Puzzle games and handheld gaming machines go together nicely, whether you’re a Sony PSP owner enjoying the downright addictive Lumines or a Nintendo DS owner enjoying everything from the satisfying Meteos to the recent (and fantastic) Tetris DS. Now Magnetica joins the collection of great puzzle games on the DS and, while it’s merely an updated version of the puzzle classic Zuma, it translates beautifully on the little handheld with the touch screen. Break out the Stylus and put on your thinking cap, puzzle fans, because it’s time to break some colorful marbles.

For those who never heard of Zuma, I’ll explain how the game works on the DS. The bottom touch screen essentially is made up of a launcher with a twisting rail that resembles a swirl and you’ll find that a sequence of colored marbles start rolling towards said swirl’s final destination … a reactor opening. You’ll also find a launcher with colored marbles of your own and the task is to flick the colored marble into the slowly moving sequence of marbles only you’ll have to hit a series of similar colored marbles in order to clear them off the rail and thus keeping them from reaching the reactor. You will earn bonus points for clearing chains of similar colors as well as earn combos for how fast you can do it as well.

Part of Magnetica’s charm is in the obstacles that are thrown in your way. Rockets suddenly appear at different moments in a level and they push the chain of marbles even more quickly so you will have to destroy rockets by sacrificing one of your marbles in your launcher or destroy all the marbles in front of the rocket. Then there is Puzzle Mode’s interesting setup of marbles. You are given a limited number of marbles in your launcher but the good news here is that the chain contains just a few marbles and it doesn’t move. Careful thought must be placed on how you clear the string rather than how fast you can do it.

Aside from the inventive Puzzle Mode (that, sadly, offers only just a few levels), there’s Challenge Mode, Quest Mode and finally the game’s multiplayer mode, Versus Mode. Challenge Mode offers 99 levels that have you clearing chains, allowing you to clear as many chains as possible. The difficulty in this mode increases the higher the level you climb. Quest Mode has a whopping 60 levels and plays just a tad differently than Challenge Mode and offers a better variety of level scenarios in the same vein as Puzzle Mode. Here you have a limited time and a limited number of marbles in your launcher (sometimes you even get multiple launchers). Many of my favorite levels come from Quest Mode and its numerously intricate rail designs including one seriously challenging pretzel-shaped rail.

There’s also a multiplayer mode you can play with a friend either using the Multi-Card function or using a single card that allows your friend to download the multiplayer aspect of the game. For the most part, Versus Mode isn’t an incredibly deep multiplayer mode but it is still a pretty fun one that has players battling it out. You can chose to add options like a timer but the meat of Versus Mode is the ability to earn enough points and combos that reward you with attack items you can toss at your opponent. There are items such as the Black Hole that appears on your opponent’s screens that swallows up marbles or the Ion Cloud that can be placed at any point to obstruct the view of your opponent’s marbles. With five attack items in total the battle for top score is intense.

It’s unfortunate, though, that even with all of this Magnetica lacks the variety of other puzzle games already available on the DS. It’s not to say the four modes here aren’t fun but when you start wishing there were more levels in Puzzle Mode than in the meaty Challenge Mode you just know this game could have been a lot better. Even Versus Mode lacks enough variety to keep gamers hooked because this is certainly a game that benefits from being able to play with a friend or a group of friends.

As far as the graphics are concerned, Magnetica is a colorful game that looks good on the Nintendo DS. While the screen doesn’t offer a variety of different backgrounds like Tetris DS, its overall presentation is easy on the eyes. When it comes to the effects, there are some snazzy sights as you clear strings of marbles or when you manage to detonate a rocket. The game’s sound, on the other hand, isn’t as snazzy but not bad at all. The music, for instance, is actually pretty good in that old-school kind of way. Even the sound effects have that classic puzzle game feel.

The Nintendo DS is quickly becoming the handheld with some of the finest puzzle titles available and Magnetica is just another addition well worth buying if you’re a fan of the genre. While we’ve seen similar puzzle games of this sort (Zuma and Bust-A-Move come to mind), this one makes good use of the DS technology and adds enough levels to keep puzzle fans more than satisfied.

Gameplay: 8.5
So simple to play yet so darn challenging that - much like a certain game reviewer whom we’ll just call Angelina - it will make you dream about matching colorful marbles as quickly as possible long after you finally put the game down. It doesn’t matter whether you’re playing Challenge, Quest, Puzzle or Versus mode, this is a fun puzzle game.

Graphics: 7.0
A visually pleasing game with a nice presentation to boot, Magnetica is all about the snazzy visual effects of colored marbles exploding on contact. Expect some sharp visuals, making this yet another good-looking puzzle game on the DS.

Sound: 7.5
There’s not much in terms of sound but at least the sound effects are nicely effective and the game’s music is charming to the point that you won’t mind hearing it repeatedly. The only other sound you’ll hear is your opponent cursing under his or her breath during Versus Mode.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Like the majority of puzzle games already available, this one starts easy enough and soon becomes a test of quick wits and a fast use of the Stylus. For the best challenges try Puzzle Mode since it offers some difficult puzzle scenarios. Overall, expect a challenge in all four modes.

Concept: 8.5
Challenge Mode and Quest Mode have enough levels to keep you more than busy and Puzzle Mode is a nice distraction that’s short but sweet.  While we played this type of game before, Magnetica makes good use of the Nintendo DS’s touch screen perfectly. Oh and there’s a good multiplayer mode worth sharing with a friend.

Multiplayer: 7.0
You can play this one with a friend using a single card or through multi-card play but either way you slice and dice it the multiplayer action is even more fun playing against a friend. Versus Mode has you competing against a friend while attempting to beat the timer and throwing obstacles in your opponent’s path so go ahead and throw a Black Hole or Ion Cloud at your friend.

Overall: 8.3
Magnetica is no Tetris DS but it certainly is an addictively enjoyable Nintendo DS game puzzle fans will definitely want to have when they’re in the mood for a good portable puzzler. Aside from the 100 plus levels and alternate variations included in the game, the wireless multiplayer is a wonderful distraction worth sharing with fellow puzzle fans.