Meteos: Disney Magic

"Disney's Secret Stash of Crack"

If you think this is just the same exact game we got back in 2005, but with a Disney makeover, you couldn't be more wrong. Meteos was one of the first DS games to put the stylus to good use, and by and large it was (and still is) a damn fine puzzle game. Meteos: Disney Magic is essentially the sequel to the 2005 hit, despite the childish overtones; like it or not, the Disney licence is plastered all over this game. But this should not deter you in any way if you were a fan of the original, and if you are a fan of the Wonderful World of Disney, well that's a nice sweet bonus right there!

Visuals - 8
Sound & Music - 7
Gameplay - 9
Controls - A
Longevity - N/A
Replayability - A+
Difficulty - Easy to Hard

Disn-eos..? - 7
VERDICT - 8.5/10

Here is a quick run-through of Meteos for those of you unfamiliar with the concept: lots of uniform blocks (meteos) fall from the sky and if they manage to stack up to the top then it's game over for you (similar to Tetris). To get rid of them you have to use your stylus to drag meteos of a similar type to form rows/columns of 3 or more. This causes a rocket propelling effect between the set of meteos you have chained together and everything above it will start to gravitate out of your screen (different from Tetris).

That's the basic idea, but there are plenty of variables, such as gravity, that impact on the general flow of games. Meteos is simple to pick up, but trust me when I say that the going can get tough. Perseverance and lots of practice will get you closer to perfection; it's a difficult task to achieve completeness here, but with such addictive gameplay, it's entirely worthwhile.

Meteos vs. Disney
There are 3 main differences between the original Meteos and Disney's Meteos. The first is that the actual 'meteos' are gone, having been replaced by blocks depicting Disney images. It's all purely aesthetic though; they perform the exact same function as they did before.

The second it that you now play while holding your DS on its side. One screen is used to display some Disney character art, and the other is where you will be manipulating the falling blocks of doom. This means you no longer get to see those cool incinerations which occurred above your main screen, and with a more taller and narrow viewpoint, you will need to slightly adjust the way you previously played.

The last difference, and the biggest change to the original game, is that you can now move meteos sideways (vertical movement was only possible before). This adds a lot more depth to the game as you now have to command 2 axes of movement. One may think that the game is been simplified by this addition, but if anything the opposite is true. You can no longer flick random meteos in hope for a surprise lift-off, a broken mechanic of the original, and with the meteos falling in a more confined area (seeing as the meteos are much larger and take up more screen space), you will need a lot of quick, reflexive actions to succeed in the higher difficulties and challenges.

If I were to compare this Disney edition to the original, I would say that it is NEARLY as good. The double-axis movement feels more natural and takes out that random factor. We may no longer have the different planets here, but with different Disney franchises from The Lion King to Pirates of the Carribean to Cinderella as substitutes, each theme containing similar gravitational effects and scoring conditions, it's all the same really, just not as sci-fi-ish. One thing that will be missed here is the abundance of items found in the original, but there is enough to go around despite the fact that each stage is only limited to one item at a time.

Still the best puzzle series on the DS (sorry Tetris and Mawashite Koron!)
As a stand-alone package, Meteos: Disney Magic still provides everything we could want from a portable puzzle game. The game still tracks everything from the number of times you've booted up, to the number of meteos sent to outer space(?) The main story mode can be played at 4 difficulty levels, with various paths to traverse and different bonus levels and art to unlock. A single run through normal or hard will take about 15 minutes or so depending on your failure rate, ideal for a quickie during a lunch break. There are also challenges to play through (unlocked through story mode) in which certain conditions, such as heavy meteos, are in effect, and it's always good to have another go at trying to break your previous best at any of them.

Meteos is also a great multiplayer game, with both DS download and multi-card modes available. I am disappointed that there wasn't much improvement in this department by way of more items and special scenarios, but if you've got a buddy who also needs to kill some time and who is not ashamed of his inner-child, this is the perfect medicine.

Love it or hate it
If you have played Meteos and loved it as much as many others have, do give this one a shot. It's the same addictive fun, with a little bit more in some places and a perhaps a more than a little bit less in others. The Disney influence isn't as pervasive as it could've been (which in my opinion is a bad thing here), and while aimed towards the young ones, it still provides a good workout at higher difficulties for those of us more attuned to the ways of the videogame.

If you didn't like the first game... still give this one a shot. With the sideways movement making for a more 'proper' experience, you may finally be able to accept Meteos for what it is. Or not. If you are not a puzzle-fan, well seeya later.

Meteos: Disney Magic is a fine puzzle game for the DS, and Disney or not, any new Meteos is still the best DS puzzler (outside Japan) since the first Meteos and Tetris DS. It doesn't have the 'new-ness' of the former, nor does it have the WiFi online play of the latter (why!?!) It doesn't even have that Disney magic I was expecting, what with the very, very lame story, and useless unlockables (apart from the challenges); and where's the classic/remixed original music? But then again, it doesn't really need all the above to be a great game in its own right. And it still is.

8.5/10 - It may not be the best example of Meteos, but it's still wonderfully addictive

My Score System – a score of 7 from me denotes a good, solid game. Excellence earns a higher grade, whilst 4-6 reflects a below average product; glitchy, unplayable games deserve less.

25/02/07

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/07