Meteos

Better than Tetris? Better than Tetris?!

Puzzle games have been around for eons. Since the days of Tetris, developers have tried to replicate its gameplay. Most, however, have failed. Meteos proves that the puzzle genre is still one of the best forms of gaming.

Meteos was developed by Q Entertainment, the same company that made Lumines. Considering its fun and addictive gameplay, we expected the same thing with Meteos.

Meteos takes a unique spin on the Tetris formula in two ways, using the stylus and the use of the second screen. Blocks are moved vertically to align themselves with at least two other blocks of the same type. Once this occurs, the three blocks and all that is on top is sent to the top of the screen. Heavier loads travel slower and thus your entire stack isn’t sent in one go. The more blocks you send away, the faster the flow of Meteos on your opponent’s planet. The game ends when blocks reach the top of the screen for you or your opponent.

The gameplay quickly becomes addictive. It will take you two minutes to learn what to do and about a day to start doing it correctly. Meteos is a game that’s easy to learn and difficult to master. When you grasp the mechanics of gameplay, you’ll start using combos and sending almost an entire screen of Meteos in one hit. There is nothing more satisfying than hitting your opponent with a screen full of blocks and hearing the soundtrack change its tune for your achievement.

The game’s strength is in its multiplayer options. You can either play a stock or time game. Stock simply means that you have a limited number of ‘Novas’ that are allowed before you lose the match. A timed game gives you a pre-defined time limit in order to get as many points as you possibly can. The game can handle two to four players at one time and battles are fast and furious.

It’s hard to fault a game that seems flawless. In essence, unless you have a friend to play against, the single player can get monotonous.

Meteos is easy to pick up and play and is fun for all ages. If you’re a puzzle fan, you’ll want this game, and even if you’re not there is much to be loved. Q Entertainment has proved to be a developer of gold status. They’ve taken a simple idea and moulded it to the DS’ hardware perfectly. Meteos is puzzle gaming at its best.