Every Extend Extra
Mizuguchi's remake is strong, but it's not for everyone.
Published: December 10, 2006
One of the strengths of Lumines was that it was nearly universal in its appeal. Like Tetris before it, the game took seconds to actually understand, but would give dozens -- possibly even hundreds for those really hooked -- of hours of play time that slowly matured and became deeper the longer you played with the game. It helped Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's newfound company, Q Entertainment, establish themselves as one of the must-have games for the just-launched PSP, and had everyone wondering just what the developer would be working on.
As it turns out, Q?'s next PSP project was technically two projects. Yes, there was the long-awaited sequel to Lumines (the review for which you can read right here), but there was also a semi-bizarre remake of the innovative Japanese freeware shooter Every Extend. It was bizarre not so much for Miz's infamous please-do-drugs-while-you-play-me design aesthetics, but because it just seemed a weird prospect for conversion into a PSP game.
Luckily, it was a smart move. What was a mildly entertaining quick download and PC game ends up getting an infusion of Q Entertainment's fantastic aural treatment and a light graphical upgrade (mostly just trippy backgrounds). On the PSP, though, it's the perfect kind of distraction that can get its hooks into you -- provided you can actually spend the comparatively lengthy amount of time required to really "get" the whole experience.
Once you do, though, it can start to dominate you spare mental cycles the same way Lumines did before it; dreams will be filled with scenarios where you can self-destruction a start an almost never-ending chain of explosions, at random times during the day something will click and you'll realize how you can properly work over a boss. This is the true sign of a good game. EEE isn't a universal hit like Lumines is, but if you give it the proper time, you'll get hooked.
And it's not like the basic idea is that hard to grasp. You blow yourself up. Seriously, that's it. You're given a set number of lives, which you extend after a certain number of ever-rising points, and a time limit for each stage if either drops to zero, it's game over, but that's honestly it. The idea is that you blow yourself up to set off a chain of small explosions that catch the many flitting orbs or bees in the shockwave and carry the explosion along. Specially colored targets turn into time bombs, but the core couldn't be simpler.
Simple, yes, but it will take you plenty of trying and retrying to get it all to work, and normally I can't stand having to redo something over and over again, but for whatever reason, it's addictive just trying to push past the first few levels. The challenge is in keeping yourself alive, so every self-destruct, every chain you start, is the key to keeping it all going. Biding your time and waiting until the screen is properly filled but not waiting too long or denying yourself a chance for a pre-emptive screen-circling chain is the dance, and it's positively intoxicating to watch a chain claim one group, then another, then another -- then to watch a time-delay explosion claim another group, sending slow-moving bonus gems flying all over the screen.
And really, there's little here in the way of visual or aural magic. Q Entertainment's musical selections are fantastic stuff, filled with the kind of 4/4 thumps and jazzy overtones that Mizuguchi is famous for. There's a fantastic breadth to the musical genres, all wrapped around a driving beat, and themed skins for all the "enemies" you're blowing yourself up to destroy. The boss fights are patterned off the theme of the level/music, too, which is a nice touch.
Also included was the original game, still slightly remixed, but running at a full 60 frames a second and every bit as fun (if as short-lived as the freeware game as the game is). The Extra version of Every Extend has far more going on, and thus runs at 30 frames a second. It's a fair compromise, though I suspect the game isn't really being pushed that hard, though what do I really know.
The only real problem with the game is that shares the same issue with the original version: it's painfully short. There was an effort to boost some of the longevity a little by allowing you to play any of the nine stages you've completed in Caravan Mode, Boss Rush lets you fight any bosses you'd like and Multiplayer has you racing wirelessly to out-combo the other guy. All of these things add a little more variety to the main game, but they're also just takes on the same content.
So no, EEE is not the near-perfect execution of a concept with insanely addictive qualities that Lumines is. Then again, it began as a simple design with almost no real depth, and blossomed into something that can rightly be called a full game. It's not a long full game, but it's a game nonetheless. Your mileage with the game will be directly proportional to how quickly you glom onto the basic design concept and let it hook you. If blowing stuff up and watching an ever-increasing score next to an ever-dwindling clock isn't something that at least sounds interesting, you're probably best left to feeding your Lumines jones.
As it turns out, Q?'s next PSP project was technically two projects. Yes, there was the long-awaited sequel to Lumines (the review for which you can read right here), but there was also a semi-bizarre remake of the innovative Japanese freeware shooter Every Extend. It was bizarre not so much for Miz's infamous please-do-drugs-while-you-play-me design aesthetics, but because it just seemed a weird prospect for conversion into a PSP game.
Luckily, it was a smart move. What was a mildly entertaining quick download and PC game ends up getting an infusion of Q Entertainment's fantastic aural treatment and a light graphical upgrade (mostly just trippy backgrounds). On the PSP, though, it's the perfect kind of distraction that can get its hooks into you -- provided you can actually spend the comparatively lengthy amount of time required to really "get" the whole experience.
Once you do, though, it can start to dominate you spare mental cycles the same way Lumines did before it; dreams will be filled with scenarios where you can self-destruction a start an almost never-ending chain of explosions, at random times during the day something will click and you'll realize how you can properly work over a boss. This is the true sign of a good game. EEE isn't a universal hit like Lumines is, but if you give it the proper time, you'll get hooked.
And it's not like the basic idea is that hard to grasp. You blow yourself up. Seriously, that's it. You're given a set number of lives, which you extend after a certain number of ever-rising points, and a time limit for each stage if either drops to zero, it's game over, but that's honestly it. The idea is that you blow yourself up to set off a chain of small explosions that catch the many flitting orbs or bees in the shockwave and carry the explosion along. Specially colored targets turn into time bombs, but the core couldn't be simpler.
Simple, yes, but it will take you plenty of trying and retrying to get it all to work, and normally I can't stand having to redo something over and over again, but for whatever reason, it's addictive just trying to push past the first few levels. The challenge is in keeping yourself alive, so every self-destruct, every chain you start, is the key to keeping it all going. Biding your time and waiting until the screen is properly filled but not waiting too long or denying yourself a chance for a pre-emptive screen-circling chain is the dance, and it's positively intoxicating to watch a chain claim one group, then another, then another -- then to watch a time-delay explosion claim another group, sending slow-moving bonus gems flying all over the screen.
And really, there's little here in the way of visual or aural magic. Q Entertainment's musical selections are fantastic stuff, filled with the kind of 4/4 thumps and jazzy overtones that Mizuguchi is famous for. There's a fantastic breadth to the musical genres, all wrapped around a driving beat, and themed skins for all the "enemies" you're blowing yourself up to destroy. The boss fights are patterned off the theme of the level/music, too, which is a nice touch.
Also included was the original game, still slightly remixed, but running at a full 60 frames a second and every bit as fun (if as short-lived as the freeware game as the game is). The Extra version of Every Extend has far more going on, and thus runs at 30 frames a second. It's a fair compromise, though I suspect the game isn't really being pushed that hard, though what do I really know.
The only real problem with the game is that shares the same issue with the original version: it's painfully short. There was an effort to boost some of the longevity a little by allowing you to play any of the nine stages you've completed in Caravan Mode, Boss Rush lets you fight any bosses you'd like and Multiplayer has you racing wirelessly to out-combo the other guy. All of these things add a little more variety to the main game, but they're also just takes on the same content.
So no, EEE is not the near-perfect execution of a concept with insanely addictive qualities that Lumines is. Then again, it began as a simple design with almost no real depth, and blossomed into something that can rightly be called a full game. It's not a long full game, but it's a game nonetheless. Your mileage with the game will be directly proportional to how quickly you glom onto the basic design concept and let it hook you. If blowing stuff up and watching an ever-increasing score next to an ever-dwindling clock isn't something that at least sounds interesting, you're probably best left to feeding your Lumines jones.
