19
Oct
2006
Welcome back, beautiful! We missed you.
So at around 10:30 last night, Xbox Live finally caved in to my demands and allowed me to give them money and download Lumines Live. As you're probably aware, the base game runs 1200 points ($15), and there is already an expansion available (22 additional skins for 600 points/$7.50), and several more are planned. It's expensive for an arcade title, but I don't really care. I played it to death on the PSP, and I still love it and it was worth every penny. So there.
So how did the game turn out? As good as I could have hoped, really. Gameplay is spot on, and the game is perfectly playable using the 360's analog stick (as opposed to the craptastic d-pad). The base skins are decent; most are remixed skins from the original Lumines, with a few tossed in that I don't recognize. Graphics are sharp, audio is high quality...everything feels just right. The Lumines experience is definitely here in full force.
I also picked up the Advance pack (the aforementioned expansion), and I must say that I much prefer the skins it comes with to the base pack. Unlike the base, most of the skins here are new, with only a handful returning from the first game. Definitely worth the additional points.
What surprised me is the fact that I remember how to play. Since downloading the game, I've only managed to squeeze two games in: one in base mode and one in advance. The problem is that my games are averaging two hours in length. Sitting down for a "quick game" probably involves blowing my evening. Oh well. It's a game that I've always enjoyed killing a few hours with.
18
Oct
2006
Regardless of what Major Nelson might tell you, someone borked something during yesterday's Xbox Live maintenance, because at some point around 4:30 AM CST, everything died. This is only disappointing because they finally got around to releasing Lumines Live today, and I was hoping to sneak in a game or two before work. Oh well.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent is available today, too. I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to pick that one up. I downloaded the demo, but never got around to playing it. Knowing me, I'll probably cave. IGN seems to like it.