Lumines Live Review

Lumines Live – Review

After many delays the best game on the PSP finally makes it all the way to our high definition console. But were the wait and the cost worth it? Yes and No and for surprising reasons.

If you owned a PSP and enjoy puzzle games you probably were addicted to Lumines, a fun and fast puzzle game which is part Tetris and part crack. If you didn’t play it on the PSP you are in for a treat that will feel new on the Xbox 360, but if the PSP game is old news for you some of the 360 versions quirks might annoy you but they are really not a stop gap.Two of the annoying things with the game are the controls, which feel loose with the controller and it takes time to get used to. The second annoyance is you must buy the advanced pack, and a couple other packs to complete the game, and at 1200 points the game is already expensive.

Buying the extra packs doesn’t bother me since the game was $60 CDN for the PSP and I probably played it for hundreds of hours before throwing my PSP away, and even if the final cost is 2400 pts for the Xbox Live version, it is still a great addictive game with more features and high definition graphics. There are people who will not try or buy the game because of the cost, but the game is still cheap at $30 USD for a long term puzzle game.

The game controls, as I mentioned above, are loose. So loose that initially I was turned off by the game but after tweaking the controls and changing the way I play, it was second nature and fairly easy to build those blocks. It should be interesting to see how this game will play with the Arcade Stick by Madcatz, a purchase that is almost needed for many of the current and future Xbox Live Arcade Games.

Graphically the game is very nice, from the well designed menu system, back ground skins, videos, and it is a sharp beautiful game which should be a guide for other games coming to the Xbox Live Arcade. The different skins for the game are very well done, at least so far, the other skins pack I expect to be just as well done, especially since we are paying more for them.

Sound and Music are excellent; perhaps the best part of the game simple, effective and subtle enough it is an awesome audio experience. Great sound mixed with the techno music (which is not annoying in this game thankfully) are almost a classical feel help make the audio some of the best heard in a puzzle game.

Game types are varied with puzzle, timed, multiplayer, mission, and challenge and versus CPU modes and to top it off you can play multiplayer over live or local another well done feature. Each game play type adds to the fun and addictiveness of the title.

Achievement Points are some of the hardest to get in any of the games released so far, either that or I really suck at Lumines. With only 12 separate achievement points to get with some of the hardest features, if someone gets all 200 points that is a real achievement.

Overall the game has been fun for the six or so hours so far and with the multiplayer, single player, future game packs and the major replay value of the puzzle genre this game will be on my hard drive for a long time to come. The controls are a big hit against the title, as well as the cost and future costs for the extra content. That is a deal breaker for some but the game is worth playing if you can afford it.

Graphics – 9/10 – Amazing for a XBLA game

Sound – 10/10 – Best sound design ever for a XBLA game, Dolby Digital at its finest

Control – 5/10 – To loose and it does not play perfect with the controller, you can get used to it, but it should be natural for a solid title

Game Play – 8/10 – Tons of features, some you have to pay extra for, costs this title 2 points

Over All – 9/10 – Like puzzle games? Spend 1200 points, most addictive game on the marketplace now and with multiplayer you and your wife/husband can play together

Developer – Q Entertainment

Publisher – Q Entertainment

Cost – 1200 Marketplace Points ($15.00 USD)

Multiplayer – Yes, System Link and Xbox Live