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I think of a lot of things when the subject of ancient Egypt comes up - pharaohs, pyramids, mummies, and such. Until I discovered Luxor: The Wrath of Set, however, I had never associated the civilizations of Xerxes and Cleopatra with smashing balls of many palettes into oblivion. Clearly, I missed a few things back in my college history classes.
So, you might say that Egyptian-themed, moving-serpentine, multi-colored, marble-blasting titles aren't your typical puzzle-solving fare. Normally, you'd be right on point, but that's in fact the premise of Luxor. Why Egypt? Who knows. What matters is that you'll be hard-pressed to not get sucked into a vortex of focus, as you press on to get to just one more level, oblivious to your surroundings. While you may or may not have seen its initial incarnation on the PC, the newer version for the PSP works rather well on Sony's handheld. Its bright, colorful graphics, ease of use, and seemingly neverending levels welcome you right into the action – there's really no learning curve here.
Luxor possesses an addictive quality that's inherent in any good puzzler.
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The beauty of Luxoris its simplicity of controls, objectives, and execution. A series of rolling, color-coded ornate spheres wind their way through a twisting and turning corridor, and it's your job to prevent them from reaching the end of the line. To do so, you're equipped with a sphere-blasting gun that's maneuvered along the bottom of the screen. You use it to throw more of these marbles into the moving snake of similar objects, whereupon lining up three in a row of the same color makes them disappear. Ultimately, the goal is to eliminate all of the spheres before they get to their final destination. Succeed, and it's on to the next level; fail, and you'll be given a few chances to redeem yourself before it's Game Over and you're headed back to the beginning of the game.
There's more to it than this, of course – points are awarded for stylish combinations of ball blasting, so stringing together a few links of ten or twelve marbles in a row pays off handsomely in the scoreboard category. Powerups are also awarded when you make particularly sweet marble music, such as slowing down the spheres' inevitable march or even forcing them into reverse for a few precious seconds. On other occasions, you'll be equipped with lightning blasts to take out huge swaths of 'em. Super-sophisticated destruction nets you the chance to grab some extra jewels and assorted ancient-themed knick-knacks, provided you've got the dexterity to nab it while also firing your marbles into the lines. Of course, high scores are really secondary – the real payoff is advancing levels and solving ever-speedier spheres.
All along your journey, a surprisingly ornate orchestral score accompanies you. Unfortunately, it's not very long, and repeats itself constantly. Your initial impressions of "gee, this music sounds great" will quickly be replaced by "blargh, I can't believe they only have one song on this soundtrack". It also happened to stick in my head all day long – the product of playing it on the train in the morning and evening heading to and from the office.
Musical monotony aside, Luxor possesses an addictive quality that's inherent in any good puzzler. Sure, it lacks significant depth – after all, you're just smashing marbles - but what it does, it does pretty darn well. It's a bit more expensive than its PC cousin, but still less than a full-priced PSP title. I may never solve the mystery of its ancient Egyptian setting, but I'll get on that soon enough... just as soon as I finish this next level.
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