Lumines Mobile Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 13 June, 2006

Shining.

Version tested: Mobile

Lumines on PSP was almost universally revered. Almost, but not quite. For some people, it was simply too much to spend upwards of half an hour going through the early levels over and over again to get back to the bit that beat them.

We can sympathise if you felt that way. We can sympathise, but we're not going to. You are fourth rate humans.

Anyway, there's no need for us to sympathise because it turns out Q Entertainment and mobile developer Gameloft already do. And with Lumines Mobile, available now for virtually every handset that could conceivably run it, it has tried to solve that niggling issue by including a raft of new, shorter modes alongside the traditional, brilliant long-form one.

Lumines - in case you've missed out on all the hype - is a falling-blocks puzzle game played on a grid 16 squares wide and ten tall (something the mobile version maintains, too). There are two different types of block - red and white - and your goal is to create squares or rectangles of the same coloured blocks, which are then removed from the play area each time a vertical line sweeps across.

Coupled with some lovely electronic music and added to by little gem blocks, which allow you to delete all of the same-coloured blocks they're connected to when you make them part of a square or rectangle, it's ludicrously compulsive gaming. It takes a bit longer than Tetris to 'get', but it outlasts virtually all other pretenders. Unless of course you're a fourth rate human.

'Lumines Mobile' Screenshot 1

The backgrounds are vibrant and colourful, even if they're a bit hard to make out.

In which case there are those new modes, and they help place Lumines Mobile, which would have been marvellous without them, in the top ranks of mobile phone games.

There are several. Arcade mode splits the game into ten stages, each comprised of a couple or more smaller levels set on a different "skin" (a level with a particular background and musical element), with the occasional "boss" stage. Here you and the CPU play on the same screen separated by a vertical divider, and the idea is to delete blocks quickly to push that line away from you and force the opposing player to work in cramped conditions, under greater pressure.

There's also a Vs. CPU mode, which is like the boss stages, and would have, we expect, formed the basis of an excellent multiplayer mode - although sadly Lumines Mobile doesn't offer that.

Not content with those alone, Lumines Mobile also offers the traditional single-skin mode (for playing any of your unlocked skins - i.e. levels), a shuffle mode (unlocked through Arcade progress, allowing you to play the normal long-form game but randomly alternating between skins), and a puzzle mode, where you try and match the shapes shown on the screen with your block constructions. That one's quite hard, actually, and I spent more time on the other modes as a result (being a third rate human myself).

'Lumines Mobile' Screenshot 2

The boss levels offer a different kind of challenge.

Of course none of this would mean anything if Lumines didn't basically work on a mobile phone, and the good news is that it does. I played through it on a Nokia 6230i, which is hardly space-age next to some of the cancer-spreading monstrosities people keep whipping out next to me on the Tube, and although the graphics sometimes struggle to keep up with rapid button presses the game never misses any of your input. This is critical, because it enables the kind of lightning fast block-positioning the game needs. It also helps that the controls are simple - 4 to move left, 6 to move right, 8 to move blocks quickly down, and 2 and 5 to rotate them. If you have a d-pad, it's even easier, and you ought to be able to play two-handed, which is a definite plus.

The only thing that's a bit of a shame - and it's a real shame actually - is that the music isn't better. Unlike Lumines PSP, it doesn't seem to react to you, there are scant sound effects to go with it, and the whole thing is basically delivered through midi files, which might sound alright as background music on a Geocities fan site but don't really inspire you to get your headphones out.

Fortunately, you probably won't mind too much - not only is this Lumines on a mobile phone with new modes, it's Lumines on a mobile phone with new gameplay features. In many respects, it feels like a sequel.

'Lumines Mobile' Screenshot 3

The little indicator at the bottom of the arcade levels gives you an idea of how far you've got to go.

Because while Lumines had two colours and gem blocks, Lumines Mobile has a third colour, introduced after a few rounds of Arcade, as well as differently shaped groups of blocks. You can have Tetris-style S-shapes and three-long rectangles to deal with, and they make a big difference to how you play and the patterns you need to spot. There are explosive blocks, which take out all the blocks along the same vertical and horizontal axis, and neutral-colour blocks you too. These things, more than anything, ought to endear it to fans of the PSP game anew - and with the PSP sequel still a few months off and no sign of Lumines Live for Xbox 360 either, this could be the only way you get to experience this stuff for some time.

Good thing then that there's virtually no sitting on the fence about it. Lumines Mobile costs three euro. That's THREE EURO. Why it isn't THREE EUROS is something my single-currency chums haven't explained to me convincingly but I'm willing to let it go. The point is, it really is ridiculously cheap. It might not look or sound quite as nice as the PSP version, but there's more content here than you usually get in full-price handheld console games - and just as much love too.

Some caveats snuck in there, then, but hopefully nothing that'll put you off. And if by some chance the fence hasn't shattered beneath your anticipatory buttock-rumble, look at it this way: I've got every DS and PSP game imaginable, and I'm quite happy to sit here and play Lumines Mobile instead.

9 / 10

Lumines Mobile is available now from www.gameloft.com/lumines-mobile for the frankly ridiculous price of €3.

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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 (51) Latest comment 6 years ago

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

  • Lawlost #1 6 years ago

    I love Lumines on the PSP. Looks like they have done a great job converting it for mobiles. Buy it now.
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/06 @ 07:57

  • Ainudil #2 6 years ago

    Damn it boys, you are out of touch.

    Mobile gaming is fun, engaging and actually better than it ever has been. Mobile gaming is like Xbox Live Arcade - but you can take it anywhere.

    Got an J2ME phone? Welcome to mobile gaming. As simple as that.
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/06 @ 08:14

  • lambtron #3 6 years ago

    hmm.

    /Is still not convinced but sees the potential

  • trevd72 #4 6 years ago

    remember, the last game to get 9/10 on here was the shambles that is sensible soccer2006.....is it really worth 3euro. ( just incase, i am being sarcy as I am still pissed off with the piss poor review for SS2006)

  • Max_Powers #5 6 years ago

    Ok, so this is the first mobile game I've EVER downloaded because I love Lumines. Otherwise I would never consider playing a game on my mobile, as Disc rightly points out. The quality of mobile games on the whole seems utter crap mostly.

    I'm very curious how it plays out. At EU 3.3 you can't really go wrong either can you?

  • Machiavel #6 6 years ago

    It's great - the arcade levels are perfect for a quick 5 minute session and the endless mode is perfect for when you really want to run your mobile batteries down to zero.

    My only misery - snapping this up from Vodafone live at a price CONSIDERABLY MORE EXTORTIONATE than 3 euros :(

  • TheEnd #7 6 years ago

    I've been playing the hell out of this ever since it was released on my w900i. It really is the best mobile game I've played.

  • jlaakso #8 6 years ago

    This is the only mobile phone game I've come back to for several days. So worth the price. Playing it on a lo-spec Nokia 3220.

  • jack_klugman #9 6 years ago

    Hurrah! The first game I have ever bought for my mobie.

  • Xerx3s #10 6 years ago

    Lumines Mobile is available now from http://www.gam eloft.com/lumines-mobile for the frankly ridiculous price of €3.

    Perhaps this is an indication of what the XBLa price will be.

  • Scurrminator #11 6 years ago

    well if you go to the gameloft site you can get it for 3 euro instead of the rip off your operator will charge you.

    If someone has it they can bluetooth the file to you i think?

    or there are some sites...

  • Mr_Whacker #12 6 years ago

    Mobile gaming is great. Playing games on crappy phone handsets is not. Haven't you heard of DS?

  • Scurrminator #13 6 years ago

    Yeah but lumines isn't out on the DS is it!
    Besides it's good fun for what it is, 3 quid compared to 30 quid is great value.

  • tonynibbles #14 6 years ago

    Lumines 'Mobile'

    So, Lumines PSP gets same score as Lumines 'Mobile'.

    I'd rather take the version of Lumines 'Mobile' with the LCD nice widescreen with decent colours and sound, thanks...

  • The_Aardvark #15 6 years ago

    Tony - I'll take the version for a tenth of the price, with a whole hunk of new content.

    I've been ranting about this for ages and I will continue to do so until everyone in the whole world has downloaded this.

    NB - you can get this direct for three euros even if buying it through your operator would cost more.

  • el_pollo_diablo #16 6 years ago

    So really.

    Who plays games on their phone?

    I do - on the bus and on the bog at work. I can heartily recommend Worms Golf and Block Breaker (Gameloft) as 5 minute fillers.

  • afray #17 6 years ago

    the gameloft url isn't working for me. Can anyone get on there?

    And you can't bluetooth mobile apps/games, Scurrminator.

  • el_pollo_diablo #18 6 years ago

    afray:

    1. It's working for me, but you need java installed, and
    2. yes you can I'm afraid.

  • afray #19 6 years ago

    "2. yes you can I'm afraid."

    Grr, well you shouldn't.

  • lambtron #20 6 years ago

    Tony is just angry because Lumines is the only thing worth playing on the PSP and now its not a platfom exclusive ^_^.

    And BEFORE you start labelling me a DS fanboy, I own a PSP and I do not own a DS. I'm just pissed off with the lack of games on it (couldn't care less about things like Daxter and Syphon Filter). Seriously if it wasn't for the fact that MGS:portable ops is on the horizon I would probably sell the damn thing.

  • El_MUERkO #21 6 years ago

    my psp just /nelsond'd my crummy old phone

  • Ignatius_Cheese #22 6 years ago

    My mobile phone is like that TOP DOWG! yet it doesn't have a compatible version yet... That or my network isn't playing ball with them (and they are turbo shit...)

  • nickthegun #23 6 years ago

    There sure are a lot of people who dont understand the point of mobile 'mobile' gaming.

    "I'd rather use my ds/psp...blah blah blah"

    The point is that when you leave school, you cant take you DS/PSP with you everywhere. As convergence is happening I carry a mobilegaming unit, a decent quality digital camera and a phone in my pocket without ruining the line of my suit trousers.

    Yes, I know that individual units do their respective jobs better, but the mobile phone has advanced to the point where it can do their jobs competently.

    For many moment of my life a quick 5 minute blast on Ancient Empires is far, far more convinient for me than whipping a PSP or DS out every 5 minutes.

    If you genuinely dont understand whats great about mobile gaming, then to be honest, you are very small minded.

    And from a pure vanity point of view, if im waiting outside a changing room for the Mrs in TopShop, you look significantly less spasticated playing on a mobile than pulling out a DS. Its not a great look for the laydeez.......

  • THATinkjar #24 6 years ago

    Getting a new phone (Sony w800i) tomorrow, and I'll be getting this soon after. It'll be the first mobile game I've ever bought. It just looks great! I'll have MP3s, camera and games on something that truly fits in my pocket.

    Yay :)

  • lambtron #25 6 years ago

    Heh - what would you missus think if she knew you're trying to attract girls while she's doing the shopping ;).

  • afray #26 6 years ago

    1. It's working for me, but you need java installed

    Ding. Updated my runtime to Java5 and Spanky's your mother's lover.
    Cheers!

  • mingster #27 6 years ago

    I recommend 'midnight poker' for mobile phones..
    best texas holdem game i've seen

  • Kay #28 6 years ago

    Tried this last week, and...it was crap. Really. All the soul seems to have been sucked out of the PSP version, with laggy controls, dodgy frame-rate and rubbish MIDI versions of the PSP music.

    I guess it's playable compared to other mobile phone games, but I've played far better on a mobile phone. The idea also works well, and for about £3, it's not that bad. It's just that it completely destroys the whole point and beauty of what Lumines is about. Without the glorious sound and beatiful skins, it's just an average puzzle game.

    K

  • #29 6 years ago

    As convergence is happening

    uh, says who?

    All the evidence suggests that things like DVD playback on PS2, Blu-ray on PS3 and Live on XBOX are features not necessarily convergence.

    In-fact, if you want to look at a recent convergence failure, look no further than PSP movies - the "walkman of the 21st Century" - which already has UMD video dropped from it's line.

    If you want to look at true convergence look no further than Sony's failed PSX 'project' in japan. Even Sony knew they were onto a loser and quickly dropped it from manufacture.

  • king_skins #30 6 years ago

    Xerx3s: Perhaps this is an indication of what the XBLA price will be.

    The leaked Xbox360 release sheet its down as 1200 points. And I think its an enhanced Lumines 2 from what I have seen/read, with the extra colours and music videos in the background.

  • nickthegun #31 6 years ago

    "As convergence is happening

    uh, says who?

    Uh, says me. I have a device in my pocket that is capable of 4 distinct functions and is a worthy alternative to at least 4 devices (Radio, MP3 player, Gaming, Camera).

    I know this is a gaming site, but if you looked further than the nose on your face you would see it happening all around you.

    For example, I dont miss world cup games anymore because I can get BBC sport on my PC. I use Skype because my broadband connection makes it cheaper than my landline. There are plenty of examples in the gaming world too, if that would suit you better. I can watch or listen to my media collection streamed straight from my PC to my 360 and the PSP you quickly dismissed? Well the UMD might have been a failure, but the ability to rip 4 dvds to a two GB memory card, plus plenty of MP3s and photos has seen my PSP turn into a pretty versatile media device, rendering an MP3 or seperate MP4 player redundant. Plus a basic web connectivity can replace small scale need for laptops or PDAs

    So, yeah, people no longer want 4 devices when they can do it with one. I'd call that convergence. But if you have got one of those new fangled 'English for Retards' dictionaries that says 'Convergence doesnt happen if there are a small number of niche incidents when compared to the overwhelming sociological shift', then we need to get you an Oxford English version, STAT.

  • afray #32 6 years ago

    But if you have got one of those new fangled 'English for Retards' dictionaries that says 'Convergence doesnt happen if there are a small number of niche incidents when compared to the overwhelming sociological shift', then we need to get you an Oxford English version, STAT.

    lol

  • ilmaestro #33 6 years ago

    Hmm, may have to consider this even though, er, I may never get any work done again.

  • Jules72 #34 6 years ago

    Pocket Gamer gave it 6/10:

    http://ww w.pocketgamer.co.uk/review.asp?...

  • #35 6 years ago

    nickethegun -

    I have a device in my pocket that is capable of 4 distinct functions and is a worthy alternative to at least 4 devices

    And this device is? Pray, tell so we can all make a judgement as to whether it's "worthy" or not.

    I dont miss world cup games anymore because I can get BBC sport on my PC. I use Skype because my broadband connection makes it cheaper than my landline.

    All those instances you cite are pretty niche. You use your PC for BBC sport - others would use a DVD recorder or a Tivo like device.

    ipods are mainstream - it does one function and does it well. Compare this to any number of "convergent" devices that are not mainstream. You think there might be reason for this? Like not everyone is a geek like you?

    [/i]Plus a basic web connectivity can replace small scale need for laptops or PDAs[/i]

    So does your "basic web connectivity" replace the need for your laptop? Again vaule?

    So yeah - convergence is happening in your little world.

    Yeah! Except for stupid geeks like you who prob spend a disproportionate amount of money on things normal people derive very little value from! And - judging from your attack - someone who needs to get out and socialise a bit more.
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/06 @ 12:08

  • fkh #36 6 years ago

    Kyrie Eleison
    Lumines Mobile
    Ah-ah-ah-men

  • PinkSpider #37 6 years ago

    I have this. For a phone game it is rather spiffy, good for toilet breaks etc.

  • Zero_ #38 6 years ago

    "Pocket Gamer gave it 6/10: "

    Same Pocket Gamer who made me think a review of an old classic was more boring than my 6 year old brother secreting faeces?
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/06 @ 12:40

  • Scurrminator #39 6 years ago

    im glad some of you guys dont post inb the forum much, like mrT.
    Yeah a mobile phone with an mp3 player, decent camera etc is way out of everyones price range...oh wait...most people have them you say?
    But convergence isn't happening oh nooooooooo(es)!
    a phone with all these is easier to carry in the summer than my ipod and psp and ds and digi cam. You know, when i'm out enjoying my social life mr T.

  • nickthegun #40 6 years ago

    Well, Ive got a Sony-Ericsson K750i, if you must know. Its got a 2mp camera, full java capabilities, a radio, organiser and is a good mp3 player. It accepts Memory card Duo's, of which ive got an adequate 512mb in it.

    Since im not david bailey, the 2mp camera is adequate for what I need and the MP3 player sounds good and is fully functional, so, yeah, I would say that its "worthy".

    And No, being able to connect to the web doesnt replace the need for a laptop. But it replaces the need to take one everywhere. Thanks to my PSP I was able to just take that and a digicam on holiday rather than a lappy. I checked my shots on the PSP and kept in touch with family. It was an ideal solution as I was strapped for luggage space.

    I dont really know what your point was about the Ipod. The issue we are talking about doesnt have to pervade every facet of your life for it to be real. The Ipod got to the top by being a fashion item, not even the best product in its field, so I dont really know what you are getting at.

    And to be honest with you, I dont know how many people you have alienated with the "Stupid Geeks" crack, but if you would pull your head out of your ass for a few minutes, you would realise that what was once the domain of a heady band of nerds is now mainstream. I mean, you say that the things I mentioned are niche. I seriously think its time you stopped using your 'English for Retards' because Skype is hugely popular all over the world and the internet virtually melted when BBC started streaming footy games.

    You clearly dont know about the subject on which you are arguing, so I will leave you with this piece of advice:

    Quit living in the past.....contemporise, man!


    Edited by 1 at 13/06/06 @ 13:00

  • mingster #41 6 years ago

    try telling Kodak or Fuji or Nikon that convergence isn't happening and is only the preserve of 'geeks'. They will wish you were speaking the truth.. except you aren't.
    Convergence is here to stay get over it..

  • Jules72 #42 6 years ago

    Hey, your six-year old brother probably enjoys it. Simple times. :)

  • kangarootoo #43 6 years ago

    @disc

    "So really.

    Who plays games on their phone?"

    When a person asks that kind of question, I just hear the sound of money dropping into someone else's piggy bank. The answer of course, is "everyone else" and they are millions strong.

    Does anyone here think this would have been released if they weren't sure there was a market for it? The mobile phone game market is getting bigger all the time, and is a shit load safer an investment for a capital company than the standard games market because of its low price/high volume model.

  • zErOb_cOOl #44 6 years ago

    I really want this!.....but when I go to order it from gameloft my phone doesn't appear on the list of compatible handsets. Its a Nokia 3230. Ok not the best phone ever, but it is a symbian and java enabled phone, so I don't see why it isn't compatible.

  • kangarootoo #45 6 years ago

    @disc

    "You're comparing a Nikon camera to a mobile phone?
    Are you insane? "

    You aren't comparing apples with apples here, and I don't think you are getting mingster's point. Its not about comparing technologies like for like, its about comparing markets and the needs of the customer.

    If you compare a Nikon camera to a mobile purely on tech, of course they aren't the same. But Nikon and Fuji are well aware (even if you aren't) that from the customer's point of view the mobile will do the job just fine for their needs. This puts their business at risk unless they adapt and both companies are doing just that.

    That is what convergence is really about, not replacing several tools with a single item that is "technically as good", but replacing them all with a tool that is more appealing to most users and is therefore a better alternative when they go shopping.

  • nickthegun #46 6 years ago

    Its all about convinience, Disc.

    Are you comparing an MP3 to a CD?
    Insane.

    On the surface yes. But a non-physical format that is more expensive and worse sound quality than a CD is now the best selling music format. Why? Obviously not because it sounds better. Its because clicking 'Download' on Itunes is easier than going into woolies.

    Myself and others arent suggesting that a mobile will ever be better than a Cybershot or an Ipod, we are suggesting that people will use them because its more convinient.

    You hear that whooshing sound? Its the point flying right over your head.
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/06 @ 13:52

  • aine #47 6 years ago

    Yeah but lumines isn't out on the DS is it!

    cough

  • geepersd #48 6 years ago

    not a big fan of mobile games, but this is suberbly playable on a little phone nubbin joystick and v.responsive. bargain

  • TheEnd #49 6 years ago

    wush: The classic modes are still in there. The main mode is just better suited to mobile play. I had a game on shuffle classic that lasted 90 minutes last night...

  • xandoodle #50 6 years ago

    This is possibly the best mobile game I have ever played.

    Along with Ancient Empires. Wow.

  • Miata #51 6 years ago

    On the basis of this review I bought the game last Friday and enjoyed it very much. Great time-killer.