Oh Puyo Pop Fever, how do I love you? Let me count the ways ...
User Rating: 8.5 | Puyo Puyo Fever DS
Dear Puyo Pop Fever, Ah Puyo Pop, you are one of the many puzzle games that exist out there. You start simple enough at the start – match up to five-colored bean like Puyos in rows of four and more to clear them. Clearing them drops the ones above it down, making more color group match ups if you plan ahead. The bigger the combos I make, the more blank beans fall on my opponent. Last to fill the screen up wins. However, you are Puyo Pop FEVER, so a new level of madness has been added to your already maddening gameplay. You see, you’re not going to let me just sit there and let me take all those blank beans my opponent is giving me. If I have blank beans waiting to fall and I get a combo, it’ll chip away the number of blank blocks about to fall on me instead of dropping some on my opponent. And every time I do that, I build up my fever counter. Get it high enough, and I’m in fever mode. Here I have the opportunity to set up massive pre-made combos to really bury the computer (or get rid of that huge mess of beans they’re trying to drop on me). Granted, the other player can do the same thing, but you are a fair game. You’re also so nice to my friends. If they have DS systems, you let up to seven other people play against/with me all by yourself. This alone makes you a must have for any puzzle fans whom happen to have a DS. And even if I didn’t have anyone to play against (which in this case I actually don’t), you still give me plenty to do. You have a great computer component battle (though difficulty settings is a little hard to set up), basic classic fever-less play, and a long speech filled storymode (which really needs a save mode, since the later battles take several tries to beat). Not to be content with just that, you go the extra mile to provide me with a second, completely different and unique way to play – the touch screen! Slide the stylus left, right, and down to move the beans. A little tap and it spins. It’s weird at first, but once I got used to it I discovered I had a whole new way to play! Yes, it gets harder to control at faster speeds then the normal game pad controls, but since it’s fun and it works it’s more of a challenge then an annoyance. You temp me, asking if I can play with it instead of the pad, and I do. And it is fun. And last but not least, there is one more amazing thing about you – your presentation. You’re not like those other puzzle games like Tetris or Polarium. No, you’re bright and colorful and loud. You’re tunes are catchy, your graphics are sharp and lively, and your characters are overflowing my ears with their hysterical shouts of enthusiasm. Sure, some people may hate you for your slightly cheesy dialog and noisy characters, but I think it helps it in making it a puzzle game that really stands out of the basic blah of just dropping blocks. So once again, thank you Puyo Pop Fever. You’re my best DS game yet, and I bet I’ll be playing you longer then any of those other games on my shelf. Sincerely, Andrew
