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Good: Challenging even for puzzle veterans

Bad: Steep difficulty curve

In case you've been asleep for the last few years, the traditional puzzle game is dead. Gone is the simplicity of Tetris and Dr. Mario and in its place are multimedia barrages like Lumines, Extend Every Extra and now Honeycomb Beat for the Nintendo DS.

Like most puzzle games the premise is pretty simple. A series of hexagons, colored yellow or white, are arranged in varying patterns. Tapping, or "beating," any of these honeycomb-shaped figures changes its and all the surrounding honeycombs' color from yellow to white or vice versa. The goal of each round in Puzzle Mode is to turn all of the honeycombs white.

It sounds easy and maybe if the tutorial were more comprehensive or the difficulty level more steadily progressive it would be. But in its current form Honeycomb Beat is a series of brainteasers that range from the childishly simple to the stylus-bendingly frustrating.

The game also offers a mode called Evolution, which plays more like a tradition puzzle game than Puzzle mode. Here, a large column of honeycombs rises from the bottom of the screen to the top. The goal is to eliminate lines of honeycombs by turning them all the same color. There are a set number of lines to clear for each round and as time passes the column rises faster and faster. Fail to eliminate the number of lines before the column reaches the top of the screen and it's game over.

This mode works a little better. The difficulty curve is still steep, but there is much more freedom. Unfortunately, Evolution mode is short at only 10 levels, which means the game gets hard. Fast.

That's not to say that Honeycomb Beat isn't enjoyable. It can be, but when it comes to this puzzle game you either see the solution or you don't. If you're one of the fortunate ones that gets the hang of the game early, Honeycomb Beat is a rewarding experience with plenty of puzzles to keep your supercomputer brain occupied. If you don't immediately get the hang of it, then prepare to feel both frustrated and very, very stupid.

Graphics: 5.0

Sound: 4.0

Gameplay: 5.0

First play: 6.0

Last play: 5.0

Overall: 5.4