Monster Puzzle (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

505 Game Street appeared around a year a go on the European Entertainment scene and is primarily a game publisher. What this means for you is that, like ZOO Digital, they search the globe for existing games which have yet to land a publishing deal in the UK and Europe. Monster Puzzle is one of around half a dozen new releases and follows a rather simple storyline that challenges you to rid the Tale Kingdom of monsters. Like your average shoot'em up though, puzzlers don't really require a plot. What they do need is to be both engaging and challenging. Does Monster Puzzle deliver? Read on and see...

Gameplay

As with all puzzlers the concept is deadly simple and the elaborate plot of ridding the Tale Kingdom of monsters comes down to clearing a grid of various icons. The icons in question are, of course, monsters and lining up three or more causes them to disappear along with the background. It's the gradual eating away of these colored tiles that leads to success. Unlike other games of this nature though you can't simply swap icons but instead you pull them down or across on a kind of fixed ribbon. This can be extended for about five places and icons, which are currently hidden from the play area, can be revealed making for some quick paced exploration. You don't have to clear the whole thing either and each level will let you know exactly what percentage you're required to clear in order to progress. What really makes the later levels challenging though is the changing play area. Whilst a square or rectangle is relatively easy to clear, other shapes are not nearly as simple. There is some help at hand though in the form of random bonus items such as extra time or the ability to delete a collection of icons belonging to the same monster

The game can be approached in several different ways, starting with the marathon Story Mode that challenges you to complete all the various puzzles and you con even carry on if you get stuck. Arcade Mode is quite the opposite, should you fail to clear an area the game is over although you are competing for a high score here. There's also a Multiplayer Mode where you can battle it out head-to-head, with the fastest one to complete the puzzle the winner.

Controls

Strangely for a DS puzzler you can opt to use either the touch screen or traditional controls. It's worth having a go at both to see what suits you best but we found the stylus to be much quicker and therefore more entertaining. Be sure to drop by the on-screen tutorial before entertaining any of the game modes as well just to make sure you know exactly what you are doing.

Graphics

Visually the game is best described as charming, with the graphics appearing almost as if they have been water colored, albeit in an anime style. There are also a handful of spot animations but this is a puzzler so we really weren't expecting anything close to a visual spectacular.

Sound

It's difficult to know what to say about the music really. While it's incredibly well composed it's also rather hypnotic and the soundtrack combined with the gameplay can be quite mind altering. You'll see what I mean when you start playing it for any length of time at all but it is a strange experience to say the least. The sound effects meanwhile are far less effective and are only really there to punctuate the gameplay.

Dual screen

As we've already mentioned, you can select which control system you wish to use but as far as touch-screen use goes this is just about as basic as it gets.

Final comments

Ever since Tetris helped to propel the original GameBoy to global dominance developers and publishers alike have been searching for the next big thing and while some have come close, none have managed to replicate the addictiveness and sheer simplicity of this puzzle classic. Monster Puzzle definitely falls into the 'runner-up' category. While it ticks all the right boxes it's still just a reasonable entertaining puzzler, which while challenging can feel somewhat repetitive because the main objective never really changes. There are extra marks awarded for the single cart multiplayer but it's still only really recommended for puzzle enthusiasts out there.

Pro: Good Sound and Visuals, Multiplayer from a Single Cart.
Con: Not a Great Deal of Variety.
Final score: 6.3

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