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Dylan Cuthbert's Q-Games Presents PixelJunk - from the creator of Starfox etc.
bsjezz
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
What the hell's PixelJunk?
PixelJunk is an ongoing project from Q-Games which brings unique, high-res 2D games to the Playstation Network. With quick development cycles and a focus on colourful and easy to approach games which still have some serious depth, Q have already managed to build a fantastic track record for the PixelJunk games since the project was first announced, little more than a year ago.
So what are the games?
PixelJunk Racers
Released in September 2007, Racers is a top-down slotcar game featuring ten tracks and dozens of gameplay modes. While Racers did not earn such universal acclaim as the second game in the series, it remains a fantastic starting point despite its notoriously difficult single-player tournament mode. As a multiplayer party game the game shines - the modes range from the utterly satisfying (blast through computer cars as a raging fireball to gain speed) to the comic (inflate your car and let it pop off like a whistling balloon) to the terrifying (escape the pursuing death-cars as they constantly gain speed). It takes quick reflexes and a keen eye, but as long as you've got a sense of humour and a lust for high-speeds and high-scores you'll have a blast.
PixelJunk Monsters + Encore
Loved enough that the community demanded an expansion, Monsters is a Tower Defence-like strategy game of turrets and resource management. Gone are the complex HUDs of your average RTS - Monsters is strategy on a smaller scale, with shaman-like dancing player characters in command of coin collection, defence placement and upgrades. Don't let the simplification fool you - like its predecessor, Monsters is famously hard to master, and to beat off every wave of critters you'll have to spend your money wisely, placing the right kind of towers in perfect places. As with Racers, Monsters also has a great multiplayer mode with two-man co-op suiting the strategic gameplay perfectly.
PixelJunk Eden
To be released this summer, Eden is the third PixelJunk game and reports are already coming in that the game is as deep and addictive as the others. Set in a highly stylized garden, you and two others take control of tiny hopping creatures which grapple and leap between the emerging silhouette flowers, collecting pollen for scores and traversing the world vertically. It's visually stunning, and with a purpose-crafted musical score it's sure to be one of those 'games as art' darlings alongside Rez and Everyday Shooter. Kotaku liked it - "the wait to get hands on a DualShock to play more PixelJunk Eden was a good 15 minutes... I'm already having withdrawals", and there's fresh video out to give you a better idea of the crazy concept.
What's next?
Nothing official as far as I know, but it's been said the first 'season' of games will consist of six titles. 'PixelJunk Dungeons' has been mentioned as a possible next-up, and without getting too excited, a high-res dungeon crawler with plenty of magic items and horrible ghouls to slaughter for level-ups would suit the series perfectly. Right? Other than that, whatever it is they come up with I'll be paying close attention - Racers and Monsters alone have given my girlfriend and I enough joy that I'll be buying PixelJunk games for as long as they release them.
With a lot of people coming to the PS3 for the first time, I thought I ought to give a wrap up of one of the best and least-known perks of being a Playstation owner. PixelJunk games are cheap and great fun, and always at your fingertips on the PSN. They sum up one of the most unexpectedly wonderful things about this generation - exciting smaller titles delivered to your console like magic through the ether. So go grab one! It'll cost less than dinner and you'll play it for ages.
PixelJunk is an ongoing project from Q-Games which brings unique, high-res 2D games to the Playstation Network. With quick development cycles and a focus on colourful and easy to approach games which still have some serious depth, Q have already managed to build a fantastic track record for the PixelJunk games since the project was first announced, little more than a year ago.
So what are the games?
PixelJunk Racers
Released in September 2007, Racers is a top-down slotcar game featuring ten tracks and dozens of gameplay modes. While Racers did not earn such universal acclaim as the second game in the series, it remains a fantastic starting point despite its notoriously difficult single-player tournament mode. As a multiplayer party game the game shines - the modes range from the utterly satisfying (blast through computer cars as a raging fireball to gain speed) to the comic (inflate your car and let it pop off like a whistling balloon) to the terrifying (escape the pursuing death-cars as they constantly gain speed). It takes quick reflexes and a keen eye, but as long as you've got a sense of humour and a lust for high-speeds and high-scores you'll have a blast.
PixelJunk Monsters + Encore
Loved enough that the community demanded an expansion, Monsters is a Tower Defence-like strategy game of turrets and resource management. Gone are the complex HUDs of your average RTS - Monsters is strategy on a smaller scale, with shaman-like dancing player characters in command of coin collection, defence placement and upgrades. Don't let the simplification fool you - like its predecessor, Monsters is famously hard to master, and to beat off every wave of critters you'll have to spend your money wisely, placing the right kind of towers in perfect places. As with Racers, Monsters also has a great multiplayer mode with two-man co-op suiting the strategic gameplay perfectly.
PixelJunk Eden
To be released this summer, Eden is the third PixelJunk game and reports are already coming in that the game is as deep and addictive as the others. Set in a highly stylized garden, you and two others take control of tiny hopping creatures which grapple and leap between the emerging silhouette flowers, collecting pollen for scores and traversing the world vertically. It's visually stunning, and with a purpose-crafted musical score it's sure to be one of those 'games as art' darlings alongside Rez and Everyday Shooter. Kotaku liked it - "the wait to get hands on a DualShock to play more PixelJunk Eden was a good 15 minutes... I'm already having withdrawals", and there's fresh video out to give you a better idea of the crazy concept.
What's next?
Nothing official as far as I know, but it's been said the first 'season' of games will consist of six titles. 'PixelJunk Dungeons' has been mentioned as a possible next-up, and without getting too excited, a high-res dungeon crawler with plenty of magic items and horrible ghouls to slaughter for level-ups would suit the series perfectly. Right? Other than that, whatever it is they come up with I'll be paying close attention - Racers and Monsters alone have given my girlfriend and I enough joy that I'll be buying PixelJunk games for as long as they release them.
With a lot of people coming to the PS3 for the first time, I thought I ought to give a wrap up of one of the best and least-known perks of being a Playstation owner. PixelJunk games are cheap and great fun, and always at your fingertips on the PSN. They sum up one of the most unexpectedly wonderful things about this generation - exciting smaller titles delivered to your console like magic through the ether. So go grab one! It'll cost less than dinner and you'll play it for ages.
bsjezz on
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If theres a trial for Racers, I'll have to check it out.
PSN:Hakira__
there is (or at least there was when it first came out), but it's not really indicative of how fun the game can be - the mode they chose for the demo was the most basic, 'overtake dudes to speed up' style of play, when the full game a lot more diversity than that. but at the very least it'll probably give you an idea of whether you might get into it or not.
As for PixelJunk Eden, I love the art design in it. They've really improved upon it since they last showed it at GDC.
yeah, at least there's some kind of animated character for the player to control now. last time i saw it it was just a dot and it really didn't suit the floral aesthetic. now it looks like a brightly coloured sperm but, hey, i guess fertilization's a running theme with it
Yeah, i think the trail has been taken down, or it was never put on the European Playstation store in the first place. I may just take a chance with this one, and buy without trying.
PSN:Hakira__
Incredibly simple and addictive. Completely worth $9.99. Hell, it's better than a lot of $60 games.
So is Encore good? I'm not especially good at the original, so if it's more difficult...
The first day i had it, i played an hour of the original campaign with a friend. When i started solo the day after, i was feeling confident and thought i would try encore.........its hell. It seems like pure quality, but just very hard.
PSN:Hakira__
It's getting worse than Crytek shoehorning "Cry" into everything.
If the games were called Q-Racer and Q-Monsters then you'd have something there, but 'PixelJunk' is not the name of the game company, it's sort of a brand name for the games they make. When it's PixelJunk, you know that it's 2D with a very simple game mechanic. I'm sure down the road they will move on to a different brand of game, but for now, keep the PixelJunk coming!
Eh, I'd support that if they were all games in the same "world," a la Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Mario Galaxy, etc. Without that it just sounds like a vanity thing.
i mean technically i think the names are just Racers and Monsters, but PixelJunk's a strong moniker the developer and community have picked up on to give them a bit more identity. i like it. it's not pretentious or vain; you're getting a simple, iconic description of the game alongside a label that has some meaning. if it was just known as 'Racers' it'd be lost in the generic ether, but the one-word title gives it a sense of simplicity and accesibility that is very appealing. they've done well
o_O Why? robcat09 already pointed out to you that it's not a vanity thing, the company is named Q-Games... If it were a vanity thing then the games would be called 'Dylan Cuthbert's Monsters' and then have a big 'From the guy that created Starfox!' plastered everywhere.
Speaking of which, the thread title could probably do with 'from the guy that created Starfox'. Otherwise no-one outside of the few that already own a PixelJunk game will give the thread any notice.
it's looking fantastic and i hope all this teasing means it'll be out towards the start of the summer