Lumines [PSP]

With every new system comes a new puzzle game. That should be the rule, anyway, if only to increase the chances that we'd see more games like Lumines. This block challenge should be a mandatory PSP release for anyone not afraid of puzzle gameplay and electronic music. Lumines uses enough familiar elements to draw players in, and levies enough innovation to be instantly addictive.

It looks so simple. Colored blocks fall in 4x4 clumps. There are only two colors, and the object is to create 4x4 cubes of the same color. These are cleared from the screen, Tetris-style. A preview in the upper left shows what's coming next, and linking more than one cube of the same color creates a combo, for which bonus points are awarded. On rare occasions, a falling block will contain a jewel. If, for instance, a bejeweled orange block becomes part of a four by four, all adjacent orange blocks will be cleared.

So far, so familiar. One thing makes Lumines unique: the scrolling bar which continually pans across the playing field like a timekeeping staff. This little device does several things: it clears block groups; it defines the pace at which the game moves; and in doing so, it reinforces the musical theme of the game. The clearing function is obviously the most important, as no groups will leave the screen until the staff passes over them. This is huge, because by timing things right, screen-clearing combos become possible.

As in Tetris, it's possible to hasten the descent of falling blocks. But that's not always wise, and anyone who plays Lumines with a fast-paced mentality won't get very far. Dropping a block just as the staff passes over it can destroy a well-built move meant to clear most of the board, instead leaving you with a total mess. As the game progresses, blocks fall faster but the bar moves ever more slowly. That means huge moves are possible, but that success requires more than simply reacting to the current piece in motion. As soon as the complexities become apparent, Lumines' devilish character is clear.

That's where the music comes in. The constant beat, in conjunction with the moving staff, gives players something to work with besides the rain of blocks. Watch a good player, and they'll be moving with the music, bobbing and tapping as they play with the music. The rolling pace and musical style of play are reinforced by stellar sound design. Not only is the game set to a wide variety of electronic, techno and even traditional-sounding Japanese music, the sounds of moving and placing blocks themselves are musical. Simply rotating a block in motion may create a drumbeat or woodblock sound, and the rhythm becomes infectious, creating a trace where you think you'll play forever.

That straightforward but incredibly effective design makes impressive use of the fresh PSP hardware. While the sound emerging from the external speakers can be a hair tinny, plug in headphones and Lumines will suck you in. With a big pair of noise-reduction 'phones, forget about it. And while the graphics are by no means complex, the colors are wonderfully balanced to create a palette that's both welcoming and a bit alien. Every few "levels," the backgrounds, block colors, and music will change, each time adding a few more potentially distracting elements. Taken together, all the A/V elements are called a skin; once passed, a skin can be selected for play on its own.

The trend lately has been to offer a ceaseless stream of game modes within a high-profile puzzle title, but Lumines works quite well with only a handful of variants. In addition to the one-player mode, there's a puzzle mode that demands players create specific shapes out of a single block color. Some challenges are easy, like the small cross, while others become more difficult as they require planning and guts. Of course, there's also a time limit to each challenge.

The versus mode draws a line down the center of the screen; clearing blocks can push the line towards your opponent, reducing the amount of space they have to work with. It's a tug of war, but fortunes change quickly as the luck of the draw places more or less useful pieces in each player's hands. Possibly the greatest failing of Lumines is a lack of internet support for multiplayer games, so that players can only compete when in the same room.

The only other conceivable gripe against the title is the omission of a shuffle or remix mode. While most gamers could easily play for twenty or thirty levels, the more advanced screens, which contain some great music, will be off-limits. And playing the first few song selections over and over again (they're always presented in the same order) starts to grate.

Original, addictive, and mesmerizing, Lumines is good enough to make a case for the PSP all by itself.