"Oh no... another falling block puzzler," you're thinking. Ever since Tetris stormed the Gameboy in the early nineties, programmers have been scrambling for new ways to stack rapidly falling objects. Columns and Dr. Mario added some color. Yoshi's Cookie gave the controls a new twist. And Lumines... sets it all to music?
It's too easy to predict Lumines is a derivative puzzle game done up with flash. But then you play, and the minutes become hours, and you realize that this is something special.
Gameplay:
This game makes more sense in pictures than in words, but I'll try to convey the idea... Blocks consisting of four smaller squares fall from the sky. Each of the smaller squares within the block is one of two colors (let's just say black and white). The game is to pile blocks such that the colors match up and form new blocks of a solid color. These newly formed blocks are, of course, erased from the screen.
Standard fare, right? But there's a catch here... The entire thing is set to music. A vertical line sweeps across the screen in sync with the background track, and nothing is erased from the screen until the line sweeps across it. In a fast song, you need to build combos quickly before the line interrupts your plan. In a slow song, you need to build combos carefully so the blocks don't pile to the top while you wait for the line to fix everything for you.
All the while, your actions are translated into the music. If you're hesitating or playing cautiously, the music will loop to match your stagnation. When you finally create your big combo, it picks up again, or even builds to a crescendo. Every move you make elicits a sound-effect that harmonizes with the music.
Things get switched up occasionally when a "gem" block falls from the sky. These allow you to tag all contiguous squares of the same color, and have them erased. If you built your pile carefully, you may have a solid thread of black running throughout the screen, and it will all be erased in one pass of the timeline. This, of course, causes all the white squares to collapse into each other, setting up another combo on the next pass. These moments just feel good, and the music rises to celebrate the occasion, as bursts of energy light the screen.
Presentation:
Unmatched for a game of this type, Lumines is blindingy beautiful. It's easy to argue that the game does not make good use of the PSP's graphics capabilities, but the aesthetics here are wonderful. Everything is crisp and clean, and the polished graphics will invite you to play again and again.
The music, however, is the shining star. This game, despite its simplicity, would not have been possible on the Gameboy Advance. While Lumines may not tax the GPU, it makes remarkable use of the disc format to offer top-notch recorded audio. As you progress through the game, the playing field will morph into different "skins." These skins are basically a fresh coat of graphical paint with a new background track. Part of the fun of Lumines is trying to unlock all the skins, which is a monumental challenge.
Longevity:
Puzzle games seem to have an inherent longevity to them... you're always trying to top that high score, and there's always time for another round (or two or three...). Lumines adds some extra modes to keep things lively, and is generally successful. You are rewarded for succeeding in these modes with additional skins and character icons.
Challenge mode is the main game, in which you progress through different skins, attempting to unlock new ones along the way. At first, you'll be hard-pressed to get through five or six skins. But once the game "catches" in your mind, you'll be able to hang on through the tough spots, and will surprise yourself at how far you get. When you finally arrive at the final skin, you'll feel decidedly (and rightfully!) proud of yourself.
Single-Skin mode allows you to play with one skin for as long as you like. This is a good training ground if a particular skin is giving you a hard time in Challenge Mode, or if you just like a particular track.
Time Attack mode allows you to play for a specified period of time, trying to clear as many blocks as possible. If you hit the target number (which is not easy), you win new skins.
Puzzle Mode is interesting -- you're challenged to create patterns out of your colors. These patterns range from simple crosses and boxes to dogs and llamas. They seem simple at first glance, but they prove to be a tremendous challenge as you struggle to arrange squares without inadvertently deleting others. It's a fun use of the pre-existing puzzle engine, and a wonderful test of your mastery of spatial problems.
Vs. Mode has a neat gimmick to it -- both players share the same playing field, but it's split down the middle by a line. You can only place pieces on your side of the line, but combos do carry across the field. As you rack up combos, the line shifts towards your opponent, cramping their space. If you can cramp your opponent enough, they will be forced to fail. The game, nicely, allows you to play in Vs. Mode against the computer, so you can get a taste of this interesting mode even if you don't know any other PSP owners. Defeating the computer opponents also allows you to unlock -- you guessed it -- more skins and character icons.
Bottom Line:
Lumines is an excellent puzzle game, and brings something new and exciting to a genre which has grown stale. Once you've shelled out the cash for a shiny new PSP, I know it's hard to justify picking up a game that doesn't flaunt its graphical power. But it's a shame to let this gem slip through your fingers, and its presence should be a given in any solid PSP library.
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