http://psp.ign.com/articles/594/594156p1.html
9 Presentation
Tetsuya Mizuguchi is known for putting together as much an experience as a game, and Lumines is no less the whole trip for being a launch game on Sony's new handheld.
8 Graphics
The shape and the sound of puzzle gaming is rarely the focus, but Q Entertainment fused the external design to the gaming experience here with great care.
9 Sound
Even for those who have no desire to dance to this music, the selection of tracks and the variety of music is mondo engrossing.
9 Gameplay
A brand new concept in puzzle gaming, Lumines is an earnest addiction that's elegantly simple and disarmingly challenging.
8 Lasting Appeal
A few missing options hurt the appeal of playing it too often, but it's a very diggable puzzle game that you can pick back up years from now and enjoy.
8.6 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
"Lumines stands absolutely as one of the brightest stars in the puzzle field in a long, long time. Q Entertainment hooked up winning gameplay to enticing visual and musical compliments, and North American publisher Ubisoft wisely left the game the way it was designed to be, fixing just the little glitches on a game that could have been entirely overhauled for western audiences. But in a genre that prides itself on minute-to-learn-lifetime-to-master gaming, we have seen a number of people still not get the game after that initial minute. We've also seen players, dedicated and adventurous gamers, not find the spark that would encourage them to invest a lifetime of play into the game. Most puzzle games are unilaterally love-it-or-leave-it, but perhaps because of high expectations and some features left wanting, this one is more an acquired taste.
We've found there to be four stages to the Lumines experience. The first is Attraction: its hook-filled music tracks and lulling visual design set the backdrop for an effortless puzzle game that challenges players to simply put one of two colors together. The second stage is Addiction: once the sweeping music bar is understood and the first skin is unlocked, time becomes an abstraction in your quest to beat the music beat and unlock more songs. The third stage is Hunger: you find yourself desiring an escape from the common beginning stages, yearning for a deeper and closer experience with the stages you have recently unlocked; you also crave more complications in the gameplay and bigger dynamics in the presentation. The fourth stage is, naturally, Zen: your yearnings for fuss and choices dissolves once you have reached plateaus you previously thought impossible, and you find challenge and joy in the present options that once seemed simple and unadorned. Most will never achieve Zen -- even less likely without at least once feeling the thrill of multiplayer VS -- but somewhere between Addiction and Hunger is a good place to find yourself with a game that can take players deep, but on the surface is simply a brilliant little puzzle game."
9 Presentation
Tetsuya Mizuguchi is known for putting together as much an experience as a game, and Lumines is no less the whole trip for being a launch game on Sony's new handheld.
8 Graphics
The shape and the sound of puzzle gaming is rarely the focus, but Q Entertainment fused the external design to the gaming experience here with great care.
9 Sound
Even for those who have no desire to dance to this music, the selection of tracks and the variety of music is mondo engrossing.
9 Gameplay
A brand new concept in puzzle gaming, Lumines is an earnest addiction that's elegantly simple and disarmingly challenging.
8 Lasting Appeal
A few missing options hurt the appeal of playing it too often, but it's a very diggable puzzle game that you can pick back up years from now and enjoy.
8.6 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
"Lumines stands absolutely as one of the brightest stars in the puzzle field in a long, long time. Q Entertainment hooked up winning gameplay to enticing visual and musical compliments, and North American publisher Ubisoft wisely left the game the way it was designed to be, fixing just the little glitches on a game that could have been entirely overhauled for western audiences. But in a genre that prides itself on minute-to-learn-lifetime-to-master gaming, we have seen a number of people still not get the game after that initial minute. We've also seen players, dedicated and adventurous gamers, not find the spark that would encourage them to invest a lifetime of play into the game. Most puzzle games are unilaterally love-it-or-leave-it, but perhaps because of high expectations and some features left wanting, this one is more an acquired taste.
We've found there to be four stages to the Lumines experience. The first is Attraction: its hook-filled music tracks and lulling visual design set the backdrop for an effortless puzzle game that challenges players to simply put one of two colors together. The second stage is Addiction: once the sweeping music bar is understood and the first skin is unlocked, time becomes an abstraction in your quest to beat the music beat and unlock more songs. The third stage is Hunger: you find yourself desiring an escape from the common beginning stages, yearning for a deeper and closer experience with the stages you have recently unlocked; you also crave more complications in the gameplay and bigger dynamics in the presentation. The fourth stage is, naturally, Zen: your yearnings for fuss and choices dissolves once you have reached plateaus you previously thought impossible, and you find challenge and joy in the present options that once seemed simple and unadorned. Most will never achieve Zen -- even less likely without at least once feeling the thrill of multiplayer VS -- but somewhere between Addiction and Hunger is a good place to find yourself with a game that can take players deep, but on the surface is simply a brilliant little puzzle game."
