Neves for Nintendo DS Reviews & Ratings by IGN

There's a puzzle craze that's hit Japan, where you've got seven tiles of specific shapes and sizes, and the task is to arrange them in a fashion that matches the silhouette of a picture. You can into a store and pick up a tile set that comes with a book of various silhouettes, and challenge yourself to solve silhouettes of different shapes. That's Neves in a nutshell: it's a Nintendo DS rendition of the physical tile game developed by Yukes. The game's played entirely on the Nintendo DS touch screen, with the top screen showing the silhouette. The challenge is figuring out how each of the tiles are used, and whether you need to rotate or flip them…or both. The only clue you have is the outlined shape…the individual tile outlines are never revealed. Using the stylus you try and snap the tiles into place - tapping the piece will flip it, and dragging along a corner will rotate it clockwise or counterclockwise. Neves has more than five hundred puzzles in the cartridge with various ways of playing. Some are timed; others require solving within seven moves. There's even a multiplayer mode where one system hosts and sends a copy to the other player…and the two players compete to see who can solve three puzzles before the other player. It's a simple concept with a simple presentation, clearly aimed at the casual and non-gaming crowd that have recently flocked to the Nintendo DS platform. The game starts out simple, but becomes viciously difficult as you unlock the harder silhouettes. We've played a significant amount of the game on the Nintendo DS - it's easy to play thanks to the stylus control. The one thing we'd change is the music selection: it's an awful blues soundtrack that overpowers the generally quiet and careful gameplay. It's set to ship this November, and we'll have a full review when it's released.

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