Meteos (DS)
Developed by: Q Entertainment
Published by: Bandai

What good is a handheld video game system without that one killer puzzle game more addictive than crack cocaine? Not much good, I’d wager. The simple elegance of Tetris was responsible for selling millions of Game Boy systems, after all. Since then there has been an endless stream of “falling block” clones and knockoffs, but very few others have managed to gain any sort of runaway success.

This is where Q Entertainment have recently stepped forward and proven themselves to be game design geniuses. Founded by Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Space Channel 5, Rez), the company now has two brilliant titles under its collective belt in less than a year: Lumines for the PSP, and Meteos for the Nintendo DS.

Creating a puzzle game that is both unique and compelling is a deceptively difficult thing. As low-tech as they tend to be, the design process for such a game is one that requires more raw creativity than any other. This type of game is an art form unto itself. With Meteos, I found myself hooked almost immediately; dazzled by the colourful combination of visuals and sound, and yet completely transfixed by the one basic, inherently unsolvable, task at hand. That task, in this case, is to line up 3 or more blocks of matching colours as they fall from the sky. Lines can be found horizontally or vertically, but individual blocks can only be moved up or down within their respective columns (which is done by dragging them with the stylus on the Nintendo DS touch screen).

That, in a nutshell, is all you need to know to play this game, but as with all good puzzle games, Meteos goes much deeper. When you match up a line of blocks, they don’t simply disappear; rather, they combine with everything above it and launch into the sky before slowly falling back down. While they fall, you can realign more blocks to form combos that will launch them even higher, and once they get high enough they will spill out into space, eliminating them from play. There are also occasional items that appear within the blocks, such as bombs and giant hammers that can clear large areas.

I suppose I could also mention that the blocks are actually “meteors” sent from the evil planet Meteo, and that by clearing the atmosphere of meteors you are freeing planets from tyranny… or something like that. But although these things do add to the aesthetics of the game, let’s be honest — they’re pretty irrelevant. Still, as flimsy as the story is, it works well within the whole experience. Stylistically, each level represents a different planet with its own unique look and feel, from the types of blocks, to the music and sound, to the gravity and behaviour of the blocks.

Meteos is loaded with different gameplay modes (including one of the most fun wireless multiplayer modes on the DS so far), and also features a ton of unlockables in the way of additional planets, items, and music tracks. For a simple game, it really is packed with value.

One unfortunate thing worth noting is the fact that the game’s interface allows for a certain amount of “cheating”, if you will, that can cheapen the gameplay experience (as you will find out when going head-to-head with a cheater!). When the blocks are piling up and you find yourself on the brink of annihilation, sometimes you need only to resort to some random scribbling on the screen in order to bail yourself out of a jam. Since ineffective moves are not penalized, quite often this strategy can work for a time. Still, there is enough subtlety to the game that such mindless tactics are not likely win out against a more skilled opponent in the long run.

Meteos is one of those fabled games that is easy to pick up, but ridiculously hard to put down. The more intense the meteor attack gets, the more determined you will find yourself becoming. This game is highly recommended, although that recommendation comes with a warning: your Nintendo DS may never leave your grip again! — Sean

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