Lumines Live! Review

Lumines Live! is a hard game to review because we aren't really getting the full game for our 1200 point ($15) investment. You have to pay extra to fill out the included modes and buy new skins, and that makes getting the whole package pretty darn spendy. The key here, though, is that you don't have to buy everything, and buying the "full game" when it is all finally released isn't really necessary to fully enjoy Lumines Live!. Try the demo first, and if you like it, buy it.

Lumines is a puzzle game that gives you a wide pit into wich blocks of four colored squares drop into it. The idea is to match up four of the same color to make at least a 2x2 square that will disappear. What makes Lumines different is that the blocks don't instantly disappear, and instead vanish when a timing line sweeps across the screen. On some levels it moves fast, and on others it moves very slowly, so you have to be careful how you play and constantly adapt. The game is amazingly addictive and fun and controls very well with the Xbox 360 analog stick.

But then there is the problem that you aren't getting the full game for your 1200 points. Your initial investment gets you 12 levels in challenge mode, a full time trial mode, full Xbox Live play, and a handful of levels in vs. CPU and mission mode that you have to buy later.

Here are my thoughts. The challenge mode is the main mode of the game and the one you'll spend the most time in. You don't need the extra modes to get the full Lumines experience, although you will want to buy the advance pack to get more skins for challenge mode, but all of the other stuff doesn't really matter. Also, I don't really think this release was intended for people that have played the PSP version to death. It is for the casual, XBLA audience that will be playing it for the first time, and I think they will be more than happy with it.

If you are unhappy with the pricing, the PSP and upcoming PS2 version are highly recommended.