Puyo Pop Fever on DS and PSP

A great puzzle game can be highly contagious – before you know it, everyone in the playground, bus stop or office will have heard of it.

Sega will therefore be hoping for an outbreak of Puyo Pop Fever later this month.

The game, which has only recently been confirmed for DS and PSP, is the latest instalment in a series that has achieved critical acclaim within more dedicated puzzle-loving gamer circles (you can read our review of a past GBA version here) but has yet to riddle its way into a more mainstream audience in the way, say, Tetris has managed.

It's a simple premise: Puyo blobs fall down from the top of the screen and your task is to colour-match them with those already stacked up at the bottom. As they fall you can rotate and position them left/right, thereby rearranging their order so as to maximise your chances of reuniting hues together and clearing the play area. When four blobs of identical tint meet, they disappear and go clutter your opponent's screen instead.

For maximum trouble, you'll want to work out the massive chain reaction combination attacks now possible with the new Fever mode, which promises to infect the game with a new strategic twist.

Don't worry, tactics, techniques and everything else you've always wanted to know about Puyo Pop but were afraid to ask is explained in its training option – the PSP Tutorial even features voiceover navigation.

The DS has exclusive features, too, including up to eight-player action with single-card download play and unique touchscreen controls. (PSP owners can still enjoy a multiplayer option, giving two gamers the opportunity to face off against each other.)

On more common ground, both versions feature a Story mode in which you play as Amitie and meet characters (13 brave new souls are included) as you progress through the game.

Which is precisely what we'll be doing soon, in order to bring you the review.