Casual games are becoming more and more popular, possibly because more and more people are looking for a quick diversion from their daily lives. The Nintendo DS is one of the most popular casual game platforms, due in part to its ease of use and high portability. Puzzle and other “brain” games are making more frequent appearances on the dual-screen handheld, as well, and game makers are taking notice.
In Japan, one popular mind-bending game is the classic game of “Hanayama’s Lucky Puzzle”. This solitaire-like puzzle consists of seven wooden blocks, with the goal to create familiar shapes in as few steps as possible. This game can occupy your mind for several minutes or several hours depending on the puzzle’s complexity, which is exactly what the casual gaming audience wants.
Yukes Interactive now has a way for fans of the game to play without lugging around a bunch of wooden pieces. The Nintendo DS version of “Neves” is an electronic version of “Hanayama’s Lucky Puzzle”, which gives users the option to play the puzzle by themselves or in competition with a friend.
NEVES is a great game to play over the holidays. You can play versus mode with just one cartridge. Challenge your family members or friends over the holidays to see who has the real brains. NEVES is a great mental exercise that challenges your critical thinking and spatial awareness skills.
Game Description
Try your hand at the newest puzzle game to hit the Nintendo DS with NEVES. Published by Yukes, NEVES captures all the fun and mind-bending challenges of the classic Japanese game Hanayama’s Lucky Puzzle and places it on the quirky and revolutionary Nintendo DS.
Focusing on the cognizant gameplay of the mature puzzle audience, each puzzle in NEVES features seven wood blocks that must be aligned to match a corresponding silhouette. Shapes can range from simple items like a key or chair to more complicated objects such as birds and airplanes. And with the innovative controls of the Nintendo DS it’s as easy as ever to position your pieces, but solving some of the puzzles is anything but!
Features
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DetailsPublisher: YUKE’S Company of America Release Date: November 6, 2007 Genre: Puzzle Multiplayer: Yes ESRB: E for everyone expected Platform: Nintendo DS |
The game premise is simple enough. Seven blocks of different shapes are dispersed across the playing board, and there is a shape on the board that you must create with those blocks.
The game is controlled almost exclusively with the touchscreen and stylus. Pressing the D-pad or buttons do nothing, but the Start button brings up the options menu. Other than that, evertyhing from puzzle selection and game controls are handled with your stylus.
You can move, turn, or flip your blocks with the stylus, and is a very easy dynamic to pick up (even though there is a tutorial). Click on a block with the stylus to activate it, and a familiar “move” icon appears over the block. Just press down and drag the block where you want it to go. If you click around the edge of the block, then little white “anchor dots” appear at each of the block’s corners, and you can press and drag the anchor to turn the block around. Lastly, you can flip the piece 180 degrees by double-tapping it.
The controls are simple and intuitive, but actually solving each puzzle can be quite challenging. Some of the areas of the puzzle are fairly easy to figure out, but other areas (typically the large areas of space) could have several correct solutions. The trick is that you only have a limited number of blocks, so even though the “body” of your rabbit is correct doesn’t necessarially account for all of the pieces. Sometimes you’ll find a solution to part of the puzzle only to backtrack when you realize that you cannot continue. There are a few “tricks” to these puzzles and once you recognize the recurring themes then you’ll have an easier time with the harder puzzles.
The graphics are extremely simple in this game. The blocks themselves have different effects to look like chrome or other shiny metals, but the playing board consists of two solid colors. There are some “pointer trails” when you move a piece but overall the graphics aren’t impressive at all, even by DS standards. The top window shows you the current puzzle you’re on, and the bottom screen is your “sandbox”.
The sound isn’t that impressive, either. There are sounds when you manipulate and drop the pieces, but the background music is absolutely annoying. I have to turn the sound completely off when playing this game.
The main attraction to this game is how addictive the puzzles are, and is actually alot of fun. Well, those who enjoy Sudoku or the Brain Age series will find it fun. One annoying thing about Brain Age is that you can only play a certain puzzle for so long on a particular day. I bought the game because I want to play puzzles! Let me play the puzzles! There is no “you have to wait until tomorrow to play the next puzzle” or “you’re not smart enough to continue on”… you can play any of the puzzles in your current level as you want.
The one major playability gripe I have about the game is that there is no hint system. Most every other casual game will give you a hint (at the cost of some points or something). There are some puzzles that are mind- numbingly difficult that I need a hint to continue on.
Once you get familiar enough with the puzzles, then you can challenge yourself by playing the other modes. The Timed mode gives you a certain amount of time to finish each puzzle, which adds some pressure to the mix. The Seven Steps mode can be very difficult, and you’ll find yourself planning your moves out like Kasparov. You can move and flip each piece as much as you want, but it counts as one of your moves once you actually MOVE the piece.
If you have another DS in the house (who doesn’t, right?) then you can flaunt your intellectual superiority by challenging your significant other in Versus mode. Like most other DS multiplayer games, you only need one game cartridge: the other unit will simply download the game wirelessly. This mode can be surprisingly fun, especially when you figure out alot of the puzzles mysteries.
Despite its lack of graphical or auditory prowess, Neves is an addictive puzzle game that’s easy to pick up and play. You can play for as little or as long as you want, so it’s perfect way to fill the void when you’re stuck in line somewhere. If you like spacial puzzles, then Neves by Yukes is worth a look.
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