other columns. When a launched group of Meteos reach the ground the bottom rows are still grey blocks for a short period of time. While the blocks are still grey another fusion can cause the entire group to become airborne even if the blocks are not on top of the fusion. Fusing Meteos below an airborne stack will cause the stacks to join together and give the merged stack a boost. This doesn't only happen to stacks that directly underneath. As long as the airborne stack in partially hit by the bottom stack they will still merge, including the ones that are not aligned with it. It doesn't stop there though, when a falling stack of Meteos lands it can re-launch automatically if it fuses with adjacent, further increasing the stack. By dragging the same element of Meteos of the bottom of a falling stack and to the bottom of adjacent rows all the Meteos on the screen can become airborne, and with enough combos can clear the screen.

The game includes items that can be used. These items are either initiated by opposing players or are found in the bin. Items range from smoke-bombs and hammers to clearing the entire screen from Meteos. They add a lot of depth into the gameplay and if used correctly can be a great help in winning tight matches.

Matches are lost when an un-launched column of Meteos reaches the top of the bin, signifying the destruction of the planet. Some modes, such as Star Trip also have time limits. In some modes matches cannot be won such as Deluge and some Simple games. These are merely an aim to get a high-score. However in multiplayer and Star Trip modes you play against opposing planets that send their incinerated Meteos to your planet on top of the usual shower of Meteos. These matches can get frantic really fast. To win you must take out all opposing planets or have the most points or stock remaining (depending on the mode).

The game consists of eight normal elements and two rare metals. Each level has a different assortment of the normal elements. As you launch non-incinerated elements into space they get added to your total which can be used to fuse certain things. The rare metals appear very rarely and when they do they push their way to the bottom of a column.

There are many different levels in this game, 32 in total. Each level is unique in bin size, appearance and gameplay. The levels in the game have different factors such as gravity. A simple fusion is enough to blast a whole heap of Meteos into space in some levels while others require multiple fusions to remove Meteos. A few levels have special elements integrated such as horizontally stacked Meteos not launching or fusion causing all the above Meteos to disappear.

There are a few different gameplay modes in Meteos. The main mode, Star Trip, is basically the story mode of the game. Unlike many other puzzle games the Meteos story isn't too invading and ties in great with the gameplay. Basically there is a stream of Meteos flowing into space destroying everything and anything in its path. The source of these Meteos is traced back to the evil planet Meteo. A warship, called the Metamo Arc, created from Meteos ore, goes around having battle with the planets and sealing them off in its attempt to get to planet Meteo and destroy it. The ship has a special ability which allows it to precisely mimic the abilities of its opponents. The story is perfect for the game and allows a wide range of levels to be played (rather than just playing planet Meteo over and over).

Star Trip has three routes to take. The first is a straight router, the second is a branching route and the third also branches. The special thing about the third route is that each level takes place against multiple opponents and has missions to complete. These missions range from a beating a level in a specific time limit to launching 50 Meteos at once. In a Super Smash sort of way the game has five difficult levels to choose from. Also taking after Smash Brothers is the interactive finish screen. After winning Star Ship mode there is more to do then sitting around waiting for the credits to finish. No, you won't be blasting the credits as they appear on screen. During the credits, the top screen scrolls through the list of names while the bottom screen contains a bin with tiny Meteos that allow you to spend some time blasting Meteos into the sky (which appear as some sort of fireworks in the top screen) while the boring list of names scroll by.

Meteos offers single and multi-card multiplayer modes. While single card is quite restricted both modes are great fun to play and can get really intense, especially when being teamed up by unforgiving friends (trust me, it happens). Multiplayer in Meteos is a blast and experienced players will play for hours on end. Nothing refines skills like some serious human opponents.

As stated earlier, launching Meteos adds them to the total. These collected Meteos are able to fuse together in the Fusion Room. New items, planets, rare metals and sounds can be unlocked in the Fusion Room. This is a fun way of unlocking everything and it can take a fair while before everything (the planets in particular) is unlocked. The game also allows you to see some stats in a very Super Smash Brothers style (*note:* the producer in this game was the director of the original SSB) from the number of hours you've played and how much time you've powered the game up to the amount of Meteos you've launched.

Graphically this game is beautiful. Each level in the game has its own unique look and feel including the sprites of the Meteos. The levels are vibrant and have a wide range of variety. Even though the range in graphics between the levels is quite extensive the developers have put in enough time and effort to make each level look stunning. Granted some levels look better than others. Oddly enough, Meteo, the evil villain planet of the game has the worst looking level, although that could possibly be because the level looks so cramped. Either way, even the worst level in the game looks great, although it pales in comparison when show against some of the better designed levels such as Freaze.

As with the graphics this game includes an extensive list of sounds. From the moment this game was powered up and I heard that great space-like tune I knew that this game would not disappoint in the sound department. I'm sure that you'll feel the same. Each level has its own unique sound set. Some are weird such as Suburbion however overall the sound sets are great. The developers obviously felt the same allowing players to fuse all the sounds from the game in sets. Of course the beautiful sounds are not only experienced from the Fusion Room or in-game. The credit screen BGM is probably one of the best in the game.

This game is a must-buy. If you are unsure you could try renting. It won't make any difference in the end because I guarantee you will get hooked and end up buying the game anyway. It's quite hard to put a figure on how long it should take to unlock everything. It really depends on how must Meteos you gather. It took me above 30 hours to unlock everything however it could probably be a lot less or a lot more depending on how skills you have. Even though, unlocking everything is only one part of the game. Deluge Mode will most likely be the mode you'll be hooked on after you've unlocked everything. Heck, it'll probably be the most played mode while you're unlocking everything as there is nothing more fun than trying to top your high score in each level.

Meteos is one of the best titles the DS has to offer. Whether or not you're a fan of puzzle games I highly recommend that you get this game. Personally I wasn't into puzzle games and wasn't sure how I'd feel about this game. But once I picked it up all my fears fell away and the amazing game that was Meteos would soon become the most played game in my collection. Meteos is one of those games that can be picked up and played anytime, whether you've played it a day ago or haven't touched it in a year. There is practically nothing wrong with this game. I cannot think of anything bad about this game and if I were it would be nothing but nit-picking over insignificant things. This game is a worthy addition to any collection showing off the amazing gameplay capabilities of the DS. If you're after a handheld game that can be picked up anytime or played for hours on end then Meteos is the game for you.

Summary:
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Value: 10
Overall (not an average): 9.8 (Rounded to 10 for GameFAQs)