Lumines lights up PSPs

Ubisoft today announced that Lumines is now available in retail outlets for the PSP. The puzzle game was created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the man behind Rez and Space Channel 5, and was developed by his studio, Q Entertainment.

Lumines presents a familiar conundrum to fans of the puzzle genre. Basically, they must get rid of blocks by lining them up strategically. But in Lumines, blocks of like color must be arranged in rectangular shapes, and they are cleared from the screen by a timeline, which intermittently "wipes" the screen. As gamers progress through the game, not only do the blocks begin falling faster, but also the timeline slows down, making it harder to clear out blocks rapidly.

There are two gameplay modes: single- and multiplayer. The solo mode features several levels and various "skins" for the game's colorful backgrounds, as well as concentrates largely on amassing large chain reactions to get the highest possible score.

The versus mode, on the other hand, is eliminate-or-be-eliminated. Using the PSP's Wi-Fi functionality, players will match up on the same board, side by side. By clearing out blocks, gamers' respective shares of the screen will grow, while their opponents' shares shrink, in a tug-of-war over real estate.

Lumines is rated "E10+" for Everyone 10 and over and has an SRP of $39.99. Still puzzled over the game? Read GameSpot's full review to get your questions answered.