Lumines - Hands On Preview

Want to know our favourite game of this yearâ??s Tokyo Game Show? Lumines. Yes, Lumines, a puzzle game for the PSP, instantly had us hooked. Hereâ??s why.

Firstly, the music. We were unable to determine exactly whoâ??s responsible for Luminesâ?? soundtrack â?“ but whoever they are, itâ??s a fine piece of work. Although the game is the brainchild of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, father of cult classics such as REZ and Space Channel 5, the music in Lumines doesnâ??t sound like the tunes in either of those titles. Itâ??s much more dreamy and less beat-dependent.

That floaty yet dynamic sound combines perfectly with Luminesâ?? smooth visual style. At first glance, it looks like a homage to Fantavision. On closer inspection, thereâ??s a lot more detail in Lumines. Whatâ??s cool, too, is that everything changes drastically at the end of a stage â?“ the music, the visuals, the lot. It really took us by surprise the first time this happened. Weâ??re not sure how many such changes will occur throughout the game, but each one is a real experience.

The gameplay system combines falling two-by-two blocks with a graphic equalizer grid and a side-scrolling rocket. Blocks drop and are turned and positioned, whilst equalizer frequencies jump (audibly, as far as we could tell) as blocks are stacked on the various channels; and then a rocket boosts from left to right, deleting all chained blocks in its process. Believe us, itâ??s addictive!!!

We were given a pair of Sony headphones as we played through Lumines, and we reckon theyâ??re pretty much essential to the experience. The whole world outside our line of vision and field of hearing simply disappeared as Lumines pulsed through our senses. Wi-Fi multiplayer has been mooted, although it looks like weâ??ll have to wait a little longer before the full details on this become apparent.

Mizuguchi-san has recently hinted that there is still a lot of work to be completed on the title, however for our money, this is one Japanese launch title that we definitely intend to acquire on Day One. Keep an eye on Lumines and check back for further coverage once we have the final version.