Superior quality or not?

Whenever Nintendo releases a new title, whether it be a retail game or a downloadable one, you always expect it to be of superior quality. As of late, though, that really hasn't been the case. With Nintendo focusing on bringing more gamers to its systems, it's sacrificed the quality of its games. Nintendo's most recent downloadable title, Lonpos isn't exactly what I'd call great either.

At heart, Lonpos is an extremely simple puzzle game with an easy-to-learn concept. To complete a stage, players use a variety of different shapes called Pentominoes so that they can be placed in a large rectangular playing field on the screen. Pentominoes can be rotated around before they're placed in the playing field. There is a correct way in which they must be placed in the box but there isn't a set order.

Like the concept of the game, the controls are also really simple. To grab a Pentominoes, players just press the B button, and to rotate it around, they tilt the Wii Remote left or right. Once you have a shape in hand, it can be placed into the playing field. Once placed, you can click the - button to return it to its starting position or click the A button to flip your shape.

Modes

Besides a single player mode which allows players to play through a variety of levels while the difficulty gradually grows, there's also a couple of multiplayer modes. One, for instance, allows players to team up with somebody else and complete a puzzle together. Players take turns putting Pentominoes into the playing field until the puzzle is successfully solved.

Then there's another mode in which two to four players go head-to-head against each other trying to earn the highest score or best time possible. Lonpos is a very casual title so you shouldn't worry about whether you should give your friends time to learn how to play it before you can challenge them. Just give them a Wii Remote each and in a matter of minutes they'll be able to play. It's an easy game to learn but difficult to master.

Online

The offline single player mode is kind of bare and won't really last all that long, but thanks to an online mode, players should easily get quite a bit of time out of the game. Once you've mastered the concept and are ready to try something a little more challenging, you can hop online and battle opponents from around the world. The game has already been released in all major regions so there shouldn't be a problem finding someone.

Besides playing against people online, Lonpos also allows you to compare your personal stats with others. Knowing how you stack up compared to the rest of the world really adds a little bit of competitiveness to the game. With a little bit of training and determination, you might eventually make it to the top spot.

Like other games, Lonpos only has a certain amount of levels. Once they're completed, there's not really that much left to do besides play against others online and offline. To help solve that problem, Nintendo has decided to release some downloadable content. Each downloadable pack that can be acquired through the game's online store costs 500 points and consists of some new levels and alternate backgrounds. Due to the fact that the game itself costs 800 points, the downloadable content seems rather expensive in comparison.

Flaws

When it comes to graphics, Lonpos is fairly average. There's little variety in backgrounds and the game doesn't have very much detail. The exact same can be said about the sound, too. The same track is basically played over and over again, and after a while, you'll want to throw your Wii Remote at your television to make it stop.

Besides this, the controls aren't nearly as good as they should be. For a game of this nature, the controls should feel natural and intuitive. The game doesn't accurately read your tilts, and that alone may be enough to turn some people off from the game. Maybe a more traditional approach such as using a button to rotate the pieces would've worked better.

To be honest, Lonpos is a fairly average and overpriced game. The game presents players with an extremely simple concept, but due to the controls the game doesn't feel all that natural. Casual gamers may be able to hop into the game and have some fun but die-hard puzzle gamers certainly won't. I could easily justify the price of the game if all the presently downloadable content came with the core game. With everything is said and done, Lonpos is one overpriced title.