Pixel Junk Shooter Review

PixelJunkk Shooter

By: Julian MacDonnell

PSN

After three well received games in it's PixelJunk series, studio Q-Games returns once more to deliver it's latest creation: PixelJunk Shooter. After three different types of genres(racing, tower defense and platformer) Q-Games now tries it hands at a 2D space shooter. Does the on-going success of the PixelJunk series live on with it's most recent title?

Gameplay

Single Player

In the far future, humanity has run out of natural resources on Earth and is now out searching other planets in the galaxy for other resources to harvest. On the planet Apoxus Prime, a distress call is sent, and the ERS PINITA COLADA is sent to discover the reason for the SOS. And that's all you really need to know. The premise is no more than that. Though let's face it, do you really need more? You've been given a reason to fly around and shoot enemies alien and otherwise. I wouldn't complain, and neither should you.

PixelJunk Shooter consists of three main staging areas; volcanic underground, icy caverns and a science complex. The main goal is simple; save the trapped scientists and defeat the enemy. Now be careful when shooting in the game because there is such a thing as friendly fire in PixelJunk Shooter. You kill too many scientists, and it's game over for you. While you won't need to worry about the early levels too much due to the scientists being all clumped together and easy to see, it's still really easy to accidentally shoot them and end your mission. Thankfully they do spread out more as the game progresses, but don't think that's the end of your troubles.

The difficulty increases as you play in that more and more enemies get introduced that force you to devise new strategies and improvise at times in order to defeat them. The environment will also be against you as there are areas of free flowing lava and enemies using it as a shroud to cover themselves with. You get to close to the lava and the shields on your ship will start to overheat. Stay there too long, and you'll find your self crashing and burning. The nice thing is that you'll be able to use these sources of lava as ways of killing enemies, if the area permits it in design.

And this brings me to the another crucial element; your vehicle. You will play with your little ship for the duration of the game. Getting used to how the ship works isn't a problem either. There's no health packs, and your health is in the form of a rechargeable shield. While it does recharge on it's own though, it does so very slowly. So don't go thinking you can play fast and dangerous and come out a-ok. If your shield takes too much damage from lava or enemies, it's time to play defensively. Though you can recharge in a second or two if there happens to be a source of water nearby. Get in it, and the ship will be back to normal in no time.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer consists of a two player offline co-op mode where both players can either help each other to rescue all the trapped scientists or compete against each other to find who can get the best score. While it does feel tacked on in that the levels themselves don't change to accommodate the second player and there's nothing extra added to the gameplay in general, the levels are pretty big. The ships sizes when compared to the levels are pretty small themselves, so there's a lot of room to maneuver around.

The unfortunate thing about the co-op is that it is offline local. So if you want to play with your friend, get ready to grab an extra controller and head over to their place. While no other PixelJunk game has technically had online multiplayer, I don't see why they couldn't start here. The game practically lends itself to have an online component when looking at the existing multiplayer. It's unfortunate, but hopefully Q-Games takes this to heart and at least considers it for their next title.

Bonus Fluff

There isn't much in the way of extras outside of an online leader board, video recording and a gallery. The gallery is only used to collect speeches that certain scientists say to you once you rescue them in-game. So unlike the multiplayer where it feels tacked on but is still fun and works, the gallery doesn't offer anything that you would want to go back for or want to look at. Had they added some sketches or art done for the game it would have been worth it to check out, but as is it's not really worth it.

The leader boards track your progress through the game and compare you to other players from around the world that have also uploaded their scores online. Nice little addition for all you players out there that love to compete with each other for the top spot. Though it still doesn't make up for the lack of an online co-op component, it does at least offer another reason to replay the game. But the one special feature that might be used the most is the inclusion of a video upload service. There are two methods that PixelJunk Shooter allows you to use. You can create a video and put it on your PlayStation's XMB video menu or upload it to your YouTube account. The quality of the video for both tends to be pretty good. So if you want to show your friends your 'mad skillz' and how you got that high on the leader-boards, you'll definitely want to make use of this feature.

Presentation

Once again, Q-Games has given a very distinct art style to it's next game. Like the three previous titles(Racers, Monsters and Eden), PixelJunk Shooter has an art style all it's own within the PixleJunk universe. It carries a cell shaded look to it, while offering a lot of detail in each individual level to make you feel immersed.

Sound

The music for PixelJunk Shooter was done by High Frequency Bandwidth. The music offers a nice mellow tone to the game. I personally felt that it also lends itself well in that the music tells the player on a subconscious level that the game isn't to be taken seriously and should be enjoyed at a nice pace, eradicating any frustration the player may get. Through out my time with it, I only got frustrated a good hand full of times. Personally, I find that impressive of not only myself, but of what this says about the music.

Controls

Just like Q-Games previous titles, the controls for PixelJunk Shooter are simplistic and easy to master. There is no tutorial for Shooter, though a once over of the controls in the pause menu should familiarize anyone playing in less than a few seconds. The controls are also nicely refined. I never once ran into any trouble in controlling my craft. If there was anytime where a mistake occurred, I knew it was of my own doing.

Conclusion

With the lack of any real online multiplayer, PixelJunk Shooter doesn't live up to it's full potential. However, given that the single player and local co-op are fun and entertaining, it is forgivable that online was not considered. The campaign is fun and interesting with a nice, distinct visual art style that separates itself from the rest of the series. The controls are smooth and refined, and the music complements this already great game. All this, and it's already cheap price point, just make the game overall a very entertaining and worthwhile experience. While not perfect, it comes close, and is easily recommendable to anyone with a PlayStation 3, looking for a nice cheap game.