lumines
Latest
Japanese Lumines II to feature expanded soundtrack
I praised Lumines II's soundtrack for its breadth and diversity. However, it looks like the upcoming Japanese release of this puzzle favorite will improve the already impressive song lineup by adding more Japanese music into the game. 1UP reports that artists like DJ Ken Ishii and the Genki Rockets will have additional songs, making this version of the game something importers and Mizuguchi collectors will certainly want to keep an eye on.The game's still far off: February 15th for 4980 yen ($43). The game won't be published by Bandai Namco, as previously expected. Rather, it will be self-published by Q? Entertainment, making their very first foray into publishing.
PSP Fanboy review: Lumines II
Lumines II is the hotly anticipated sequel to Lumines, a fan-favorite launch game that won the hearts of gamers and critics. The stylish combination of music, art and gameplay made for a truly surreal experience that was perfect for portable gamers on the go. The gameplay was brilliantly simple: a 2x2 block falls from the sky, and the player must rotate and position that block to create a solid 4x4 square of one color.The simplicity of the game allowed anyone to pick up and play, and as with all great puzzle games, players started to learn more techniques and secrets to improve their performance. A typical Lumines session for a skilled player can easily span longer than an hour, but with changing backgrounds, songs, and tempos, the player constantly feels motivated.The original introduced such a great formula, and Q? Entertainment's sequel doesn't stray too far from it--and that's a good thing in many ways. Lumines II offers a plethora of new content, and a great refinement in the user interface. However, is the game enough to warrant a purchase from those that already have the original? How about gamers that are new to this Lumines craze?
Interview with Mizuguchi on Lumines II [m]
We got early access to an interview with Mizuguchi which will be hitting the internet tomorrow. The esteemed game master talks about creating Lumines II, and we have it available for you to download it to your PSP via m.pspfanboy.com. Make sure you save it to the 100ANV folder, not VIDEO.Expect an in-depth review of Lumines II in the coming days.[Update 1: Embedded video, after the cut.]
You can chat with Tetsuya Mizuguchi [Update 1]
Do you want to talk to the man behind Lumines, Rez, Space Channel 5, and more? Of course you do. Eurogamer is giving its readers the chance to chat with the legendary game designer, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. If you couldn't figure it out, Eurogamer is a European website, so make sure you adjust for the time difference. If it's 12:30PM there, what time will it be in your part of the globe? I think according to my calculations, it'll be early morning for most of America. Will you be staying up to talk to this gaming visionary?[Picture via Siliconera][Update 1: Unfortunately, Mizuguchi had to reschedule his webchat to a later date. Stay tuned for more information.]
Loco Roco ranks in top 100 memorable moments
Games Radar decided to go through the annals of their video game memory, and search for the 100 most memorable gaming moments they could think of. The PSP managed to get a measly two games on the list: Loco Roco and Lumines. Apparently, the moment when all the Loco Rocos get together to sing was memorable enough to mark it the 60th most memorable gaming moment of all time.Do you agree that these games deserve to be on this list? Or, do you think any other PSP games should make the cut?
It's not Lumines, we swear
Puzzle Scape is an entirely original puzzle game coming out next month on the PSP. Published by O~3 Entertainment (not Q? Entertainment), the game has players arranging blocks into 2x2 squares. The game features 40 skins scenes which are interactive backgrounds that evolve.While this may sound entirely familiar, there are some features that make it somewhat unique: game sharing, eight player multiplayer, and the ability to save scenes as wallpapers.[Via PSP World]
Exclusive Lumines II wallpapers [m]
Lumines II has just arrived in stores and to celebrate, we have a bunch of exclusive wallpapers for your computer and your PSP. You can download these high-res beauties to your computer here.If you want to skin your PSP with some Lumines love, then type in m.pspfanboy.com into your PSP browser and download the following images:Image 1Image 2Image 3
Deal of the Day: $17 PSP games at Circuit City
If you're like me, then you like to buy your games on the cheap. And you can't get much cheaper than Circuit City and its $17 clearance on a bunch of PSP games. Here's the list: Burnout Legends Death Jr. FIFA World Cup 2006 Lumines Mega Man: Powered Up Midway Arcade Treasures Namco Museum Battle Collection NBA Ballers Rebound Pinball Hall of Fame Ridge Racer SSX On Tour Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max WWE Smackdown vs. Raw Yeah, most of these games are a tad old, but we gotta take the deals as they come to us, right? It doesn't look like this deal is currently being offered online, so you'll have to get off the computer and go outside. [Via Cheapassgamer - Registration required]
Lumines website updates, showcases more music videos
The Lumines II website has entered Phase II. In this stage, it will develop chrysalis around its body, to protect itself during metamorphosis. It will also showcase music videos in the new Video Hub section. Artists you can preview include the Black Eyed Peas, Fatboy Slim, Beck, The Go! Team, The Chemical Brothers, and more.Lumines II flutters to store shelves on November 7th.
What are you playing: FINISH HIM edition
Another Friday, another edition of -- say it with me now - "What are you playing?" Personally, I've been playing a lot of Xbox Live Arcade lately. All these titles in the last month or so, it feels like an embarrassment of riches. So, this weekend, I'll be playing UMK3, DOOM, Lumines (yeah, I can't help it), and even getting some achievements for Cloning Clyde. I may sprinkle in some LEGO Star Wars II and some Enchanted Arms, too. On a side note, I don't know how many of you have gotten Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but I had forgotten how incredibly cheap the AI is. It's terrible. It's not just cheap, it's the kind of cheap programming that allows CPU players to cut corners that human players can't. For instance, computers can skip frames of animation so that they can react faster -- like jump kicking you even though you started your jump kick first, etc. It's maddening. And, for the record, Shao Kahn may be the cheapest boss ever. How about all of you? Hmmmm? What will you be playing this weekend?
Major Nelson on G4: microtransactions "are about choice"
Last night on G4's Attack of the Show, host Kevin Pereira held a debate between Major Nelson and 1UP's Andrew Pfister on the much-discussed topic of microtransactions. During the segment, entitled The Loop, Major Nelson pressed that it is "about choice," while Pfister spoke for the gaming community when he said that "it doesn't appear that anybody is in control of the situation." With the recent Godfather and Lumines debacles, we're inclined to agree.Unfortunately, the segment's lead-in was awkward and the debate was way too short for either side to make an argument, but what we heard was engaging. Please, G4, give The Loop its own half-hour time slot; we'd watch it. Continue reading for the video.
Major Nelson talks microtransations on G4
Major Nelson was featured on Attack of the Show last night. During "The Loop," Major Nelson discussed microtransactions with Kevin Pereira and Andrew Pfister, producer of 1UP Yours. The segment was too short, which is regrettable because it was actually very good. In fact, we'd love to see "The Loop" made into its own show. Naturally, Lumines was brought up. It was declared dishonest by Andrew, whereas Major Nelson reminded the audience that "it's about choice." They also briefly touched on EA's recent Godfather scandal. If you haven't heard, EA is charging 360 users for cheats. What's scary is that the cheats you can buy on Marketplace are available as cheat codes in the Xbox version. In other words EA actually removed the cheat codes from the 360 version just so they could make consumers pay for them. Unfortunately, the commentators just aren't given enough time to properly debate the issue. Here's hoping G4 sees the potential in this segment and gives "The Loop" some more air time. Watch the video after the break.
Lumines II to feature all content from Live
Do we have a grudge against the Xbox 360 version of Lumines? Well, probably. Gamers were shocked to discover that the game they had purchased for $15 was merely a glorified demo: it would cost another $7.50 to get the "Advance Pack," which includes 22 more skins. Throw in the Artist, Mission and VS CPU Packs, and you're already paying more than you would for the PSP version of the game. Oh, and you're still getting less than was the PSP version offers: "all the skins in Lumines Live will be in Lumines II - plus more" (emphasis added). According to Siliconera, there will be 60 skins in Lumines II, which outnumbers Live's number of skins by a whopping 26. No matter how you look at it, Lumines Live is a total rip-off.
Lumines II shows off New Order's Regret
The biggest addition to Lumines' sequel has to be licensed music videos. The game will feature music from Beck, Black Eyed Peas, Chemical Brothers, and more. Eurogamer has a new video up showcasing New Order's Regret. There were some concerns that the music videos may be too distracting, but from what I can see in this video, it looks like everything's going to be fine.Lumines II hits stores on November 7th. And unlike the Xbox Live version of Lumines, this won't be a glorified demo.[Via DCemu]
Lumines LiveAID
Here's a promotional gimmick for the folks behind Xbox Live Arcade: Give away a free component of Lumines Live for every baby Madonna steals from Africa. This could be followed by a charity tournament to help the kids she doesn't turn into human accessories. Maybe it's a bad idea, but so is ripping off the gaming public with this offensively piecemeal game.
Mizuguchi defends Lumines Live
Q Entertainment founder Tetsuya Mizuguchi spoke with IGN today to defend his choice to split Lumines Live into four pieces (Basic, Advanced, VS CPU, and Mission / Puzzle pack). He gives two reasons for the division: the 50 MB limit on XBLA title (understandable) and the customizable nature of the game (not understandable). Mizuguchi considers it the business model of the future.When IGN presses him on the cost issue, Mizuguchi pauses. After IGN pushes on, Mizuguchi furthers his belief in the piece-wise business model. Theoretically, we don't mind the model so much as the price, and unfortunately IGN never gets Mizuguchi talking about the release date and pricing for the VS CPU and Mission / Puzzle pack.So is Lumines holy like a saint or hole-y like swiss cheese? Q Entertainment still hasn't responded to our request on release date and pricing details. The Advanced Pack game is now on Xbox Live for 600 MS points ($7.50 USD).
Load times quantified by GameSpot
Gamespot recently wrote an impressive feature on load times for the three dominant handheld platforms on the market. They wanted to see how long it took for a game to become playable from a completely powered-down system (no standby mode, which is available on both the DS and PSP). Here are some interesting facts from the write-up: The three quickest loading games were Astonishia Story, Gradius Collection and Lumines. They took up to 55 seconds to load. The longest loading game is (unsurprisingly) WWE Smackdown!: more than four minutes for that game. Games with the highest ratings on GameSpot had the shortest load times. Joystiq asks "Does this show that reviewers appreciate short load times, or just that better games tend to be designed to load faster?" I'd say both hold true, but as games like GTA and Daxter show, developers that care about the PSP know how to get around load times. The average load time for cartridge-based DS? 24.5 seconds. The average load time for UMD-based PSP? 103.4 seconds. This shouldn't be surprising to any PSP owner, but it's fascinating to see the numbers. I hate load times a whole lot, and I will avoid games that have insanely high loads. That being said, I don't see one minute loads to be too bad at all. What about you? What do you think about load times?[Via Joystiq]
Our Lumines Live! micro-rant
We know, it seems like all the news is about Lumines lately. It'll subside, we promise. Until then, however, we have to put in our two cents on a hot topic. No doubt you've read some of the reports about Lumines Live! and it's evil downloadable content. Either that, or you've discovered it yourself after clearing one round of Vs. CPU mode. We all knew that there was an "Advance" pack coming, but if you were under the impression that the "Advance" pack would make your game complete, you're wrong. Three times wrong. We think it's time for a rant.
And the Lumines Live winner is...
It's that time. Time to announce the winner of our Lumines Live! contest. We received a digital ton of entries, some good, and some not so good. Some of them were clever, and some not so clever. Find out who we picked and see some honorable mentions after the break.
Lumines Live is lacking in modes
So we paid the 1200 MS points ($15) for Lumines Live, knowing we will later have to purchase the Advanced Pack (600 MS points) to complete the deal. We load it up and play a couple of rounds in basic mode (we're proud of our 27,000 high score). We know advanced mode won't work yet for aforementioned reasons. We play mission mode ... for five levels. The rest will cost extra. We play puzzle mode ... for five levels. The rest will cost extra. We play VS CPU ... for ten levels. The rest will cost extra. According to the obnoxious messages, XBLM will soon be home to a Mission/Puzzle pack and a VS CPU pack. Assuming those cost about as much as the Advanced Pack (600 MS points apiece), we're looking at a total package of 3,000 MS points ($37.50). For reference, the Lumines II for PSP and Lumines Plus for PS2 are only $29.99 each. The Xbox Live version, then, is only worth it if you have no interest whatsoever in two of the extra packs. Microtransactions and a la carte gaming are the new business models (one that EA has embraced with open wallets), but we don't always have to like it. Make up your own mind if $7.50 more is worth the Xbox Live experience.
