| Meteos | |
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| Developer(s) | Q Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Bandai, Nintendo (US) |
| Designer(s) | Masahiro Sakurai |
| Released |  March 10, 2005 September 23, 2005 |
| Genre | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Ratings | ESRB: E (Everyone) PEGI: 3+ OFLC: G OFLC: PG (Disney Magic) |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS, Mobile Phone |
| Media | Nintendo DS Game Card |
| Input methods | Buttons, touch screen |
Meteos (メテオス Meteosu?) is an action puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system. The name of the game comes from the English word meteor, translitered to "meteo". Meteos was developed by Q Entertainment and published by Bandai. The producer for the game was Tetsuya Mizuguchi and lead designer was Masahiro Sakurai. The game was released in Japan on March 10, 2005. The US release date was June 27, 2005 (see 2005 in video gaming). Meteos was very well received upon its release.[1] Meteos is often compared to Lumines, a game for PlayStation Portable by the same developer, which both feature falling blocks. In general, Meteos relies heavily on speed and reflexes, while Lumines relies heavily on rhythm and concentration.
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Gameplay and controls
Most of the action takes place at the bottom screen of the DS unit (the section referred to as the atmosphere). Blocks ("Meteos") fall down from the top of the screen and start to form stacks. The player can move blocks up and down in a stack using the stylus, or alternatively by using the control pad and A button. The player aims to line up three or more matching blocks. When a horizontal or vertical row of at least three blocks is formed, the row of blocks will ignite and turn into a kind of tiny rocket engine. The rocket then pushes the blocks above it towards the top of the screen. To lift a large amount of blocks, additional rows of blocks must be formed in a quick succession (secondary ignition). Also, if an ignited pile of blocks falls back down and, in doing so, causes another set of blocks to ignite, the pile will boost back up again, wider than before. This is called a step jump.
The goal of the game is to lift blocks past the top of the bottom screen, turning them into sparks at the top screen (orbit). If any column of unignited blocks grows beyond the top of the bottom screen and is not dealt with, it's game over (annihilation). When a stack of blocks gets dangerously high, the stack will flash and the game will sound a warning signal, until either the game ends or a quick action by the player averts the disaster. Holding down the L or R button, or tapping the appropriate on-screen icon, activates the speeder, making blocks fall faster. Certain game modes allow the player to collect items, which produce various helpful effects when the player activates them, or, in the case of smoke screens and weights, by launching them to the opposing planet. Meteos has 32 different planets that serve as the different levels to play on in the game. Each level differs in many aspects, including the size of the playing field, the blocks (both in terms of their graphics and which types are on the level), gravity, and the acceleration that horizontal and vertical ignitions give the blocks. One world has blocks that fall if as if underwater; in another world, gravity is so heavy it's almost required to achieve secondary ignition in order to move blocks off the screen. One world, Hevendor, has no gravity whatsoever, so blocks launch completely off the screen almost immediately after being ignited. All the unignited Meteos that are launched are accumulated in the player's profile and can be spent, in a process called "Fusion", to unlock planets, sound tracks, power-ups, and "Time" and "Soul" rare metals, which themselves are used as ingredients in further Fusions.
Story
The game has numerous endings, which are unlocked by defeating star trip mode in different ways. After an ending is unlocked, credits roll, and the player can play a game of Meteos with tiny blocks and a very tall game board. If one uses the speeder to fill up the board, the credits end prematurely. The player can also hold the START button down to speed up the credits.
Sequels
On September 7, 2005 mobile gamemaker Gameloft announced that they would be bringing both Meteos and Lumines to cell phones. Also, on April 26, 2006, Buena Vista Games announced they would be publishing Meteos: Disney Magic. [2] There was also a Meteos Online game for the PC in Japan, but it shut down in November 2007.
Awards
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See also
- Polarium — a puzzle game for Nintendo DS
- Bejeweled — a puzzle game for Palm handhelds and PC, designed for stylus control
- Tetris — the classic action puzzle game
- Lumines — puzzle game by Q Entertainment, released before Meteos for the PlayStation Portable
- Tetris Attack — a puzzle game in many ways similar to Meteos, for Super Nintendo
- Meteos Planets
References
- ^ Meteos at Metacritic
- ^ "Buena Vista Games Enters Agreement to Publish Four New Games from Q Entertainment". GameSpot. URL Accessed 2 June 2006.
- ^ Harris, Craig (2005-06-24). Meteos review at IGN. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ Klepek, Patrick. Meteos review at 1UP. 1UP. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ Theobald, Phil (2005-06-24). GameSpy Meteos Review. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ Kasavin, Greg (2005-06-24). Meteos for DS Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ Meteos Reviews. gamerankings.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ Meteos (DS) Reviews. metacritic.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
- ^ 9th CESA Game Awards.
External links
- Planet Meteos — the official Japanese site (in Japanese)
- Nintendo Meteos — the official English site
- Meteos at MobyGames
- GameSpot GameSpace for Meteos
- Interview of Tetsuya Mizuguchi by 1UP.com
- Meteos Entry on the game wiki, Encyclopedia Gamia
