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While Lumines II doesn’t improve much upon the puzzle formula of the first game, its still well worth a purchase. For those of you that think Lumines has been “tainted” with the inclusion of mainstream hits like the abysmal but catchy Hollaback Girl, don’t fret, because there’s a lot more here than just that. Outside of new music and skins, there’s a few added features found in the sequel. The one I had the most fun with was the built in music creator. Using this you can create your own beat and music to play to, and there are quite a few options to work with. It’s not exactly easy to use right off the bat, but the more you play around with the easier it’ll become. There’s also Mission Mode, which faces you off against 50 different challenges of varying difficulty. Puzzle mode also returns, which will have you dropping blocks to create a picture, and it’s a pretty fun way to pass the time. On top of this, you’ve got the regular single player mode (no longer capped at 999,999 points) and the Challenge mode broken into 4 different difficulties (with the last one being unlockable). Completing different modes will unlock more and more music/skins, and you’ll find a lot of catchy tunes to listen to outside of the mainstream stuff that’s been touted about in ads and message boards.
Rounding out all the play modes is the Duel Mode, which pits you against the CPU or another player (via Ad Hoc). Both players must have their own copy of the game, but you can also send a demo to another player. They’ve even tossed in a demo of Every Extend Extra (worth checking out too) and all together this feels like a pretty full game. If there were a problem to be found in Lumines II, it’d come from the lack of innovation when compared to the first one. Everything that made the first title great can be found here, but there’s not much, if anything, being improved along. The popular hit music ranges from decent to horrible, and the background music videos are more distracting than entertaining. Lumines II can definitely wear thin if you plan on sitting down and devoting hour after hour to some kind of long marathon gaming sessions. Like any good portable title, it’s meant to be played in short bursts, and that’s where you’ll get the most enjoyment out of this one. On the visual side, Lumines II contains every bit of style and appeal that the first title did. Colorful skins and blocks, flashy effects, stylish menus, you’ll find all of that here. Whether you’re an old Lumines pro, or a complete newcomer to the series, you really owe it to yourself to check this one out. It’s a fantastic way to pass the time, but don’t be expecting a brand new experience when compared to the original.
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