Puzzle games are definitely up there in my favourite genres. Whether it's frantically turning blocks in Tetris, firing bubbles in Bust-A-Move or putting pills together in Dr. Mario, I love a good challenge that's simple to play but difficult to master. In short, I really enjoy addictive puzzle games. So, naturally, when I was offered the chance to review Super Fruit Fall, I jumped at the chance.

For those of you, like me, who have not heard of the game, it's basically a cross between Tetris and one of those cheap plastic games that often come with cereal, where you have to rotate a little maze around to get a ball to roll into a hole. Each level consists of a maze containing a mixture of different fruits and you have to rotate the maze using either the arrow keys, shoulder buttons or main buttons of the DS to make the fruit fall into groups of three or more, which then makes them disappear. You also have to avoid leaving fruit that can't be removed; so if there are four strawberries then you have to get rid of them all at the same time. You're scored on how long it takes you to complete each maze, how many turns it takes you and how many combos you get of groups of fruit, all adding to your points. Aside from rotating the grid 90 degrees with each button, you can also rotate it 180 degrees in one move.

The game is split into three sections. Practice has no time limit and allows you to work out the solution to any unlocked mazes before playing them for real and Time Trial lets you play unlocked mazes and try to complete them as fast as you can - the button press that increases the speed of the falling fruit is essential to do well here. Finally, Arcade makes up the bulk of the game; built around a series of islands, you can access a constant chain of mazes, trying to complete them before the time runs out. Succeed and you go to the next maze and, eventually, the next island; fail and you have to try again, with three lives separating success and losing your built up high score, which then goes onto a score table. Thankfully there's an option to save your progress as you go along, something that's even more essential for a handheld game.

So far it all seems great; Super Fruit Fall is a game that's simple to pick up and play but difficult to master. Sadly however, I don't see it joining the hall of fame for puzzle games. Graphically the game is unimpressive, with GBA-quality graphics and only some examples of 3D in fruit falling in the background of menus, although this can be forgiven, as the king of puzzlers, Tetris, doesn't sport fantastic graphics. Crucially however, the game falls down on playability. Whereas when I play Tetris I feel totally in control of the game, with Super Fruit Fall there is a subtle lack of predicting where the fruit will fall and at times it becomes frustrating. I never felt like I was in control of what was happening in the game. At least there is some variation in the mazes, as each one is different, but it does get tiring quickly with each island bringing only slightly different graphics to the mix and no other factors. The puzzles do get trickier as you go, though.

The Arcade mode is made up of one and two player modes and a game share option. Aside from the one player mode, the game share allows the single player game to be transferred to another DS, which stays until it is turned off, and the two player allows you to use just one DS, held like a book, where one player turns their maze with the d-pad and the other with the four buttons. Though it's great that you only need one console, the closeness of playing is uncomfortable at times - but at least builds up the rivalry. An inclusion of a two player over two separate DS units would have been a welcome addition.

Sound-wise the game is average, with the music being neither intrusive nor memorable and also failing to taking much advantage of the DS's abilities, or the other features of the handheld. Though it's nice to not see touch screen or microphone gimmicks shoehorned in, it would have been good if there was a touch screen menu to click to rotate the mazes. This does feel like an unimaginative port that could easily have lived on the GBA - which brings me to the main rub when it comes to this game. When you can play it for free on the Internet via the company's website - a game that actually has the ability to click on levels to access them - why should you pay for a console version? If you enjoy the game so much that you want to play it on the train or wherever else then go for it; otherwise you may as well as just play it online.

As far as puzzle games go, Super Fruit Fall is definitely middle of the road. There is a lot to enjoy, especially if you are a really big puzzle game fun who will play anything involving matching up items and trying to beat previous attempts, but it doesn't really stand up when compared to other established puzzlers already out there. There are lots of mazes to go through and plenty of opportunities to beat your scores and points, but the gameplay simply isn't as addictive and compelling as the greats like Tetris and co. My suggestion? Play Super Fruit Fall online for free before you even think about getting your wallet out.

Reviewed by Philip Lickley for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).