While Sony’s Pixeljunk series of games have always been of undeniable quality, something about them never really resonated with me. Pixejunk Eden, while a gorgeous game, was a little too difficult despite being titled a “relaxation” game by most of the press. Pixeljunk Monsters, while outstandingly fun, was just a simple tower defense game with a pretty package. However, Pixeljunk Shooter, the latest of Q-Games’ downloadable endeavors, is easily the best creation the developers have churned out since releasing their titles on PSN and blends just enough action with art to create an experience unlike anything I’ve ever played.
Thumbs Up: Beautiful presentation, fun and challenging boss battles, great music, interesting elemental gameplay, co-op
Thumbs Down: Relatively short, the fun but forgettable story.
Eh: The amount of time you’ll be losing playing this game.
The game’s concept is extremely basic: you are a ship and you fight things. You control the ship with dual-analog stick controls (think Super Stardust HD) and shoot using R1 and R2. The only other important buttons for control are L1/L2 which are used to shoot out a grappling hook to capture your trapped allies underground. Where Shooter differs from the shoot-em-up pack however is its use of the environment in order to achieve your goals.
Q-Games has done a great job of taking basic science concepts that every kid learns in grade school (gas explodes when in contact with fire, water will put out a fire, fire will melt ice) and incorporating them into the gameplay of Shooter. If you see that there is a pool of lava and one of your friends is trapped below the surface simply grapple onto a sponge, soak it up with water, and then wring it out over the lava to make it harden so you can shoot through and save your friend. It’s THAT simple!
What makes Shooter so great and addictive though is how these elements and their uses within a given stage evolve throughout the course of the game. By the third episode, Shooter throws in magnetic fluids that sublimate into gas when doused with water and before you know it, you’ll be given a suit that interacts with this magnetic fluid in new and interesting ways, all while the elements that have been present since the beginning (fire, water, ice) are still being incorporated into the mix. The game, to put it simply, layers beautifully and presents a very refreshing package to its players. Experimenting with the elements and seeing how they interact with one another (exactly how you envision most of the time) is definitely one of the key draws of the game. The few boss battles that Shooter throws at the player are also extremely fresh and interesting with one in particular forcing the player to latch their ship onto the boss itself while it flies through barriers of ice.
It’s worth noting though that while the game is very fun, the fun really only lasts about three hours. Thankfully, Q-Games has incorporated a large amount of collectibles into the game in the form of your ally research buddies that are trapped within the underground stages as well as a large amount of secret areas off to the side of the maps and treasures that only the most hardcore of Shooter players will find. And, of course, many of Shooter‘s trophies have to deal with collecting all of these trinkets. The replay value is definitely there, especially with the integrated co-op play mechanics, but don’t go in expecting a long forty hour experience.
Last but not least, I have to commend Q-Games for creating a game that looks and sounds as good as Pixeljunk Shooter does. The music, which is an interesting mix of hip-hop and jazz, will have you turning up your volume and the polished visuals hit just the right tone for this sort of game.
Overall, Pixeljunk Shooter is another solid effort from Q-Games on PSN and is the best of the Pixeljunk series yet. At a price point of only $9.99, Pixeljunk Shooter is easily recommendable and stands as one of my favorite experiences of 2009.
Vice Verdict: BUY
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I will be getting this, but not until I finish my current PSN games: Braid, Burn Zombie Burn, Trine & Gunstar Heroes.