getting a lot of play on the PSP lately, thanks in part to the success of
Lumines. Luxor: The Wrath of Set wants to carve its own niche in this
mainstream market. The game is a mixture of previous ideas, combining
Bust-A-Move with a winding (and sometimes circular) course. Balls shoot out
from one end of the screen, following the path before them. Balls are
connected but can be broken up and slowed down through elimination. Eliminate
every ball to win. Let one slip by and it’ll cost you the game.
Puzzles are no bigger than
the size of the PSP’s screen and make fair use of the extra space provided by
its wide display. The controls are as straightforward as you can get: press X
to fire balls from your winged scarab, which is controlled using the D-pad or
analog stick. A "winged scarab," for those of you who don’t know Luxor lingo,
is a small platform that can be scrolled across the bottom of the screen. It’s
like Arkanoid’s control scheme, but instead of having the ability to bounce or
catch balls, you may shoot them straight up.
Balls react just as they
do in Bust-A-Move, minus the chance for drop offs. They move along the course
like a series of connected train cars. If you were to pick off one of the
train cars, what would happen? There’d be a gap in the middle. The engine
would keep the front cars going, but the back cars would slowly taper off.
That’s not exactly how
this game works, but you do get a break for eliminating balls. The gap causes
the ball cluster — now split in two — to pause. It only takes three of the
same color to create an elimination. If you have two blue balls with another
color (let’s say green) on one side, and a third color (red) on the other –
and you shoot the two blue balls with another blue ball — the separation will
occur as described. You’ll get a second to recover and plan your next move.
However, if the blue
balls have two green balls on one side, and another green on the other, that’s
enough for those three balls to be eliminated as well. The green balls – and
all others attached – will snap together upon the blue balls’ elimination. The
cluster will be back together as one, but you’ll have eliminated additional
balls – and created a combo, which earns more points – in the process.
You can repeat this by
planning out your moves and by forming several pairs (no more than two of the
same color attached until you’re ready to start the combo chain).
In story mode (yes, it
seems every game – even a puzzler – must have one), you play through each of
the 20+ levels that span 100+ stages. Levels are circular, square,
rectangular, oval – pretty much any winding path that can be formed on the
PSP’s screen.
Stages are generally won
by eliminating three separate ball sets. The first balls you see — they’re
from set number one. You have a decent amount of time to get rid of them, but
some of the more curvaceous levels will inevitably prevent you from doing so
quickly. If the game goes on for too long (and the balls haven’t reached the
exit, which is an automatic game over), the next ball set will come in.
The additional ball set
— which can’t be connected to the first for combos – could’ve made Luxor a
very challenging or frustrating (or both) puzzle game. But the game isn’t
cheap. In fact, it almost plays too fairly. In pretty much every puzzle game
I’ve played, the objects (balls, blocks, etc.) are delivered at random. The
random system is sometimes effective but mostly comes across as being cheap.
In Luxor, when you get
down to the final two colors in a cluster, the game will not complicate the
situation by throwing in a third. Only one of those two colors will appear in
your winged scarab.
Technically this means
that Luxor is the least cheap of all puzzle games. It unfortunately also means
that the game is very easy.
The 20+ levels and 100+
stages consist of a small group of puzzle layouts that are repeated to extend
the game’s length. Surprisingly, the game is fun all the way through. But it
feels short and shallow, and because of its predictable challenges, doesn’t
have that much replay value. Two other modes – endless and practice – are
other options to keep you busy. But again, it’s just the same experience
repeated until you lose, or until you get sick of playing.
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Gameplay: 6
Bust-A-Move with
balls on a linear path. Shoot them as they move through the course, and
eliminate the pack before it reaches the end. Explosion and lightning balls
help reduce clutter, while wild balls connect and eliminate any two balls they
touch. Fun for a while but lacking in replay value, Luxor is a good puzzler
that doesn’t last.
Graphics: 3
What’d you
expect? Luxor is a 2D puzzler that does not use an ounce of the PSP’s power.
This game could’ve been made for Game Boy Advance, if not Game Boy Color.
Sound: 5
Nothing
memorable. Nothing that hasn’t been heard in other puzzle games.
Difficulty: Easy
Exceptions aside,
puzzle games are either too difficult or too easy. Luxor falls in the latter
category. It’s better than being cheap but the weak difficulty does hurt the
replay value.
Concept: 7
An interesting
idea that has previously appeared in several other forms.
Overall: 6
At $20, Luxor
isn’t a bad buy for the casual puzzle fan who enjoys games in small intervals.
All others should look elsewhere.
