Lumines II review

Lumines II wisely commits to walking the trail of enhancement rather than reinvention, refusing to fix what wasn't broken about its predecessor. On the other hand, it knows it had better offer something shiny and new if fans of the original are to find a reason to pick it up. This sequel is as much a companion to the original as a replacement, and just as much of a must-have, if not more.

Gameplay still revolves around two-tone falling blocks - each made up of four smaller blocks - and your efforts to group the colors together, but each quadrant can contain with an animated pattern as easily as a color now, leading to considerably more variation between skins. New music videos that churn away in the background likewise serve as cunning distractions. As a result, maintaining concentration is more challenging than ever. Create blocks of like-colored squares, and the passing timeline will remove them from play and reward you with bonus points. Between the simple but absorbing play, the gyrating graphics, and the thumping music, Lumines II is almost hypnotic in its appeal.