Lumines Live!
Posted October 18, 2006
Originally released on the PSP, Lumines became a rapid success due to its highly addictive nature and relative singularity on the market. Not surprisingly, Q Entertainment is taking advantage of the rampant popularity with its release of Lumines Live! on the Xbox 360 Marketplace. Rivaling Bankshot Billiards as the most expensive game on Live Arcade, 1200 marketplace points are needed to purchase Lumines Live!. Additionally, the game will also offer three content packs, which add up to an extra 1300 points. While the cost is exorbitant, the developer is betting its Live Arcade success will rival the continually popular Geometry Wars or the recent re-release of Doom. 
Gameplay:
Playing Lumines is simple to understand, yet decidedly perplexing to master. Similar to Tetris, puzzle pieces appear at the top of the screen and fall to the floor. It's the player's job to correctly match up colors to keep the game board open. The game pieces are comprises of 4 squares, each with one of two colors. Matching up 4 squares of the same color will erase that portion from the board. Adding a little extra bit of strategy, correctly matched pieces remain on the game board until a continually passing cursor rolls over that specific section. This allows the player to increase the size of the correct match with new game pieces and increase their score exponentially.
Within the single player portion of the game, there are several modes to tickle your puzzle solving fancy. Of course, Challenge mode returns in Lumines with the base mode unlocked and the Advanced mode locked until the 600 point Advanced pack is purchased. Challenge mode unlocks the musical tracks and skins within the game while racking up the highest score possible with an unlimited amount of time. Alternatively, Time Attack mode requires split-second decisions to eliminate the largest number of blocks anywhere within 60 seconds to 10 minutes. Time Attack mode is easily the most frustrating mode, especially when shooting for certain achievements. Skin Edit mode is an intriguing method of play that allows for customization of the game boards and musical tracks.
Versus CPU mode is an excellent practice mode for the online play as the setup is identical to Duel mode over Xbox Live. Unfortunately, only the first level is unlocked. The 300 point Versus CPU mode content pack unlocks the remaining levels, but the pack is unavailable on the Marketplace. Finally, there are two remaining modes that require problem solving skills and excellent planning; Mission & Puzzle. Mission mode is designed around elimination of all the game board pieces in a certain number of moves. Puzzle mode requires the player to set up the game board in certain shapes using the falling blocks. Similar to the Versus CPU mode, Mission & Puzzle require an extra 400 point purchase to unlock the remaining 45 levels. Only 5 levels in each mode are open in the basic version, all of which are quite simple and boring.
Multiplayer modes include Versus and Xbox Live Duel Rule. Both modes are similar to Versus CPU in that you are competing for board space as well as point totals. Versus allows for one on one play between you and a friend. The Xbox Live mode is fairly lag free and hopping into a game is exceptionally quick. Regardless of ranked or player matches, finding a partner is almost instantaneous. The Trueskill system ranks your competency of play and appropriately finds a tough opponent for you.
Beyond the game modes, Leaderboards are accessible through the main menu. They track high scores in challenge, skin edit, Four time attacks modes, and Xbox Live rankings. The leaderboards lag ever so slightly and searching them is actually a bit of a chore. Within the Options menu, you will find 4 control schemes to choose from, a character selection screen to modify your emoticon, an edit function to modify the game board, and stats to track how much has been unlocked. Also, the game menu provides a meaty Help section that includes a video tutorial as well as twenty tips with excellent strategies.
The achievements are split between the standard 12 tasks for 200 gamerscore points. All of the achievements are assigned to single player requirements, most of which border on insanely tough. The majority of the tasks are assigned to Time Attack high scores. For instance, eliminating 30 or 70 blocks in the 60-second mode. There are also a couple high score achievements that will be unreachable for the majority of the Xbox Live community. If Q Entertainment's purpose was to provide a Geometry Wars level of challenge, they certainly accomplished that feat. Unfortunately, the casual gamer may be turned away by such a high difficulty.
Graphics:
Aesthetically, the game is visually stunning for an Arcade title. Similar to the clean vector graphics of Hexic, the game board / pieces are crystal clear and beautifully fluent in high definition. The various skins are vividly colorful and have been meticulously designed. The background of the game board alternates various shapes in a Media visualization mode. Rather than be distracting, it's actually a calming imaging system that promotes decision time. The menu system continues the same clean design, very similar to a Flash web site. Also, the creativity of the menu design doesn't hamper navigation in the slightest. The frame-rate is rock solid during any game mode, with the exception of the occasional hitch in Xbox Live play.
Audio:
The musical tracks are catchy tunes that will definitely bring the player back to Challenge mode to unlock more tunes. The variety of music is delightful for a 50 Meg arcade title. The sound effects are varied to a certain extent and helps decrease reaction time when eliminating game pieces. There is an odd voice effect in the start menu that announces each game mode. I believe the scratchy robotic voice is a throwback to old school arcade games, but it's a little on the annoying side.
Conclusion:
Is the game worth 1200 Marketplace points? At a technical standpoint, the game is certainly exceptional. But as entertaining and addictive as Lumines can be, the developer overpriced the game in its current, partially crippled state. This bare-bones version of the game would be much more appropriately priced at 800 points and content packs should be no more than 400 points. While the pricing barrier won't stop Lumines loyalists from immediately picking up the title, the casual gamer is going to have a tough time coughing up $15 for an arcade title and an additional $16.75 for the rest of the game. While I can appreciate giving players a choice when deciding on extra content purchases, the steep entry point pretty much stifles future investment in the title. Not surprisingly, Q Entertainment may have had better sales figures by packaging Lumines Live! as a regular Xbox 360 title at a discounted price rather than an Arcade title at an inflated price. It's all about perception.
For serious Tetris addicts or folks who have a heavily discounted source of Marketplace points, Lumines Live! is a fairly solid purchase. Everyone else should definitely try out the demo before determining how much it's really worth to you.
Advanced Pack: The 600 point Advanced pack is the Challenge mode add-on that unlocks 22 skins / musical tracks and new leaderboard rankings to compare against your Xbox Live buds. In real money, 600 points translates to $7.50 at the current exchange rate. For those familiar with the PSP version, the 22 skins included are Aback, Aoi, Bad Boy Century, Bean Jam, Block, The Sky, Cuckoo Clock, Dao, Darkside Beside River, Fanatic, Hikaru Frame Work, Hometown, Kabuki, Kawaii, Mysterious Travel To Asia, Round About, Shadow of GrandFather, Sister Walk, So That May Visit You, Thier Mission To The Moon, Talk 2 You, Tintoy, and You Are Not Here. Proving previous rumors false, the Advanced pack does not include musical artist's videos in the background of the game board. Artist Packs will be offered on Marketplace on a later date.
Overall, the Advanced pack is vastly overpriced. While I realize the pack had to be excluded from the main game due to sizing restrictions, charging for skins and a game mode that should have been included at no extra cost borders on ridiculous. The business tactic that's being exhibited here is shameless and I urge the community to reject the Advanced Pack. It does not add anything substantial to the gameplay nor does it provide any modicum of entertainment over the Base mode.
Gameplay:
Playing Lumines is simple to understand, yet decidedly perplexing to master. Similar to Tetris, puzzle pieces appear at the top of the screen and fall to the floor. It's the player's job to correctly match up colors to keep the game board open. The game pieces are comprises of 4 squares, each with one of two colors. Matching up 4 squares of the same color will erase that portion from the board. Adding a little extra bit of strategy, correctly matched pieces remain on the game board until a continually passing cursor rolls over that specific section. This allows the player to increase the size of the correct match with new game pieces and increase their score exponentially.
Within the single player portion of the game, there are several modes to tickle your puzzle solving fancy. Of course, Challenge mode returns in Lumines with the base mode unlocked and the Advanced mode locked until the 600 point Advanced pack is purchased. Challenge mode unlocks the musical tracks and skins within the game while racking up the highest score possible with an unlimited amount of time. Alternatively, Time Attack mode requires split-second decisions to eliminate the largest number of blocks anywhere within 60 seconds to 10 minutes. Time Attack mode is easily the most frustrating mode, especially when shooting for certain achievements. Skin Edit mode is an intriguing method of play that allows for customization of the game boards and musical tracks.
Versus CPU mode is an excellent practice mode for the online play as the setup is identical to Duel mode over Xbox Live. Unfortunately, only the first level is unlocked. The 300 point Versus CPU mode content pack unlocks the remaining levels, but the pack is unavailable on the Marketplace. Finally, there are two remaining modes that require problem solving skills and excellent planning; Mission & Puzzle. Mission mode is designed around elimination of all the game board pieces in a certain number of moves. Puzzle mode requires the player to set up the game board in certain shapes using the falling blocks. Similar to the Versus CPU mode, Mission & Puzzle require an extra 400 point purchase to unlock the remaining 45 levels. Only 5 levels in each mode are open in the basic version, all of which are quite simple and boring.
Multiplayer modes include Versus and Xbox Live Duel Rule. Both modes are similar to Versus CPU in that you are competing for board space as well as point totals. Versus allows for one on one play between you and a friend. The Xbox Live mode is fairly lag free and hopping into a game is exceptionally quick. Regardless of ranked or player matches, finding a partner is almost instantaneous. The Trueskill system ranks your competency of play and appropriately finds a tough opponent for you.
Beyond the game modes, Leaderboards are accessible through the main menu. They track high scores in challenge, skin edit, Four time attacks modes, and Xbox Live rankings. The leaderboards lag ever so slightly and searching them is actually a bit of a chore. Within the Options menu, you will find 4 control schemes to choose from, a character selection screen to modify your emoticon, an edit function to modify the game board, and stats to track how much has been unlocked. Also, the game menu provides a meaty Help section that includes a video tutorial as well as twenty tips with excellent strategies.
The achievements are split between the standard 12 tasks for 200 gamerscore points. All of the achievements are assigned to single player requirements, most of which border on insanely tough. The majority of the tasks are assigned to Time Attack high scores. For instance, eliminating 30 or 70 blocks in the 60-second mode. There are also a couple high score achievements that will be unreachable for the majority of the Xbox Live community. If Q Entertainment's purpose was to provide a Geometry Wars level of challenge, they certainly accomplished that feat. Unfortunately, the casual gamer may be turned away by such a high difficulty.
Graphics:
Aesthetically, the game is visually stunning for an Arcade title. Similar to the clean vector graphics of Hexic, the game board / pieces are crystal clear and beautifully fluent in high definition. The various skins are vividly colorful and have been meticulously designed. The background of the game board alternates various shapes in a Media visualization mode. Rather than be distracting, it's actually a calming imaging system that promotes decision time. The menu system continues the same clean design, very similar to a Flash web site. Also, the creativity of the menu design doesn't hamper navigation in the slightest. The frame-rate is rock solid during any game mode, with the exception of the occasional hitch in Xbox Live play.
Audio:
The musical tracks are catchy tunes that will definitely bring the player back to Challenge mode to unlock more tunes. The variety of music is delightful for a 50 Meg arcade title. The sound effects are varied to a certain extent and helps decrease reaction time when eliminating game pieces. There is an odd voice effect in the start menu that announces each game mode. I believe the scratchy robotic voice is a throwback to old school arcade games, but it's a little on the annoying side.
Conclusion:
Is the game worth 1200 Marketplace points? At a technical standpoint, the game is certainly exceptional. But as entertaining and addictive as Lumines can be, the developer overpriced the game in its current, partially crippled state. This bare-bones version of the game would be much more appropriately priced at 800 points and content packs should be no more than 400 points. While the pricing barrier won't stop Lumines loyalists from immediately picking up the title, the casual gamer is going to have a tough time coughing up $15 for an arcade title and an additional $16.75 for the rest of the game. While I can appreciate giving players a choice when deciding on extra content purchases, the steep entry point pretty much stifles future investment in the title. Not surprisingly, Q Entertainment may have had better sales figures by packaging Lumines Live! as a regular Xbox 360 title at a discounted price rather than an Arcade title at an inflated price. It's all about perception.
For serious Tetris addicts or folks who have a heavily discounted source of Marketplace points, Lumines Live! is a fairly solid purchase. Everyone else should definitely try out the demo before determining how much it's really worth to you.
Advanced Pack: The 600 point Advanced pack is the Challenge mode add-on that unlocks 22 skins / musical tracks and new leaderboard rankings to compare against your Xbox Live buds. In real money, 600 points translates to $7.50 at the current exchange rate. For those familiar with the PSP version, the 22 skins included are Aback, Aoi, Bad Boy Century, Bean Jam, Block, The Sky, Cuckoo Clock, Dao, Darkside Beside River, Fanatic, Hikaru Frame Work, Hometown, Kabuki, Kawaii, Mysterious Travel To Asia, Round About, Shadow of GrandFather, Sister Walk, So That May Visit You, Thier Mission To The Moon, Talk 2 You, Tintoy, and You Are Not Here. Proving previous rumors false, the Advanced pack does not include musical artist's videos in the background of the game board. Artist Packs will be offered on Marketplace on a later date.
Overall, the Advanced pack is vastly overpriced. While I realize the pack had to be excluded from the main game due to sizing restrictions, charging for skins and a game mode that should have been included at no extra cost borders on ridiculous. The business tactic that's being exhibited here is shameless and I urge the community to reject the Advanced Pack. It does not add anything substantial to the gameplay nor does it provide any modicum of entertainment over the Base mode.