Indepth Meteos Review

Since lots of people have been askin for it here it goes!

Q Entertainment has really been outdoing themselves lately when it comes to the puzzle game genre. Now, while I haven't played Lumines on the PSP I have heard from everyone that it is an exceptional game and if it's from the same company who created Meteos I can't see why it wouldn't be.

Let me get one thing out of the way right now. Thanks to the games designer, Masahiro Sakurai, this game feels more like you're playing super smash brothers than Tetris. The music, menu's, stats...All of it is smash brothersesque which adds a really nice touch of polish to the overall design.

The basic concept is really simple, move blocks up and down within their row to line up three blocks either horizontally or vertically. When this is achieved those three blocks will turn into rocket boosters and launch themselves up into the air. The goal is for you to get the blocks, or meteos, off of your screen by blasting them upward. Sounds simple enough? There are however other factors that come into play when lauching the meteos out of your planets atmosphere, like, each of the 30 unlocakble planets has it own and different gravity which greatly affects how far up the meteos go and how quickly they come down. Knowing the gravity of the planet you are playing on is essential for being at all sucessful.

Well I guess I'll mention the one thing that I feel may keep some gamers away from this one right now. The game is not easy and the rounds don't last long. If you're looking for trance-like gameplay that Lumines had to offer than you're looking in the wrong place. These rounds last an average of 5-10 minutes and except for the very beginning of the round, they are very frantic, meaning you can't have your attention anywhere else. While the basic concepts are easy enough to understand, applying them in the frantic level's may be difficult for some. I'll say right now, the game is about combination lifts, when you launch one rocket you have to lauch a second stage by aligning three more to get it out of the atmosphere. You'll also have to figure out on your own how to lauch the whole screen, though it tells you in the tutor...

Single Player Modes

- Simple

This is the mode that you'll most likely play first when you start the game up. It gives you the option of choosing the planet you want to play on, whether there will be CPU players in the game, whether you would like the game to be stock or time and player teams.(Smash brothers huh?) All your stats from this mode are saved and can be used to buy thing like planets, rare metals, powerups and sounds.

- Star Trip

In this mode you'll go on the quest to stop the evil planet Meteo from launching the Meteos at other planets. You'll have the option of running a starfox like jump from planet to planet in three different pathways. Straight, is just a straigh line of planets before Meteo. In Branch, when you beat a planet you'll have the choice to go to one of two planets, it branches out. In the last one, Multi you'll open new paths by clearing missions. The end result of all of them is combat with planet Meteo followed by the credits, which you get to play Meteos during!

- Time War

2:00 Time war basically is surving a Meteos game for 2 minutes and 5:00 time war is surving for 5 minutes, they are good practice for whats to come next.

100 and 1000 meteo war are slightly more difficult, with 1000 being very difficult to complete. High score are recoreded for all of these time trials.

- Deluge

In this mode you'll be playing a round of Meteos until you're overwhelmed by the meteos, there isn't much more too it than that, it's your basic tetris mode.

Multiplayer Modes

Now I'm going to be honest, I haven't had a chance to try out the multiplayer but I have played against CPU's and that is loads and loads of fun so I am willing to be that playing against humans is 10 times as fun...With that said.

In multiplayer you have the option of playing multicart play with all the planets open to you or playing single cart play with only one of planets available for play on. Both multicart and single card can be played with 2-4 players(computers can fill in for missing players).

Just like in the simple mode when playing against computer players, you'll have the option of stock, time, ect...You can also decide to who you want your launched meteos to fall on after you've launched them out of your atmopshere

Now I'm going to address the one big issue that many reviews have had with the game, the scribble. It is true that if you are feeling the pressure of the game you can run the stylus up and down the screen quickly and get some launches. But you see, it's nothing more than button mashing in a fighting game. It may get you passed the first few levels but try it later on and you'll be toast. As long as you don't lessen your experiance by doing it there should be no issue at all.

In closing, I highly recommend this game to you if you are a fan of the puzzle genre or if you aren't. It has the feel and mood of an action title and the gameplay of a puzzle title. I will say, you have to be good with a stylus, while you can use D-pad control it sucks and thats why I didn't mention it till now. When you start you may feel overwhelmed but you'll get better quickly so don't get to mad with the game.

Graphics 9.5
-They do all they need to do for this game. They're bright, beautiful and fit in with the style perfectly.

Sound 10
-The sound in this game is just beautifuly done. While it's not centered around sound like Lumines is, there is no sound I think that could be better done to improve on the curreny quality of the game.

Gameplay 9.0
-The new revolutionary way for playing puzzle games just works and well. D-pad control sucks and the scribble is there but it's really a non-factor in later missions.

Length 10
-With 30 planets to unlock, rare metals, powerups, sounds, countless gameplay modes and the amazing multiplayer features this is a game that will last you for a very very long time.

Final Score 9.6
-This is truly the DS's tetris. It is enjoyable on all levels, it's addictive and it's just plain fun to play. With the added unlockable and multiplayer to compliment the astounding single player aspect there is no reason to hold off on this game. I still give this game my highest possible recommendation.

is the music like techno or trans?

Anyway, good review xerou!!!

I've heard this game is trully a good contender as the succesor to tetris and hopefully it can be true.

You can count on me buying it!!
Many thanks, xerou.

Thanks for that. Ive yet to get it, so the heads up is handy

Nice one

Thinking of buying the game now.

Cheers for doing this xerou, much appreciated.

Could you maybe give me a quick explanation of the control mode, just got a little confused on the gameplay part - tough day, only a few hours sleep last night, I'm dead on my .... ass.

Anyways great review, if this doesn't hit our shores before the end of August I'll maybe be forced to lay my "support your region" morals to one side and import this. It sounds like a perfect title to take on a 10 hour trip (half of which on a plane), along with one or two other select awesome DS games

Excellent, Detailed Review Xerou (should be a c3 reviewer )

Your review has convinced me and many others to buy this game.
Hope you enjoy this game while I wait for it to be released
*applauses*

Now a little question....

Which do you prefer? Lumines or Meteos?

It sounds like a perfect title to take on a 10 hour trip (half of which on a plane)

Sounds like a great game! I'm sure my collection has room for another puzzle game!

Well to be honest, I've not played Lumines only seen video's, talked to people and read about it. But they are two different monsters. If you want slow layed back 20 minute rounds you're looking for Lumines. If you want short action packed crazy rounds Meteos is your cup of tea. I don't doubt that Lumines is excellent but I think Meteos fits the type of gameplay I desire more.

Could you maybe give me a quick explanation of the control mode, just got a little confused on the gameplay part - tough day, only a few hours sleep last night, I'm dead on my .... ass.

Yea sure. Basically the blocks fall from the sky as individiual blocks. Now they're gonna have to land on eachother eventually right? So when they start stacking up you place your stylus on the block you want and you can move in vertically within its collum to either make vertical or horizontal rows of 3 of a kind. There are 10 different colors of blocks and they represent different elements. The idea is to line up say, 3 green blocks and when you do that the 3 blocks will turn into rockets and lift off taking themselves and any blocks on top of them up into the sky.

Cheers again Xerou. So basically the touch control is pretty good....

Sod it, I want this game, I can wait a while, but if this isn't out before the 27th of August (or given a release of the 26th, UK launches happen on Friday) I'l be importing this before my holidays.

1.5-2 hours travelling to Glasgow playing Yoshi/Pac Pix.
1-2 hours spontaneously playing Wario Touched in the airport.
4-5 hours playing Meteos on the plane.
And maybe another hour playing wario while the departure / arrival to the apartments happens.

Count me in and god bless the DS's great battery life

The game's statsa great too, just like Smash Brothers it tracks so much!

4-5 hours playing Meteos on the plane.

Can you do that? Didn't think you were allowed wifi on a plane?

The wifi is only on in multiplayer mode...

Yes, but if its in the hardware, and doesn't have an off switch, you won't be allowed to use it on a plane.

im a big fan of polarium so i think this sounds quite good and i may consider getting it depending on what else is coming out.
I must ask though when you are actually playing it what appears on the top screen.

They probably won't know anyway msenyszak and it won't be on so dosn't hurt anyone.

and it won't be on so dosn't hurt anyone.

Thats a rather arrogant viewpoint to take. What happens if it does accidentally switch on?

There are reasons why you're not allowed mobiles on planes..

If it's not transmitting while palying single player I don't see what the issue is.

^ Exactly Xerou.

That whole "No DS on a plane" sh*te was made up by a bunch of idiots, fanboys and haters.

The DS will ONLY send out wifi if you ask it to. You simply play the one player mode on ANY multiplayer enabled game and it is not a problem. It will not send out wifi signals and will not be a problem - I hate these tossers that make up such idiotic notions that counter sheer fact with blatant fiction and hatred.

These little fanboys made a whole storm on the net around a serious dead issue - it's not like the PSP has any different an operating practice. Try playing a multiplayer PSP game and the same wifi issue happens, don't try playing a wifi game and you can enjoy a full battery (4 hours :p) game on your own. There is no fucking difference what-so-ever.

But sadly the internet is largely Nintendo, or anti Nintendo should I say, biased. These fucking ignorant haters are all over the place and even allegedly "respected" sources use them, heck the allegedly "respected" media claim suspected Nintendo death - how completely uninformed putting it politely.

Just wait a few weeks for a "hopefully" great article from me regarding the sheer (and factual) ignorance of the mass media idiocy toward Nintendo.

They are fools, in my own small way I will prove it here at C3.

Edit My "^ Exactly Xerou." comment was actually for around 6 posts ago.

Another edit, just some mistakes.

[ Edited by nin10do on 2005/6/29 21:55 ]

Yea, the Wifi doesn't just randomly turn on...If it did it would be about as freak as a Meteos crashing into the plane...

If it's not transmitting while palying single player I don't see what the issue is.

It *could* is the issue.

The PSP has a hard on/off switch for wi-fi, afaik- thats the difference.

Thats a rather arrogant viewpoint to take

Yeah...And a UFO *could* crash into the plane and the plane *could* turn into a dragon...Not to mention that you can see if the wifi is on from the blinking light, if you see the light randomly blink when its in single player(which has never happened to me) then turn it off.

[ Edited by Xerou on 2005/6/29 16:56 ]

Xerou wrote: Yeah...And a UFO *could* crash into the plane and the plane *could* turn into a dragon...

0/\0

I'll ramble for the fear of a bad post.

Honestly guys, there really is not a wifi issue here, don't let the idiots fool you.

You can't use WiFi on a lapton, DS or PSP - what the hell are we even disputing .... oh yeah, Sony zealots trying to make an issue out of a problem that the PSP suffers from too

Nice review Xerou, have ordere Kirby since i had wanted that for ages. However, this one will be a definate one to get. It sounds great and addictive

I doubt thats the way a plane company is going to see it.