The first thing you notice upon launching into a game of Meteos is that the blurb on the box was no idle boast: "…the most frantic puzzle game in the galaxy…" Unlike Lumines - or even the original block puzzle legend Tetris, where the blocks descend singly and you have time to decide where to place them, you have no control over these blocks – called meteos - as they rain down steadily and randomly, piling up at an alarming rate.

The story goes that the evil planet Meteo is the point of origin of the colourful meteos, which have been bombarding all planets in their path and reducing them to rubble. When three meteos of the same colour happened to set off a curious chain reaction which resulted in their being flung back into space, the indigenous species of each planet decided to play an active role in ridding their home worlds of the undesirable space junk, eventually bringing the battle home to Meteo by means of a specially constructed craft called the Metamo Ark.

There is a brief, viewable tutorial to help explain the basics, but you will probably pick up the game more effectively through hands-on play. The action is controlled using the stylus on the touch screen. You can use the buttons and control pad instead, however due to the frenetic pace of the game and the accuracy required this is not recommended.

Basic gameplay is a relatively simple concept: line up sets of identical blocks to form "stacks" which ignite and are sent rocketing upwards, to hopefully disappear off the screen. The minimum number of blocks required to trigger ignition is 3; of course you can line up larger groups for more points. The blocks can be lined up vertically or horizontally, but the catch is that you can only move them vertically. Naturally, the bigger the "stack" the heavier it is; some require secondary ignitions within the stack to help them launch into space, otherwise they will gradually fall back down. If the piled up blocks should reach the top of the screen you experience a planet nova and it's all over, Rover!

As you become familiar with gameplay you will learn some nifty moves to quickly remove large stacks, such as the "Step Jump" and the "Mid-air Dock", but as is often the case with puzzle games, these are easier to demonstrate than they are to explain (so we won't confuse you further by trying). Occasionally items will rain down along with the meteos. Touching the item initiates a countdown which will then activate its particular property, for example destroying meteos within a certain area. All of those meteos you've launched don't go to waste, either; they can be recycled in the Fusion Room and used to create new items, rare metals, sounds and planets.