I heard somewhere this game is what spawned the idea for Zuma. I’m not sure it it is true or not, but I like Zuma so I was looking forward to Luxor 2. I’m not that great at Zuma (I’ve never completely beat the whole game) so I was a little concerned Luxor 2 would be hard to control since I’m use to Zuma and its stationary, rotating turret. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Luxor 2. It is really easy to control. In addition to being able to slide back and forth with either joystick you can also use the triggers to slide quickly. The gameplay itself is simple, but addictive. As rows of colored balls scroll across the screen you have to shoot matching colored balls to form groups of three that then disappear. Seems simple enough, right? Well, it is simple, but it quickly becomes more difficult as the rows speed up and make turns throughout the levels.

The gameplay is very similar to Zuma, but I think I’m going to like Luxor 2 more than Zuma. One thing that Luxor 2 has over Zuma is that when you chain combos together it gives you useful power-ups. In Zuma the only things you can do are slow down, stop, or reverse the lines that are approaching. In Luxor 2 they add power-ups that let you turn an entire section of the row a single color, shoot lightning that takes out entire columns, and shoot daggers that take out a single ball of any color. These power-ups make the game a lot more fun because even when it gets more difficult, as long as you can pull off a few combos, you get rewarded with a power-up to help against the ever advancing rows. I’m also pretty impressed with how they did the Achievements. They are a nice spread of difficulty. A few of them are for beating the different modes of the game, but others are acquired by playing through any level exceptionally well. It doesn’t matter which level; so, I was able to pickup up a few of them within the first couple levels of the game. I like that they did not just do achievements for beating level X, but actually push the player to be accurate and stay alive.

Generally I’m not one to get 800 point ($10) arcade games, but after playing through the demo twice I knew it would have enough replay value to be worth it for me. If you are not a fan of Zuma’s style then don’t bother with this one, but if you are then Luxor 2 is a great addition to add to your Xbox Live Arcade library.