Weighing in as the most expensive title in the Xbox Live Arcade, Lumines Live! rubbed gamers the wrong way before they ever laid their first two-color block. At 1200 Microsoft Points (approximately $15 US) for the 'full game', developers had lost many gamers before ever mentioning the micro-transactions needed to purchase additional gameplay elements. Pricing and micro-transactions aside, the game holds up as one of the more addictive puzzle games money can buy, causing a bigger conundrum than how to play the Puzzle Mode.
Like famous puzzle game grandfather, Tetris, Lumines is a simple and deceptively challenging game. The game presents you with a block of four colored squares to place on the bottom of the screen. Each block consists of one or two colors, with the placement of said colors randomly distributed throughout the block. The goal of the game is to create blocks of four of the same color, to clear that portion of the screen.
Rather than clearing your blocks from the screen as soon as the block is created, a white time-line scrolls from left to right across the screen; clearing any same-colored blocks only as it passes over them. The trick is to create a color-block, then build on it by dropping additional similar colored pieces around the block to grow the area to be cleared for maximum bonus points. The game continues until your blocks inevitably reach the top of the screen, with no further room for falling blocks. With the variety of color designs found in the blocks, and the increasing speed at which the blocks fall from the sky, it is easy to pick up and learn, but a hard game to put down.
The game, originally released on PSP, has some unfortunate control issues on the 360. Hitting 'A' to change the formation of the four squares in a block works fine, but using the left stick to move the blocks from one side to the next is over sensitive. There are often times gamers will end up slamming a block against the far side of the screen before shifting it back over to where they wanted it. The touchy controls make the faster rounds much more frustrating than need be.
Lumines excels with its visual flair and funky music. With a laid-back electro-lounge soundtrack that shifts seamlessly from dance, hip-hop, reggae, and rock, Lumines succeeds at dazzling your ears with an ever-pleasing blend of music. The game also smartly makes you a guest conductor of it all, as the music reacts to what you do on screen, using samples as sound effects for dropped blocks. When playing Challenge or Skin Edit modes, the game frequently morphs from one 'skin' to another. The 'skins' in the game drive the color scheme of the blocks as well as the background music and imagery. Each 'skin' is vibrant and unique, offering a visual and sonic delight when gamers discover a new one in the game.
The game has a deep offering of game modes, which is both a blessing and curse. Single Player offers six different play modes: Challenge, Skin Edit, Versus CPU, Time Attack, Mission, and Puzzle modes. Challenge and Skin Edit modes are virtually clones of each other, with the difference being the ability to select which ten skins and the order you would like to play through in Skin Edit. Time Attack mode would be more aptly titled 'Throw Your Controller' mode, housing several of the game's most challenging achievements. Gamers have a set amount of time to clear as many blocks as possible. The game offers two achievements for each time level, awarding players for clearing some incredibly high numbers of blocks, with the higher block achievements sure to keep gamers coming back for weeks.
