QJ.NET reviews Luxor: Pharaoh’s Challenge

Casual gaming has a strange power in the way they’ll keep you playing for hours on end over a seemingly simple objective. The same can be said of MumboJumbo‘s Luxor: Pharaoh’s Challenge on the PSP, which gave use some new ideas on how to play with balls. Join us over at the full article as we give this game a quick play-through.

Have you ever looked at a box of cookies, and decided to nibble on a piece? Except, your nibble turned into one cookie, then a pair, then eventually a dozen. And before you knew it, youÂ’ve finished the whole box. Such was the situation I ran into when I got my hands on Luxor: PharaohÂ’s Challenge for the PSP.

This casual title will be on target for my reviews, as I give you guys a 411 on what to expect, and if it deserves a place in your constantly expanding gaming library.

Mechanics:

The game mechanics are pretty simple: You have to prevent a column of randomly colored spheres from reaching your pyramid. On your side, youÂ’ve got a golden scarab at the bottom of the screen firing randomly colored spheres; the layout’s pretty reminiscent of those old top-down shooters at the arcade. YouÂ’ll be using these spheres to destroy the column by lining up at least three matching colors in a row.

Helping you along are the presence of several power-ups which appear as two distinct groups: The first consists of effect spheres, which are fired from your scarab like your normal shots. Power-ups within this group include the Wild Ball, which obliterates all matching-colored spheres adjacent to either side wherever it lands, and the Lightning Bolt, which vaporizes anything that touches its beam.

The second group is geared for area effects. Some of the handier power-ups here include the Stop effect, which stops the columns temporarily for easier shots, and the Color Bomb, which destroys all balls onscreen that match its colors. If you’re really lucky, you might even run into the Scorpion, which races out of your pyramid and destroys any spheres it runs into.

You can also upgrade the effects of these power-ups as you accumulate points. For example: improving the Lightning Bolt will allow you to fire off more shots.

As you start racking up more points, you’ll also gain access to “Blessing.” The passive power-ups will grant you effect ranging from increased shot speed for your balls, to giving your a designator for better aimed shots. You can only have three blessings at a time, so you’ll want to plan ahead.

Gameplay:

There’s not really much to say when it comes down to visuals. Sure, the detailing’s pretty good for a casual game, and those lighting effects that kick in when you pull off a long combo chain are dazzling, but it’s all pretty standard flair for Luxor and most other similar similar titles out there. .

On the other hand, it gets creative with the stage designs, which range from your typical Nile village, to odd locales like Egyptian Tapestry weavings. More than just aesthetics, the different environments will find ways to makie it hard to line up a shot, whether it be by way of obstructing objects, or confusing paths. Casual gaming it may be, but a little bit of hardcore FPS-style sharpshooting can be most helpful.

Luxor‘s starting pace is very forgiving, though I do warn the guys not to grow complacent. The game starts getting hairy after the first ten stages, especially on levels where you’re contending against two separate columns coming in from both sides. Those power-ups are especially important in situations like these.

One gripe I do have with is that at a certain point, it felt like all Luxor was really doing was cycling each level again as soon as I cleared a chapter. Sure, there were more balls to hit and new power-ups to use, but it got a tad repetitive as soon as I started noticing the all-too-familiar scenery.

That said, Luxor does manage to stay interesting by throwing out some newer challenges along the way, such as adding more colors, making the spheres smaller, and sending out more columns within a shorter time span. There are also special skill badges to collect, which are awarded to players when they manage pull off some specified tasks.

The Lowdown
ItÂ’s not innovative or ground-breaking, but itÂ’s certainly fun. Luxor: PharaohÂ’s Challenge travels a well-trodden theme within the casual puzzle gaming market, making for a title thatÂ’s easy to play for both non-gamers and (self-proclaimed) hardcore players.

Luxor on the PSP also gets the best of both worlds. Much like the DS version, this port feels right at home running on a handheld system. One the other hand, much like the PS2 version, the PSP port also carries a reasonable US$ 20 price tag – a bargain compared to the US$ 30 you’ll be shelling out for the game on the DS, or the US$ 40 for its Wii kin.

If you happen to have some spare cash about and need a breather from the more fast-paced titles out there, you may want to pick this up.