Lumines Review

Lumines is a fast-paced game involving the placement of squares made of different colored blocks (never more than two colors at a time) into stacks. You rotate the suqares using the right-side buttons, trying to create squares of a solid color. When a colored square is formed, it is eliminated by the Time Line. The Time Line moves from left to right, eliminating colored squares and adding the appropriate points to your score when it passes by squares to be eliminated. The more of these squares you eliminate at once, the higher the score. Like most falling block games, when you reach the top of the screen, it's Game Over.

Our Impressions

Say the words "puzzle game" and people immediately think of Tetris. Having been included with every Game Boy at the launch of the system, Tetris became the one of the first games to attract nearly as many adults as kids. Recently, many comparisons have been drawn between Tetris and Lumines, and they aren't completely without merit. Lumines is the first game we've found since Tetris to have the same sort of addicting gameplay that can span the gap between gamers and non-gamers. Lumines does involve moving falling blocks around, placing them with logic and speed — but it isn't Tetris.

It isn't the slick visuals in this game that get us — it's the seemingly interactive soundtrack. Everytime something happens, there is a sound for it, but these sounds always seem be timed to the beat of the techno song in the background. There are a few different modes of play, all of which are good. Perhaps the most fun of these is the wireless 2P Vs mode in which you battle your competition for points and screen real estate. Add all that to already addictive, challenging game play and you have a must-buy for the PSP.

Review Round-Up:

GameSpot Review: 9.0 (of 10)
"Between the beautiful presentation, the innovative gameplay, and the excellent single-player and multiplayer modes, Lumines may very well be the greatest Tetris-style puzzle game since Tetris itself."

IGN Review: 8.6 (of 10)
"Lumines stands absolutely as one of the brightest stars in the puzzle field in a long, long time."

GameSpy Review: 5 stars
"If you've already decided to leap into the wonderful world of the PlayStation Portable, I suggest you make Lumines your new device's companion."

GamePro Review: 4.5 (of 5)
"Tetsuya Mizuguchi's stylishly eccentric Lumines joins the ranks of Tetris and Bejeweled as the newest game you can't stop playing."

Aggregate Rating: 9.2 (out of 10.0)