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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.
X360F Contest: Win Lumines Live! [update 1]
Last night, the overlords at Joystiq bestowed upon us a free redemption code for the long awaited Lumines Live. We were faced with a serious moral dilemma. Do we keep the code for ourselves so that we can "review" the game, or do we give it away in a fantabulous contest. In the end, our "good" side won out, and we've decided to give it away! How do you win? Find out after the break.Update: The contest is now closed and the winner has been announced. See the winning entry and some honorable mentions here.
Stop crying, Lumines Live! hits XBLA tomorrow [update 2]
About frackin' time news now, with the announcement that tomorrow's Xbox Live Arcade release is none other than Tetsuya Mizuguchi's plummeting block opus, Lumines Live!. Priced at 1200 MS Points ($15), the game features 12 different skins (or levels, for the uninitiated), 5.1 surround sound, online multiplayer, a bevy of single-player modes and a vaguely inspirational message transmitted through pulsating lights and spinning squares. So, what happened to all that stuff you had to buy seperately? It's called the Advance Pack. An optional download costing 600 MS Points ($7.50) will add 22 more skins into the game -- and that's it. Considering the value of HD graphics and enhanced sound in a game which heavily relies on hypnotic presentation, $22.50 for a new Lumines title with 34 skins doesn't seem like a terrible deal, certainly not to those still addicted to the original game. Of course, not being able to play it on the bus may come as a significant loss to you, not to mention the curious fact that the main game has fewer skins than the add-on. Stack blocks and defy sweeping timelines (if you're so inclined) on Xbox Live Arcade from Wednesday morning, 1:00AM PDT (0800 GMT). The full press release is embedded after the break. [Update 1: Now includes interview with Mark Coates, program manager for Xbox Live Arcade.] [Update 2: The Advance Pack is nowhere to be seen. Major Nelson says it'll arrive at a "later date."]
New screens show off Gunpey
Q Entertainment's newest offering Gunpey releases outside of Japan this winter, and there are new screenshots available that showcase the colorful characters and tile-based puzzles that form the visual nucleus of the game. Too bad we can't capture screens of the music -- these shots, while gorgeous, are only half the picture.Check for the screens after the jump.
Lumines to hit it October
Those of you hoping to see Lumines Live and Dig Dug hit on the same day (it could happen, right?) are about to be sorely disappointed. In a recent interview, Lumines creator, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, was asked when Lumines Live will release on XBLA. His answer: "Next month. The middle of next month. I think so." Not exactly the hard confirmation many of us were hoping for, but at least you don't have to stay up late checking Marketplace for Lumines tonight. Of course, we can't stop you from waiting up for Dig Dug.
Metareview - Ninety-Nine Nights
Born of a union between Kingdom Under Fire developer Phantagram and Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment, Ninety-Nine Nights promised to combine the grand scale of Dynasty Warriors with dramatic storytelling and strategic gameplay. Despite its impressive pedigree, however, N3 appears to have delivered only an average button mash experience with a next-gen coat of paint. Perhaps the game's lofty ambitions will be better served in a sequel. TeamXbox (67/100) enjoyed the battle effects and character animations, but it didn't hold the reviewer's attention: "Once the 'wow' factor wears off (the number of enemies per frame is crazy at times), Ninety-Nine Nights starts to get pretty mundane...it was more of the same, over and over again. It feels like more could have been done without losing the button mashing appeal." GameSpot (59/100) feels the mindless action orientation only wears thinner as N3 progresses: "None of the seven playable characters have particularly compelling stories to tell, and the game's annoying English voice acting doesn't do a good job of conveying what little story there is." IGN (56/100) notes a critical flaw in one of the game's only redeeming features: "N3 has a tendency to skip straight to a cutscene once you complete an objective, even if you just killed a rather large enemy that dropped something you might want. Too bad for you. If you didn't scoop it up in the half of a second you had after defeating the enemy, then you're out of luck."
N3 demo is up, sample the mediocrity
Already victim to unimpressive reviews and sales in its homeland, Ninety-Nine Nights is about to hit American shores. Soon we will finally have a mindless slasher to compare with Dynasty Warriors 5 -- and Kurosawa fans may shudder when they learn that the game's "story" was inspired by Rashomon. But why wait for the full release when there's a demo up right now? Go forth loyal X360F readers and partake of this demo (available in all regions). Upon its completion return here and tell us what you think. Was it mindless fun, or just mindless?[Thanks, Julian Weisser]
Interview with the Lumines team
1UP: How did it feel when you left Sega? Was it like "We're gonna do this and make our own company" like The Three Musketeers? TM: Huh? This week's 1up cover story focuses all on Q? Entertainment, the minds behind Lumines and the upcoming Every Extend Extra. You'll learn interesting tidbits from today's interview, like how Lumines was created in a karaoke room. You'll also learn how the team wanted to portray something artistic on the PSP's beautiful 16x9 screen. Your fears about short battery life in the upcoming video-intensive Lumines II will be relieved: it seems like the video won't cause too much of a hit on battery life. Your thumbs will get weary knowing that the maximum possible score in Lumines II is now 10 times higher. Finally, you can also read about Q? Entertainment's plan to save the world with downloadable music packs: TM: Yeah, a Relief pack. Within a couple of weeks, we could make a specialized pack -- maybe it costs $5 to download, but it would benefit the victims [of disasters]. There's a ton of really interesting info in the interview. In fact, there are 7 pages to read through, so you better get started now.
Lumines II to use licensed video bait
The latest issue of Game Informer (trust us, or buy/borrow/steal a copy) reports that Lumines II is almost identical to its acclaimed predecessor. The draw will be new unlockable skins, which, this time around, include licensed music videos from artists including Black Eyed Peas, Fatboy Slim, Hoobastank, and Missy Elliot. It's a risky deviation from the standard set in the original, as much of the sequel's soundtrack contains songs that were played out many seasons ago. Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" ... ? No thank you.With all the technical intricacies of the PSP, one wonders why Lumines II isn't being sold, at least in addition to a full-fledged UMD release, as a downloadable utility (for Lumines), which in turn would give us access to an online store where we could purchase additional skins that include music videos -- or better, bundles that include multiple skins that need to be unlocked through gameplay. But this sounds eerily similar to another future puzzler we've heard of ... Lumines Live, anyone?Buena Vista Game is pimping the Lumines franchise for all it's worth. Go 'head -- that's the business. It's just a shame that there's not more of a collective effort to exploit the potential of the PSP. Instead, we've got a near-identical sequel being hustled to us on UMD for $40. ... Okay, we're stepping down from the podium now ... here are the soundtrack details you're looking for ...
99 Nights, 1 hard drive
If you don't have an HDD and you were looking forward to Ninety-Nine Nights, you'd better start saving. QJ reports that Ninety-Nine Nights, releasing this August in the US, will require a hard drive to play. At least that's the story according to Xbox.com. Personally, I find this a little suspect. Surely something like this would have been covered when the game released in Japan. Assuming it's true, without an HDD it's going to cost you at least $160 to play this. Ouch. Of course, you could just skip Ninety-Nine Nights entirely, because it's not supposed to be very good anyway. See an image of the Xbox.com product info after the break. [Via QJ]
Lumines Live multiplayer blocked by micropayments [update 1]
Kikizo Games reports that Lumines Live's base package -- which will likely cost 1200 Microsoft points ($15) -- will not include Xbox Live multiplayer. The game's creator, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, recently detailed plans to sell multiplayer support as a separate add-on, although he added that the decision had not been finalized. Lumines Live will also feature licensed music and backgrounds available through premium downloads. The original Lumines debuted on the PSP for $40, suggesting that the base price of Lumines Live is a bargain. But charging us extra for multiplayer is a slippery slope and could usher in a series of cannibalized games crowding the casual (and cheap) atmosphere of Xbox Live Arcade. [Update 1: Ross Erickson, the "Worldwide Games Portfolio Manager" for Xbox Live Arcade, let us know that the Lumines micropayment story is "not true." He said the same to sister-site Xbox 360 Fanboy. So, there you go. No more worrying, m'kay?]
Ninety-Nine Nights arrives in August
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive Ninety-Nine Nights will hit store shelves in August (EB Games is listing 8/15). A collaboration between Q Entertainment's Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Lumines, Meteos) and Phantagram's Sang Youn Lee (Kingdom Under Fire), Nights puts you in control of seven playable warriors on massive battle fields, reminiscent of both the Dynasty Warriors and KUF series.Read our E3 impressions of Ninety-Nine Nights.
Lumines Live to hit Xbox Live Arcade
Peter Moore just announced that Tetsuya Mizuguchi's formerly PS(P and 2)-exclusive title, Lumines, is heading to Xbox Live Arcade in the form of Lumines Live. What's new? The music-heavy title will feature Warner Music Group's content integrated into the game. Their example showed a Madonna video playing behind the game. Sony got to borrow some XBL action, all Microsoft's doing is playing catch-up.
Rumor: Yuji Naka set to leave Sega
Yuji Naka, the original programmer behind Sonic the Hedgehog and arguably the most influential man at Sega (next to Yu Suzuki, of course), is rumored to be leaving Sega.Citing sources "close to Sega," Next Generation claims that the influential leader "is planning to set up his own studio." If true, this action would mirror those of other game industry greats such as Tetsuya Mizuguchi (who founded Q Entertainment) and Hironobu Sakaguchi (who started Mistwalker).Unfortunately, this kind of rumor is difficult to confirm as you don't know for sure whether someone's leaving a developer until he's actually gone. With all the organizational changes at the company, however (especially since Sammy bought Sega), such a move wouldn't be too surprising. We just hope the next-gen sequels to Sonic are in good hands.See also: Next-gen Sonic to be "re-invented" for PS3 and Xbox 360 Rumor: Sonic coming to Revolution DS: Sakaguchi & Co. working on new RPG Lumines sales top gold status
Watch the Ninety-Nine Nights demo -- since you can't play it
For the time being, the Ninety-Nine Nights demo is only available in Japanese retail stores. Thankfully, Xboxyde.com has posted a video of the first ten minutes of the demo for those of us that are feeling left out. The full video is in 640x360 resolution, but select scenes have been edited together in 720p. Careful viewers will likely notice some questionable slowdown around the 7-minute mark, but Xboxyde claims that the developers have corrected this for the retail version. No word yet on an official release date.
