Lumines II Comments by Tom Bramwell

I thought the Mobile version's Arcade mode, with pre-arranged sets of blocks to be dismantled, a trophy based on your time to remove a certain number of blocks, and some useful special blocks (the column destroyed, the line destroyer - most certainly not the third colour) was an improvement. Shame it makes no appearance in this.

Disappointing to see that both Live and II are inferior to the original.

Will there be a preview of Meteos: Disney Edition at some point so we can find out if the same is happening there?

LOL Commerical Music FTL!

Saw this for £20 in Asda, which was nice...

...the original was next to it for 5 quid cheaper though!

Wasted opportunity.

EA style sequel then. Nothing new, and crap licensed music.

The success of Lumines sort of implies that portable games don't really need anything like the horsepower of a PSP to be a big hit.

Are PSP owners really going to be glad they shelled out all that money if games like this are what they spend it on?

Lumines II feels shallow, somehow. It doesn't have the same soul as the first one. Maybe I just need to get familiar with the new skins to get into them, I dunno. The music videos though - nice idea, but they take away from the whole synesthesia thing.

In between Lumines sessions, I've been playing Every Extend Extra. Their other new game (although it's really a remake of an independent game, but it's got the stylings and depth of a Q? game now.) That is really the game to go for. It just gets more amazing the better you get. Racking up crazy combos, crazy chain explosion combos! Really addicting, and like Lumines you can really groove with it if you put on a headset.

It's like Geometry Wars with chain explosions, Lumines-style music/sounds and addictiveness, plus bosses.

"The success of Lumines sort of implies that portable games don't really need anything like the horsepower of a PSP to be a big hit.

Are PSP owners really going to be glad they shelled out all that money if games like this are what they spend it on?"

Oh, Lumines makes great use of the PSP's hardware, it's very crisp, the audio quality is great and there's always something going on in the background visually (Videos in this case) and the wide screen is a must. It just wouldn't work, or at least not very well, on the DS, and it's a fantastic game (haven't played the second) which is definitely worth playing on any platform you can grab it on (though PSP is preferable I reckon). Couple that with the 12 or so other good-to-great games I have on my PSP and it's definitely been a worthwhile purchase, yeah.

I'm really enjoying Lumines LIVE... think it's great!

"Oh, Lumines makes great use of the PSP's hardware, it's very crisp, the audio quality is great and there's always something going on in the background visually (Videos in this case) and the wide screen is a must."

If you look at a screenshot:

http://www.eurogamer.net/assets/articles...

The score and next block displays could be placed above the main screen instead of at the sides, so there's no need for a widescreen. It could just as easily be done on a DS by using the second screen as a status display with the main screen for the game itself.

Lumines reminds me of those conversions of 16-bit games on early multimedia consoles and computers, it has completely pointless extra sound and graphics which do nothing else but remind you its running on expensive hardware. They serve no purpose at all in the gameplay, which could be done on a far more primitive system.

Found this surprisingly more entertaining then I thought it would be, after playing the hell out of Lumines I. True, its more of the same, and they didn't messed around with the core gameplay, but it definitively feels much more high fidelity and polished.

The Soundtrack is great, better than everything EA puts in their games! Beck (Black Tambourine), Chemical Brothers (Star Guitar), The Go! Team (Bottle Rocket), Heavenly Star and even Black Eyed Peas (Pump it) work so great as skin, that I can forgive them Pink and Hoobastank (why oh why...). And don't forget more than 80 new and some remixed original skins with lots of Shinichi Osawa's stuff.

I recommend this even for Lumines I owners. A solid 9/10 for me.


Did i mention that Heavenly Star is a catchy as hell ...

This review would have been better if you'd just said 'It's like We Love Katamari, more of the same' I don't think thats really a bad thing although maybe paying full price for it is.

And the argument that because the tunes are more recognisable it's worse is rubbish. Surely the originals tunes were recognisable to an Eastern audience and I didn't hear them complaining about that...

> They serve no purpose at all in the gameplay,
> which could be done on a far more primitive system.

You are completely wrong. Music and graphics are essential to the Lumines-Experience.

> And the argument that because the tunes are more recognisable it's worse is
> rubbish. Surely the originals tunes were recognisable to an Eastern audience and
> I didn't hear them complaining about that...

The problem is that most of the new tunes are rubbish, or doesn't suit the game very well. On the other hand, they did have the good sense to include Regret by New Order.

£18 on Play.com which for the amount of stuff you get makes it much better value than Lumines Live.

"More of the same" isn't always a bad thing.

So many reviews here seem to devote a paragraph to, 'so er, what do I score this game then chums, cos I'm not sure? Hmm decisions decisions'. Gone are the days it seems when the plus and minus points were discussed in depth during the review and we end up with a simple conclusive score at the end. Feels like amateur hour with all the umming and ahhing. You expect that from other gamers, but hope the reviewer is adamant with their verdict. Not a criticism mind, just a comment.

What a rubbish review. Then again, I don't know the exact differences between the Japanese and EU versions, only having the Japanese original of Lumines I to compare to the Lumines II version.

But first of all, it's a half-priced game. Second of all, the Play History is great, with lots of achievement type stuff, giving you rankings for different performances so you can try to aim for that hard to get 'S' ranking (yes, beyond A, there is A+ and S), and you can track your best scores in all the different levels for stuff like consecutive bonusses (a completely new feature the reviewer missed), or biggest block-sweep, etc.

Also pretty eh ... clumsy ... is to miss the difference between the different difficulty levels, when the difference is glaringly obvious (well ... ): less horizontal lines (10,9 or 8, respectively - and yes it does make a difference). The VS CPU mode now has a timed system and is better balanced, and the Mission and Puzzle games are not only rather different, but the first 40 or so of each can be played in any order you like, so that if you're stuck on one, you can pick another.

I think the reviewer was a little short on time when doing this review - I would have mentioned all the database - history stuff at least.

Just like Ridge Racer 17 then?

As soon as I saw the licensed track list for this the warning bells started ringing. Any cash I might have sent in this direction I've saved for when Every Extend Extra shows up. Buying another version of Lumines really seems like buying another version of Tetris, although the first Lumines is great, whereas Tetris was always bilge.

@chupachups

What's your point? I don't mean what point are you trying to make with your bloody ridiculous comments, I mean, what is the actual point of you existing?

And the argument that because the tunes are more recognisable it's worse is rubbish.

The tunes, IMO, are what gave the first game a lot of its charm. Speaking personally, I'd rather gouge out my own eyes with rusty corkscrews than have to suffer through godawful mass-consumer arse-tat like Black Eyed Peas and Hoobastank (and yes, Beck as well), and that is apparently where we differ. This alone is sufficient reason for me to not only not buy the game, but to make sure everybody I know is instructed not to buy the game as well.

Also, this review is being written from a Western perspective, and so the question of how the Japanese felt about the original game's Japanese tunes is fairly irrelevant.

Lumines didn't really need a sequel. It was a brilliant, unique game.

If Q Entertainment had just added a theme creator to the original (Color your own squares, background and interface, add music and decide the tempo) it could have lived on forever. Lumines II just feels like milking.

The franchise should be renamed to Lumilkes.

Ha ha, Lumines sucks!!!!11!!!elevenoneone

I've put 10 hours into the new version now, so I officially got my 25 Euro's worth (yes, it is not a full-priced game).

Currently I am working my way through the achievements and having a lot of fun there. Shockingly enough, it seems you can actually get S+ on some things. I got all my time trials to S, which was pretty hard, but now I'm shuddering at the thought that I might be able to get S+ somehow. :S

The Mission mode is a nice addition too, much more fun than the Puzzle mode. There seem to be 50 Missions in total, and no, you don't have to do them in the order they are presented. You do have to unlock the second and third packs of missions by completing the preceding packs though.

This game is great, and the review still sucks. ;)

I got most of the 50 Missions done now (number 33 is giving me a headache though!), and I've reached level S in the Achievements for all the Time Trials, scoring 78, 226, 353, and 663.

Here's a list of features in the Database - Play History section:

Total

Total Play Time (e.g. A- / 10:48:11)
Skin Collection Rate (e.g. 65%)
-----------------------
Total Evaluation (e.g. A-)

Challenge Mode Class B

High Score (e.g. A / 369,355)
Maximum number of blocks erased in One Time Line sweep (e.g. A+ / 15 pieces)
Number of erase-alls in One Game (e.g. B / 1 times)
Number of single-color blocks erased in 1 game (e.g. 7 times)
Consecutive Bonuses (e.g. 14 times)
-----------
Evaluation (e.g. A-)

Same for Challenge Mode Class A

Same for Challenge Mode Class S

Skin Edit-Single Lap
High Score in Single Lap (e.g. A / 100,000)
Consecutive Bonusses (e.g. 5 times)
----------
Evaluation (e.g. C)

Time Attack Mode
60 seconds (e.g. S / 78 pieces)
180 seconds (e.g. S / 226 pieces)
300 seconds (e.g. S / 353 pieces)
600 seconds (e.g. S / 663 pieces)
----------
Evaluation (e.g. S)

Puzzle Mode
Achievements (e.g. B+ / 27%)
Average Game Completion Time (e.g. 00:00:39)
Retries (e.g. 11 times)

Puzzle Mode Hard
Achievements (e.g. B+ / 27%)
Average Game Completion Time (e.g. 00:00:39)
Retries (e.g. 11 times)

Puzzle Mode Super Hard
Achievements (e.g. B+ / 27%)
Average Game Completion Time (e.g. 00:00:39)
Retries (e.g. 11 times)

Evaluation (e.g. C)

Mission Mode
Mission Mode Easy
Achievements (e.g. S+ / 100%)
Average Game Completion Time (e.g. 00:00:20)
Retries (e.g. 17 times)

Mission Mode Hard
Achievements (e.g. S+ / 100%)
Average Game Completion Time (e.g. 00:00:46)
Retries (e.g. 44 times)

Mission Mode Super Hard
Achievements (e.g. S+ / 65%)
Average Game Completion Time (e.g. 00:01:18)
Retries (e.g. 34 times)
----------------------
Evaluation (e.g. S)

VS CPU Tournament Tour
Times Cleared (e.g. B / 1 times)
Win Rate (e.g. A- / 76%)
Longest Game Time (e.g. 00:01:11)
Shortest Win Time (e.g. 00:00:29)
----------------------
Evaluation (e.g. A-)

Duel Mode
Win Rate (e.g. 0%)
Victories (e.g. 0)
Defeats (e.g. 0)