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| | Title:
Lumines
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System:
Sony PSP
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Genre:
Puzzle
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Publisher:
Ubisoft
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Developer:
Q Entertainment
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Release:
3/22/2005
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
Everyone (E)
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Ever since Tetris became an actual word and, consequently, a cultural phenomenon in the late 80s; no other block-puzzle game could match the brilliance of the original. Many games came and went but no matter how much of an improvement they were, none of them were up to par. There is just something about Tetris that has kept people playing for almost 20 years. By now, it is generally accepted to have Tetris up there as the best of all time, so any game considered to be 2nd to Tetris in the puzzle genre must be really good. Lumines just might be that game.
At first glace, Lumines looks like another Tetris clone with some sort of twist. In esscence it is. A player must use squares of 4 blocks that come in one of two colors and bring them down to make squares or rectangles, 2x2 or more, of the same color to make them disappear. This is done by rotating the squares while they go down, much like Tetris. Once you get a square of same colored blocks, a "timeline" that constantly goes across the screen will wipe them away and any blocks above that were not part of the square are moved down. Between the time that you make a square and the time that the wiper comes along, you can keep adding onto the square with more of the same colored blocks. This wiper makes huge combo possibilities and depth to your strategy while playing as the "timeline" changes speed for each level. While my own explanation might be a little confusing, it is all quite simple once you get your hands on the game.
Another part of the gameplay is the occasional special block. When the block is part of a square or rectangle, it not only erases it, but any block of the same color touching the square. This adds another level to your strategy, and because there is a preview of the next three squares coming up, you can set up a huge combo to erase most of the screen and score lots of points. The concept of getting the high score has been lost for the past few years but you would be surprised how determined you will become in beating your high score or even someone else's.
The greatness of the game does not end with the core gameplay; however, it extends with the visuals and the audio. It may seem that since it is a simple block puzzle game we get simple visuals, but the developers have gone beyond this. Each level or "skin" has its own visual flair, with a different theme each time. Each skin has its own block colors, background, and timeline speed (as mentioned above), as well as its own music and sound effects.
The backgrounds themselves are not static, they are actually fully integrated with the gameplay. Point scores can cause the background to change color or move and in certain points, the background becomes a huge distraction often messing you up. The audio also plays its part, setting the mood and often helps you determine the speed at which the timeline is moving across the screen. The music itself is quite good although the PSP speakers don't do the tracks justice, so wear headphones to fully appreciate them.
The meat of the gameplay will happen in Challenge Mode where you play until you lose, gaining new skins and try and get the high score. Unfortunately for this mode, the order of the skins is always the same so it may get a little repetitive. The next mode is Single Skin mode where you can choose one of the skins you have unlocked and play on it. There are a couple of other ones that add a little more variety but really, Challenge Mode is where it's at.
The multi-player mode is pretty interesting as well. Both players (whether it be the computer or another person with a PSP and Lumines) share one screen and the more points you score, the more of the screen you take over, thereby giving you more room to work and making it harder for the opponent.
With the awesome gameplay and the smooth visual and audio experience, this is definately a game to hold onto even after you are bored with all the others. In terms of popularity, Tetris it will not beat, but second place is extremely good in itself and I wouldn't be surprised that in 20 or something years, the anniversary edition of Lumines will be out for the PS-7000 (or whatever they'll call it) with many sub-versions and other shiny good stuff. Of course, being a puzzle game, Lumines is not exactly the killer app that the PSP so desperately needs, but it fills the void quite nicely for the time being and is a great contributing asset to the puzzle world.
| The Core Score |
Overall
9.2 |
| Fun |
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9.5 |
| Gameplay |
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9 |
| Graphics |
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8 |
| Audio |
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9.3 |
| Replay |
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9.5 |
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