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Lumines Plus

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Welcome to Lumination, PS2

Words: Chris Antista, GamesRadar US

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Got any friends who refuse to stop rubbing their purchase of the new fangled PSP in your face? No? Well if you did have one a couple of years ago, Lumines was probably the game they couldn’t stop yammering about. And with good reason. It’s more fun then hopscotch and solitaire… combined!

Perhaps we’re underselling it. The heart that beats behind Lumines’ deceptively simple facade is a deep little puzzler that’s unreasonably hard to put down. Squares resembling the vilest of Tetris pieces drop from the sky containing four blocks of two distinct colors. You’re charged with the manipulation of said square to create your own four-blocked squares of the same color, and other rectangular variations thereof, so that an angelic bar can rhythmically sweep the screen and remove your solid cubes. We know that may sound like a silly description for the puzzle equivalent of oxycontin, but go ahead and play it. We dare you.

Part of the charm of Lumines is derived from its entrancing exhibition. As you pass from level to level you’ll notice thematic changes, both visibly and audibly. You’ll seamlessly progress through the immersive “skins,” (a fancy word for the fact that it changes its look every so often) containing beats we’ll describe as, oh... buttery? And when the beat quickens, your pace must keep in step as well. Whether you can tell immediately or not, the way you play influences the music, and the music influences the way you play, thus resulting in a wonderful little synergy between player and game.