Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Meteos Wars Review for Xbox 360

Meteos Wars Review for Xbox 360

Puzzle Meets Rocketry

There must be entire rooms of people sitting around thinking of ways to stack blocks in a rectangular area and then eliminate them before they get to the top, because that’s the fundamental concept of a whole lot of puzzle games. The latest is Meteos Wars, an Xbox Live Arcade title in which you’ll use rockets to launch the blocks off the top of your screen.

Meteos Wars screenshot

Your screen starts with a few blocks at the bottom (with more falling from the top, of course). You select blocks with the left joystick, and move them up and down (but not left and right) with the right joystick. When you get three or more of the same color in a straight line, they ignite and push their way toward the top of the screen, carrying whatever other blocks were on top of them. Depending on how many blocks they have to carry, and on the unique characteristics of the planet you happen to be on (gravity, how much the atmosphere impedes the rockets, etc.), the booster blocks will either fly off the top of the screen or slowly come back down. If they fly off the top of the screen, you get points, and if you’re playing against an opponent (the computer, a local human, or an online human), they’re added to his screen.

As you play, a meter charges, and you can unleash a full meter to do a special “Planet Impact” attack on your opponent. There are also bombs that occasionally drop onto your and your enemies’ screens, exploding and messing up your work; if you can send them to the top of your screen before they blow up, your opponent gets them.

Once you’ve put in a little time getting the hang of it, it’s quite addictive. There’s a lot of strategy; if you can make two sets of two blocks, and then pull a fifth block between them, you’ll have a five-wide rocket that has an easier time making it to the top of the screen. On planets with strong gravity, sometimes it helps to match the blocks vertically instead of horizontally. That way, the ignited blocks are only pushing on one column’s worth of blocks instead of three or more.

Meteos Wars screenshot

Not to mention the various feats you can pull off, like igniting a set of blocks that’s already in the air (if the blocks aren’t going to make it to the top, this gives them an extra boost), or launching a set of blocks right as another settles back to the ground (this re-ignites the settled rockets, which would normally turn back to standard blocks). You can also speed up time, which gives you more blocks to launch at your opponent, presuming you can handle them.

There are three single-player game modes to choose from. One is Attack Mode, which has three sub-modes, and in which you’ll face no opponent. “1-Minute Time Attack” gives you (you guessed it) one minute to rack up as high a score as you can. In “100-Meteo Attack,” you try to launch 100 blocks in as short a time as possible. In “Challenge Attack,” you keep playing until you die, Tetris-style. In the second mode, “US COM.,” you fight a simple one-on-one battle with a computer opponent. You can pick your and your opponent’s planet, adjust the CPU’s strength, turn Planet Impact on and off, and set bombs’ frequency from off to “High.”

Meteos Wars screenshot

In “Mission Mode,” you fight a series of battles on different planets (you and your opponent use the same one each time, but it changes in each of the six stages) in any of three difficulties. Beginners are wise to start on “Easy”; not only does it take some practice to get a feel for the game, but even on Easy, the difficulty ramps up at Stage 4, when your enemies gleefully discover Planet Impact attacks. In the final stage, you battle the planet Meteo. The first time we beat Mission Mode, it took about an hour, though it depends on how many times you re-try each stage (fortunately, lives are unlimited) and how quickly you’re able to kill off your CPU opponents.

By playing through the game and accomplishing specific feats, you can unlock new planets and even “accessories” that dress up your onscreen icon. The former is worth playing for, considering that the planets’ varying characteristics are what give this game so much variety. The latter, while some look flashy, are mere graphical enhancements.

Meteos Wars screenshot

Meteos Wars also features local and online multiplayer. Local multiplayer works exactly as the single-player experience does, and each player can independently adjust his bomb frequency and turn off Planet Impact. Unfortunately, we tried several times and failed to find matches in the online multiplayer mode, in both ranked and unranked mode. A quick Google search reveals many complaints about lag so severe it renders the game nearly unplayable.

For a puzzle game, Meteos Wars has an extensive backstory. A meteor has run into a planet and somehow turned it evil. The two stellar bodies, fused together, began spitting out blocks (“Meteos”), which threatened to destroy neighboring planets. Some of those planets’ civilizations soon discovered that by combining three like Meteos, they could produce a reaction that hurled the blocks back into space.

They also developed a substance called Metamorite, and this enabled them to mimic the conditions on nearby planets (this is why, in Mission Mode, both you and your opponent use the same planet). They set out in a planet-sized ark made of Metamorite, intending to fly close to Meteo, mimic it to gain its powers, and battle it. Unfortunately, as they fly close to other planets, they must ward off the Meteos launched from them.

The various aspects of the presentation range from outstanding to mediocre. The music is on the outstanding side; all the songs have a definite space vibe going, but in genre, they range from psychedelia to hard rock to electronica. It is one of the best examples in memory of a game offering musical variety without straying from its unique mood and atmosphere, even if one of the songs seems to have repeated burping in it.

The graphics, meanwhile, are good, but far from outstanding. Each planet’s blocks look different from every other planet’s, giving a little variety in how the game comes across visually. However, there’s nothing particularly stunning here, not that anyone plays puzzle games for the artistry.

The control scheme works reasonably well; they’re the mediocre part. It can be a pain getting from one side of the screen to the other in a hurry, so it’s not quite as intuitive as the DS version’s controls were. (The XBLA title does have a few more features than the 2005 DS one, which was called simply Meteos.) Still, it’s about as good as it’ll get without a stylus, Wii-mote, or mouse.

All in all, Meteos Wars takes a fascinating DS puzzle title, slaps on a few bells and whistles, and plops it onto the Xbox Live Arcade. The title retains most of what made it a success, and additions like Planet Impact are a nice touch. On the other hand, the online multiplayer is a bit of a letdown, so in the end, whether Meteos Wars is worth your hard-earned $10 depends on how much you need a new puzzle game.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.8 Graphics
It’s no visual stunner, but it looks fine, and no one plays puzzle games for the graphics. 3.1 Control
The scheme works and is probably the best you can have on a traditional controller, but a stylus, Wii-mote, or mouse would work better. 4.8 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The music always sounds space-themed, even while jumping from genre to genre. 4.3 Play Value
Will prove addictive to puzzle fans. 3.9 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Defend more than 20 planets, each with its own alien race, Meteos blocks, unique gravity effects, and visual and audio style.
  • Master four “Planet Impact” special attacks, Armageddon, Gambit, Sentinel, and Tempest.
  • Test your action-puzzle skills in a variety of single-player modes, including Mission Mode, Attack Mode, or Vs. Mode. Three challenges await you in Attack Mode.
  • Blast away your opponents over Xbox Live in Matchmaking Vs. Mode and become one of the best Meteos Wars players in the community. You can also go head-to-head with your friend in Local Vs. Mode.
  • Collect various accessories for your aliens by clearing certain objectives. Accessorize your alien and give it some personality!

  • To top