As vector-like throwing-star enemies corkscrewed towards me, I defended myself with a gun that made electronic clapping sounds. I fired the gun. Clap. I fired two quick shots. ClapClap. My applause aligned with the electronic beats spilling from the speakers. It was Korg-like synth-aesthesia, and almost immediately, I cared more about clapping in-time to the music than shooting back.
Rez HD surrounded me in a coordinated, sensory bombardment. The controller in my hand shook and bobbed with the beats while controllers under my feet and on my back vibrated a counter-tempo pattern. 5.1 surround-sound flew from all directions, and the neon-sharp HD game-world pulled me into its reality.
In my brief time with Rez HD, I decided that it wasn't a game as much as an experience. There's a game inside somewhere, but the title feels like a journey, rewarding meandering through levels instead of racing to the end. And even though it's a linear shooter, Rez HD hides a lot of exploration; I look forward to moving slowly through the game after its January 30 release.
PC users who haven't yet experienced Tetsuya Mizuguchi's rhythm-based puzzle game can finally enjoy the genre-straddling title from the comfort of their own computers. Wild Tangent and Q Entertainment have teamed up to offer a PC version of Lumines, as part of Wild Tangent's library of downloadable game offerings.
The PC version of Lumines -- which appears to be based on the PSP title Lumines II -- features multiple modes of play, a skin editing mode, and online score ranking. Players can buy the full game for $19.99 USD, pay on a per-play basis using Wild Tangent's subscription model, or play a free ad-supported version of the game.
Like everyone else, we're pretty sick of all the Second Life coverage; it seems like buying real estate in the massively multiplayer non-game is the modern, big-business equivalent of setting up a website for your dad's repair shop. Still, it's one thing when Mercedes sets up a virtual dealership, and a very different matter when Lumines and Rez's Tetsuya Mizuguchi decides to build a re-imagined Tokyo for the denizens of Linden Labs' mammoth world.
What makes Mizuguchi's Tokyo different than other architectural projects in Second Life is his intent in building the city. 1UP reports that rather than building an exact replica of the Japanese city, Mizuguchi wants to fashion his facsimile based on the perceptions of both locals and visitors. Speaking to 1UP, he states his hope that the project, which is a collaboration between himself and advertising firm Dentsu, can become a "museum of Japanese pop culture." We might need to dust off our Second Life avatars just to check it out when it launches.
Lumines Live! (that's the name, we're not shouting) debuted on Xbox Live Arcade last October in a fragmented state, chopped apart by the 50MB file size limit enforced at the time. With several of the game's modes offered as optional and costly additions, it quickly became the hideous poster child for monstrous microtransactions. If you still feel that way, look away before we discuss two new downloadable content packs, one of which is designed to save the Earth.
Q Entertainment has announced that purchases of the SOS Charity Campaign Pack made between June 27th and July 17th will go towards climate protection organizations and causes. A remix of "Heavenly Star", the embarrassingly catchy tune by Japanese group Genki Rockets, is included in the pack as a celebration of the group's upcoming appearance at Al Gore's Live Earth musical event. If you haven't heard the song yet, consider that Lumines and Rez designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi came up with it as an answer to the question, "What kind of song would a 17-year old girl from outer space who has never landed on Earth sing to those living on Earth?"
For 350 MS Points (a rather awkward $4 and 37 and a half cents), you'll also receive "House66" by Sugiurumn, "Cosmic Humming" by Muku and the excellent "4x4 Bricks" by Techriders. Joining the SOS Charity Campaign pack on June 27th is the Booster Pack, more suited to those happy to sit in front of the TV and rearrange squares while the world outside melts. The Booster Pack contains 20 additional skins and features a "must-see" collaboration between Lumines, "Bloomy Girls" and Japanese "visual artist/musician" Masakatsu Takagi. It'll set you back 600 MS Points, or $7.50 in your pre-apocalyptic Earth money.
CVG reports that Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Q Entertainment are set to unveil a new title for Xbox Live Arcade at this week's Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. Of course, the word "new" is relative when it comes to the Xbox 360's download service, leaving the door open for an enhanced version of Q's Every Extend Extra, released in November on PSP.
Whatever it ends up being (the reliable internet says: Rez!), you can likely expect catchy J-pop tunes, hypnotic lights, plummeting blocks and, with any luck, ludicrous amounts of unintentional gyration.
Lumines Live! (XBLA) On a big screen with surround sound, Q Entertainment's Lumines Live was easily the most-played game in my library (if you stretch the definition of library to digitally distributed titles). Although I railedagainst how microtransactions were implemented in this title and still think the extent to which they disclosed the dearth of features was misleading, both the Basic and Advanced Pack got more than enough play time, as did the multiplayer. It is the best Xbox Live Arcade title since Geometry Wars.
The Producers' Guild of America has recognized the achievements of Will Wright (The Sims), Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid), and Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez & Lumines), naming the three luminaries to the Guild's current list of 50 most innovative producers in the field of Digital Entertainment. Wright even landed in the number 5 position, besting big-name contributors like Google's Larry Page and Sergei Brin (#9), and YouTube's Chad Hurley and Chris Chen (#23). Kojima and Mizuguchi made the list at numbers 38 and 50 respectively.
Brain Age's Dr. Ryuta Kawashima also made the list, popping up -- surprisingly -- at number 16. Anyways, a round of applause for the 'three gaming gods' and the talking head. Congrats, gentlemen.
John Porcaro, Senior Group Manager in Microsoft's Global Games Marketing Team, has responded to the Lumines Live fallout on the official Gamerscore Blog. Porcaro admits that "when we said 'full version,' we didn't make what that meant clear enough." He also reveals that the VS CPU and Mission / Puzzle packs will be released in 2007, as well as an Artist Pack that features music video skins (pictured).
For those just tuning in, Lumines Live has been released on Xbox Live, but there's a catch. For 1200 MS points (that's $15 in old money), you receive 12 skins for the the basic version of the game, multiplayer, time attack mode, and samplers of VS CPU, Mission and Puzzle modes. Many of those who purchased the game (self included) were outraged by what was marketed as the "full version" of Q Entertainment's puzzler. Ultimately, it appears the full version of the game (Artist Pack notwithstanding) will cost gamers 3000 MS Points ($37.50), more than the cost of any retail version of Lumines.
Here's a query: how much more content was added by upgrading the demo to the $15 basic pack? We don't have a problem with the business model, but perhaps a lot of fury could have been avoided had Q Entertainment not charged (or charged much less) for the base pack and instead released that as the free sampler.
Despite our temperament, it is assuring to know that Microsoft is listening to the community.
Q Entertainment founder Tetsuya Mizuguchi spoke with IGN today to defend his choice to split Lumines Live into four pieces (Basic, Advanced, VS CPU, and Mission / Puzzle pack). He gives two reasons for the division: the 50 MB limit on XBLA title (understandable) and the customizable nature of the game (not understandable). Mizuguchi considers it the business model of the future.
When IGN presses him on the cost issue, Mizuguchi pauses. After IGN pushes on, Mizuguchi furthers his belief in the piece-wise business model. Theoretically, we don't mind the model so much as the price, and unfortunately IGN never gets Mizuguchi talking about the release date and pricing for the VS CPU and Mission / Puzzle pack.
So is Lumines holy like a saint or hole-y like swiss cheese? Q Entertainment still hasn't responded to our request on release date and pricing details. The Advanced Pack game is now on Xbox Live for 600 MS points ($7.50 USD).
About frackin' time news now, with the announcement that tomorrow's Xbox Live Arcade release is none other than Tetsuya Mizuguchi's plummeting block opus, Lumines Live!. Priced at 1200 MS Points ($15), the game features 12 different skins (or levels, for the uninitiated), 5.1 surround sound, online multiplayer, a bevy of single-player modes and a vaguely inspirational message transmitted through pulsating lights and spinning squares. So, what happened to all that stuff you had to buy seperately?
It's called the Advance Pack. An optional download costing 600 MS Points ($7.50) will add 22 more skins into the game -- and that's it. Considering the value of HD graphics and enhanced sound in a game which heavily relies on hypnotic presentation, $22.50 for a new Lumines title with 34 skins doesn't seem like a terrible deal, certainly not to those still addicted to the original game. Of course, not being able to play it on the bus may come as a significant loss to you, not to mention the curious fact that the main game has fewer skins than the add-on.
Stack blocks and defy sweeping timelines (if you're so inclined) on Xbox Live Arcade from Wednesday morning, 1:00AM PDT (0800 GMT). The full press release is embedded after the break.
[Update 1:Now includes interview with Mark Coates, program manager for Xbox Live Arcade.] [Update 2: The Advance Pack is nowhere to be seen. Major Nelson says it'll arrive at a "later date."]
The combined superpowers of Lumines' Q Entertainment and Kingdom Under Fire's Phantagram weren't enough to save the Microsoft-published Ninety-Nine Nights from a middling reception in Japan, the title's target audience. So, instead of taking their word for it, hit the Xbox Live Marketplace and download the all region, 587MB demo for yourself, no matter what country you're in (that means you too, Ludwig).
Of interest, this is the second demo that Microsoft has released on the day whose name shall not be spoken (pssst, that's Friday). The rationale was that if something goes wrong (we're looking at you Kong demo), there wouldn't be any Xbox Live minions on hand to yank the demo. So make sure you don't break anything while they're gone, k?
The latest issue of Game Informer (trust us, or buy/borrow/steal a copy) reports that Lumines II is almost identical to its acclaimed predecessor. The draw will be new unlockable skins, which, this time around, include licensed music videos from artists including Black Eyed Peas, Fatboy Slim, Hoobastank, and Missy Elliot. It's a risky deviation from the standard set in the original, as much of the sequel's soundtrack contains songs that were played out many seasons ago. Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" ... ? No thank you.
With all the technical intricacies of the PSP, one wonders why Lumines II isn't being sold, at least in addition to a full-fledged UMD release, as a downloadable utility (for Lumines), which in turn would give us access to an online store where we could purchase additional skins that include music videos -- or better, bundles that include multiple skins that need to be unlocked through gameplay. But this sounds eerily similar to another future puzzler we've heard of ... Lumines Live, anyone?
Buena Vista Game is pimping the Lumines franchise for all it's worth. Go 'head -- that's the business. It's just a shame that there's not more of a collective effort to exploit the potential of the PSP. Instead, we've got a near-identical sequel being hustled to us on UMD for $40.
... Okay, we're stepping down from the podium now ... here are the soundtrack details you're looking for ...
In our final interview from the Develop Conference, Jen and I had a quick chat with Tetsuya Mizuguchi from Q Entertainment (and Rez fame) about the problems western developers face in trying to tackle the Japanese market, Rez 2 (he regrets never making it) and the issue of games that are critically successful, but don't sell so well (Rez again).
Earlier on in your career you worked on titles like Sega Rally, Channel 5 and Rez. These are all very different genres and styles of game. What's inspired you to create such varied styles in your games?
I don't care about the genre. Somebody once told me that I'm "hopping genres", but I've never really cared about genres. I always think about the human being, the wants that I think people have. Their basic instinct. So my games speak a universal language, so everybody can feel what is fun.
Oh, death by alliteration can be most painful indeed. And yet, it's a risk worth taking when it comes to revealing new PSP and DS games from Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the creative, possibly insane game designer behind Space Channel 5 (and it's swinging sequel), Rez, Sega Rally and of course, the criminally addictive Lumines. Featuring heavy musical components that can often be influenced by the player, his recent titles have demonstrated a knack for style and an unusual ability to impart something vaguely resembling inspiration. If you've played through Space Channel 5, you'll know exactly what we mean.
Thankfully abandoning orcs and dynastic warriors for greener and more familiar portable pastures, Mizuguchi is now acting as executive producer on Gunpey-R, short for Gunpey Reverse. Based on an older Wonderswan game, Gunpey-R sees the player -- wait for it -- moving square panels up and down in an effort to create lines running from right to left. Success leads to panels vanishing as ooposed to killing you violently when they claw their way to the top of the screen. The PSP version will feature interactive "skins" (in the same vein as Lumines), whereas the DS version will play different sounds as each panel is cleared.
Namco Bandai is taking care of publishing duties in Japan, with American and European releases still unaccounted for. Given the success of Q Entertainment's previous games, it shouldn't take too long before everyone is pulled back into a mesmerizing music-and-rhythm marathon. With such a widespread appeal, music is most certainly a sound route to the home of that elusive casual gamer. See also:
The wisdom of releasing two Xbox 360 SKUs -- one with a hard drive and one without -- will be debated for years to come. Adding fuel to that constant flame will be things like this: highly anticipated games that require the Hard Drive. The Canadian Xbox.com page for Ninety-Nine Nights lists the Q Entertainment/Phantagram brawler as "Hard Drive Required." There's a couple potential explanations:It's the first one; see Update 2 below:
Some overzealous, click-happy Xbox.com worker bee got caught up in the moment and clicked one too many boxes. Oopsie.
The game actually does require a hard drive! The HDD-less Core system isn't even available in Japan so this requirement wouldn't have proven to be a burden for that audience ... that and the fact that not many folks are picking up 360s over there.
Seeing as how Microsoft obviously has a "Hard Drive Required" tag, we can logically deduce that some games are going to, in fact, require a hard drive. Problem is, why NNN? When the expansive Oblivion managed to get the deed done Core-style, why couldn't they?
We imagine Microsoft is reasonably sure that even those who did get stuck with a Core system due to holiday shortages have since outfitted it with the optional hard drive. But what about the gamers rocking 360s sans HDDs. Tough luck then?
[Update 1: The US Xbox.com page lists the vague requirement of "Storage Device" while the Canadian Xbox.com page still lists "Hard Drive Required."]
[Update 2: Microsoft blogger Cesar Menendez over at Gamerscore checked in with the Xbox.com production team and reports back, "It's true, you'll be able to play this game and hack down hordes of enemies, with or without a hard drive. As for the confusion: I checked with the Xbox.com production team on this one, and the site was listed with "hard drive required" incorrectly - now it's fixed." He's right, it's all better. Looks like potential explanation number one was the winner! Congratulations!]
CVG
