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I've got problems. I'm having these visions, you see. Blocks are falling, formations are occurring, and every few seconds some weird airplane flies by and erases all these cubes from the landscape. I see these visions when I close my eyes, and sometimes even when they're open. Instead of paying attention to whatever it is that's going on, I'll be formulating new block-spinning strategies in order to just... keep…going. The cause of these issues? It's Lumines II, one of the best and most addictive puzzlers you can play these days.
When the PSP launched, the original Lumines was almost universally lauded as the best title available for Sony's brand new handheld. Combining a tried-and-true block-puzzle formula with unique music and graphic-based gameplay, it became an instant hit with almost everyone that played it. Its followup now hits in time for the holiday season, looking and feeling virtually the same, with a slew of new tunes and a few added elements. While that may sound like a complaint, you can be sure that it's definitely not – in this case, familiarity breeds another batch of enjoyment. Lumines II is a slick and deep title that can easily steal away dozens of hours without you noticing.
...one of the best and most addictive puzzlers you can play these days.
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At its core, Lumines II is all about building then destroying blocks. While that may sound simple, it's quite the opposite. Combinations of patterns can be put together in myriad ways, introducing all sorts of opportunities. Players get to manipulate the blocks by spinning them around to try and match up like colors together, and once four are arranged in a complete square, a time line swooshes over and clears them. Once there's no more room on the board for the blocks to drop, it's game over.
The heart of the game is its Challenge Mode, which allows the player to collect each of the various “skins” available. The longer you keep the blocks moving and clearing, the more skins become yours. Attached to each skin is a musical – and in some cases, video – theme. Videos are curious choices, since it's physically impossible to pay any attention to them while you're frantically arranging blocks and planning combos. Luckily, the musical skins far outnumber the video. There are gobs of licensed tracks to go along with some original ones as well. Naturally, the particular player's taste will dictate how well or poorly the tunes are received. Personally, I found many of them to be perfectly fine, but a few are simply abysmal (starting with an early Beginner mode song “Stroll Around The World”, some sort of European scream-fest that is perhaps the most annoying song I have ever heard in my life).
The Challenge Mode contains three levels – beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Frankly, I don't like how you have to start over at the beginning of each one (especially when you've passed the skin half a dozen times). While it's supposedly a good way to continue to better your skills, it's the only way to open all of the skins; therefore, you'll be forced to sit through some of the same stuff repeatedly until you complete the entire session. Between the length and difficulty, this is not a trivial amount of time – to say the least.
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