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Jan 24 2006
Lumines Review
PSP Game Review | Puzzle
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| Summary: Quite possibly the best puzzler ever!
96
It seems that every handheld that is released has always had a puzzle game available at the launch date. The Game boy had Tetris, the Sega Game gear had Columns and now the PSP has been launched and a game called Lumines was available on the day of launch. I have lost count of the amount of attempts by software developers to beat the all time classic puzzle game Tetris, some have come close, others have fallen flat on their face. I had heard good things about Lumines, but puzzle games aren't really my thing, but I couldn't resist and had to see what all the fuss was about.
It's raining rocks
Lumines has many similarities to Tetris. The one difference here is that instead of the blocks being different shapes as in Tetris, the blocks are made up of 2 colors. Lumines is a falling block game, requiring just one of two colors of blocks to be matched in a square shape. When a square is made the square of color will disappear, the more squares of the same color that you can make the more points that you acquire.
The controls are very simple. You use the D-pad to move the blocks from left to right. If you hold the down button the blocks fall faster and the X button rotates the blocks.
The pieces that fall from the top of the screen are always squares and unlike Tetris and many other puzzle games, the blocks will fit into any space without making gaps. The blocks split and fall in half if the block is placed on a ledge. Whether they will make a color combo when they fall is something else, it can either help you out immensely or it can make your life miserable
There are a few different modes of play. You can do a challenge mode where you are able to win more skins and music tracks. You can play single game mode where you can pick the back ground you want to play on. There are also options where you can play against the computer or against another PSP via Wi-Fi. In the Vs mode the screen is split into two. The idea is to make as many combos as you can, the more combos you make the smaller your opponents playing field gets, and when it gets to small for your opponent to play, you win. I have not played against another PSP as of yet but I imagine it would be a lot of fun.
The twist
There are always twists in puzzle games like this. Every now and them a square will drop that has a little green jewel in the middle of it, if you are able to use this jewel, every block that is the same color of the block that has the jewel in it when connected by direct touch (i.e. edge-to-edge) will be included in your combo. The amount of combos you can make by using these are limitless. I have at one point been able to clear 75 - 80% of one color from my game board, and the cool thing is that when all of the squares that are in the combo disappear, all of the remaining blocks fall down and they could make even more combos for you.
The other twist in this game is the music bar that goes across the screen, roughly in time to the music that is playing in the background. Your combos will only be counted and cleared when the bar passes over the cubes you have made. This make the music in the game very, very important. For example, when a slow piece of music is playing, you will find yourself filling up the puzzle board very quickly because the music bar sweeps across the board slowly, but this will give you a good chance to build awesome combos. On the other hand, when a fast piece of music is playing, the bar will sweep across the screen really quickly and you will have little chance of making any combos, almost as soon as you make a square it will be cleared by the music bar.
How does it look and sound?
Lumines looks very simple. There are no flashy graphics, everything has been made as simple as can be. There are different skins that become available the further you get through the game. They range from space, people dancing in the background and even busy freeways. The skins are actually very cool, and add a lot of replay value to this game. You will find yourself coming back again and again trying to unlock all of the skins.
As I mentioned before, the music is very important. Lumines has a very original soundtrack. All of the tunes are very catchy and you will find your self humming along to all of them, most of the tunes (at least the ones I have unlocked) are dance tunes and as you read before, some have faster beats and some have slow mellow beats. All in all, the graphics and the music in this game are great and add a great deal of fun.
Be prepared to lose your social life
Lumines is a very simple game but let me tell you, it is extremely addictive. The Puzzle game genre is not my favorite but Lumines has blown me away. Since I bought the game 4 days ago I have not been able to put my PSP down. This is without a doubt one of the best, if not the best game on the PSP right now. Lumines has extremely simple gameplay that will keep you hooked for hours upon hours while you try to unlock all of the skins, music tracks and most importantly while you try to top your own high score. This is an absolute must have title.
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