"Not a must have, but great for a puzzle fan."

When I got Meteos, I thought that it would be special. Something jam-packed with puzzle, something legendary and would be remembered for a long time. Of course, that didn't happen, but it's still a decent game on its own, especially in the puzzle genre. I'll admit to not liking the puzzle genre so much and bought this game sheerly because everyone thought it was so great. However, although not a definite keeper, this game is still pretty special.

Story
Story for a puzzle game? Why, yes. See, the game's title, "Meteos", comes from the evil planet Meteo. It is wreaking havoc upon the universe by sending colored blocks of different shapes and sizes called Meteos onto planets. With no way to get rid of these blocks, the poor civilians of the planets just sit there in terror as the blocks began to pile higher and higher, eventually causing the planet to nova. The lights in the universe slowly began to flicker and die out.

However, all hope is not lost. Out of sheer coincidence, three of the same colored Meteos lined up as it fell towards a planet. Suddenly, it rocketed back out of the atmosphere! The civilians of the planet had an idea, an idea that can save the universe. They created a defense unit called Metamo Ark, made up of the Meteos themselves. A plan was formed. If they can send Meteos back at planet Meteo, wouldn't the universe be saved? Thus, the civilians of the planet created a mission. As they flew away from their planet, they could see flashes of other Metamo Arks from other planets. It was time for the universe to strike back.

In all honestly, I thought that this was a pretty good storyline for a puzzler. Of course, not all storylines are plothole free, this being one of them. There are some things you never figure out, like why we have to send Meteos at other planets destroying them to get to Meteo. There's plenty of arguments about that, but it's one of things we can't really answer. The storyline actually doesn't really affect the gameplay much; it's just something to store in the back of your mind.

Gameplay
This game plays rather well in what it offers. There are many different modes to choose from. There's Time War, Deluge(survival), Star Trip(story mode), and little things in between them. Star Trip is probably the mode you'll be playing the most at the beginning. There are 12 endings in all, each with different requirements. Each Star Trip you take is actually completable is less then 15 minutes. Playing the same thing over and over again can get a bit boring, you know what I mean? There's not really much to do even after you get the endings. If you really like puzzlers, you might end up playing Deluge, but it's just more of the same.

So now that you know the modes, you're probably thinking "So what do you actually do in this game?" Some people compare it to Tetris, but in my opinion, it's not the same at all except that it uses blocks. You can move the colored Meteos up and down only to create either three in a row vertically of horizontally. This will create a "stack", boosting all the Meteos above it up. Create a larger stack by lining up three in a row below that stack, or make the stack go higher by creating three in a row inside the stack. Soon, your stack will fly out of your atmosphere. Of course, the rate of Meteos leaving your atmosphere depends on your home planet. You can also use items.

You can unlock different "home planets" to play on. Each planet that you decide to play on will affect your game. Some planets will make your stack rise slower, some will rocket the Meteos back into the atmosphere automatically. These planets, although not used in all the game modes, are important to the game. They also each have their own high score in the Deluge mode.

In my opinion, the best thing that this game has to offer is the wireless multiplayer. You can play with up to a total of four people, whether they have Meteos or not. There's no different if they do or don't have Meteos; just minor things like items and planet availability. The different between playing a friend and playing a computer is like watching an NBA game at home or at a court: it's the atmosphere.

Graphics
The graphics are in excellent 2D fashion. There are over 30 planets, each with a different, creative background. That's not all, the Meteos also appear differently for most planets. Some might be plain colors, others can be flashing or blocks shaped, and one planet even has Japanese on the Meteos! I applaud the creativity of the graphics in this game. Even the menus look great. You can make them move with the stylus and they have their own colors and a cool background. There are more little details that really add to the game's amazing graphics.

There's only on this in my opinion that's better than the graphics in this game. That is...

Sound/Music
There are many, many tracks in this game. You can fuse Meteos in this game to obtain certain unlockables. Some of those unlockables are tracks that you can play in the sound test in the options menu. Do you know how many tracks/sounds there are in the game? 82 for each planet. Plus, you have the menus and other things. It's one thing to have a lot of songs that suck, but these tracks are far from that. They're all clear and crisp. This is one puzzle game where you don't need the mute button.

Conclusion
If you're a puzzler fan, then this game is for you. If not, rent it, borrow, try it somehow before getting it. If the modes mentioned in the Gameplay menu don't really interest you, then this game might not be for you. Don't fall for the hype; this game isn't really one of those must-haves for the DS.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/12/05