Neves

Platform: Nintendo DS, also blocks of wood.
Verdict: Pure and simple puzzler.
Rating: 3.5/5
Ever the multidisciplined toy, the Nintendo DS' tendrils are reaching far into the world, pulling in anything that will work with a touch screen and please the broadening selection of gamers under its thrall. Neves (seven spelt backwards) is one such title that updates an ancient puzzle game (the Tangram) to a more portable format.
With similarities to the Pentomino puzzles that Tetris adapted, the Tangram is a dissection puzzle dating hundreds of years old, originating in China and numbering fans of the likes of Lewis Carol and Napoleon. You're probably more familiar with it as being one of those stocking filler presents your grandparents got you for Christmas that involve fitting seven different shaped wooden blocks into a predetermined space.
Instead of lumbering around a box full of wood you can now carry your DS with the extra added bonus of having 500 different shapes of complexity to fit those blocks into. Using the touch screen you can move, rotate and flip pieces with great ease and speed while the bare bones presentation keeps things simple and intuitive at the minor sacrifice of eye candy.
While the standard mode allows you to take your time over the puzzles, extra modes including timed games and stricter rules help spice things up, with 2 player games a possibility too. Other than that and the option to download speed runs to compete against, Neves is a game that takes one pure and simple concept and does little else with it.
Tetris converted a traditional puzzle into an addictive, global phenomenon. Neves' strict adherence to its source however means it certainly won't do the same. If you like the gentle brain exercise of Tangrams though you certainly can't go wrong, unless you really like to keep things old-school and made of wood.