Practice is a pointless ordeal, as no achievement points or high scores are awarded. Survival has a separate twist by continually spewing more strings of spheres onto the level until one finally reaches your pyramid. The new 360 exclusive, Pharaoh's Challenge mode does offer the possibility for clever puzzle gaming by arming gamers with only 'Pharaoh's Dagger' to clear the strings. The goal is to shoot out the spheres blocking the three-sphere matches. The mode grows old quickly, as the desire to just rapid-fire off the unlimited daggers to clear a level quickly is too great to ignore.
Exactly how long the game holds your interest is completely dependant on how you choose to play the game. Those who play Luxor 2 as a puzzle game, taking the time to aim carefully, will play through all eighty-eight levels. In all, the replay value is a little on the light side. Some form of Live play would have stretched it a bit, although the repetitive gameplay is more at fault than the missing Live support. The game's graphics get the job done, but fail to take advantage of the 360's power. For a puzzle game, gamers are typically willing to lower their expectations, and Luxor is no exception. The brightly colored balls, well-designed levels for the strings of spheres to travel through, and ancient Egyptian-sounding music do a nice job to convey the Middle Eastern flavor of the game.
At 800 Microsoft Points, with limited replay value, Luxor 2 is a bit of a stretch. Despite boasting four gameplay modes, only one really pulls you in. Between the limited modes and lack of multiplayer over Live, the game fails to earn its hefty price tag.
