Lumines Review

By Justin Leeper - Posted Dec 13, 2006
Justin Leeper

Lumines is back, and the block-dropper has some new, some old for you. Here's X-Play's review of this PSP game.

The Pros
  • Massive amount of new skins to unlock
  • Doesn't mess up the original's award-winning gameplay
  • Creative level design
The Cons
  • Many licensed tracks really don't suit the game's audience
  • Minor amount of improvements over predecessor
  • Really needs online multiplayer

Remember the PSP launch, way back in March of 2005? A little puzzler named Lumines stayed locked in everyone's handheld for the better part of a year, keeping us more addicted than any game before it not rhyming with Forgetris. Now that we've finally come close to kicking the habit of matching falling, two-tone squares, we're hit with a sequel.

Crowded Tracks

Developer Q Entertainment has definitely not reinvented the block with Lumines II. The gameplay is the exact same, as you'll endlessly be combining like-colors for hours at a time, while accompanied by a subtly interactive music. The soundtrack has a bigger budget, but the selected artists are almost too mass-market, and basically negate one another. Fatboy Slim and Beck? Awesome! Gwen Stefani and Black Eyed Peas? Not so much.

The full-motion video backgrounds are a nice touch, even when you don't like the song. And with a considerable increase in skins -- including exclusive ones for each challenge-mode difficulty level -- at least no skin sticks around long enough for you to get sick of it. You're often given different and more creative pieces, as well, like scrolling text blocks, blurry 3D boxes, and squares with faces. Don't be surprised when you see some reruns from last game, however.

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Slightly Brighter

Lumines 2Mission mode joins the long list of single-player game types, though those stages could've easily been incorporated into puzzle mode. Multiplayer is boosted more, with download play and a game-sharing option.  Lumines II tracks a ton of stats as you go, grading you on your performance.

We all know the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Lumines II takes that philosophy to heart. While having more stages is definitely cool, when single-player games can take upwards of an hour, it would've been nice to have some new power-ups, a varying timing bar -- anything! A Lumines fan's wishlist would likely contain online multiplayer, online leaderboards, and crossover with your Lumines I saves. Lumines II delivers the hatrick -- of negatives on these.

Looming Mess?

We're cutting Lumines II some big-time slack. This is one of the least-advanced sequels we've seen that doesn’t involve sweaty millionaires tossing around an oblong ball. It's still Lumines, and that means it's an excellent puzzle game. However, if the next installment once again offers only incremental improvements, we're knocking somebody's lights out.

Article by: Justin Leeper
Video produced by: Jonathan Solin