Luxor 3 is an action-puzzle computer game released by MumboJumbo. It is a sequel to Luxor and Luxor 2. As with the other Luxor games, it maintains an Egyptian theme and revolves around Egyptian deities, with a main gameplay goal of removing spheres in various lines of spheres on a set track by exploding groups of three or more spheres.
Gameplay[ | ]
Luxor 3 Screenshot in Windows Vista
The game remains similar to that in previous editions of Luxor: the main goal of the gameplay is to remove spheres of many different colors (ranging from four to nine different colors) from a track of spheres before they enter the pyramid at the end of a track. The lines of colored spheres are held by a bug at the back end, and a set number of these sets must be cleared.
Luxor 3 has canopic jars show up in the middle of the game: they will show up multiple times in each level until collected by being shot at by a sphere. Collecting all of these in the first four classic mode levels of each stage will unlock a bonus level at the end of the stage. After a jar is collected in a level or if all four jars are collected for a stage, then the remainder of the level or stage, respectively, will have golden scarabs show up to be exploded as with the jars. The golden scarabs drop from 3-6 ankh coins depending on the game's difficuly level (Easy, Medium, Hard, Insane.).
At the bottom of the screen is a bar displaying the current statistics and active power-ups for the level.
Scoring[ | ]
In general, 100 points are awarded for each sphere, with multipliers correspondent to the number of explosions concurrent from one launched sphere for the scoring. Shots reflected off a special figure have a 3x multiplier if scoring occurs. Many bonuses are awarded for different factors at the end of each level. Items falling from the playfield also are worth points. Ankh coins are worth 250 points for each one collected, while jewelry-type collectables are worth anywhere from 250 to 10,000 points each (higher-valued jewels are introduced as the game progresses, and levels in later stages often have jewels making up a very large part of the level scores). Scores at the end of levels often seem very large when compared to other computer games.
Power-Ups[ | ]
The power-ups in Luxor 3 fall from the point of explosion to be caught by the sphere launcher after three consecutive launched spheres cause explosions on the main lines of spheres. Each of the colors of spheres represents a different Egyptian god or goddess, and different power-ups will be released based on what color is involved with the third consecutive explosion. When a power-up affects a certain color, this color will be completely random from time to time. Here are the power-ups based on color (the order of these colors also represents the order in which the colors are introduced into the main game).
Red color (Ra)-
Fireball (destroys all spheres within a certain radius)
Speedshot (shoots spheres twice as fast as normal and projects a colored line to where the sphere will be placed if currently shot)
Green color (Geb)-
Reverse (sends all of the latest connected sets of spheres backwards in each line of spheres)
Net (collects all objects falling from the playfield all across the board)
Blue color (Nut)-
Slow (slows the progress of the spheres)
Lightning Bolt(causes one sphere to directly destroy all spheres within the width of the lightning bolt)
Yellow color (Isis)-
Stop (the progress of the spheres is temporarily halted)
Wild (one sphere can be used to complete a match or to make a match between spheres of two different colors)
Purple color (Horus)-
Color Bomb (destroys all present spheres of the color indicated on the falling power-up)
Scorpion (goes backwards from the pyramid and destroys a particular number of spheres; this will only work on the furthest out line of spheres even if not all of the possible spheres have been destroyed)
White color (Osiris)-
Color Cloud (turns all spheres within a radius to the color indicated on the falling power-up)
Color Replacer (next sphere will change all spheres of one color to the color indicated on the falling power-up)
(Note: through this point, this is the same order of color introduction throughout the main game of Zuma.)
Black color (Anubis)-
Pyramid Blocker (makes a certain number of spheres explode before reaching the pyramid, then this power-up explodes to remove a few more spheres)
Match Highlighter (makes bold circles around groups of two or more spheres with the same color as the sphere about to be shot)
Teal color (Thoth)-
Color Sort (arranges all of the spheres in all of the lines of spheres on the board into groups that can be easily destroyed)
Orange color (Sekhmet)-
Sandstorm (destroys half the spheres on the map, and rearranges the rest)
Upgrades/The Store[ | ]
Upgrades store in Luxor 3.
Power-ups can be upgraded to higher levels (such as in length of time or in size of impact) by purchasing such upgrades in the store of the game. The unit of currency is Ankh coins, which are earned by collecting these coins as they fall in the middle of the game from large sphere explosions, three from each golden scarab explosion (four from each on insane difficulty), and one for each 15% of the Luxor track open from the pyramid to the end of the sphere line at the end of the level (Small jewels will also fall for parts of the incomplete 15% after the last Ankh coin is released). The types of spheres can also be upgraded in the store, as well as the type of shooter used in the game (these will only be unlocked for purchase at 2.5 million point increments during the course of the main game). The glass sphere set is unlocked for purchase at 2.5 million points, the sci-fi sphere shooter is unlocked for purchase at 5 million points, the wooden sphere set is unlocked for purchase at 7.5 million points, the sphere set is unlocked for purchase at 10 million points, and the Xtreme sphere shooter is unlocked for purchase at 15 million points (these purchases cost one one-hundred-thousandth of the number of points needed to unlock them in Ankh coins; for example, once the glass sphere set is unlocked, it can be purchased for 25 Ankh coins, and so on). These upgrades not related to power-ups do little more than enhance the visual and audio quality of the game to the preference of the person playing the game, with the exception of the Xtreme shooter, which has a wider area for catching falling objects (this will not make a difference when the net power-up is in effect).
Specific Upgrades to Power-Ups[ | ]
Each power-up (with the exception of the color replacer, color bomb, wild sphere, color sort, and sandstorm power-ups) has certain factors that can be upgraded by purchasing these upgrades with Ankh coins.
Power-Ups based on time[ | ]
Short time[ | ]
The Stop, Reverse, and Slow power-ups all start at 2 seconds in length and can be upgraded to 3, 4, and 5 seconds.
Medium time[ | ]
The Speed Shot and Match Highlighter power-ups are upgraded from 12 seconds in length to 15, 18, and 20 seconds in length.
Long time[ | ]
The Net power-up is upgraded from 20 seconds in length to 25, 30, and 35 seconds in length.
Power-Ups based on size of effect[ | ]
Radius size[ | ]
The radius of the Color Cloud and Fireball power-ups starts at small and can be upgraded to medium, large, and huge.
Width of effect[ | ]
The Lightning Bolt power-up starts with a small width, but can have its width increased to medium, large, and enormous.
Power-Ups based on number of spheres[ | ]
The Pyramid Blocker and Scorpion power-ups start at blocking or destroying (respectively) 8 spheres, but can be upgraded to have effect on 12, 16, and 20 spheres.
Costs to upgrade power-ups[ | ]
The first upgrades of power-ups cost between 30 and 60 Ankh coins. The second power-up upgrade costs twice as much as the first upgrade. And the third power-up upgrade costs between 1.5 and 2 times as much as the second upgrade. This applies to all of the power-up upgrades except one, which costs 30 Ankh coins for the first upgrade, 45 Ankh coins for the second upgrade, and 60 Ankh coins for the third upgrade.
Gameplay Modes[ | ]
All modes of the game are available at the main menu. Also, each player creates their own distinct profile, and the functions of these modes will all vary based on which profile is used.
Adventure[ | ]
In adventure mode, the main plot revolves around the evil Set wreaking havoc amongst the many Egyptian gods and goddesses. Each stage revolves around protecting a particular god or goddess and their power. The adventure mode is a total of 99 levels(11 more than the previous Luxor games), plus 11 bonus levels, each of which can only be played if the player collects all 4 jars.
Difficulty[ | ]
Luxor 3 offers four difficulties for the adventure mode games, and difficulty can also be selected for each free play and puzzle level after selecting which level to play from those menus. For the first adventure, a player must choose between easy, medium, and hard, but once a player has beaten adventure mode once, they may also choose insane as a difficulty level. The variations of each level deal almost entirely with the number of colors in each level and with the speed of the rolling lines of spheres.
Game and stage length[ | ]
The entire adventure mode involves eleven stages as shown after each stage with the diagram of the construction of an Egyptian pyramid and with the signs of each Egyptian god or goddess after completing the stage representing that figure. Each stage contains 7-11 levels (the length of each stage in levels, though irregular, creates an approximate bell curve distribution of levels throughout the game) and a bonus stage (the bonus stage is unlocked by collecting all four of the original jars throughout the classic mode levels of each stage which will be discussed below).
Level types within each stage[ | ]
Classic mode[ | ]
Each stage contains no less than four classic mode stages. In these, the jars that lead to unlocking each stage's bonus level can be collected. A set number of lines of spheres need to be cleared to advance to the next level in a stage (this number begins at four and increases by one with each advancing stage). A new line of spheres will appear once all of the current line of spheres pushes beyond the halfway point of the set-up track. Any line of spheres that touches the next line means that the two lines merge and the jewel and coin bonuses for completing the line will become unavailable. The level ends in failure if any spheres disappear inside the pyramid at the end of the set-up track, or in success if all of the spheres in all of the lines of spheres are destroyed.
Survival mode[ | ]
The last level before the bonus level (and consequently the last fully-numbered level) is always a survival level, with the exception of Stage 11. Lines of spheres will continue to enter and push onward until the level abruptly stops after a length of time, which starts at one hundred seconds and increases by twenty seconds with each advancing stage (the maximum length of survival mode, however, is four minutes).
Onslaught mode[ | ]
In this level (which appears once per stage as with survival mode except for that this mode is not in the first stage), lines of spheres, though somewhat shorter than those in classic mode (the number that must be cleared is the same as the number of lines needing to be cleared in a classic mode level of this stage), roll downward in a style reminiscent of the video game Centipede. The blocks in between are supposedly Set's minions, which force the line of spheres downward one row. These blockades can be destroyed with a sphere, but the minions will show up again in another location. Removal and scoring works the same as in classic mode.
Crossing the Nile mode[ | ]
First seen in stage 3 and appearing once per stage thereafter, sometimes twice, this level requires a player to eliminate spheres across three or four general rows in a river to create an open lane for eliminating the few spheres at the back. The number of colors gradually increases in this mode throughout the game, but colors are usually grouped together, and there is no time limit or pressure of any kind with this mode.
Puzzle mode[ | ]
In a puzzle level, players are given a limited set of spheres and must figure out how to eliminate every sphere on the board. A new skill or type of sphere is often introduced. These puzzles gain difficulty throughout the game. In a puzzle level in Adventure mode, players can skip these levels if they cannot figure out how to beat them (all points earned in this stage will be forfeited if this option is chosen).
Treasure Hunter mode[ | ]
The treasure hunter mode is the title of the bonus level that will be available at the end of each stage if a player collects all four of the jars in classic mode levels. This level is set in the sky and involves very short lines of spheres, and these lines almost always contain two spheres of the same color (some very rarely come across with two groups of two spheres each of different colors). With each line of spheres destroyed, numerous jewels and occasional Ankh coins will fall from the sky.
For the time in the level, the clock starts at thirty seconds in the first bonus level and increases by three seconds with each new bonus level until the eleventh bonus level, which has a clock of one minute. The scores for these level start large and will usually grow due to time, but not always proportionate to the time due to the fact that as additional colors are introduced into the main game, they will also be introduced into the bonus levels.
Free Play[ | ]
In Free Play, a player may replay any of the twenty-five classic levels (these boards repeat themselves throughout Adventure mode under varying names and difficulties) or any of the onslaught, Crossing the Nile, and Survival Mode levels. However, a player must have completed each level before they can be accessed in Free Play.
The bonus levels are unavailable for free play.
Puzzle[ | ]
The puzzle levels are separated from the free play levels, but they can all be played from the main menu (but only if they were solved during Adventure Mode, as this completion is optional to advance through Adventure Mode).
There are 42 puzzle levels in this game.
Ranks[ | ]
As you advance through the game and earn new points you will be given better titles. You start with the title "Bound to Earth."
See also[ | ]
External links[ | ]
- GameZonez website - Luxor-3 Free Download
- MumboJumbo website - Luxor 3 - Download the Game
- Nintendo.com page of Luxor 3