The mirror puzzle in Ocarina of Time's Spirit Temple was one of the most memorable in the game. Absolute Light Up offers brain-teasers that also focus on the manipulation of light by using mirrors and tubes. Some of these puzzles are fiendishly challenging, and therefore quite satisfying to complete. While not a technical showcase for the high-end Sony Ericsson S710, Light Up is nonetheless one of the best puzzle games available on mobile.
Each Light Up puzzle asks you to illuminate several points on a grid, using one or more beams of light. These variously hued rays must be focused and fragmented using mirrors, doubled-sided mirrors, or three types of periscopic tubes. Whenever one of these items is first introduced into your inventory, the game will provide you with a few facile levels that are meant to serve as tutorials. Light Up manages to maintain a high level of difficulty without alienating players, which is a hard line to walk.
The game's UI is simple to master. You select items from a sidebar inventory, and then place them where they're needed. The 7 and 9 keys rotate these items, so as to reflect and direct the light appropriately. When all the necessary points are lit, you'll progress to the next level. In many ways, the game's interface is similar to that of the old PC game The Incredible Machine.
Light Up doesn't feature any advanced lighting effects. That said, the game has a clean look, which is about all that's necessary. Light Up's sound is equally sparse, save for its opening theme, an involved calypso rhythm that seems to go on for ages.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again--puzzle games are great for mobile devices. Absolute Light Up is a more inventive puzzler than most, and should be considered by any fan of brain-teasers.
