Whereas Lumines is a comparatively slow game where single plays can last for hours at a time, Meteos is all about fast and frantic battles, where nothing stands still for a moment and games rarely last more than a few minutes each. Meteos is controlled primarily with the touch screen and stylus as it’s your task to vertically arrange rows of falling blocks (known as ‘meteos’) to link 3 or more of the same colour into horizontal rows or vertical columns. When you’ve linked a group of ‘meteos’, instead of simply disappearing like in a majority of puzzle games, the linked ‘meteos’ will turn into rockets and rise up the screen, lifting any blocks that happen to be sitting on top of them thus creating a stack. Blocks are then eliminated from the field of play when they have left the screen. Sounds simple? Well it is, but there’s more to it yet.
Although one line of rockets is enough to eliminate small stacks, they won’t be enough for the larger chunks. This is where combos come into play. By either dragging ‘meteos’ from an existing stack, flicking extra ‘meteos’ up from below or lining up blocks from surrounding areas, it’s possible to add extra thrust to your stack by connecting further rows of ‘meteos’. By linking multiple combos to one stack, you can clear almost the entire screen at times, essential for clocking up high scores. Also, considering that much of the game is against rival CPU planets, clearing larger stacks will cause bigger problems for you opponents than lots of smaller ones. In addition to the multicolored ‘meteos’, special items will appear at random times. Some, like the Axe that swings randomly to eliminate large sections of blocks help you, while others will hinder by obscuring your vision with smoke or adding extra weight to your stacks.
We have lift off!
Meteos features four main game modes: ‘Simple’ is essentially a practice mode which allows you to play a match against up to three CPU opponents. ‘Star Trip’ is the main meat of the game, which has you battling up to three planets at the same time. There are three versions of Star Trip ranging from a simple linear path, to branching routes that lead to multiple endings for you to discover. ‘Deluge’ is your bog standard survival mode while ‘Time War’ is full of time trial-like missions of varying time or length. After each game, every Meteos you launch into space is cataloged by the game to be used in the ‘Fusion’ mode which is where you unlock new planet items, sounds and music. This is where Meteos really comes into its own with the sheer amount of unlockable content available.
In a similar vein to the ‘skins’ in Lumines, the planets in Meteos change how the game is played, far more so than any puzzle game before it. Not only does each planet have its own distinctive visual style and accompanying soundtrack, they’re highly different in gameplay terms. The size can change with some planets only being 7 blocks wide, while others can have over 10. The weight and gravity can have an effect too with some planets having floaty physics and others with super strong gravity where launched stacks fall to the ground with pace. Some feature different launching systems too with certain planets offering instant elimination of blocks or requiring multiple combos before even launching. With the varying modes on offer, the wide array of playing styles produced from the different planets and the inclusion of 4 player battles via wi-fi, Meteos has immense replayability.
The post-battle screen shows what elements you have earned along the way.
Visually, Meteos is bright, crisp and very colourful. Each planet is beautifully different from one another with each world having its own particular art design and character. But most importantly of all, it’s always clear to the player as to what is actually going on. The soundtrack, which is rather reminiscent of Super Smash Bros. Melee, is of an equally high standard too with each song fitting the frantic on screen action perfectly. Combined with an abundance of weird and wonderful sound effects woven into the music in accordance to what you do on screen only further display the high amount production that has gone into this game.
Admittedly, Meteosisn’t flawless. Its design is, at its core, more random than most other puzzle games with falling pieces occasionally forming a combo by themselves. And of course you have to rely on the relevant coloured blocks falling into the right places at times, but these kind of puzzle games do need an element of luck about them. Would Tetris have been the classic it is without all those times spend sweating over the arrival of a long piece? Also, in a bid to recover in last-ditch efforts simply by ‘scribbling’ the stylus up and down from left to right and back again you can prolong your defeat for a few seconds longer, but it is in no way possible to achieve high scores with this technique so it really is something minor and not a game ruining element others may have you believe.
With both Lumines and Meteos released this month, it’s a wonderful time for handheld gamers and puzzle fans. It’s incredibly deep, packed full of unlockables, has more modes than to shake a stick at and includes some superb 4 player multi play. But arguably the most important thing about Meteos is that it shows exactly what the DS is all about. This game simply wouldn’t be possible on any other console apart from the DS, you can even use the d-pad to play the game which is proof if ever you needed it. Meteos is one of the best puzzle games in years and is an essential purchase for all DS owners, long live Q Entertainment.
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