From the makers of Lumines comes Every Extend Extra, a unique type of puzzle game.  This game features hot tunes and hot graphics, interesting strategy that makes for an interesting play.

Gameplay

This game is not easy by any stretch of the imagination.  When first turning on Every Extend Extra I anticipated a quick game where I could just blow things up, rack up chains, get a couple of bonuses and call it a day.  I was wrong.  Every Extend Extra takes patience, timing, strategy and a little bit of luck to win.  After drop down you must maneuver the ship to the area that is believed will be the most effective for chains.  The problem is that you’ll also want to pick up as many crystals as possible before exploding your ship before it self detonates. After a couple of seconds after launch, your ship automatically detonates without an explosion and results in minus 5 seconds from the overall time.  The handling of the ship using the analog stick is a pretty smooth ride and you’ll find that you’ll be relying heavily on thumb reaction.  The controls are simple and are easy to get a handle on and getting use to them is fairly easy, however, the difficulty lies in the actual game play.  Every Extend Extra truly takes time and patience to master.  Timing your attacks before your ship self detonates is tough, but knowing where to go and when to explode is another thing players will have to learn.  You’ll also encounter what are called Quickens, purple items that speed up the tempo of the music and causes more enemies to appear for more chains.  Keeping all of these factors in mind can be quite tiring and from the gate the player has a lot they have to control.

The main menu consists of Single Mode, VS mode, Game Sharing, Options and Credits. Single Player has two options: Arcade and Classic.  Both Arcade and Classic mode have set levels and scoring but Classic mode gives a little more leeway for new players.  Classic mode consists of light mode and a heavy mode.  Since the game is a pretty intense experience and it involves a lot of strategy, playing the Original Mode might be a better choice for beginners.  You get more enemies on the screen and it’s a great way to get ready for the Arcade Mode.  I found that even though classic mode is still quite challenging, my strategy and gaming became better and it was easier for me to tackle Arcade mode.

Originally the game seemed impossible and my score was ALWAYS low compared to the 3000000 high score preset on the game.  For awhile picking up the game wasn’t an option and my interest was last fairly quickly.  However, once you start to play and start to develop your own strategy, you’re in!  After getting the hang of it the Every Extend Extra becomes quite addictive.  The thought and the planning that has to be put into every move is a great motivator and once you get going you won’t want to stop.  Pulling off chains in the game is pretty fun and makes for a great conquest.

Graphics

The graphics are some of the best on the PSP today.  The transition over to PSP in the graphics and music department is very successful. The graphics keep it simple and clean, they’re not too confusing and it’s easy to focus on your ship and the targets.

Sound

The music is nice and catchy but doesn’t overwhelm the player.  Instead of being distracting it’s a nice compliment to the experience. Its also great catching Quickens to make the music's tempo go faster. That offers a great variation while using the same songs.

Funfactor

The one downside to this game is that the level of skill and strategy that is involved can prove daunting to many players.  It takes a lot of time to get used to the game and to create your own strategy to win.  Its very easy to get frustrated in the beginning, and it can become confusing after you die a couple of times.  Even after reading the tutorial it takes a couple of tries to begin to get the hang of it, a lot of tries.  The initial tutorial that appears when the game starts up makes it look easier than it really is and the difficulty level can be enough to make someone pass up a great game. Also developing your own personal style and victory dance is all worth it!

Plasmafactor

The detachable core is a great tool for racking up chains and snatching up Quickens.  However, mastering the technique is a little harder than it looks and it takes a little bit of time.  Overall though, it’s a definite plus.

All In All

Overall Every Extend Extra is a pretty solid game.  It has great graphics, cool music and a game setup that is interesting and fresh.  It has great potential for a whole host of more games, like Every Extend Extra Extreme for the 360.  Even though it only has 9 levels, the replay value of the game is high and the VS mode will keep you more than occupied.