Review - Luxor: Quest for the Afterlife!

A while back, I reviewed the Egyptian-themed marble popper game, Luxor 3. The game had many outstanding features, and it remains one of my favorite games to this day. When approaching the next game in the series, I wasn't sure what to expect. It could be better, the same, or worse. But which? That's what I'll tell you today in my review of Luxor: Quest for the Afterlife!

What I liked Amazingly polished production Soundtrack Graphics/Scenery Upgrades Theme/Setting Good momentum What I didn't like No clues for obtaining treasures Uninteresting story Different balls are only for looks

Quick Plot

An Egyptian lady is worried about something having to do with canopic jars and she's trying to figure out who is behind her troubles. She's worried about the afterlife, I think. (I skipped the story segments after the first couple because they just didn't interest me.)

Mechanics

Marble popping: As with all other Luxor games, this 5th entry is a sphere-shooting game. Your shooter slides back and forth across the bottom of the screen. It always has marbles of two colors to choose from. You right-click to switch between these two marbles. A chain of marbles comes rolling onto the screen. Your job is to launch marbles into these chains to create groups of 3 or more of the same color. When you fire, say, a green marble into a group of 2 or more green marbles, that whole group breaks and the chain automatically fills in the gap. If a chain enters the temple (exit) at the end of the marble path, you lose the level. So you need to destroy each chain completely before it enters the exit. When you make 3 breaks in succession, "drops" fall down. These are power-ups and treasures. The power-ups and treasures in this game are exactly the same as those in Luxor 3. (I wrote about them in detail in my Luxor 3 review, so look there if you would like to know more.) Power-ups give you a special one-time ability like a fireball that destroys all marbles in one area, or a color sorter that puts all marbles of the same color together. Treasures give you points. A certain number of points are required to unlock several items in the store. One type of treasure - ankh coins - are what you use to pay for items in the store.

Bridges level. The marbles look smaller as they get deeper into the chasm. Awesome!

Really, this game does almost everything exactly as it was done in Luxor 3. The only slight differences I noticed were:

• New levels
• New map travel feature
• New music
• Slightly different ball physics
• Different ball sounds

There are two ways to look at the similarities to Luxor 3. You can either gripe that there is nothing new or innovative in this game, or you can rejoice that there is more of the same goodness. Personally, I sit solidly in the second camp. I think that Luxor 3 nailed marble popping to something like perfection. And so, I can think of very few areas that could be improved. Let me list the few areas that I think could use improvement. These are very minor and nitpicky, but I think they could be beneficial.

• Marble types: You can unlock and purchase 3 additional styles of marbles in the store. But these offer a different look and nothing more, and I don't think any of them look as cool as the standard set. I wonder if the developers could think of a way to make these alternate balls somehow more powerful? Maybe when they hit, they shoot lightning out and destroy other balls? I don't know. But unlocking a new "look" doesn't do much for me.
• Shooter types: The same thing applies here. The unlockable shooters offer nothing but a look. Although the sci-fi shooter is so sweet-looking that it is a satisfying purchase.
• Treasure room: The treasure room is the same thing as a trophy room in any other casual game. In Luxor 3, you could mouse over the empty treasure slots in the treasure room and at least see the name of the treasure. This gave some clue as to how to earn them. For some reason, in Quest for the Afterlife, they give you no hints at all. So your only option is to play more, I suppose, and hope that your skills earn you those elusive treasures.
• Puzzle mode: Luxor 3 had a longer puzzle mode, as I remember it. For this newer game, they seem to have cut down the number of puzzles, and they are easier to figure out this time around. I would have liked more puzzles. Puzzle mode is a great feature where they set up a few stationary chains of marbles and you have to figure out how to destroy all of the chains with a limited, pre-ordered set of marbles. Some of them require you to actually time your shots just right, which is fun and challenging.

The treasure (trophy) room.

Highlights

Production quality: Expect the best here, folks. Games are rarely this fine in quality. While most recent casual games are like McDonald's or Jack in the Box in quality, Luxor: Quest for the Afterlife is like fine dining. The graphics are all very shiny and professional. The soundtrack, by Somatone, is very nice, as usual. The controls are easy, the physics are slick, and every element of the game is delivered with care. This is the sort of game I look for, and enjoy sharing with you.

Unlimited lives: One of the things I don't like about the Luxor games prior to Luxor 3 is that you have a limited number of lives, and you lose one each time you fail a level. To my delight, they removed this unnecessarily stressful feature for Luxor 3 and Luxor: Quest for the Afterlife. Features: There is lot to this game. You travel to many cities, with the difficulty always growing. But even on Hard difficulty, the game isn't too challenging for practiced marble shooters. As you travel around, you find pieces of artifacts. These artifacts, once completed, offer you some in-game benefit. The game also has, as I mentioned before, a puzzle mode that you can unlock, as well as an Insane difficulty. There is a treasure room, where you earn rewards for feats of marble-popping skill. There are many power-up upgrades to purchase in the store, as in Luxor 3. There are some great levels in this game, and as you progress, more new scenes show up. Some levels are more challenging than others, while other are more beautiful, or have interesting marble paths.

There are a few level modes as well, including:

• Classic: Standard level where you have to completely destroy a set number of marble chains.
• Statues: Marble chains go back and forth, slowly heading for the exit at the bottom of the screen. Statues pop up to impede the marble chains, shortening their path. You can destroy the statues.
• Swarm: A whole bunch of short chains race in and try to overwhelm you. You have to be quick.
• Crossing the Nile: The one chain you need to destroy travels around in a circle on the other side of a river. But there are several long chains of marbles floating back and forth on the river, blocking your line of sight to the other side. You have to break gaps in the river chains to reach your target on the other side.
• Battle: This is a new mode. When you track down a thief in the story, you have to fight him. Another marble shooter shows up on the top of the screen and you both try to quickly complete as many breaks as you can. Whoever is most successful, wins.

The map. Each blue dot is a level. Completed artifacts appear at the bottom.

Momentum: The game keeps you playing. I found it really hard to get up from the computer. The game beckons me to play "just one more" - you know the feeling. There is something so inherently fun about the mechanics of this game. And the more fun, the better the game.

Suitable for the family?

My kids watched me play some of the time. My son especially liked when I made a big deal out of catching good power-up drops. I can't think of anything that would frighten or disturb children. I didn't watch all of the story scenes, admittedly, so I can't comment thoroughly on the content. But I do know that the story involves Egyptian deities and theories of the afterlife, if that bothers you.

Luxor history

Here is the entire list of Luxor marble games, just so you can see the history leading up to Quest for the Afterlife.

1. Luxor
2. Luxor Amun Rising
3. Luxor 2
4. Luxor 3 (This is where the series turned awesome.)
5. Luxor: Quest for the Afterlife

And now they have a Bundle Pack, which includes both Luxor and Luxor Amun Rising. If you want to play these early games, save money by buying the package. If you like HOGs (difficult ones!), you might like to try Luxor Adventures, and if you're a mahjong fan, why not check out Luxor Mahjong?

The family man's final ruling

I'm amazed with this game, as I was with Luxor 3. It makes shooting marbles feel like something significant and important, as if you're part of something big. I don't know how those geniuses at Mumbo Jumbo do it. It's like magic. The game is dripping with ancient Egyptian theme (romanticized as it may be). The music is as good as it gets, and very fitting. The sounds and sights are excellent. Everything is polished and shiny to a high degree. Let me also mention that you'll get plenty of game hours out of this. I think the game clock was at something like 8 hours when I finished playing through story and puzzle modes. Most newer casual games can't boast that kind of play time. And each hour was fun. If you like marble popping at all, you won't find a better product, friends.

You'll like the game if... You like a fantastical Ancient Egypt theme You like quick action-packed gameplay You like bashing marbles and catching drops You are hungry for a high quality production You won't like the game if... You don't like shooting marbles

My rating:

Take that, scarab! - a review of Luxor 3

Of all the marble popper games I've played, Luxor 3 has become my favorite. Read on to find out why!

What I liked Lush graphics Good sound effects and music Ancient Egyptian theme Upgrade system Variety of gameplay Smooth physics What I didn't like Throwaway storyline Small music library Upgraded shooters are only for looks

Quick Plot

I'm not sure exactly what the plot is because I skipped through the text screens! But it's something about Egyptian deities. I think Set is bad and you have to stop him or something. Honestly, don't expect to get into the story. This game is about pow-pow-pow sphere bashing!

Features

Luxor 3 is loaded with features that keep it interesting and just plain fun. I've listed as many of these features as I could think of:

• New sphere colors added as you progress. Aqua and Orange have good bonuses, but you can’t upgrade them.
• No lives! Just keep trying again when you fail.
• Power-ups are color coded. Every time you get 3 consecutive breaks, the 3rd break gives you a bonus of that color.
• The shop offers upgrades to power-ups, 2 new styles of shooters, and 3 new styles of spheres. Items are continually unlocked as you earn points by catching treasure.
• Environments have depth to them, so balls get smaller as they move deeper into the scene away from you.
• Lots of things to catch - treasure, ankh coins, power-ups.
• Extra things to shoot at (canopic jars, beetles) - they appear and then disappear after a few moments.
• Collecting all 4 jars for a level opens a bonus round in which you collect mass treasure (points).
• 3 difficulties of play - Easy, Medium, Hard. Insane difficulty is unlocked when you finish the Adventure game. Points earned are multiplied on higher difficulties.
• Treasure room. As you accomplish various feats, you earn treasures, which are just cool things to look at in the virtual treasure room.
• 3 types of play to choose from: Adventure, Free Play, Puzzle
• Play modes during the adventure break up monotony and offer variety. Classic Mode, Crossing the Nile, Puzzle Mode, Treasure Collecting, Survival Mode.
• Each time you finish a level, a pyramid gets build a little higher. Your goal is to complete it.

Here's a screenshot of the Store, where you buy all of your upgrades:

Power-Ups

Luxor 3 has a collection of useful power-ups, which are color-coded:

• Red: Speed shot, Fireball
• Green: Net, Reverse
• Blue: Slow, Lightning
• Yellow: Stop, Wild Sphere
• Purple: Color Bomb, Scorpion
• White: Color Cloud, Color Replacer
• Black: Pyramid Blocker, Match Highlighter
• Aqua: Color Sort
• Orange: Sandstorm

Highlights

The things that made this game so fun for me were the power-ups (and their upgraded versions!) and the variety. You get variety of gameplay modes, variety of interesting stage backdrops, variety of power-ups, and variety of goals. There's always a reason to keep playing. In Classic mode, you just shoot the marbles (Luxor games call them "spheres") until you've destroyed a certain number of trains (in Luxor 3, the sphere trains are pushed by beetles). In Puzzle mode, you are given a number of stationary sphere trains and a pre-determined set of spheres to shoot. Your goal is to clear the board using only the spheres you've been given. In Survival mode, you are fighting trains of spheres against a set time, which eventually gets up to 4 minutes. You have to survive until time runs out. In Crossing the Nile mode, you are on one side of the river and the train of spheres you need to destroy is on the other side. The problem is, there are multiple layers of sphere trains moving back and forth along the river, blocking the path to your target. You have to knock out enough of these interfering trains to clear the way so you can destroy the train on the other side of the river. If you collect all 4 canopic jars for a series of levels, you unlock a bonus level in which you collect treasure. Beetles scurry across the screen in all directions carrying two spheres of the same color. All you need to do is hit them with a sphere of the same color to destroy them, which drops treasure. As long as you don't mess up any shots, the treasure drops increase, starting with 1 piece of treasure, then 2, then 3, and so on. Treasure is points, and points unlock items in the store, so these levels are helpful for hoarding riches. In order to upgrade power-ups in this game, you need to collect ankh coins which fall periodically as you break spheres and shoot the twirling beetles (these pop up at random). Then, you spend ankh coins in the Store. The audio in the game was good. The Egyptian-sounding music is fitting, but there is very little variety, maybe 2 or 3 tracks. I would have liked a more diverse soundtrack, but it didn't bother me hearing the same tracks over and over. The sound effects are also very good. Another minor disappointment was that after all that hard work collecting points and unlocking the different shooter models, the new shooters don't give you anything other than a new look. They could have at least given them gravitational pull (I loved that feature of Atlantis Sky Patrol) or made them wider so they can more easily catch drops. Similarly, you can unlock 3 different styles of spheres to use. I never used them because the default set is the coolest-looking! I did like that I could choose a different look for my shooter though. My favorite was the blue Sci-fi model, so I used that for the rest of the game once I bought it.

Default shooter Sci-fi shooter 5,000,000 points to unlock Xtreme! shooter 15,000,000 points to unlock

The least useful power-ups for me were Speed Shot (red), Net (green), Wild Sphere (yellow), and Match Highlighter (black). Late in the game when I was really hoping for a Pyramid Blocker (black), Scorpion (purple), or Color Sort (aqua), these less-useful power-ups were a let-down. Fortunately, you have control over which power-up color you receive. Just make sure your third break in a row is the color you want. One other great feature: you don't have a number of lives in this game. You don't have to worry about losing and having to start over. If you fail a level, you just try again until you beat it.

Suitable for the family?

This is the kind of game that my little kids could watch, yelling, "Get it, Daddy! Get the beetle!" But don't expect to gather the family around the computer to enjoy working as a team. Expect to ride solo on this one. I suppose if your kids were studying ancient Egypt in school you could use this game as something to go along with the study for fun. The kids would probably recognize names and themes from the time period. The only other thing to mention is that some puzzle levels can be very challenging. Fortunately, if you get stuck during the Adventure, you can choose to skip puzzle levels.

The family man's final ruling

If you like marble poppers, or plan to try one, this is the game to play. It never gets too difficult. When it does get tough, you have all the power-ups you need. This game was just a blast. It's really an activity explosion as you swoosh your shooter across the bottom of the screen, bashing spheres and catching drops left and right. I've finished the game, but I'm playing through it again in Insane mode, trying to complete my treasure room!

You'll like the game if... You like marble popper games You like ancient Egypt You won't like the game if... You don't like marble popper games, especially ones with layers of complexity

My rating: