This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.

When the original GameBoy launched way back when, it came packed with the legendary game Tetris, the classic “falling block” puzzle game whose successful formula many others have tried to emulate. Though Lumines didn’t come bundled with the PSP at launch, I think the analogy that Lumines is to the PSP as Tetris is to the GameBoy rings loud and true.



If I had to describe Lumines in one word it would be “addictive”. This game has that ability to hook you once you get started. It harkens back to the old days of gaming where achieving the highest score is one of the most satisfying feelings ever. That is something not a lot of games these days can do. Today, games will hook you with unlockable videos and tiny little extras like that. Lumines has those extras also, but no, the main focus is clearly square on trying to get the top score. My friend and I passed the PSP to each other for a good hour and a half trying to one-up the other until he crushed my score by nearly doubling it.

Ok, now onto how the game works. At first glance it looks like a simplistic version of Tetris, with only two colors to work with. But gamers familiar with Capcom’s Puzzle Fighter II series will clearly recognize some parts of the gameplay as it is your objective to create a minimum of 2-by-2 blocks in order to eliminate them, similar to the gems in Puzzle Fighter. The catch here, however, is that a “time line” scans the playing field from left to right looking for these squares or rectangles. One pass will find them; the next pass will destroy them. The blocks fall fairly slow at first and the “time line” will pass rather quickly, but as you continue on, the blocks will fall progressively faster, while the “time line” slows down. This involves quite a bit of strategy as more of your playing field will fill up with blocks, but it also gives you time to set up some massive point gathering combos.

Lumines serves up a variety of gameplay modes, all of which feature their own unique take on the game’s mechanics. The single-player modes include Challenge, Single, and Puzzle. In Challenge mode, there’s no time limit so it’s not a race, but more of a marathon to beat the previous high score. As you progress, however, the background skin and music will change and you get to keep these backgrounds and music tracks for use in Single Skin mode. Single Skin mode plays identically to Challenge except the background and music don’t change, thus you can’t earn any of those unlockables here. Puzzle mode adds a new spin to the “eliminate the falling blocks” gameplay. Instead, you must recreate a given shape, such as a dog, an alligator, or the letter “A” using the dual colored blocks in a limited amount of time. It’s a great mode to keep the party going when you’re sick of trying to surpass your own previous record.

Lumines also supports two-player wireless head-to-head contests (ad hoc only). In this mode, the playing field is divided evenly amongst the two players. The more blocks you eliminate, the larger your area of the playing field becomes, so here, it may advantageous to go for quick eliminations rather than setting up for combos. If you don’t have any friends around, you could always play against the unforgiving computer opponent.

Graphically, Lumines won’t blow anyone away. It is just a puzzle game, so there’s no need for anything flashy. However, the colors are bright and solid, though on some skins it’s hard to make the blocks out. That would sound like a bad thing, but it’s actually a part of the gameplay, which in my opinion rocks - just another obstacle for me to overcome when reaching for those points. The music doesn’t seem to jive well with the rest of the game at first, but soon you’ll find yourself whistling or humming along with the tracks while laying down the tiles. It’s really hard to explain, but the graphics and music gel together to form one impressive presentation.



I don’t really have much to say here. The only thing I can really harp on is the unbalanced gameplay. Challenge mode does the job extremely well, but the Vs. CPU and Puzzle modes ramp up way too quickly in the difficulty department. Against the AI, you could bring its playing field down to a sliver, and then all of a sudden it rains an onslaught of combos upon you and takes you out quickly.

Puzzle mode is even worse. The first couple of puzzles are fairly easy. Then you get to a series of three or four that seem nearly impossible to beat. And when you finally get past those, you’ll come across more cookie cutter ones until you hit another roadblock.


   
Lumines, with its slick presentation and “easy to learn, hard to master” gameplay, could quite possibly take the title of “this generation’s Tetris”. It’s got deep single-player options, multiplayer wireless capabilities, and a number of skins to unlock and earn. This is the perfect “on-the-go” puzzler and anyone with a PSP and even just a passing interest in puzzle games ought to gives this wonderfully addictive game a chance.

It’s addictive and deep.

Colors are bright and crisp.

Music’s weird at first, but it fits.

Surpassing high-scores is fun again.

Wealth of option/puzzles = Flavor that lasts.

GB Review: Wipeout Pulse (PSP) [3/11/08] 50% match
GB Review: Patapon (PSP) [2/24/08] 50% match
GB Review: Final Fantasy Tactics: The War... [12/28/07] 50% match
GB Review: Sonic Rivals 2 (PSP) [12/18/07] 50% match
GH Review: PaRappa The Rapper (PSP) [9/04/07] 50% match
GH Review: The Warriors (PSP) [3/01/07] 50% match
GH Review: Every Extend Extra (PSP) [1/02/07] 50% match