Here comesu the chrazee Japanezu game!
Using a combination of funky, catchy tunes and award winning puzzle gameplay Q? Entertainment delivers en masse for the PSP's launch.
Graphics: 7/10
This game should not be used to show off the powerness of your PSP, that's for sure.
Lumines is a plain 2D puzzle with a lot of style and a bunch of different backgrounds. It has no framerate problems or fancy 3D graphics but the backgrounds make up for the rest of the problems. Most backgrounds are superb and the way they're just placed in the whole game screen's arrangement, with such subtlety that it just simply screams style, makes up for most of the graphical underplay. Backgrounds range from a space -station-like thing to a woman's lips, and more.
The pieces on screen are all multicolored, changing colors as you advance from level to level (ala Tengen Tetris). The best visual effect that these pieces have is the explosions and the morphing abilities that they have, which are pretty amazing for a handheld game. There's also a bar going across the screen constantly but it never affects the framerate.
Sound: 9/10
Lumines is heavily based on music to make it as original as possible. There are many tracks to listen to, and the music is heavily incorporated in the game.
Sound is crisp and clear all the time, whether you’re listening to pop or techno. There are no sounds for the exploding blocks; rather, they are replaced with sound ques that play into the song that is playing in the background. The music is rich and full and its scope is amazing for a handheld, showing off what the PSP could possibly do in the future in the sound department.
Gameplay: 8/10
There's little to Lumines gameplay that one can explain. The basic premise of the game is to connect 4 same-colored blocks in square formation and to make them disappear off the screen as fast as possible. There is a twist however, as the blocks are only cleared away when a line passes over them, which could be considered the "rhythm" line as each of the 4 cubes makes a different sound or musical queue.
This simple gameplay is made more complex by a combination of challenging AI and different types of blocks. Blocks with a green core clear any blocks of their color type with which they directly, or indirectly, come into contact with. This makes the clearing of a huge screen filled with blocks very easy if the blocks are used correctly.
Using the blocks correctly is harder than it may seem though, as each set of 4 blocks can be split up in many pieces, as blocks don't stay united together when they land, unless they land on perfectly flat ground. The sliding blocks makes strategic use of the games block types VERY important, despite the fact that this game has a lot less pieces for you to play with than, say, Tetris. The next 3 blocks are always displayed on the left side of the screen and are easy to view at any time.
The controls in Lumines are almost perfect. You can effortlessly move blocks from one side of the screen to the other in a mere few seconds. The responsiveness is quite amazing and the timing of the controls is impeccable. The other face buttons, which sever to switch the colors around, are equally as easy to use and just as responsive making Lumines one of the most impeccably controlling games on the PSP.
The major twist to Lumines gameplay that I've yet to discuss in depth is the "rhythm line". This vertical line that moves across the screen is the only way to clear blocks off the screen. This line adds a great deal of depth to Lumines. In most puzzle games, the only thing that makes the game more challenging is the increasing speed at which the blocks fall, in Lumines, a combination of the speed of falling blocks and the speed of the line as it crosses the screen makes for one helluva challenge in later stages. Hell, perhaps too great of a challenge as, after about 15 hours of gameplay I still haven't gotten farther than stage 18.
Levels in Lumines have very noticeable changes as you go through them, something most puzzlers do not. When changing levels, the "skin" of each level (color of the blocks) changes along with the background and music. The changes are dramatic and they are far more illustrious than in other games such as DS' Zoo Keeper for example.
Lumines does feature a multitude of play modes, which is great. A challenge mode which can be played against a human (in WiFi) or against a computer is a great addition, but the challenge level against the computer becomes way, WAY too steep at the higher levels as the computer acts with the same exact precision when having a speed of 20 as when having a speed of 1. Time attack is just like what it sounds, an attempt to score as high as possible in a variety of timed challenges ranging from 1 minute to 10 minutes. The regular mode, which just lets you play against the increasing speed of the line and the blocks has 2 versions: One that unlocks skins and another that allows you to play with the ones unlocked.
If Lumines has some problems it would have to be with the skins: There are way too few of them. You'll quickly bore of the skins and backgrounds as unlocking more takes a great deal of time and, even when unlocked, there just aren't enough of them to make for more than a "decent" amount of variety.
The other big problem that I have with the gameplay is that some blocks seem to be thrown in there to do nothing but confuse and infuriate the player. For example, a block that features one color diagonally and another on the other diagonal is, after 15 hours of playtime, 100% useless. There are no practical uses of this block for nearly 95% of the game. This means that including it in Lumines is just a sloppy decision, which should've been avoided.
Multiplayer: 9/10
The challenge mode can be played by 2 players across WiFi. It's a standard Tetris, screen vs. screen set-up, but it does do it's job pretty well as it's damn addictive and the challenge level, along with the intensity of the music rises spectacularly as you go on.
Overall: 8/10
Lumines is one of the most addicting games on the PSP and it's one puzzler that should not be missed by anyone. At $40 there is a great deal of value here, as mastering a puzzle game is virtually impossible and the raising challenge level makes for a very difficult and very visceral game. It's those features that make the game an addictive joy and a very satisfying experience.