A few years ago PixelJunk Shooter first appeared on the
PS3. Still one of the best games on the Playstation network it has finally been
made available to PC gamers. Now you can find out what all the fuss is about as
you pilot your little ship through a host of physics and element based levels.
The plot, such as it is, has you sent in to rescue your crew
mates after mysterious goings on while mining on the planet of Apoxus Prime. To
do this you have to fly your craft around tight underground caverns while using
water, lava and magnetic black liquids to your advantage. It’s reminiscent of
Thrust with its inertia and gravity based gameplay but your craft will stay
still if left alone. Your also won’t die from hitting walls (which is a good
thing or it would have been nigh on impossible).
The game is a 2D styled shooter where you manoeuvre your
ship around a section of an enclosed map. Normally you will have to get water
to turn lava to rock or lava to melt ice or some other combination of dropping
one liquid onto another. You’re doing this because you need to get to and
rescue all the lost crew members in each area. If too many of them die you have
to start the level again. It’s wonderfully inventive and a whole lot of fun and
there are hidden areas and diamonds to collect along the way as well.
The level design is nigh on perfect throughout the game and
the difficulty curve is just about right. The huge boss monsters found at the
end of each world may cause some frustration but they provide tense and heroic showdowns
of David and Goliath proportions and once you work them out shouldn’t take too
long to get past.
Shooter is split into three main areas each consisting of
five levels. There are the initial outer rocky areas, the ice caves and then
the mine. Each individual level is split into sections which require everyone
to be rescued before a bulk head opens to the next. Each has its own tricks and traps and will
keep you on your toes throughout.
You will also need to think quickly as the game has a
wonderful way of getting you to forget what you’ve just learnt. For instance,
for the first area you are trying to keep away from lava (overheating causes
you to crash), but then in the ice caves you’ll come across and inversion suite
which makes lava cool you down and water heat you up.
It’s a game that keeps throwing new ideas and things at you
to keep you interested. The water suit and lava suit are just the start and you’ll
soon be switching around and dealing with freezing lakes and clouds of gas as
well as the usual lava and water. The key thing is that everything stays fun
and creative throughout. Once you’ve completed the game you’ll probably want to
dive back in to further explore the levels and find all the missing diamonds
and any crew you missed along the way.
PixelJunk Shooter is a game we’re still playing on the PS3
to this day. The fact a whole new audience can now pick it up is great and this
really is one of the best games of its type. Q-Games have crafted something
special here and the years have done nothing to diminish its appeal. It’s perhaps
a shame that the PixelJunk Shooter 2 wasn’t included as well (as it is pretty
much part 1 and 2 of the same game), but we’ll be first in line to get it when
it arrives.
This was always going to be a certified hit with us as long
as nothing had gone wrong in the conversion and from our experience this offers
all the fun of the original. PC gamers really need to play this as it’s simply
a masterfully executed, great little game packed with more invention and ideas
than most massive AAA releases can even come close to.
Overall 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment