"It's a puzzle game...IN SPACE!"

The Nintendo DS is full of puzzle games. From Puyo Pop to Polarium, the DS is filled with quirky puzzlers for the two-screened handheld. But, the DS hasn't found its puzzler that has earned the title of “The Next Tetris.” Meteos is the DS's original puzzler from the creator of the PSP hit Lumines. Does Meteos live up to its pedigree?

Graphics 8/10

Not bad at all. The graphics of Meteos are colorful and vibrant. Falling blocks called meteos rain from space and pile up. The meteos are varied and bright and do change their appearance depending on the planet you decide to battle on. The inhabitants of the planets are animated well and the short cutscenes have character. When the meteos align in a line of three, they blast off. The animations of the meteos falling and taking off is very good for a handheld, and the amount of color and diversity in the blocks makes the experience all the more action-packed. Meteos really doesn't advance the graphics of a puzzle game to new levels, but overall, the game is diverse and colorful enough to keep the tedium at a very strong low.

Audio 8/10

The audio of Meteos isn't particularly advanced, but there is a decent amount of character in the action. Music is some interesting tunes, each one different for the planet. Depending on the overall theme of the planet, the music will seem appropriate for it. The sounds of meteos blasting off into space is fluid and when multiple meteo combos emerge, the action picks up, and you really feel like you've accomplished a feat during gameplay. Sound Test only lengthens the excellent audio. Audio in Meteos is very solid and doesn't get old, making the experience even more engaging.

Gameplay 9/10

It seems that every falling-block puzzler wants to be the next Tetris: simple, but addictive. Meteos, despite being among many other similar games, makes itself known by having enough style and substance to be excellent. The game, for one, actually has a story. An evil planet called Meteo is trying to destroy the universe by bombarding blocks called meteos to the planets! Miraculously, three meteos have aligned and have shot back into space. The people of the many planets unite to send the meteos back to Meteo. Despite being a bit farfetched, the story does give the game a bit more style than other puzzlers.

The game is stylus-based, so you only need your stylus to play (The D-Pad is optional, but not nearly as consistent as the stylus). The basic game concept is that as the meteos fall from the sky, you must use the stylus to tap and move meteos to align three identical types in a row, horizontally or vertically. The trick is that you can only move them vertically. This may seem hindering, but the game's simple up-down controls keep the game from being too chaotic, retaining the rhythmic movement of the controls. By aligning the three meteos in a row, the blocks blast off. By aligning multiple lines of meteos, combos can be formed. By blasting many meteos, you bombard the opposing planet into submission. However, so can they. Whoever makes their opponent's meteos hit the top of the screen is the winner. Don't think that mindlessly scribbling will get you an easy win, because it doesn't work. The inclusion of a speed increaser and items makes the gameplay faster, but still keeping the solid control of a puzzler.

Meteos has a very good amount of modes to choose from. The Star Trip mode is the main mode, where the player travels along planetary pathways to battle different planets, leading all the way up to Planet Meteo. Survival mode comes in the form of Deluge Mode, where just keeping the meteos low is a challenge. Time War pits you against the clock as you trying to complete objectives before time runs out. Simple Mode is the immediate quick-fix game; you play against the CPU. Each mode is fine-tuned to provide the perfect amount of challenge, making Meteos a game that is full of depth and diversity. Each planet used also has differing statistics. For example, meteos may rain faster on one planet and be easy to launch, but another planet may have higher gravity so they may be more difficult to launch but has slower raining pace. The many planets to choose from keeps gameplay fresh and keeps tedium at bay.

A very unique and fun addition to Meteos is the Fusion. The meteos that you free in the many modes are actually used as currency to purchase new unlockables. By combining the many meteos, you can “buy” new planets, sounds, or items to use in gameplay. This little twist will keep you coming back for more and will keep you going back to the game to obtain more meteos and purchase more items. By then the game has you, and you can't put it down.

The only problem in Meteos that I can see is the amount of things available at start. Many of the planets must be unlocked through events or through Fusion, so there is a small bit of bareness at start. But, Meteos succeeds because it creates something new while keeping the core essence of addictive gameplay in its heart. The game is actually quite fast, but not too fast that you cannot think things through. The game is excellent in short bursts, mostly because playing a single game is usually enough for any gamer. But it's not. Meteos will fool you into starting a single game, but won't let go. Meteos has proven itself as a great puzzle game purely by the old philosophy of simple, yet addictive gameplay.

Replay Value 9/10

Meteos has a huge amount of modes and unlockables to play. Among the Time War and Deluge modes is a stellar multiplayer. Download play allows for Vs. with only one DS card makes wireless multiplayer simple, and multi-card is even bigger and better. The multiple endings for Star Trip keep single-player going and the Fusion of meteos allows for many unlockables. But Meteos' solid gameplay is the ultimate reason for its longevity. Like the puzzlers that came before it, Meteos' addictive gameplay keeps you coming back, whether it's for a quick fix or a multiplayer star battle. It will keep you coming back.

Final Verdict 9/10

Meteos is not Tetris; I don't think anything ever will be. What I do know is that Meteos creates original gameplay styles while packing on an excellent presentation to make a puzzle game that any DS owner should check out. Though not perfect, Meteos is an addictive little puzzler with bright graphics, incredible audio, and plenty of modes. Meteos has finally achieved simplistic controls with addictive gameplay, making it a downright fun puzzle game. Any DS owner needs to buy this game now.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/11/06