"Meteos - If there is a better Puzzle Game out there, well, I haven't played it."

Introduction ~

"The brightest Star of them all."

If truth be told, I'm not exactly a huge fan of Puzzle games. That's by no means to say that I hate them, not at all, just that, well, they rarely grab my attention. After Tetris, it seemed that no game would ever be able to match its greatness. To me, it seemed that the Genre was stale with countless Tetris copies and fakes. But, after being drawn into the hype surrounding Meteos, and after hearing countless positive comments about it, I thought that I would see what all the fuss was about. Well, after thoroughly playing with it, I can confidently say that the hype was well deserved. After waiting so long for a truly great Puzzle game to come along, Meteos is finally released. So, how does it play?

Gameplay ~ 10/10

"Waring: When Planets explode, always remember to take a Stylus with you."

Addictive. Yes, not much of a description, I know, but if I had to sum up Meteos in one word, that word would be “addictive”. Because, that's just what it is. You will have one hard time putting this game down, I'll tell you that. The concept itself is simple. Different colored blocks (or Meteos, as they're called) fall from the sky, and it's up to you to group them up. Nothing new here, it would seem. But that's just the basics. You control the movement of the Meteos with your Stylus, which, works great may I add, but you can also use the D-Pad. You can only move the Meteos Vertically, though, which adds to the challenge. Your aim is to group three Meteos of the same color together in a Vertical or Horizontal line. When done correctly, the line will transform into a Rocket and blast off into the Top Screen, and, hopefully, out of the Top Screen into outer space. That's your basic goal. But, any Meteos that were on top of the line will be taken up with the Rocket, and therefore slow down it's movement.

Now, there are a few things to take into account here. Each stage is set on a different Planet, well, in the atmosphere of the Planet at least. And so, as you would expect, each Planet has its own gravity type. When playing on a Planet with a high amount of gravity, your smaller Rockets won't quite make it into outer space, and in the process, come crashing back down to the Touch Screen. You can try to prevent this by quickly launching another Rocket to give the other one a boost. Although, what you really want to do is to prepare your Meteos properly in the first place. And so, with such a Gameplay element, you really have to think about what you're going to do. It's quite frantic, although ultimately fun.

You win each Stage by clearing the Meteos from your certain Planet. So, you're going to be sending up a lot of Rockets, no doubt. Although, that's easier said then done. These Meteos are determined little, er, pieces of rock, and so you would imagine that it's going to be quite hectic. Well, it is. And also, if you're Meteos get so high that they exit the Planets atmosphere, you instantly loose. Dang. So you have to be fairly quick with your actions. The game also features a Multiplayer mode, which is a LOT of fun to say the least. And, you also have the option of sending a simple Demo to another DS for them to try. A nice feature. Let's see more of that, Nintendo. ^_^

Story ~ 6/10

"Apart from the actual Gameplay, the story itself is indeed quite puzzling. <_<"

Story? In a Puzzle game? Madness, I say. Honestly, it's just not going to happen. Although Meteos does feature a very small portion of Story, it's really quite non existent in terms of what the Gameplay is about. Honestly, do you really need a reason to play a Puzzle game? no, you don't. But I will do my best to sum up the basic story, anyway. Right then, the Planet Meteo has unfortunately been destroyed, as shown by the uber pretty opening sequence. Now, Planets explode all the time, why should you care? Well, the Planet Meteo was special. I don't know why, but it was, considering that small pieces of the Planet are now roaming their way through space, destroying the natural universe as we know it. Which is quite the feat. Anyway, that's where you come in. Can you save the galaxy from being destroyed by these evil Meteos? Do you even care? Well, you must play to find out. Heh, the easy way out, that. <_<

Graphics ~ 8/10

"A Fire Planet = Teh Pwn."

Eh, being a Puzzler and all, it really limits what you can do with the game. You have to except the fact that blocks can only look so pretty, and can only display a certain amount of Blues, Greens and Reds. Although, with that said, Meteos is still a nice looking game. Everything is nicely polished and the animations look extra sharp. The backgrounds themselves give a nice representation of the Planet that you are above, and also look somewhat unique. The graphics present a feeling of actually being in outer space, and are ultimately satisfying. The real star of the show here is the opening sequence though; just wait until you see it. It's great. ^_^

Sound ~ 10/10

"Meteos. Hard as rock. The Music. Hard as rock..."

“Dee Doo Dum Dee Doo, Bizz, Swoosh, BANG!” Yes, that there, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the rocking sound of Meteos. Seriously though, the Sound is great. Each different Stage (and there are 30 of them) has it's own piece of music to accompany it. And it's not just a lame remix of the last piece of you music you heard, oh no, this music is GREAT. It varies from tense action paced Music, to smooth soothing pieces. So catchy, yet so simple. You're going to love it. And the sound effects are also great, too. The Rockets sound perfect, if not perhaps a little bizarre. Oh well, it dam well fits. The little beeps and blorks of Meteos is what makes it what it is. You will often find yourself humming tunes from the game, and may even play a certain stage just to hear the music. Not that I do that, though. Heh heh. <_<

Play Time/ Replayabilty ~ 10/10

"As if saving one entire Planet wasn't enough..."

Well, I'm sure that it's became quite apparent by now just how addictive Meteos is. If, for some reason it hasn't, let me say it again. Meteos is addictive. The good kind of addictive. Darn addictive. Really addictive. Whatever, it's addictive, ok. For such a simple game, it delivers in so many different ways. There are quite a few different modes actually, although being a Puzzle game, that isn't really surprising.

The first is Star Trip Mode, which acts as the main bulk of the game. You can take three different routes, which adds a lot to the replay value. Time War Mode is basically where you can set and beat your best records on each stage, although sounding simple; you will spend a lot of time on this mode. Then you have Deluge Mode, which basically acts as a survival mode to see how long you can last. Not much to say, really. And then you have Multiplayer, which as mentioned, is awesome. You really ought to play it. Although, if you can't, you might want to check out Simple Mode where you can play against the Computer.

All in all, Meteos has a lot for you to do, and you will have a lot of fun completing everything. While you can never truly beat a Puzzle game, if you want to get the most out of Meteos, you will probably play it for at least 50 hours. It's a bold assumption, but it's true. Value for money, that.

Final Recommendation ~ 10/10

It's not often that a good Puzzle game comes along, but when they do, they really deliver. Meteos is of course no exception, and is a really strong leader in the Puzzle Genre. But, coming from the makers of Lummies, you would expect no less. Don't try to compare the two games though, because both are very different. You see, it's hard to make an original Puzzle game, but Meteos is certainly just that. And it's extremely fun too, which is always a plus. While it does have a few minor flaws, you will be having too much fun to even notice them. Meteos is, in effect, what every Puzzle game should aim to be. Simple, yet addictive.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/05, Updated 07/19/05