Its like Tetris at a Disco on Speed! (Lumines 2 (PSP))

Name: eggshine

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Product:	Lumines 2 (PSP)
Date:	16/01/08 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Endless hours of fun. Incredible Visuals and Sounds. Extremely customizable.

Disadvantages: Some skins can be confusing to play.

Lumines is back, and this time its set to be even better than its first outing on PSP. But does the Lumines 2 beat its younger sibling?

Gameplay:
Lumines is a basic puzzle game that combines music and classic puzzle action. Its what you would expect to get if you sent Tetris off to a dance club, with a pocket packed full of speed. The idea of the game is to get as many points as possible by making squares. Squares can be made when 4 blocks of the same colour make a 2x2 box. There is only ever 2 different coloured blocks in the gameplay at one time and so you only have 2 things to aim for. As you aim to make squares, different 2x2 blocks will fall from the top in different combinations of the 2 colours. Like Tetris these blocks can be rotated and dropped so that the player has full control over how the blocks like. Unlike Tetris blocks will keep falling until they hit the floor or another block so the only 'gaps' that are left are the area at the top, above all the blocks. A square is vanishes and adds to the score when the timeline bar swipes across the screen and over the square that has been made. Depending on the skin (aka. level) the speed of the timeline varies. More points can be made by combining squares together and so each possible square within the shape counts. For example if there are two same coloured squares side by side it counts as three squares because there is the left square, middle square, and right square. Once you become an advanced player you will be able to make squares incredibly fast and have full control over the playing area, knowing exactly what is there and moving at the speed of light! You will also know patterns in using different blocks to create different arrangments of squares, and so in no time you will be racking up those high scores.

Visuals:
Lumines 2 is exciting to watch, even if you are not playing the game. Each skin looks completely different and is a new experience. Different skins can also make the gameplay harder or easier depending on a few factors. Skins all have videos that play in the background, behind the main action of tha game, if the song is a fully liscensed song, the video will the official music video to the song, if it is not then the video will be an interesting mikx of graphical and real visuals. This makes the gameplay new with each level. Also the colours and looks of the blocks will change with each skin, sometimes the blocks will be square shaped but sometimes they may be circular. If they are circular or the colours are very similiar this can make it harder to view which changes the difficulty of the level. The speed of the timeline bar can also change which gives you less time to make arrangements of squares, the other speed that changes is the time a new block is held at the top of the screen for. The harder skins hold it here for a shorter time which gives you much less time to choose where to place it.

Sound:
Each skin in Lumines 2 has a different song, some of these songs are fully liscensed songs which can make it more appealing to players. Artists in Lumines 2 include Gwen Stefani, Black Eyed Peas, Fatboy Slim and Missy Elliot. These songs make playing Lumines 2 a fresh experience for original Lumines fans. If you find you get bored with the included songs you can even make your own tunes with backgrounds too with the sequencer, this lets you place notes and different sounds where you want to your liking.

Lumines 2 features a variety of different game modes, the challenge mode includes Class B, Class A and Class S, ranging from beginner to ultimate advanced players. In this mode you can unlock new skins to use. There is also skin edit mode which lets you choose which skins you want to play. There is also mission mode, this mode gives you tasks to do which you have to complete within the certain time limit. Tasks may involve creating shapes (like animals or figures) or eliminating certain blocks. There is also a VS mode, this contains a split screen that will move from side to side to either aid the better player or to make it harder for the worse player by giving them less space.

This is an incredible game, and is a fresh experience from the normal remakes of classic puzzle games. I think this is an improvement from the first game thanks to the new and improved visuals, and liscensed songs. It is endlessly replayable thanks to the vast amount of skins included and the new ability to create your own songs in the sequencer. The skin edit mode is also a cool new feature which makes the game fully customisable to the player, and if your friends have the game you can trade custom playlists and songs with each other. The only downsides are the few confusing skins that are included due to similiar colours in blocks and the background, but this is partly intentional to make certain skins more difficult. If you own a PSP and you want a game simply to fill time spent on buses, or to entertain you at home then i recommend this game as it caters for all occasions. Its quick to learn but takes a long time to master but it will have you addicted instantly. A must have for Puzzle Lovers and Music Lovers.

Summary: A fast paced exciting puzzle game, with a great soundtrack, and many customizable features.