Advance pack for Lumines Live

By Tom Bramwell Published 20 October, 2006

Out now, with more content soon.

Microsoft has released the "Advance Challenge Pack" for Lumines Live, just two days after the game's debut on Xbox Live Arcade.

Priced at 600 Microsoft points (GBP 5.10 / EUR 6.98), the pack adds 20 new skins to the 12 of the original game, along with leaderboards specific to the Advance mode.

Microsoft has also attempted to clarify it and Q Entertainment's plans for further downloadable content, after a lot of gamers got hot and bothered about the high price of the game (1200 points) and the number of modes that feature very little content.

In a release carried by the official Gamerscoreblog, the company said early 2007 would see the release of the Artist Pack (featuring music video skins like the Madonna "Sorry" video shown off at E3), playable under Challenge mode), the Mission/Puzzle Pack (adding 50 stages and three new skins each for Mission and Puzzle modes) and the Vs. CPU Pack (featuring 11 new opponents/skins).

And as for the controversy over things like there only being one playable Vs. CPU level in the base game, Microsoft's answer is simple: "If you enjoy that game mode, you can purchase the add-on pack to add new CPU challengers and skins - if you don't like it, you don't have to buy it."

But should you buy the game itself? That seems like a question best left for our review to answer, doesn't it? Linky-linky-link.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (23) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Steroyd #1 5 years ago

    That was a bit... direct from Microsoft, one CPU opponent who is usually the easiest is to beat doesn't exactly give you the proper opinion of wether you like the CPU mode outright.

    I actually liked the challenge of CPU mode from the 5th onwards (on PSP that is).

  • Inflatable #2 5 years ago

    Well, considering the game is full price on the PSP, it's not such a bad deal bying it in pieces.. Just buy the pieces you want and it will still be cheaper then the PSP version overall..

    But I agree it's new and feels a bit strange to have to buy a game in pieces..

  • penhalion #3 5 years ago

    Ahhh will people stop lying about Lumines being full price on the PSP. It isn't! It is now a platinum game and costs about 15 to 20 quid all in!

    With the XBox live edition you will have already paid that if you buy the advanced pack and the main game pack. You will still at this point, have less content than is featured in the PSP version. From then on you ARE paying more if you choose to get the additional promised packs.

    In contrast to this the PSP version will by then be even less to buy than it is now!
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/06 @ 13:25

  • mingster #4 5 years ago

    Boycott this sick filth.

    Vote with your wallets.

  • bloodflowers #5 5 years ago

    I like how they havent yet addressed their borderline fraudulent use of the word 'full', or the fact that it STILL says that on marketplace. That's been the core of the problem all along.

  • The_Programmer #6 5 years ago

    "if you don't like it, you don't have to buy it."

    I quite agree so I didn't.

  • Darren #7 5 years ago

    I'm still miffed that when I clicked on the button that said Purchase FULL Game to buy it for 1,200 points that I didn't actually get the full game at all but a crippled demo. I think Lumines Live stretches the very definition of 'full' to the limits personally.

  • neuroniky #8 5 years ago

    Well... let's see...

    I can get Lumines for 1200 pts. + Advance Pack at 600 pts.

    Then If I'll get the Puzzle Pack and the VS CPU pack I would spend another 1200 Pts.

    That's 3000 pts total for the complete PSP game, 30 Eur total. Which is just like the street price of Lumines right now here in Italy.

    But, if I'll spend that 3000 points, I would get Multiplayer over Live!, and I don't need to buy a portable console that I don't own for just one game.

    But, since I don't like much the vs CPU mode anyway, I'll probably spend the same money to get the same game but for the CPU mode, and with the Artist Pack (if priced at 600 point too).

    I hated the way they sold this to you. It is just plain bad that they didn't openly say you were buing a "base pack" for 1200 Pts. But the more I tinker with this idea, the more I like this pricing system... maybe one day you would be able to buy, say, GRAW2 multiplayer without buying the single player, or viceversa, for half the price of the game. Since I don't play mp games over live! anymore, I would be buying all of them at half price.

    This had had a false start, but the concept could be good in the end.

  • escapedape #9 5 years ago

    I do find it amusing that the artist pack features a song called 'Sorry'.

  • mingster #10 5 years ago

    The concept totally stinks!! What are you on.

    Selling game modes in packs is not the way things should go at all.

    You wan't MORE for your money not less!!

  • neuroniky #11 5 years ago

    @mingster "Selling game modes in packs is not the way things should go at all.
    You wan't MORE for your money not less!! "

    I assume you've read my entire post and not last sentence only, even if I have a slight doubt about this :D.

    I want more for my money. Exactly. If the single and multiplayer experiences would be sold separately, I would get exactly that: more for my money. Because I would buy two, less priced, single player part of two different games, instead of two full games, which are fully priced, of which I would be playing only the single player part, since I'm not a multiplayer gamer.
    Same applies for Lumines: for the same 3000 points I can get the same game of the PSP, or I could ignore a mode that actually I despise and get more skins instead. Or I could just pay less for the same game but that mode that I wouldn't play anyway, saving some points for something else.
    More for my money, exactly.
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/06 @ 14:37

  • gizmo #12 5 years ago

    I smell a planet.

  • Oceadge #13 5 years ago

    "...maybe one day you would be able to buy, say, GRAW2 multiplayer without buying the single player, or viceversa, for half the price of the game."
    But that's not how they're doing it with Lumines. If that's how it would be for GRAW2 then you'd be paying more for the multiplayer game to start off with and then more again for the single player game.

  • mingster #14 5 years ago

    and what if you like the multiplayer AND the single player and all the other bits...

    it would end up costing you more than if the whole thing was just included in the first place..

    If you honestly think you'll save money buying it in chunks you are deluded

  • pjmaybe #15 5 years ago

    Awww lookit everyone's happy shining faces at this news.

    Oh you can't see them, everyone's bending over.


    Peej

  • SomaticSense #16 5 years ago

    Love the PSP game, but seeing as I already got that version, and that after playing the trial version, there is nothing the persuade me to spend 1800 points on a game I pretty much already own.

    No denying that it's a great deal on the face of it tough, but after playing both versions though I can say with all honesty that Lumines feels infintely more suitable on the PSP for some reason. So I would recommend to anyone who hasn't got it and already owns a PSP to get it the handheld version. If you haven't got a PSP though, then the Live Arcade version is still definite a must buy especially at that price. Although the idea of charging for the other modes really stinks. I would say just get the base and then the extra 20 skins and forget about the other rip-off stuff.
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/06 @ 17:12

  • Salvia #17 5 years ago

    And so it begins... (dramatic music)
    MS have always been in favour of constant revenue streams so this shouldn't be much of a surprise.
    Fear for the future of games if MS do become the dominant force in gaming especially seeing as EA seem to want to go down this route.
    Just imagine a world where there's only MS and EA running the whole show...

  • AFX #18 5 years ago

    2 days after release? I bought this yesterday after work which was one day after release... unlocked 15 new skins with it on my first go. Sadly only 5 to go... I'm sure the PSP one had more for the main challenge mode.
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/06 @ 19:19

  • Hughes. #19 5 years ago

    I bought the mobile phone version of the game for 99p the other day (on the 3 network). It has a better selection of modes than the PSP version and the music, whilst not proper music, is of remarkable quality for a mobile phone game and each is recognisable from the original game, it's aslo even more portable than the PSP one, because as much as I love my PSP, it doesn't travel as far and wide as my ever-present phone does.

    If you're really desperate to play a puzzle game online though, good luck to you. Caveat emptor, and all that crap.

    Oh, and Lumines 2 is due for release in just under a month, £17.99 at most online outlets, I'll leave you to do your own conversions to MS points, value fans.

  • McGeeza #20 5 years ago

    @ Wizballs

    Damn good point. Hexic works well where you can exit a game and it is stored in memory. Next time you play it asks if you want to continue your exited game or start a new one. Too much to ask though I guess...

  • EmiliasHorse #21 5 years ago

    The online scoreboards need to be increased to show everyone's position not just the elites. I am not now or never will be good enough to appear in the current rankings list. I am not worried about this at all but to know that I was ranked 50,000 would give me something to beat. As it stands I have no idea how good I am in relation to others except the best who are so much better.

    If there is a way to find out your current world ranking please tell me.

    Oh and 1200 + 600 + 600 for a game that sells for £10-5 in most shops on PSP is more than a bit stingy. I like the idea of episodic gaming (Sam and Max etc.) but this is just pants.

  • Poorandugly #22 5 years ago

    Yes, but you are still buying it. Stop buying it and vote with your...

    Never mind.

    /Buys it.

  • Gl3n #23 5 years ago

    While i think that they've clearly marketed this badly, i've gone and bought the base. It's just *fun* and i've only played the mobile version before this, which was a lot less challenging and colourful.
    If they had released a 'full' game with all the packs included i might be less inclined to invest, as presumably they'd want more money for that. The 12 challenge skins are more than enough for me to play around with for the time being.