In a move that makes sense on many levels, casual PC game publisher Mumbo Jumbo has expanded its empire to the world of handheld gaming with two PSP ports. Luxor: The Wrath of Set was definitely a smart choice as one of the two, as it combines a nice, clean look with short bite-sized levels and simple gameplay well-suited to the shorter play times typically found on a handheld.
Luxor: The Wrath of Set is really a mix of the puzzle and shooter genres. Using a winged scarab that moves across the bottom of the screen, it’s the gamer’s job to prevent wave after wave of colored balls from entering the pyramid at the end of their pre-defined path. This is done by shooting more colored balls into the line Space Invaders style, clearing them as three or more of the same color are joined together.
The strategy to employ is pretty obvious: if you have two balls of the same color already paired, try to shoot another one between or beside them to clear them out. If not, group similar colors as often as possible around other sets of similarly-colored balls, building up the potential for combos as the middle group is cleared and the balls around them then come together. Complicating matters however is the fact that the trail of balls snakes across the screen, often blocking groups of balls farther back in line and forcing the player to make quick decisions about how best to minimize the damage done by his next move. Waste precious seconds waiting for the similarly-colored balls to come back into play, or waste the shot (causing the line to grow that much more) and move on? There are also obstacles that occasionally come into play as well, such as barriers or tunnels, that divert the path a shot may take.
Pulling off combos and other feats is rewarded with one of several power-ups. Instant power-ups are used as soon as they’re caught, including those that reverse, slow, or stop ball movement for a short period of time, a scorpion that destroys the first 10 balls in line, and power-ups to increase firing speed or destroy all balls of the same color. There are also shooter power-ups that activate additional powers, such as a fire ball that obliterates everything around it upon impact, a lightning ball that destroys a vertical row of balls (great for knocking out many at once on a long turn), and a wild ball that works as any color. These can be pocketed and switched out for a regular ball on certain occasions, and thus should be saved for more desperate situations or when they’ll have the greatest impact.
The Story mode is the “main” gameplay mode, and honestly it’s a joke. There is no real storyline, and no real reward for completing a stage. Really, it’s just a bunch of levels (grouped into meaningless stages) with Egyptian-esque names, strung together over a map of the Nile River in a weak attempt to make it feel like you’re actually progressing towards some tangible goal other than simply finishing it. Even worse, most (if not all) of the levels are repeated several times throughout, making the game’s claim to 123 levels (35 more than the PC original’s 88) dubious at best.
The other gameplay mode is Endless Tomb, which includes Practice and Survival game types. These are exactly what they sound like, with Practice offering the chance to practice and Survival tasking players with seeing how long they can last, with only levels unlocked in the Story mode available for play in either game type.
Graphically and soundwise, Luxor employs a standard Egyptian theme throughout. The levels are adorned with hieroglyphics and other Egyptian artwork, and aside from the balls themselves most levels are a dull brown or grey. The music is also standard stuff, not that different from something you’d find in The Mummy or any other movie/game set in the time period. The sound effects are somewhat impressive though, from the squeal of the scorpion to the various effects used for power-ups and ball movement.
Bottom Line:
Luxor: The Wrath of Set is simple fun perfectly suited for the handheld realm, and as long as you treat it as such it’ll spend a lot of time in your PSP. The $29.99 MSRP seems a little high for a port of a simplistic PC title released in 2005 however, and with so little variety you certainly wouldn’t want to take a long trip with it as your only alternative.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
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| 7.3 |
Posted: 2007-01-02 11:02:04 PST