Planet Puzzle League
From Nintendo
Planet Puzzle League is easy to play and hard to master. Give yourself the gift of addictive puzzle action with simple Touch Screen controls. Use the stylus to grab panels and slide them from left and right. If you match three or more panels of the same color, they will vanish. Form chains and combos to create cascading waterfalls of panels and rack up high scores!
- Amazon Sales Rank: #3592 in Video Games
- Brand: Nintendo
- Released on: 2007-06-04
- ESRB Rating: Everyone
- Platform: Nintendo DS
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .75" h x 5.00" w x 5.50" l, .28 pounds
Fun, if familiar, puzzle blast
The minute you pop Planet Puzzle League into your DS, you'll automatically feel familiar with the game's overall gameplay aspects. If you've played games like Columns or even the original Puzzle League, you'll feel right at home here. Despite it's familiar aspects though, Planet Puzzle League still offers a good amount of fun for your DS. Using the stylus and touch screen allows you to manuver your blocks around to set up chain reactions, and actually gets old after a while thanks to the fact that there are no real rewards to earn the further you advance in the game. The real meat of Planet Puzzle League lies in the multiplayer and online options, which are second to none. Going head to head against another player is oh so much fun, and the Wi-Fi and online capabilities of the DS shines as you play against other players all over the world works surprisingly well, and when using the DS headset, you can even chat with your opponents. What kills Planet Puzzle League from being something really special is the game's overall gameplay elements, which we've seen before, and seen done better. That being said though, most of Planet Puzzle League is a great blast to play with the real meat and potatoes being found in the multiplayer options of the game, and for that alone it is worth checking out.
Best Version of Puzzle League Ever
This is the DS version of the old Tetris Attack, Pokemon Puzzle Leagues and Puzzle League for the GBA.
You move the stylus to move certain colored blocks to line up vertically or horizontally with 2 blocks of the same color to make them disappear. There are several modes to play.
It has all of the old modes of those classics but adds a few more. There is one mode where you have a split second or so to move blocks to make them disappear.
It looks great and the whole vibe feels like the original Meteos from a few years back.
You can play against your friends online if you have a wireless connection with full chat using the special headphone peripheral using the friends codes.
Overall the game is really awesome and worth buying for your collection.
Excellent except for one thing...
If you've ever played Tetris Attack, Panel de pon, Pokemon Puzzle League or Challenge, or just Puzzle League, you've played this game. It's been through a bunch of different logos and characters, but Nintendo has settled on Planet Puzzle League for the latest iteration. This DS version is excellent. You will have fun playing this puzzle game, whether it's your first time or you've been playing for years. Unlike the Pokemon, Panel de pon, and Tetris Attack versions, there is no story mode in the one player mode. But, really, this game is about puzzling, not story-telling.
You can play single player or with a bunch of friends wirelessly, and you can also play against opponents online. Which is where my 'one little thing' comes in. If you have played Tetris DS, you may have noticed their online ranking system, which awards you points when you beat someone and takes points away when you lose. This is a great system and really adds to the replay value, because you can work really hard to improve your personal score. Sadly, Planet Puzzle League, although you can play online versus other people, does not have this system. There is some crazy setup where you can compare your win/loss record with people who share your same birthday (of all things!), but a regular ranking system is not there.
For this reason, I have to give Planet Puzzle League a 4 out of 5. It is a great game. It is exactly what it should be, except for no online ranking system. Which, unfortuately, is important to me. Playing someone for no ranking points is like playing poker for toothpicks. It's still poker, but who really cares? Do you want to go home with a bunch of toothpicks? No. I do not. I want to go home knowing I'm one of the best Planet Puzzle League players in all the world. But I'll never know if I am, because this fun little game can't tell me.
