Lumines (PSP)

The PSP is one powerful piece of equipment… and this is a freaking puzzle game? Don’t fear, as this is the best looking and best sounding puzzle game ever.

If you are not familiar with the game Rez (released for the Dreamcast and later on for the Playstation 2), you’re really missing out on something quite remarkable. While Rez plays, basically, like a standard shooter (a shooter in the way R-Type is a shooter – only Rez is in 3D), it creates it’s own image and fan base by doing something original with graphics and sound. While reviewers are keen on telling their readers that graphics and sound don’t matter compared to gameplay – and to a certain extend that’s true – we’d beg to differ. When graphics and sound are actually helping the gameplay to become more interesting – and this is the case in Rez – then isn’t it true that gameplay isn’t always the most important factor? In Rez, you fly around, shooting enemies in a world so strange and still so consistent, that you’ll be fully immersed by it in no time. The music changes a bit complementing the quality of the player’s skills, the flashy, colourful graphics bring the player in some sort of trance.

Well, the creators of Rez, Q Entertainment, are back with a vengeance. If we had something to say over at Sony’s console division, we would have forced them to package every single PSP with Lumines. It is, without a question, the perfect companion for the PSP. It’s the PSP’s Tetris, you might say. And while we’re pretty sure that the game will not reach as much success and fame as Nintendo’s old Game Boy seller, as far as the quality of the game goes, there’s not a big gap between the two at all.

See, Lumines wouldn’t be as great on a Game Boy as it is now. Just because of one simple fact: the PSP can offer better graphics and sounds. Doubters, stand up now. Let your voice be heard. ‘Graphics shouldn’t matter, Moz! It’s the gameplay that counts! That’s why Tetris is one of the best selling games ever!’. True, but just like Rez, Lumines just wouldn’t be the same game without the flashy graphics and catchy music. It’s part of the whole package, a package that will make you addicted and will often give you a sort of trance during playtime.

The concept is fairly simple, just what a good puzzle game needs. The entire time, squares of four blocks are falling down. Blocks can only be two colours. So for instance, a square with two green blocks and two white blocks. You can move the block before it falls down, you can change the way the blocks are positioned in the square, all before the square hits the bottom of the screen. The only thing you have to do, is make squares (that means four blocks) of the same colour. It sounds so incredibly easy, and it is. But it takes a true Lumines master to keep it up at a steady pace. In the normal game mode, you continue doing this, and after a few minutes, when you’re past a certain score, the music and the graphics (backgrounds, use of colour) change. This goes on and on and on… as long as you can keep up. When you can’t get rid of the blocks and they reach the top of the screen, you’re done for, just like Tetris.

There’s also a ‘line’ going from left to right every few seconds. When you make a square with four the same colours, you have a small amount of time before the square disappears. This happens when the line goes past the square, so try to make more squares before the line goes by. Those are combos, and obviously result in a bigger score.

When you read through this short summary, you may begin to question yourself two things. The first question: can’t I just play Tetris instead? Yes you can, but Lumines has the same addicting gameplay, plus a couple of twists that makes things fresh again. The second question: it really doesn’t sound that interesting, does it? No it doesn’t, but be honest, does the concept of Tetris sound interesting? It doesn’t, but it’s still an amazingly playable and addicting game. The same goes for Lumines.

Other options include to play unlimited time on a single skin (that means keeping the same music and graphical flavour forever), short bursts of a few minute, and multiplayer through Wi-Fi connection.

Conclusion

All in all, there’s nothing quite interesting to add to the few words I’ve used to describe Lumines. It’s so simple, but it’s also very impressive. You just have to know a few things. It’s the best launch title of the PSP. It’s the most addicting launch title of the PSP. And it is a perfect title for a handheld system. You have to own this.

Pros:
- Addicting gameplay that rivals Tetris
- Mix of music and visuals is extraordinary
- Best PSP launch game that is actually suited to a handheld

Cons:
- Takes over your life
- Not as beginner friendly as Tetris

This game is for: Everyone who bought the PSP. It’s a real handheld title.
This game is not for: The real puzzle haters. This is a puzzle game. Plain logic, folks.

Written by Michel Musters (Moz La Punk) / Previously published on www.mozlapunk.net