Meteos

Puzzle games form such an intriguing genre with a slightly ambiguous dichotomy. One one hand the games hark back to classic puzzlers, most notably Tetris, obviously, or at least take some core element from those classic games to build around. (Tetrisphere, a brilliant puzzler, could be an antithesis for that). On the other hand, there are some puzzles who go out of their way to create a whole new function of gameplay, sometimes resulting in pretentious gimmicks looking to oppressively stump the player. Q Entertainment's DS game, Meteos, falls in the latter category, but not upholding the negative consequences. In fact, it easily succeeds in being an original puzzler by offering one of the most versatile experiences any puzzler has given. At first glance for most people, a connection between Meteos and Tetris  is made, but, as IGN's review by Craig Harris states, "...Meteos is a game that can't be considered a Tetris clone, nor does it feel derived from any other non-Tetris titles on the market." This speaks to its versatility. As a puzzler goes, it has a simplistic gameplay as its foundations, but drenches this gameplay with  much dynamism.

So, you have blocks fall down on the bottom screen. The goal of the game is to launch these blocks back up into space and onto another planet by connecting three or more of the same element in a row to launch them. That's the simplicity; when I give the game to a person who has never tried it that's all I tell them and they pick it up very quickly. The catch, and this is a very big catch, mind you, is that each planet that you choose to play as has their own rules of gravity, as well as their own laws of momentum. Therefore, blocks behave drastically different depending on what planet you choose. The player must adapt to these different laws of nature in order to perfect their combos and strategies. Meteos implements much fast-paced strategy, including launching meteos (the blocks, sorry about that) in the are and then launching again mid-air or anticipating the landing of a large load of meteos such that you can launch it back up immediately to avoid any encumbering moments.

That's not the end of what makes Meteos brilliant, the developers took care of this game by polishing it up with colorful, interesting visuals and pulsating music. If I may add, the music changes depending on the way you launch your meteos, a nice addition to the versatility. Nevertheless, with so many planets, Q Entertainment does a exceptional job at making each one look different and definitely feel different. One planet, oddly named Luna=Luna, has the qualities in which the meteos that have been launched, shoot up very slowly as well as descend very slowly. The meteos are simplistically designed as geometric shapes and the music consists of offbeat techno that seems to be delivered from the scratching of a turntable. Another planet, named Havendor, consists of meteos which all look like some sort of stone. The amazing aspect comes with its physics. Block descend at blistering speeds, but launching anything up into space is almost instantaneous. Such drastic differences require such different approaches to the game.

Puzzle games are sometimes hard to convince people about the validity of their artistic merit, especially puzzle games that don't involve in form of significant narrative (this one really doesn't, I will add, but the story isn't despicable). Yet, and I will stress this for mostly all the other games on this list, the merit and significance is expressed through its form, the gameplay, the way interactivity is applied to the game. Meteos offers deep, frantic gameplay that is continually fluctuating and engaging. The adaptability the player needs to have in this game needs to be quite ample, and the game rewards you for being vigilant. The game doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, and it only makes sense due to its hectic nature. Puzzle games don't usually have a personality attached to it, but Meteos seems to defy the rule with its diverse feel to it and visual richness. The meshing of simplicity and versatility is so perfectly done in this game that it is hard not to notice the fluidity of such uniqueness, no matter how foreign it seems. Q Entertainment also created the popular Lumines as well as the visually stunning Rez. But, there is no doubt in my mind, I feel Meteos is the most fun this company has produced ever.