Meteos

"Zooming Into Space At 500MPH!"

In the world of the puzzle genre, it is always hard for a game to distinguish itself from Tetris. At the same time, it is always hard for a DS game to stand up and prove itself to be a game that would only work on this console. Meteos is able to do both on these feats in one fell swoop, with an addictive gameplay that is completely different not only from Tetris, but from most games in general, and with a style to it that could truly only work on the DS. Add into that its fast pace, its ability to be played in short spurts and its wide variety of different worlds and you have yourself one hell of a puzzler.

GAMEPLAY - 9

It is always great when you play a game that breaks convention. Sure, its nice to play something you are used to once and awhile, but there is just something so fresh and energetic about a game that goes out there and tries something new. This is what is so great, so fun about Meteos. It may not be the only colour-matching game out there, but Meteos pulls it off in a unique way, and with truly innovative controls. The game is controlled almost exclusively with the DS's bottom touch screen, which shows a collection of different-coloured blocks, called Meteos, falling down from the sky. Using your stylus, you can arrange these blocks vertically in order to get a horizontal line of three in a row of the same colour. Doing this causes those Meteos to ignite, with all of the other Meteos above them being propelled up into the sky. Recently-ignited Meteos are able to connect with each other, and in this way you are able to set up massive, screen-clearing combos. Its very difficult to explain this, but despite how different the process is, it manages to retain a natural feel.

There is a lot more to Meteos than this though, as the wide number of worlds have very different attributes to it. While you are still doing essentially the same thing in whatever world you are in, the ratio of colours changes dramatically. By this I mean in some worlds there will be a rather even representation of colours, while others will be dominated by one or two colours only, with the rest playing only a minor role. Obviously, those worlds where one colour dominates will make combinations much easier, while evenly spread ones are much more difficult. If this wasn't enough, each world also has its own totally unique form of gravity. In some worlds, a combo will cause Meteos to go flying up into space very quickly, while others will barely move and require you to get several combos in a row for the Meteos to be launched. Many worlds employ a combination of these - such as Meteos that shoot up very quickly and take a long time to fall. This variety allows the game to remain very fresh, as your tactics actually change quite dramatically depending on what the colour ratio and gravity is like.

Within the main game of Meteos, there are four main modes. The first is "Simple". Within this mode you play one simple game of Meteos. Pick your stage, pick whether you want to play stock or time limit and pick your difficulty and away you go! This mode represents the perfect "pick up and play" mode where you can just have a quick game while on the go. Another mode is Time War, where you compete to see either how many Meteos you can launch in a certain time period, or how long it takes to launch a set number of Meteos. Highscores are kept in this mode, so you always have something to strive for. There are even certain unlockables if you get quick enough times, which is always good for motivation.

The main mode of the game, however, is Star Trip. This is a kind of adventure mode, where you play a string of games in a row, eventually reaching the planet Meteos. There is quite a lot to like about this mode, and many ways to approach it. First of all, there are three different routes that you can take, which alters both the difficulty of the game and what planets you will encounter. With each game, there is also a certain mission that you will be asked to complete. Doing this correctly allows you to take a higher path, while failing to do that forces you down onto a lower one. If you have ever played Star Fox 64, its a fairly similar idea. Any new planets you encounter and defeat here will then be playable in both Simple and Deluge mode. Deluge mode itself is simple enough, where you select a certain level and play out to beat your own top score.

Regardless of the mode you play in, all of the Meteos (as well as an array of items) that you launch will be added to your total tally. It is here that Fusion comes in. Fusion allows you to literally "fuse" a certain number and combination of Meteos in order to create new planets to play on, new items that will appear in levels, rare materials you can then re-fuse for planets, and to unlock a wide variety of the games music and sounds. It might sound a little tacky, but there is actually a really large variety of things to unlock here, and you would be amazed how much easier it is to play this game again and again as you strive to unlock that new planet. There are 12 unique types of materials in this game, and you will need the correct number of each for a fusion to succeed. Any given planet has only 5 of these at any one time, so you will have to play certain levels in order to get the Meteos that you desire.

The games only real short-coming is that for some reason it has no online mode. It seems crazy really, as this game would have been amazing online. Still, if you know of anyone else with the game, or even just someone else with a DS, connecting up with them to play multiplayer is really good fun. At least your friends dont actually need a copy of the game - they can use the DS's quick download play to grab the required data off you and play the game anyway. Still, it is a pity that some kind of online mode was not included.

GRAPHICS - 9

This game looks simply amazing. While I would argue that most puzzle games loose some of their value with over-the-top graphics, the bright, vibrant style of Meteos only helps to enhance the gameplay and the overall level of enjoyment in playing this game. The wide variety of worlds all look quite unique to each other, and the 2D backgrounds to the flying Meteos action create the perfect contrast. Its hard to imagine this game looking much better really, and in a weird kind of way it is actually one of the most aesthetically-pleasing games on the DS.

SOUND - 9

Likewise, the sound in Meteos is top-notch. Each one of the worlds has its own tune, along with its own unique jingle when you get a combo going. It is quite clear that the people at Bandai did not simply make a few tunes and chuck them onto levels at random. Each levels tune fits the levels theme perfectly. If a level has slow-falling Meteos and a relaxed feel to it, the music reflects that with a down-tempo kind of music. If the level is insane, with Meteos raining down as fast as possible and havoc running everywhere, then the music is fast-paced and energetic. Because the music actually compliments the kind of game you are playing, it really does go a long way to adding to the whole experience. The music in Meteos is not just there for the sake of it, but is an integral part of the final package, and does a wonderful job at matching the gameplay.

CHALLENGE - 8

The only slight pitfall with the game. While it certainly can get very hectic at times - in fact, it will without fail in every game, simply racing your stylus over the bottom screen as fast as possible tends to create the desired combinations faster than it would for you to actually look for them. But even doing this, the top difficulty level in star trip is no walkover, and there are always your own high-scores to take on.

REPLAYIBILITY - 9.5

By far one of the best feature of Meteos is how easy it is to pick up and play again, even if you haven't touched it for months. While this is the kind of game that you wont play non-stop forever, it is certainly the kind of game that you will keep coming back to again and again for short spurts of play. There are high-scores to beat, time-trials to improve and a very large number of things to fuse. Even after you have completed everything, there is no real ending to this game. There is still satisfaction from this game to be had even after that. While most of my DS games now gather dust, this is one of the games that I always go back to play.

CONCLUSION

Meteos is a wonderful puzzle game for the DS. With brilliant gameplay, stunning graphics and complimentary music, this game is really the complete package. This is the kind of game you will keep coming back to long after you've completed all the set objectives, and still stands up tall as the best puzzle game the DS offers by far. This is a must-buy game for puzzle genre fans, and for those who are not fans but are curious what all the fuss is about, this is the perfect game from which to find out.

OVERALL - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/06