Whilst the DS has become the poster child of the handheld gaming revolution, Sony have being growing a strong line up of games for their less popular handheld. One of the rising stars of these games is a little puzzler called Lumines. With Sony keen to push the graphical performance of the PSP it is something of a surprise that they should hit it so big with a simple puzzle game. But there seems to be something about handheld gaming and puzzle action that goes together, ever since the release of the original Gameboy and Tetris back in the 90’s.

Lumines II is a follow up to the original game that takes that pure concept and develops it in a few new directions. Although a lot of the action will be familiar from the previous game, another helping of Lumines unique mix between rhythm action and brain stretching action is more than welcome. Again we have the crystal clear visuals combined with the focus and single purposed gameplay that made the original such a stand out title.

If you have played the first game, you will quickly be up and running with the follow up. If you somehow missed out on the first one here’s a little refresher: coloured boxes (consisting of four smaller squares) drop from the top of the screen. You need to spin and position these to make single-coloured two-by-two blocks. Once the music bar scrolls across the screen to your constructed colour blocks they are then erased. This is then enhanced by the introduction of a flashing piece that can be used to complete any coloured block. Once you run out of space in the screen and have blocks up to the top, it’s the end of the game. It may sound pretty basic, but as with most puzzle games it is this simplicity that is its genius.

In addition to the first game’s single player games you now have an additional time attack. The older games have also had something of a facelift to ensure they fit in with the new sleeker Lumines aesthetic. Unlockable skins and music are of course features again, and make replaying levels much more appealing. The challenge mode has also been broken into three different difficulty levels which again adds last-ability. Finally, mission mode provides a series of specific timed challenges ranging from clearing the screen to clearing a certain amount of blocks.

This single player action is then bolstered by a competent multi-player versus mode. Although this isn’t a million miles away from the first game, it is a welcome inclusion and leads to many heated puzzle-offs. It is a shame that each player needs a copy of the game to compete, but overall it is well worth the investment simply because playing Lumines 2 against other people is so much fun.

This largely sums up what Lumines 2 brings to the table, but it would be a mistake to consider it a simple rehash of an old classic. There is something intangible about this follow up that mean it really does amount to more than the sum of its parts. The slight graphical tweaks and the updated music bring the game bang up to date and should engage a whole new generation. When you really get into a good long session with Lumines there is absolutely nothing like it. As the blocks and music coalesce the game turns from a stop start puzzler to a frantic rhythm action game that is all about the music and the beat bar. The depth of experience that this simple game is able to deliver has to be played to be believed.

Even if you own the first Lumines outing then there is plenty here to enjoy. If you didn’t get around to buying the first version, then you are in for a treat. The first Lumines won the crown as the definitive PSP puzzle game, and this follow up re-enforces the fact that no-one else better understands what a PSP puzzler should deliver.

Sweet
– More Lumines action
– Updated visuals and music
– New play modes

Sticky
– Similar puzzle action to first game
– No game sharing for multiplayer