Meteos Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 14 July, 2005

An absolute blast.

Version tested: DS

Planets are big things. Interplanetary conflict is even bigger. Meteos, which deals with both, has been put together by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, whose work speaks for itself, and Masahiro Sakurai, who invented Kirby and Smash Bros. From our perspective then, it's a big game about big things. Yet what we find really endearing about it, slightly perversely, is the way it hits so many tiny little nails on the head with such precision.

You've probably realised by now that it's a puzzle game, and we'll do the usual round of explanation in a minute, but it's worth spending a little more time stressing its overarching achievements, because it's probably the most exciting puzzle game we've played all year - and that's on a system that's so far delivered at least a handful of traditional puzzlers, and shoehorned a number of other generic ideas in that direction with varying degrees of success.

Other DS puzzlers like Polarium have demonstrated brilliant core ideas - in that game's case, the way you switch coloured blocks to eliminate them by selecting them in one stylus stroke - but Meteos has several brilliant ideas, and is set up in a manner that gives you a great play options but also continually rewards your endeavours in a very considered way.

It recognises that the core play experience is so strong that tiny, ingenious variations on the winning conditions and mechanics will continue to enthral long past the point at which most puzzlers grow stale, and so it makes these the basis for its unlockables. And it can be played long-form like Tetris by setting up the "Simple" game mode a certain way, played in more comfortable few-minute bursts, played as a concerted campaign - either branching in a manner similar to OutRun's difficulty paths, or with objective-based winning conditions - and even played in a Tetris Attack-style Deluge mode, or against the clock. There's even a wireless multiplayer mode and various power-ups that you can work into proceedings that rain havoc as well as a larger meteor shower on your opponents.

In other words, it's very, very thoughtfully composed. It'd be wrong to suggest it's flawless, but it's designed in a way that commands this weathered critic's respect, and far more importantly is hugely entertaining at that. Certainly a big game then - big in terms of theme, direction, technical achievement and the broadness of its offering.

So let's talk about how it works and why.

The sky weeps

'Meteos' Screenshot 1

By selecting one of the individual players on the left of the touch-screen, you can focus your attacks on them. Die, Shinji!

The central idea is that blocks rain from the sky and land in the rectangular play area, and that by linking them into groups of three identical icons you can launch them skyward. You do this by moving blocks up and down the lines they're stacked in using the stylus (or, if you prefer, the d-pad and A button), and while you can't move them side to side you can triumph using horizontal lines of three-or-more as well as vertical ones.

Once they've launched into the air, one of two things will happen. Depending on the weight of the blocks they're launching, the atmospheric conditions of the "planet" you're tackling, or the impact of blocks falling from above, they will either rocket off the top of the screen where they attack your opponent (computer or player-controlled), or they will get to a certain point, run out of momentum and start to tumble back down.

If they start coming back down, you can react in several ways. You can try and fiddle blocks within the airborne cluster into lines of three or more to give them more boost and reinvigorate the ascent; you can make lines lower down the screen to boost them from below (and boosted blocks that overlap even by one square will have the same impact as those coming from directly below); you can flick blocks up from the ground to supplement the airborne pile, allowing you to make chains in mid-air that otherwise wouldn't be possible; or you can let them come back down and then work on them there. If they do land, there's a short window of opportunity to make them part of a larger cluster, which would see them boost back up even if they only slightly overlapped an adjacent block-pile you're boosting. Otherwise they'll settle and you'll have to work at them individually again - something Meteos aficionados refer to as their fusing back to earth.

But then you may not want to take advantage of their lack of fusion, because sometimes the blocks above are blank - yet to assume an icon that indicates which types you'll have to align them with - and sending those blocks off the top of the screen won't achieve anything. You quickly go from randomly sending stuff into the sky to realising that there's a delicate organisation of principles to consider every split-second, and this depth not only inspires you to keep playing but also guarantees that, unlike Polarium, to reuse that example, there's a genuine learning curve and a real sense of getting better at it - something that's central to the success of any out-and-out puzzler.

Hail the comets

'Meteos' Screenshot 2

You'll learn to scrutinise this. Did we get enough H2O blocks? Hmm.

What's just as fascinating, as we alluded to earlier, is that there are literally tens of planets, each with different characteristics. The atmosphere is probably very different, meaning that while existing planets may see blocks hurtling up the screen quickly and tumbling down gently, the blocks here go up and down extremely quickly, or waft up and waft down sluggishly - and there are untold depths here too, like the strength in points-scoring and damage-infliction terms of the airborne "combo" boosts. And some of the planet play areas are simply wider.

Rewards take several forms. What you don't realise at first is that every block you send off the screen represents a Meteo that totals up with other Meteos and becomes your currency. There are even coveted blocks that are only yours to seize during the playable end sequence section, which you see on the lower half of the screen as the end credits play out. Imagine the Monkey Ball credit roll-about with a purpose.

With lots of Meteos you can then head into Fusion mode and unlock more planets for use in the Simple, Deluge and Timed modes. You may have encountered them in the Star Trip campaign mode (the one with the branching/objective-based idea), but with a bit of expenditure they become your own to play with whenever you like. You can also spend regular commonplace Meteos on Rare Items that can then, in turn, be invested in more planets. Or sound effects - and while Meteos doesn't link sound to play the same way Q Entertainment's PSP puzzler Lumines does, there's still a cause-and-effect kind of link that has your scrambling to reach an emphatic crescendo move by move. Or you can buy items that become very useful in multiplayer - the sort that prompt a Bomberman-style blow-up-a-couple-of-lines explosion, or hammer their way through blocks.

What you then realise, playing multiplayer in particular, is that while clearing the screen is your goal, having these power-ups fired at you by the other player to clear them is more of an obstacle than a helping hand, because it upsets your stacks and ruins the strategies for boosting tons of blocks off the screen at once that you may be formulating in your head.

There's so much going on - and when there's literally too much happening, with lines starting to flash as they creep off the top of the screen, and the threat of defeat looms, it becomes manic in the way that all good puzzle games manage. Manic in a way that pushes you to think under pressure.

Or to scrub. And unfortunately, this is where we have to start being a bit more critical.

War of the Words about Worlds

'Meteos' Screenshot 3

A shot from the Japanese version here to show off the Bomberman-esque power-up.

The idea of "scrubbing" came to light shortly after the game's Japanese release. It turns out that randomly scrubbing the screen with your stylus in moments of panic may inadvertently link things up and get you out of a tight spot. It's divided opinion of the game, with a lot of people holding off giving it top marks because they see scrubbing as a fundamental flaw.

It is a fundamental flaw. It's also, in our view, nowhere near as significant as has been made out - or even at all, for those of us playing the game as intended. It simply doesn't solve all your problems in the way that's been suggested. It's not a God mode, or an Alt-F4 when you're browsing football news on the Internet and the boss walks round. It can help you, but often it won't, and it's not the way we wanted to play the game, so we simply didn't.

It's going to spark an enormous debate now that Meteos is in the hands of a lot of Western gamers, and this will probably happen again later this year when the game comes out in Europe, but ultimately there's no right answer. It's a shame that it works sometimes, because it upsets an otherwise brilliant concert of intelligent game design. Is it the end of the world? Or at least the planets? We'll let you know what we think in a minute.

First, the other problem - you're going to need a smaller stylus. The tip of the default stylus is okay for playing Meteos, but we've had a great deal more success with something like the Pac-Pix or Mario Kart stylus that we picked up at E3. You may want to consider your options there, or you may find that in moments of sheer mad panic you're let down by your own trembling fingers.

And finally, the multiplayer options. A quick thumbs-up for the one that allows you to transmit a demo version to a friend. Then a bit of a frown for the actual multiplayer mode. It's good, as you'd expect, but it's here, arguably, that scrubbing is going to be most annoying. You may not be doing it, but if you're playing wirelessly with four other people, one of them may. Or you may feel so driven by the fear of losing to the git who lives upstairs and constantly goads you about your gaming skills that you instinctively flail instead of focusing. This is the danger.

Victory!

'Meteos' Screenshot 4

Simple mode, yes, but deceptively so. Like Ed Norton in The Score, except less tragicomically.

Scrubbing is a threat to Meteos' brilliance, then, and for that there's a perfectly legitimate argument for taking it down a notch. But we're not going to do that.

We're not going to do that because Meteos wildly succeeds in so many areas and with such comprehensiveness that it deserves your money regardless. There will be those who disagree, but we've explored both sides of it so that's fair enough. Make your own mind up. The simple fact is that whatever your conclusion, everything else Meteos does makes it worth buying. And if you come to it from a position of much experience, as we did, it will capture your heart in a way that leaves you giddy with excitement. When you think about what it's like to play Meteos, you understand why men like Tetsuya Mizuguchi are so revered. Because they thought about it. They thought very hard. And if you respect that the same way we do, and see it borne out the way it is here, you'll play it the best way, and you'll likely agree that it rockets into 9/10 territory with fuel to spare.

9 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (72) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • lost_soul #1 7 years ago

    This game makes me want to buy a DS.

  • krudster #2 7 years ago

    Do it then!

  • Dizzy #3 7 years ago

    >The idea of "scrubbing" came to light shortly after the game's Japanese release

    Can't you play it without using this? It is an option no? Or is it "required" to survive?

    I am almost ready for a DS.

    This and Electro Plankton have convinced me... now I only need a good RPG.

  • dr_zoidthrob #4 7 years ago

    9/10 - yep. Spot on. I got my copy last week, I'm now at the point where, if I close my eyes, I can see the blocks dropping and making links with 'em.

    The last puzzle game that did that was Tetris. Only this is a damn sight more manic.

  • Streetest #5 7 years ago

    Scrubbing is like button mashing in fighting games - it will get you somewhere, but not all the way.

    How on earth can you plan a full screen score if you're a scrubber?#

    Personally, I'd have given this game 100/10.

  • Chonk #6 7 years ago

    Getting a DS on Saturday...cripes i wish this were out in Europe!
    (i guess ill have to get zookeeper...sigh)

  • hulahoops #7 7 years ago

    I haven't played Meteos, but from the sound of it couldn't they have easily stopped people from scrubbing by forcing them to lift the stylus when moving between columns? Or would that affect the crucial mechanics of the game?

  • markypants #8 7 years ago

    Oh... ffs ANOTHER game I've got to buy for my DS.

  • Tweakmonkey #9 7 years ago

    Great review. I think I'll shop around for this one.

  • KraftWerk #10 7 years ago

    I'm not sure what kind of games the persons who don't see any reason for buying the DS are waiting for.

    I own:
    Wario Ware, Zoo Keeper, Polarium, Yoshi

    I'm going to buy soon:
    Meteos, Kirby, Bomberman

    Games I want and will buy if found cheap some day:
    Mario 64, Mario Kart DS, Another Code, Electroplankton, Advance Wars..

    And there's still several more annouced games in the horizon that I'll seriously consider buying (Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, New Mario Bros, Mario & Luigi 2) . My problem is that I don't have enough cash to get all the games I want!

    And the GBA-titles in addition to that..

  • Feanor #11 7 years ago

    Is it true that the most effective strategy when you're in a tight spot is to furiously rub the stylus over the touch screen as fast as possible? That's the one thing that's put me off getting this for someone I know who owns a DS and really likes puzzle games.

  • Shrimp #12 7 years ago

    "Scrubbers! Scrubbers! ...Little tarts, they love it."

    Me too for the "another big step closer to buying a DS" crowd

  • mattigan #13 7 years ago

    I've got this and it's GREAT, the flaw, while there, only ever serves to get you out of trouble, and cannot be used as any sort of worthwhile strategy as its just too random.

    You are far better served by learning the game properly and practising, which is far more rewarding, an analogy of the flaw that I've found to be quite accurate is playing Tekken, picking the Cappoiera bloke and hammering the buttons till you win. You are sure to see the end credits in single player, but try that shit against a good human player and you will get your arse handed to you on a plate.

    In fact if you select the highest difficulty in Meteos, you will usually get slaughtered by the CPU too!!

    So if you do get this game you will find yourself scrubbing occasionally, but only ever as a last resort, as it's much more fun playing the game the way it was designed to be played.

    IMHO THE best DS game released so far.


    Roll on Mario Kart!!

  • #14 7 years ago

    Do it then!

    Steady!

    :o)

  • asphaltcowboy #15 7 years ago

    UK release date?

  • mattigan #16 7 years ago

    UK release date?

    Septemberish

    Got mine on Ebay for £26, arrived within 48hrs.

  • Horse #17 7 years ago

    Just got this, given it about three hours play. I love it. I'd heard about the scrubbing thing, but it doesn't work more often than it does, and it stops you from working out how to play properly. The beat-em-up analogy mentioned earlier is a good one.

    I had no idea that the grey blocks didn't add to your score if you fired them off the top of the screen, either! I should read the manual instead of relying on the in-game tutorial...

    I love the over-bearing sci-fi theme and music too. So glad I imported this! I got Kirby at the same time, which seems excellent, but Meteos is holding my attention for now.

  • WhiteSaturn #18 7 years ago

    I have had Meteos for a long time now. It is BY FAR the best game on the DS. And all you scrubbers should remember your poor ds screen

  • indotoonster #19 7 years ago

    I've been in the "must get me a DS" camp for so long, and this review, coupled with the preview of Nintendogs, and the fact that I'm a Bejeweled maniac (hello Zoo Keeper!) has finally pushed me over the edge. Went to my local games shop where they were selling a 2nd hand DS for £70... luverly :-)

    Been playing around with the Metroid First Hunt demo so far. Must say, I was impressed -- after all the talk about the DS being underpowered 3D-wise with respect to the PSP -- it's definitely good enough for me!!

    On to Ebay...

  • #20 7 years ago

    Zoo Keeper's bright icons and colours used to make my eyes absolutely bleed! eg bright yellows next to bright pinks which made the game an absolute pain to look at and therefore play - for me at least.
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/05 @ 10:54

  • kururin #21 7 years ago

    "I haven't played Meteos, but from the sound of it couldn't they have easily stopped people from scrubbing by forcing them to lift the stylus when moving between columns? Or would that affect the crucial mechanics of the game?"

    You have to do that, Blanko. Scribbling doesn't actually help you any though, you're looking at extending your life with a couple of seconds, and there are no completion bonus type point schemes for any of the modes so all you'll get is a couple of more meteo-launches, aka. no significant point boost. It's a non-issue.

  • bionutz #22 7 years ago

    Me wants game. Although I'm having quite some fun with Bomberman at the moment...

  • towser #23 7 years ago

    ordered this from yankland 2 weeks ago and still waiting for it. cant wait to get my dirty little scubber paws on it!!!!

  • Riskbreaker #24 7 years ago

    "ordered this from yankland 2 weeks ago and still waiting for it. cant wait to get my dirty little scubber paws on it!!!! "

    Yep, I odered mine 2 weeks ago too! Reading this review has got me excited like I was 10 years old again!

  • asha #25 7 years ago

    I just bought the US version for £17 (including p&p) of ebay, nice price?

  • Machiavel #26 7 years ago

    Ack - the credit mini-game (literally miniscule) has rare blocks? Good to know.

    By far the most addictive game I've played for ages - encourages strategic thinking, the planet variety occasionally baffles you and forces rethinks (especially that one that has zero boost with vertical chains), and being able to see your opponent's screen on the top display is a lovely touch.

    Be warned - you will dream of blasting blocks...

  • Riskbreaker #27 7 years ago

    "By selecting one of the individual players on the left of the touch-screen, you can
    focus your attacks on them. Die, Shinji!"

    Now that is a very cool idea! er um, I mean focusing your attacks on indiviuals in multiplayer, not killing Shinji!

  • Singularity #28 7 years ago

    Just bought it for £20 (with £3 p&p) from videogamesplus. Can't wait. (: ))

  • RobTheBuilder #29 7 years ago

    Darn it, I had to pick between this and Nanostray, and this JUST lost... next pay check the planetary madness will be mine MUAH HAHAHA!

  • asphaltcowboy #30 7 years ago

    So... better than Lumines then? ;)

    I take it the Jap/US version wont be compatible with the PAL release in MP?

  • mattigan #31 7 years ago

    So... better than Lumines then? ;)

    The general concensus pretty much every where is. . . . YES

  • asphaltcowboy #32 7 years ago

    Mwuahahaha! DS is teh w1n!!

  • dr_swin #33 7 years ago

    do american imports play ok on uk ds machines.(please excuse my ignorance - never imported anything before)

  • towser #34 7 years ago

    " do american imports play ok on uk ds machines.(please excuse my ignorance - never imported anything before)"


    Bloody hope they do!! :-P

    Waiting for my import of this - and yes DS is region free..... at time of going to press :-)

  • Sid-Nice #35 7 years ago

    I love This. I paid about 21 quid including postage from VG+. I switch on to have a quick blast, not realising I've been playing for hours. I totally agree with the review.

  • Feanor #36 7 years ago

    Not in Ridge Racer!

  • asphaltcowboy #37 7 years ago

    "do american imports play ok on uk ds machines.(please excuse my ignorance - never imported anything before)"

    They do, but there's compatiblity issues between multiplayer games, normally - which is why I'm sceptical of buying the US version at the moment and will probably just wait for the PAL one...
    Edited by 1 at 14/07/05 @ 16:00

  • mattigan #38 7 years ago

    I've got the US version running on my UK DS, no problems.

  • Riskbreaker #39 7 years ago

    "compatiblity issues between multiplayer games"

    I did wonder about that. Is there any official word on the compatability between mutiplayer games from different regions?

  • Kiigan #40 7 years ago

    Scrubbing will not make you win. You might get lucky and get a few clumps in the air by scrubbing desperately at the screen, but you won't last long with that strategy. So I don't really see it as a negative at all. Play like an arse and you might get lucky but you certainly won't master the game.

    And yes, Meteos is fab. Been playing the Japanese version since launch, best thing on the DS by a long shot. Being more of actiony plate-spinning sort of game, Meteos is a lot easier for getting into for a quick blast compared to Lumines for example, where each game lasts hours and isn't ideal for gaming on the go.

  • asphaltcowboy #41 7 years ago

    Well the MP demo doesn't work between UK/US versions, so I'm not hopeful.

  • ProfessorLesser #42 7 years ago

    I'll be buying a DS in September, then.

  • Eighthours #43 7 years ago

    What's the music like? Any good?

  • Toonster #44 7 years ago

    gazillions of songs and tunes

  • Sid-Nice #45 7 years ago

    My US version works fine on a UK DS, I've got 2 DS systems I haven't tried Meteos or Kirby's Canvas Curse in multi-player. I'll try them out later. I think the compatibility issues are between the regions of the systems ie; If you're using an American system it won't link to UK systems via WiFi and vice versa. I'd hate to buy a US copy of Mario Kart DS and not be able to link up on line. I'll get my daughter to play with me, (that doesn't sound right does it) We'll try and play Meteos in multi-player. I'll be back with my report. :)

  • mattigan #46 7 years ago

    There is a different look and feel (Skin) for each planet (30+) and that includes the music, it's not overly annoying, but you can turn it off if you want
    Edited by 1 at 14/07/05 @ 17:46

  • Sid-Nice #47 7 years ago

    What's the music like? Any good?

    Each level has music that reflects the area you are in. The music is the best I've heard on a handheld and there's some nice sound effects too.

  • mattigan #48 7 years ago

    Just a quick question EG Staffers, did you pinch your review screenshots from IGN's review?

    It's just that they look VERY similar ;-)

  • Sid-Nice #49 7 years ago

    The Wireless gameplay works fine. :)

  • asphaltcowboy #50 7 years ago

    Yeah, thats between different region DSs, I'm talking about different region carts. That's where the problem lies.
    Edited by 1 at 14/07/05 @ 18:54

  • Sid-Nice #51 7 years ago

    Yeah, thats between different region DSs, I'm talking about different region carts. That's where the problem lies.

    But you only need one cart, for multi-play.

  • asphaltcowboy #52 7 years ago

    I was talking generally.

  • technos #53 7 years ago

    "Looks great and everything, but reading this review Meteos seems to be the most complicated game ever? is it hard to get into?"

    Nope, it's quite easy to learn. It gets harder as you get better. I.e you survive longer, or get higher scores faster and the game increases difficulty that way (that's only in-game, there are loads of difficulty this and that stuff you can screw around with even before jumping in there). It'll take you some time to get really good, but it's enjoyable right from the start (at least from when you understand the very basics). So yeah, all you need is accurate stylus wielding.

  • asha #54 7 years ago

    For those wandering about the multiplayer support, its got Download play from one cartridge, so as long as your friends have a DS you can it with them.

  • RobTheBuilder #55 7 years ago

    Yep.

    In summary on Imports:


    Single Player - ALL games will work on ALL DS systems

    Download Multiplayer - Will work on ALL systems

    Non-Download Multiplayer - Varies by game, most do not work.

  • O-Fox #56 7 years ago

    Sold!

  • Umbala #57 7 years ago

    What? I can't believe someone forgot to say..

    So, this is better than Halo? :)

  • Danj #58 7 years ago

    "This game makes me want to buy a DS."

    Agreed. Me too :)

    "I CAN'T BELEIVE THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THIS SITE WHO DO NOT OWN A DS!!!!"

    I'm waiting for a price drop or decent bundle deal. Hopefully Nintendo will do something in September in order to stab Sony's PSP launch in the back.

  • Teeth #59 7 years ago

    It's like £120 for the console and a game, in fact I got two games, a bunch of accessories and the console from GAME for £125. Seems like a steal to me.
    Edited by 1 at 15/07/05 @ 10:09

  • mustardkid #60 7 years ago

    "Scrubbers! Scrubbers! ...Little tarts, they love it."

    shrimpy, you terrible cunt

  • siro #61 7 years ago

    Why again is this no 10?

  • O-Fox #62 7 years ago

    Siro, because for a game to be a 10 it needs to be more or less perfect. This game has flaws which detract from the overall experience (scwubbing), so this is a flawed, if brilliant game.

  • siro #63 7 years ago

    There is no such thing as a flawless game. And this one seems to bring some innovation (which had been hinted as a must have for a score of ten) and being and reportedly being tremendous fun. Also how can scrubbing "detract from the overall experience" if you just don't use it, which should work perfectly fine, as the review states. So I wouldn't subtract from the game score, but from the player's: Scrubbers get 2 out of 10.

  • Genji #64 7 years ago

    Pfft, "perfect". So, HL2, then? No game is perfect, even the best ones. Something needs to be revolutionary to even have a hope of getting a '10' on EG. Needless to say, it's a very rare occurance. Not like GameSpy, who dish out perfect scores like there's no tomorrow.

  • KiLlerKnight #65 7 years ago

    A 5 out 5 score at Gamespy doesn't mean they think the game is perfect.

    5 stars means: Outstanding! An exceptional game that we recommend without reservation. Five-star games are landmark titles that are generally in the running for Game of the Year.

    They often have crappy reviews, but I think IGN is worse when it comes to overrating a game.

  • abeit #66 7 years ago

    Gamespot is the best man

  • trevd72 #67 7 years ago

    i just got this yesterday and i am really not happy. you cannot enter a name into the highscore table. nintendo is the worse for this kinda stuff but i took it for granted that you can put a name in the main section cos you can in luminies.

    zoo keeper has kept me and the wife in competition for months with the timed game. why the hell does this game take the name of the DS, IT IS F****** CRAZY. there is just no compultion to play cos you are aiming for a blind score.


    Edited by 1 at 20/07/05 @ 13:00

  • trevd72 #68 7 years ago

    your crazy dawg. there are 5 of us in the house who want to put our scores on the table and not have to open another ds to see the ranking.

  • TheAlbaniac #69 7 years ago

    That is a good point actually. I find that very irritating too. One of my main reasons for playing Zoo Keeper all the time is beating my brother's scores. It's very hard to keep track if there's no name attached to the scores.

    Yoshi's Touch & Go had the same problem.

  • TheAlbaniac #70 7 years ago

    and then? I don't recall there being any score + name display...

  • asphaltcowboy #71 7 years ago

    There isn't - you'd have to get multiple carts... which is worth it! because this game is fabulous! :D

  • pelolep #72 7 years ago

    I thought I was the only one so obsessed with Meteos that I saw blocks when I closed my eyes! It really scared me the first time it happened, and then I dreamed about it that night... that was freaky!

  • Stoned_Immaculate #73 6 years ago

    if you play anything for long enough, you start seeing it when you close your eyes, pelolep. Don't worry its just the onset of madness. I should have imported this game, just being released in uk tomorrow!