Happy Squid
I have heard it said that the true mark of genius is when someone looks at your creation and says '“Why didn't I think of that?'” Lumines is a game that many people may say close to the same thing. While a simple concept, the gameplay is quite deep, and the style is off the scale.
Lumines is the first puzzle game on the Sony PSP, and much like Tetris, which was released on the original GameBoy, it is a game which may define the portable's life and how it is perceived in the future. Surprisingly, Lumines was not shipped with the PSP, and I believe that was a mistake, as this is a game that belongs with the system.
Like any good puzzle game, the concept of Lumines is quite simple; you have square blocks made of two different colors in one of four different configurations, and you have to make a square of four blocks of the same color. Getting the concept of the game down is fairly simple, but like all good puzzle games, there is a lot of learning you will do over repeated plays to get your score higher and unlock more skins.
"Skins" is the way Lumines defines different tile styles, backgrounds, sounds, and songs, basically levels. All of these are closely interrelated, and are as big of a part of the game as the gameplay itself. Starting off with the first skin in the game, "Shinin'", by Mondo Grosso, the game will take you through different experiences as you progress through the game. Around every 4 levels, the "Skin" will change, and you will find yourself playing with a different song, and different colors of blocks. Sometimes this can be a little disconcerting, and not all of the color schemes and block styles are as easy to play with as some of the others, but that's all part of the challenge.
Another part of the game that is truly innovative is the Timeline. The Timeline is a line which moves from left to right across the screen in time with the music, and this is what removes all of the squares you have made, so it's not an automatic process. This also adds some challenge to the game, as you have time to build up more squares before the Timeline gets to where you are currently working. It also adds challenges when the Timeline starts to move much slower, causing your squares to stick around for what seems like an agonizingly long time. This, again, is another thing that influences the challenge of the game, and turns this from a simple connect-four type puzzle game, to something much more.
Perhaps the most important part of Lumines, other than the moving of blocks to form squares, is the music of the game. The designer, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who you may know from games such as Rez or Space Channel 5, said that he wanted this game to be about playing with music, and that is exactly how the game feels. It seems that every movement in the game produces something that contributes to the music of the game. Moving a piece to the left or right produces a small sound, rotating the block left or right each produces a sound, moving the block fast for more than a few spaces produces a different sound, and any time you make a square, that produces a sound. All of these sounds go perfectly with whatever music happens to be playing for the particular skin, so much so that it does actually feel like you're controlling the music with your gameplay.
The controls for the game are quite responsive, with the digital pad being used to move the blocks left and right, and either the face buttons, or the shoulder buttons being used to rotate the blocks. It becomes very easy to put the pieces exactly where you want them to be. However I have noticed that occasionally when I am bringing a block down manually, the game will also bring the next block down as soon as the first one hits. Admittedly, this may be my fault, and I'm not going to be blaming the game for me missing my drops by one space to the left or right.
The game also has a two-player versus mode, in which both players play on the same screen. The screen starts evenly divided, and any squares you make on your side cause the screen to move to give you slightly more room, and your opponent less. In addition to giving you more room to places blocks and make combos, you can also take over blocks your opponent has placed, and use them in your own combos to decimate your opponent. Eventually you will push your opponent to the point where he will not be able to place any more blocks, and you will be declared the winner. At least, that the way it's supposed to work, the winning part, that is.
For the longest time, my puzzle game of choice has been Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, by Capcom, however for a single-player experience, this game has topped that experience. Descriptions of exactly how good this game looks and plays really don't do it justice, it is a game which must really be played to be fully experienced. Also, it must be played with a good set of headphones, as the music and beats produced by the small speakers on the PSP just do not do justice to the songs in the game.
If you enjoy puzzle games, and you own a PSP, you should already own this game. If you're a huge puzzle game fan, it may even tip the scales to convince you to purchase a PSP for this game. If you're not a big puzzle game fan, you may still get a lot out of this game's style and substance. This is definitely one of those games that will not only hold it's value, but be one of those titles that you hold onto your PSP to play years down the road.
Rating: 5 out of 5 happy squids