Lumines Review

In a day and age when luminaries within the videogame industry are becoming few and far between, one man stands like a shining beacon is his pursuit of bringing a synergy between visuals and sound to create all-encompassing game experiences. The man should need no introduction given his pedigree; Sega Rally, Space Channel 5 and more importantly the groundbreaking release of the Dreamcast/PS2 music-shooter REZ. Tetsuya Mizuguchi is a visionary, a man whose name alone is reason enough to be interested in whatever he and his team are up to; but enough of the gushing praise as we take a look at his latest title for the PSP, Lumines.

Much like REZ, Lumines continues Mizuguchi-san obsession with bringing visuals and sound together within the bounds of a videogame; however Lumines differs in its presentation of a far less abstract concept to the player with its Tetris styled, falling-blocks gameplay. Hopefully this should find it appealing to a larger audience then those presumably scared off by the trip-inducing experience that proved to be REZ.

The simple concept revolves around connecting blocks; however this simple notion masks a sophisticated layer of depth that will have you coming back for moreâ?¦ Tied into the concept of sound, every action performed in the game has varying sonic characteristics; moving a block makes a sound based upon the speed and direction of movement, completing blocks emits a sample.

An incessant timeline progressing from the left to the right of the screen is the one ruling aspect of the game; whenever this passes completed blocks they become deleted and so the trick is to combo as many blocks as possible before the timeline removes them from the screen. Comboâ??ing blocks results in a score multiplier, but more importantly unleashes increasingly more sophisticated samples which leads to a hugely absorbing experience as highly addictive gameplay merges with creativity. Itâ??s hard to describe yet simple to play, just believe us when we say every PSP owner needs a copy of this game!

The game features 24 levels each with starkly distinctive musical themes and accompanying effects, guaranteeing that thereâ??s something to suit everyone. Levels naturally progress from one into the other until the end or Game Over appears; the seamless transition of music emphasises thse sense of immersion and has a habit of stretching individual sessionâ??s way past the hour mark!

If the frantic puzzle/music combination does begin to wear your patience thin, then Lumines provides respite in the Puzzles Mode - the game equivalent of a Chillout Zone in a night club. Rather than frantic wall destroying, Puzzle Mode sets players up with an increasingly difficult series of challenges linked to a time limit and abstract shapes; for instance, in one level gamers are asked to create the profile of a giraffe, following a pre-determined template. It retains the Lumines gameplay found in the main mode; however it also has its own pace - much in the same way that the puzzle mode in Nintendo DS' Polarium did.

In addition the game also features a two-player competitive mode, where deleted blocks are placed upon the other playerâ??s screen. Itâ??s provides an amusing alternative but like most puzzle games hardly touches the overall experience of the single-player mode.

It's often hard to get excited about a puzzle game when it comes to visuals, however Mizuguchi-san and his team have somehow managed to create a style that suits the PSP. The visuals capture the style of the game and it's hard to imagine it looking any different; functional, at times exceptional, Lumines is most certainly a refreshing title in the visual stakes.

It is however the sound that takes the pole position (closely followed by the actual game); whacking in the headphones is an absolute aural pleasure and defies description, enough to raise the hairs on the back of the neck and turn quick five-minute fixes into hour long stretches. Music is often hindsight in videogame design, however Lumines proves to be a worthwhile reminder of the importance when attempting to create a highly immersive experience for the gamer.

There arenâ??t enough superlatives in the English dictionary to describe Lumines let alone paint a sufficient description of the experience - youâ??ve simply got to play it.

Lumines carries on the level of experience laid down by REZ, those willing to give it a go will likely find the most addictive videogame on the PSP to date and an overall experience that should simply be played by anybody considering themselves a gamerâ?¦