Customer Reviews

PixelJunk Shooter [Online Game Code]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

CONTROLS: This game is set up with the classic twin-stick shooter controls, and these controls are tight and slick as can be. Two trigger buttons are used for firing weapons or rescuing people from the colorful and imaginative levels, set in caves with fully physics-based water, lava, and ice deposits.

GAMEPLAY: The point of each level is to rescue all the trapped people. Usually you'll need to manipulate the environment to achieve this, IE by dumping water onto hot lava to turn it into rock so you can blast it apart to gain access to a new area. There are some enemies in each level, and destroying them will yield little 'points' that you can collect and chain combos by killing many enemies at once. The scores are calculated by these combos and by finishing the level quickly you get bonus points, and there are online leaderboards.

LENGTH: The main game isn't very long, with about two dozen levels that should take anyone 5 or 6 hours to finish the first time. But there are hidden secrets, such as gems and additional people to rescue, that you'll most likely miss on the first playthrough that you can go back to grab. There is also local 2-player co-operative play, where you have two ships instead of one and can work together to do things. This changes the dynamic quite a bit and is very much worth playing.

OVERALL: Overall, this is a game that has very good controls, is very pleasing to the eye with simple yet creative and colorful level design, and a deceptively simple presentation that hides its depth in its game physics, secret item collecting, co-op, and high scores. Well worth it, and certainly one of the top games on the PlayStation Network at the moment.

PixelJunk Shooter is the 4th game in the PixelJunk series by Q games and arguably the best. While it is not as challenging as PixelJunk Monsters, or as frustratingly difficult as PixelJunk Eden, Shooter still provides players with interesting puzzels and levels that will entertain, make you think, but never make you want to put your controller down. With each level there are new enimies, puzzels and power ups that keep the gameplay fresh and exciting and further your quest to dive deeper into the planet you are exploring in Shooter, which brings me to my next point.

Unlike the other PixelJunk games, Shooter actually has a story to it. You are given a backround to the events at the start of the game, and slowly unravel the mystery as you rescue the workers you are sent to help. Unfortunately this point also hurts the game, in that it is just too short at 3 episodes, each with about 5 or so levels for you to play. Considering that they aren't too difficult, the game can be beaten relatively quickly, although you will be sure to go back and play get the various items you missed and try to get all the trophies for the game, but since it is a PSN game there aren't too many. I have a few more trophies to get and after that there does not seem to be much left to do. The game teases you with a too be continued, which is somewhat disapointing since the game is so good you don't want to have to wait till the sequel/add-on.

Setting these things aside I'll get into more of the smaller aspects of Shooter that help to make it a great game. The art design and graphics of Shooter are absolutely wonderful. The cartoonish/animeish look of the levels and you're ship create a wonderfully colorful and alive world for you to play and explore in. You will find enjoyment in how the water and the fluids in teh game be have and move, and the layered design of the levels give them a sense of scope and being in a larger place than you might think. Going hand in hand with the look of the game is the sound. The sound effects of the various eneimies, water, lava, and scientists you rescue are all very well done, and even better is the game's soundtrack. If you have played and enjoyed games like Lumines, you will instantly fall in love with the music that plays while you explore the world given to you. Composed by High Frequency Bandwith, the soundtrack has a mix of hip hop, techno, industrial sounds, and it just really fits the game so well.

All in all, PixelJunk Shooter is an amazing game, that will provide tons of enjoyment, but you will be sad when its all over, leaving you clinging on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next.

I give Pixel junk shooter a 9.5 out of 10 overall.
Gameplay - 10
Graphics - 10
Sound - 10
Replay Value - 5

I've only had my ps3 for about 2 weeks now, and you know what's gotten the most playtime? PixelJunk Shooter. I read enough good reviews and watched a few clips, and I knew I'd like it right off the bat. It looks so simple, but is addicting. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was so eager to play a game that I'd be thinking about it while at work or doing other things. Do yourself a favor and just watch one gameplay video. If you think it looks good, just buy it. For the price it's at, you can't go wrong.

PixelJunk Shooter plays simply. You move with the left analog stick, aim with the right, catch objects and people with the left triggers, and fire with the right triggers. The object is to control your spaceship through a series of mines and save the miners trapped inside. There are enemies here and there inside, as well as some clever obstacles. The first ones you'll encounter are lava and water. The game has a great physics engine and uses it perfectly. Water, lava and other substances all move as they would in the real world. When you blast some land out from under water, it falls as it should. If it comes in contact with lava, the lava hardens and turns into breakable dirt. At the same time, the miners are in danger of this and the enemies, as well as your own fire- if you just keep shooting without checking the area ahead of you, you could kill a miner by accident.

Your ship can also overheat. If you get too close to lava, you risk catching on fire and sinking toward the lava or rocks and exploding. You can always either fly higher and gradually cool off, or fly into water and cool off instantly. And then there's the boss fights. I have to say, the first one caught me off guard, though I thought something big was going to happen because of how the level design changed. Man was I surprised. There's nothing bad I can say about this game aside from the slight nitpick that it's not long enough. But being what it is- a downloadable game that's not a huge budget release like a Metal Gear Solid, that's not a bad thing at all. I just wanted more! The main game will only take a few hours, but you'll have to go back and get all the miners, diamonds and of course the PSN trophies, of which there are some fairly challenging ones to get.

PixelJunk Shooter is a heck of a bargain and has a lot of hype for a good reason. While it does borrow game play from a few older games (Subterrania and Solar Jetman come to mind), it's the only game of its kind in this era of games, and that's refreshing. Get it if you love shooters and immerse yourself in that phenomenal soundtrack.

Pixeljunk Shooter is a charmingly retro shoot-and-rescue game that makes ingenious use of the PS3's processing power to simulate fluids, gases, and ice. These materials interact with the world and the player's ship in a cartoonishly lifelike way, and often have to be used to get through a level. Water and lava will flow downhill, and collect in undrained areas. You can control it by shooting away sections of rock, or causing different materials to come into contact. For instance, lava, while dangerous to your ship, melts through ice. Water, when poured onto lava, will turn it into destructible dirt.

The controls are a joy. It's easy to steer the ship around, grab things with your grappling claw, and lay down fire with your main gun. There's also the option of guided missiles, but you must keep an eye on the all-important temperature gauge when you use them (as you must when flying near magma).

It's not a long game, but it's quite a pleasurable experience while it lasts. The artwork is colorful and quirky. The soundtrack, by High Frequency Bandwidth (including Alex Paterson of The Orb), is fantastic, adding a trippy chillout vibe that makes gameplay feel more relaxing than harrying.

The designers did a great job of mixing and matching different challenges in different areas, and there's always something new to keep you on your toes, including enemies, assorted devices to interact with, and temporary attachments that allow your ship to shoot out fluids or change the normal rules of physics. An experienced player can probably breeze through the whole game in a few hours, but there's added challenge in exploring hidden areas, collecting diamonds, and saving all the stranded astronauts (which includes not accidentally killing any).

If you like creative, old-school style games that take advantage of a modern game system's capabilities, this title is totally worth your money.

To start off this is more than your typical co-op twin-stick shooter, it also has puzzle and exciting story elements that keep you engaged at all times. One of the immediately noticeable features is the art style. Each of the environments are look fantastic and the fluids/gasses look like the best I've seen in a 2D game(especially for a dynamic feature). To add on, each area is made unique by using different combinations of a variety of substances, enemies, power-ups, and obstacles.This title has to be one of the longer games out now for the PSN for 10$, but it doesn't include a separate campaign for co-op (which is only local). The gameplay itself is a decent challenge good for any age and packed with exciting "run for your life" moments that keep you on your toes. In overall, its a great game that will keep you satisfied for a while.

(BTW remote play feature is supported for this game)

I love physics/fluid dynamics based games like these. In this 2D game you take control of a ship and go around levels collecting stranded miners. You must navigate these levels and once none of the miners are left you unlock the next to level. The thing most enjoyable is the fluid dynamics though.
You shoot rocks that are blocking some water for example and the water goes through and cools the lava that was blocking you path below. You then shoot the hardened lava and go through. Wuickly though because the water might not have been enough to cool all the lava , if you hit he lava you dead. You get other weapons to play with as well(considered suits) such as fire and water. You can make ice with the water or burn the ice with your fire weapon. You also have a grappling hook, this is used to take the miners to your ship. You can also use it to grab on the rocks/ice and pull it away.
Words dont do justice, you have to play it. Its 9.99 but totally worth it even though the story's short. Still i think i invested around 10-15 hours to finish the game 100%(getting all miners unharmed and all the crystals you can collect as well in each level.)

PixelJunk Shooter's name does not do the game justice. I'm sure that Q-Games wanted to keep it short and sweet, as they did with Monsters and Eden before it, but this new moniker seemingly lumps the game in with the glut of other dual-stick...shooters currently crowding the PSN. Space spelunkers who have already downloaded this treasure know that this label couldn't be further from the truth.

Of course Shooter takes its time working up to brilliance. The first few stages require players to navigate a ship through tight caverns to rescue stranded scientists. A few waterfalls may provide some pretty scenery and a quick way to cool down your missile launcher, but it isn't until you discover your first lava-spewing volcano that the game really picks up steam. Suddenly, the impressive fluid physics aren't just for show, as the lava and water combine to form a soft, destructible crust.

As paths that were once dangerous start to open up, more substances are integrated into the game. Ice, steam and a magnetic oil completely change the game in unexpected ways, forcing you to consider how all of these things will behave when combined. For instance, activating a water pump may clear out the scalding oil, but the resulting steam is fatal to exposed humans. The levels become increasingly industrialized as you progress, which may result in some careless deaths as you sit there marveling at the intricate machinery. Throw in some Super Mario Bros. 3 style suits, and you have a "shooter" with tons of explorations, experimentation and even puzzle solving.

Best of all, unlike Eden, Shooter doesn't overstay its welcome. $10 might sound pricey for a five hour game - well, only if you're really stingy - but every level forces you to approach an environment in a completely different way. None of it's filler, and no matter how maze-like the caves become, it always makes sense. PixelJunk Shooter's level designs are masterpieces, even after you've wreaked elemental destruction on them.

--Reviewed by Justin Hemenway

From [...] review:
Q-Games returns with another unique gameplay experience in its PixelJunk series with PixelJunk Shooter ("The Depths of Disaster"). In PixelJunk Shooter, you descend into the depths of Apoxus Prime. Several miners have become trapped and it is up to you and your little subterranean ship to pull them out alive. Avoid various hazards, both alien and the elements of Apoxus Prime, and learn the ways of your ship's special abilities to rescue survivors.

In PixelJunk Shooter, you control your ship using the thumbsticks. There's a temperature gauge you'll have to watch as you navigate through a stage, which acts as a regenerating health meter. Get too close to some elements or get hit by enemy projectiles and your ship will be the dust of Apoxus Prime. Once you find a survivor, you can eject a chained pod to capture them. Sometimes you'll have to act quick to rescue a miner, as environmental hazards and enemies can kill them. Lose five miners during a stage and it's Game Over.

Gameplay starts out simple and never gets boring. There's a lot of variation spread throughout the game, all the way through the end. This comes through the use of ship upgrades and new elements you'll come across. Enter a dock and get a ship upgrade to help you make your way through some dynamic elements which include magma, water, earth, ice, gas and magnetic fluid. Animation of the fluids look great and feel very dynamic. Pulling ice chunks with your grappling hook, manipulating magnetic fluid and spraying water with sponges all animate beautifully. Don't be deceived by the simple "Shooter" name in the game's title.

Replay value comes in finding treasures, rescuing all the miners and scoring. An online scoreboard gauges your ranking against other players across the globe. There is also a two-player option if you want to descend the depths with a friend. PixelJunk Shooter has a total of 3 main stages, which have 15 levels. At the end of each stage is a boss encounter. I felt the gameplay length and variety was balanced. PixelJunk Shooter also incorporates PlayStation Home item rewards for completing various tasks. You'll unlock parts of a survivor uniform that you can gear up with when you visit the PixelJunk Museum in PlayStation Home. You can also play PixelJunk Shooter via Remote Play on your PlayStation Portable or PSPgo. All of these are nice bonuses that extend the gameplay beyond the first playthrough of the game.

The soundtrack in PixelJunk Shooter is excellent. It is sometimes ambient, featuring some trance beats, but is never the typical fast techno you'd expect in a shooter. High Frequency Bandwidth provides the tunes, which features two seasoned electronic musicians, Dom Beken and Dr. Alex Paterson (The Orb). During a boss battle, I found myself calmed by the soundtrack. That helped in pulling off some carefully calculated moves. The soundtrack provides a trance-like experience and compliments the unique graphical style of PixelJunk Shooter.

PixelJunk Shooter is another great game to join the PixelJunk series by Q-Games, and is my favorite PixelJunk game to date. It will keep you coming back through at least your first playthrough and is well worth the $9.99 price from the PlayStation Store. PixelJunk Shooter is very different from your traditional side-scrolling shooter in many ways, all the way through the soundtrack. Don't miss out on experiencing PixelJunk Shooter, a refreshing game experience not to be missed.

The other two reviewers have said the bulk of this game. If you like games that are fun, innovative and easy concepts, then this game is for you. I enjoyed almost everything about the game and only have one negative thing to say about it. Too short. I know there will be an encore, but I wish it was 2-3 more levels. I will be picking up the rest of the Pixel Junk series because each one has great reviews, own unique style and challenges.