Meteos Wars (XBLA) Review
Posted by Adam Larck on 01.11.2009
Fast pace puzzle play keeps gamers on their feet.
Title: METEOS WARS
Publisher: Xbox LIVE Arcade
Developer: Q ENTERTAINMENT Inc.
Type: Puzzle
Players: 1 to 2
The Xbox Live Arcade has its fair share of puzzle games. So what sets METEOS WARS apart from the rest? The quick gameplay and deeper strategy involved makes this one of the better puzzle games out there to pick up on Arcade.
Gameplay:
The gameplay at first reminded me of Bejeweled. Match three or more of the same color together to start a chain. Instead of disappearing, however, it starts a chain that launches those pieces (and any pieces on top of it, into space. The game even takes into account the weight of each Meteos and the gravity of the current planet you’re on. To help the pieces go into space, you make chains on top of previous chains to give the stack more fuel to get into space.
The whole reason for doing this is even explained in the story. Yes, this is one of the few puzzle games with an actual story behind it. Found under the Help & Options menu, players can read a prologue and story about the mission mode, and find out the background of the power of the planets and data about planets you’ve collected. Basically, to sum the story up in a sentence, the Planet Meteo is trying to take over the universe and the player needs to go around to each planet he controls to defeat them before finally trying to defeat Planet Meteo. The four page story that’s included is actually very interesting and is worth a read-through. It wasn’t just thrown together at the last second; it looks like a good prequel you’d find in a sci-fi book. The prologue and power of the planets are the same way.
There are three different single player modes to try out in the game. The Vs. Com mode lets you chose your own planet and the planet you battle against in the best two out of three. Mission mode (the game’s story mode), lets you choose your difficulty level before facing four random planets, an unknown planet, then Planet Meteo. The difficulty level starts off challenging enough at Easy, but I noticed that by the time you’re playing on hard the computer can clear a whole board within seconds. The final mode, Attack mode, gives players a one-minute time attack mode, 100-Meteos launched mode, and just a high score challenge attack mode to either set the best high score or best time on each planet.
Multiplayer modes include both local and Xbox Live. While I would have loved to try the online mode to see if there was any latency or differences, every time I looked for a match no one was on playing the game. In any versus mode (against computer or human opponents) there is also a technique called Planet Impact that can be used. By building up launches, you can launch one of these specials that does anything from dropping more Meteos to using a laser to destroy some of the opponents Meteos to lowering attack power.
Graphics:
The graphics are pretty good for an arcade game. There are different types of backgrounds you see as you’re playing, and all the planets have a distinct shape and color. The blocks from each planet look different, and each planet also has a different avatar that floats or dances around while you play on the bottom of the screen. The planets themselves are shown and the background, and are used in cut-scenes when special attacks are launched. This is the only time cut-scenes are used in the game as well, so no worry about a puzzle game having huge scenes you’re forced to watch.
Sound:
The sound, as you would expect from a space game, sounds very spacy. Quite a bit of synthesizer is used, along with some lighter tones in the menu screens. As all of the characters in the game are aliens, there are no voice actors. Overall, good music, but can get repetitive after playing the game for a while.
Lasting Appeal:
Seeing that this is a puzzle game, the appeal will last as much as you like the genre. The layout of the puzzle and strategies are always different, and the computer never plays the same way. It’s a good game to pick up and play for a short bit here and there, but for longer gaming sessions puzzle games like this never have been great for.
The 411:
It’s a great little puzzle game for its price (800 Microsoft Points). The game seems to be lacking when it comes to people playing online, but facing the computer in the Mission mode is good for a quick gaming session.
Graphics
8.0
The graphics are really polished for an arcade game.
Gameplay
7.5
The fast pace puzzle gameplay works well, but learning curve can be a bit steep.
Sound
7.0
Decent space feel to the game, but can get repetitive after a bit of play.
Lasting Appeal
7.5
Great for puzzle fans that don't playing a computer, but may have to look elsewhere to find online opponents.
Fun Factor
7.0
The quick gameplay made me forget about the time before realizing I put two hours into this game already. Fun timewaster for a break from bigger games.
