"Fly me to the moon."

The new age of handhelds has brought with it a very surprising comeback: The puzzle game encore. Before the PSP and DS came around, the only two puzzle games that I would ever really touch were Tetris and its cult classic spin-off, Tetris Attack. But now, things have changed. First, the PSP came along and gave us one of the most hypnotic audiovisual experiences in ages in Lumines, a simple but engaging falling-blocks style puzzle game from the designer of Rez. Then, Nintendo concocted an incomplete-feeling but still ambitious Polarium, which point at things to come with the system's trademark touch screen and stylus. And now, from the very same guy who gave us Lumines comes the equally impressive Meteos, a stylish and innovative take on a genre that seems to be in the middle of its resurrection. Meteos was one of the first games to truly give the DS its name, and Nintendo owes it for that.

And get this – blocks fall. And, in an even more surprising twist, you've got to make these blocks disappear! And do it quickly, before more blocks come and fill up the whole screen! Put it out of your mind, because Meteos is unlike any puzzle game you've ever played. Or maybe not. Its basic objective is somewhat the same, as it involves different blocks falling down from the sky. You've got to arrange the blocks in groups of three to get them off of the playing zone. But here's the interesting part. In order to send a block off of the screen, you've actually got to send it back up. Blocks fall individually and randomly, and you've got to use the stylus to move them up and down (you can't move them left and right) to line them up in groups of three. When several of the same block are aligned, they transform into “rocket” blocks and are propelled into the air, along with any blocks that are stacked on top of them. You've got to continuously fire blocks into the top of the screen to keep the playing zone ready for… more blocks.

Obviously, they tried to tie this all together with a ridiculous little story – in this case, the evil planet Meteo (which looks suspiciously like the Eye of Sauron) is sending Meteos blocks to clutter and destroy various planets in the galaxy. Then, the aliens of the planets under attack figure out that by grouping similar blocks, they can repel them, and yada, yada, yada. And of course, the aliens group up in the “Metamo Ark” and decide to save the galaxy… but they need your help! At the very least, Meteos feels like some sort of classic-style sci-fi adventure in that the game has this certain, distinct feel to it. There are many varieties of alien in the game, and they all have that sort of “outline” look that is exhibited on the box art. And on that note, Meteos also has a downright sickeningly sweet CG opening sequence that details this outrageous storyline. It beats a lot of current CG in recent games, I can tell you that much.

Yeah, so, anyway, the game. The idea of shooting blocks up to top of the touch screen (they then gather on the upper screen) is a fairly new entry to the world of puzzle games, but it's the way the game is executed that makes it all work so perfectly. Though it's hard to describe in detail, Meteos is one of the most complex and strategic puzzle games I've ever played. There are just so many different, unique approaches to scoring and moving blocks that you'll constantly be formulating new plans of action. For example, the minimum number of blocks to start a rocket is three. However, if you form two groups of two blocks and then connect them with a fifth block, you can start a rocket with a width of five blocks, thereby transporting more blocks at once. After firing a group of blocks into the air, you've then got to continue connecting blocks in that set to keep the rocket going, as usually, a single rocket won't carry the set directly into space. And then, what if you fire a set of blocks up, and then fire another set directly beneath it? The two sets will merge into one. You can also fling single blocks into the air, or prepare a row of blocks to connect with similar blocks on a floating set that's about to land. The options are limitless.

Each playing area takes place on a different planet, and each planet has its own unique everything. The atmosphere, for one. Each board looks different, whether it be the fiery hell of Firim or the oceanic pleasantness of Oleana. This also means that every planet features it signature alien dancing around on the top screen. Each planet has its own blocks, but furthermore, the level of gravity differs from planet to planet. So while blocks may shoot up into the air on one planet, they may be extremely heavy on another. Some planets even have exact movement patterns for blocks, which makes things tricky. And then, every planet is different-sounding as well. This all ties into the audiovisual factor that was so apparent in Lumines but doesn't make quite as much of an impact here. Meteos is a colorful game, but doesn't exhibit any mind-blowing effects – really nothing the GBA couldn't have done. And most of the soundtrack is extremely simplistic and repetitive, but (in a nod to Lumines) backed by the constant musical chimes from your scoring. A couple of the tracks really hit me as well – the menu theme belongs in a great sci-fi movie, and the credits serenade has quickly become one of my favorite videogame tracks of all time.

And, really, that's not where the developers were going for greatness. Whereas Lumines was incredibly simplistic and basic as a puzzle game and relied on the amazingly visual and aural presentation to make it worthwhile, Meteos does exactly the opposite: It ignores the hypnotic experience Lumines had to offer and instead focuses on the most intense and unforgiving puzzle experience the industry can offer. And you know what? I think they pulled it off. A game of Meteos starts out fairly slow and then quickly escalates to downright frantic speed, to the point that a well-played mission will only last you as few minutes. And that may in fact be Meteos's biggest shortcoming. Whereas the speed and pace of other games in the genre could keep me going for ages, Meteos encourages play in short bursts, meaning it has no addictive hook. I can't, for example, imagine myself sitting down and playing this game for several hours, as has already happened in more grabbing games such as, well, Tetris. In a way, though, that makes it a perfect handheld game: Fit for pick-up-and-play situations, I can get into and out of a round of Meteos in only a few minutes, and that kind of demand makes it a fantastic play-anywhere title.

Pros

+ An exciting, intense puzzle experience.
+ Terrific concept strays away from the norm.
+ Gameplay has limitless strategies.
+ A respectable single-player mode with plenty of unlockables.
+ Distinct planets offer variety.
+ Clean visuals and some terrific music.

Cons

- Has no addictive hook.
- Graphics are basic and sort of primitive.
- Some of the music is extremely repetitive.

Overall: 9/10

Meteos is, to date, one of my favorite DS games on the market. It's daring and captivating, reminds me (after the underwhelming Polarium) how much I love the puzzle genre. It also proves that the genre itself has not run out of ideas, and that it may very well be in the middle of an extraordinary comeback. Meteos feels complete, with plenty of modes and unlockables that will keep even solo players going for a long time, despite the fact that you'll really only want to play in short bursts. It's gotten a lot of time out of my DS and I think you'll find yourself in the same position. In closing, if you own a DS, you should have a copy of Meteos as well. It's a terrific experience that I believe anyone can enjoy. So if you have a DS but don't own Meteos, delay yourself the privilege no more.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/19/06, Updated 01/23/06