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Review

Neves (DS)

Tuesday, 13 May 2008 16:41
Although this game is aimed at kids, even they would find it too simplistic
It is conceivable Neves may provide some mild entertainment, especially for younger players, to whom the game is targeted. It is more than likely, however, you will quickly get tired of the sometimes-monotonous gameplay and oft-bizarre level of difficulty.

Don't get me wrong - the concept is cute, requiring players to fit seven tangram pieces (or tans) using the DS stylus into a given "silhouette" 2-D shape - but that's it. This basically means that seven tans have been re-jigged and you have to flip them, twist them, turn them and manoeuvre them back into place.

Described by maker Yuke's as "unique" and "mind-boggling", this game, based on traditional Chinese geometrical tangram games, appears to latch on to the brain-training craze and offer players from the age of three (yes, three - I don't know a three-year-old that could do this, or one that would want to - but maybe Barbie and Lego isn't what it used to be) the chance to complete over 500 puzzles across four game play modes.

These include Time Pressure (timed) and Silhouette (un-timed) puzzle play, in addition to Seven Steps, a special challenge to correctly place the shapes in only seven moves. In addition there is a multiplayer mode, Bragging Rights, whereby you send a puzzle to a friend's DS if you want to compete against each other and see who finishes first.

As far as the actual playability goes, this is not that horrendous. The stylus is easy to use and clear instructions demonstrate how to flip, turn and click the shapes into the silhouette. You can choose which set of silhouettes to begin with - but this is the bizarre part.

The silhouettes are arranged in groups, but this is apparently not due to their difficulty levels. For example, in one group I completed three puzzles within about 30 seconds, while another in the same selection took me 30 minutes of hand-chewing frustration to finish.

Maybe it's just me, but satisfaction levels for Neves aren't of the Tetris variety - I was more annoyed than pleased when I finished a Neves puzzle as there is no real way to expand your spatial reasoning skills other than to literally fiddle about with all of the shapes and stare at the silhouette until you figure it out.

Overall, Neves is one for people who specifically like this type of thing and can relate to Nicole Kidman (Ed – I know I can!) in the ads for those other brain training games and think they could enjoy geometric puzzles again and again and … you get the idea.

But, in my opinion, deciding exactly when to fire that red shell at the driver in front, or niftily turning the S-shaped brick at the last minute to fit in, are way more fun than this - and I'm sure they test your brain skills at the same time.

Oh, and for anyone not already asleep at the thought of playing this game, "Neves" is "seven" spelled backwards. There are seven shapes to every puzzle. Yep, it's that simple.

5/10

Isabel Plumbly

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