Lumines

"Loo-mines or Loo-min-es, you'll still have a good time with this awesome puzzle game."

Puzzle games now-a-days are ALWAYS being compared to the great one, Tetris. As far as I know, none haven't made competition for Tetris. Well, until now. Lumines is a puzzle game that works with music. Innovative? Very! But the real question is... is the game good? Let's find out!

Gameplay: 5/5

Puzzle games usually involve you matching a colored object or something else that is simple. Simple is just what Lumines is. Different colored blocks are falling down and it's your job to match the colored blocks. There are two colors and four blocks (blocks are 2x2). You can switch the block's colors to help you match colors in a square. As you match the colors and gain points the background music starts to sound better and you can sometimes add beats as you play. Another thing that changes while you play the the skin (background). The higher your points, the more different skins you see and keep. While everything is happening there is a line that sort of scans the playing board for matching blocks. It doesn't work for all blocks though, it only works for blocks with a dot in the middle. This block destroys all blocks of the same color that is in contact with the block with the dot. The line's speed varies from skin-to-skin. So you see, there is SO MANY things going on at once so you have to pay attention to every little thing that is happening or else you'll mess up.

There are a total of 6 modes you can choose from. 1 Player Mode, 2 Player vs. Mode, vs. CPU Mode, and Puzzle Mode. All have their own differences. If you choose 1 Player Mode you'll be sent to another menu asking if you want to play Challenge Mode or Single Skin Mode. In Challenge Mode you just play until you fail and in Single Skin Mode you get to play in a skin you've unlocked from other modes. You can also play with a time limit to challenge yourself.

Re-play: 4/5

There are many, many modes to play and keep you playing. The thing is, for SOME people, the game may get boring. The lack of different songs is also disappointing. There are many unlockables if that's your thing. There is no learning curve so you can call this a "pick-up-and-play" game. In Challenge Mode you can test your skills and see if you can get the high score.

Audio: 4/5

This game is all about the songs. It's mostly techno but, what would you expect from a puzzle game? I'm not saying it's bad, I mean I actually like some of the songs in this game. It's the lack or MORE SONGS that bothers me. There's only a handful of songs in this game and it would have been great if there were more. As for the songs in the game, they're... well, nice. The songs themselves are wonderful. If you're doing well in the game they become marvelous.

Graphics: 3/5

Graphics I don't really care but Lumines' graphics are smooth and good. Many colors make the game look fantastic and not plain. They're not the next-gen graphics but they're good enough and they don't have to be next-gen. Some may say that Lumines has PS1 graphics but if this game has 3D graphics it just wouldn't have the same smooth look.

Lumines is a puzzle game for the PSP that you should AT LEAST check out. It's too good to pass up if you're a collector. Lumines is a game you can play after a while and still have fun.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/06