Below is the review of Meteos Wars by Team Xbox:
Block-based puzzles are nothing new. Tetris, Lumines, and the less blocky, but equally addictive Bejeweled have been keeping gamers thumbs twitching and brains buzzing for years. Despite the stiff competition, though, Meteos has managed to carve its own space among the other blocky blockbusters. Designed by Q Entertainment and famed producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi (the aforementioned rhythm-based Lumines, and fan fave Rez), Meteos has enjoyed a few releases already, including a Disney version that slapped Mickey’s and his pals’ cutesy mugs on the blocks you were blasting. Now, Xbox Live Arcade addicts can get a taste of the puzzling action with the series’ best entry yet, Meteos Wars. For those already familiar with Meteos’ block-launching formula, Wars won’t be all that fresh, but its content-crammed modes and online multiplayer should still make it their most satisfying trip to the series’ intergalactic setting. And those that don’t know a colored brick from a floating jewel are in for a real treat, as Wars delivers an endless can’t-put-it-down puzzle addiction that just about anyone can pick up and play.
The series’ main hook has always been its requirement to blast blocks upward off the screen, rather than just destroying them or making them disappears. You’ll still need to match like colors—three in a row vertically or horizontally—but once you do, the bricks launch upward as if powered by spaceship-like thrusters. This neat gimmick also nicely ties into the title’s simple sci-fi presentation and story. In a nutshell, the Meteos are enemy invaders trying to destroy your planet, and you must protect your planet by launching these bad boys back into space. It’s not much, but hey, what do you expect from a puzzle game—if you want narrative depth, go play Fallout 3.
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