Posts Tagged ‘Pixeljunk Shooter’

Q-Games define the Pixeljunk brand as representing “simplicity, familiarity, and originality”. With this ethos in mind Pixeljunk Shooter’s title, manages to at least be fifty percent accurate, because it sure as hell isn’t a shooter. The problem is the term ‘shooter’ has become synonymous with a screen filled with bullets, requiring precision manoeuvring just to survive. In Shooter you are greeted with a more thoughtful experience that relies more on reason than twitch reflexes.

Titling the game ‘Shooter’ is not completely erroneous as it does from the primary interface with the game world. These bullet-based interactions are not as aggressive as you may anticipate, instead you spend the majority of you time shooting through rock to move torrents of various liquids (lava, water or a magnetic black goo) from one area to another in an attempt to melt, solidify or vaporise them. It is in these interactions, and how to initiate and control them that forms the more cerebral puzzle aspects that sit at the core of the game.

It scenes like this that really show off the fluid dynamics

‘Shooter’ takes a very holistic approach to design. From the graphics to the dynamic fluid physics it is clear that at each step the interaction of these elements and their effect on atmosphere and gameplay was at the forefront of the designers’ minds. The trance like music ensures a feeling of serenity as you make your way through tranquil cavernous levels. Even the enemies seem to be in no real hurry to do you harm, indeed sometimes antagonists are necessary to get through areas and need to be manipulated rather than dispensed with. Everything encourages you to relax and think leading you organically towards solutions.

‘Shooters’ damage system is no exception to its holistic ethos. Working in tandem with the world’s physics your craft’s health takes the heat. Over heating your ship results in a system malfunction causing you to drift, uncontrollably towards death. Being near a heat source causes your temperature to rise, while water and time allow you to cool. Because of this even if your overheated ship is set adrift uncontrollably landing in water will instantly cool you allowing you back in to the action. It’s a wonderful system, negating the need for health packs and instead tying your survival to your tactics.

On a few rare occasions the game grants abilities beyond those of the environment and your craft. By altering the properties of you ship you receive as many drawbacks as you do bonuses. One such ability is the lava spray, which allows you to shower lava down on levels, but doesn’t protect you from its hazardous effects.

Environmental changes between areas are not only cosmetic, they also alter the worlds rules.

It was this lava power that featured in one of my favourite puzzles of the game where I had to redirect a waterfall into a pool of lava to allow me to penetrate its porous solid form. Forced to fire the lava directly above my self to get the angle required to plug the waterfall I had to perform a careful balancing act between the effect of the cooling water and the burning lava as gravity dragged both back towards me. Carefully constructing the damn I managed to stop the path of the water, creating a basin that promptly overflowed, cooling the molten pool and allowing me to drill my way through.

Pixeljunk Shooter is filled from start to finish with similar example of this natural design. It leads you through levels, organically teaching you as you go. It is a beautiful game both in terms of its appearance and design. I was so swept up by the games design that I almost completed in a single (four hour sitting), and it was only sleep that finally pulled me away at 5 am.

In a year that has seen the industry losing momentum in the face of the economic down turn and many games moving in to Q1 2010 it is hard to pretend that this was the best year for gaming. It is a however year that saw a more constant release of quality titles through out the year than long term gamers have come to expect. It is a trend that looks set to continue; though I do with they would give me a little time to recover from the (still inevitable) Christmas rush.

Due to the general difficulty for me to importing Wii titles my focus has unfortunately slanted away from Nintendo’s device this year. This combined with the iPhone dominating my mobile gaming, it seem looking back that I may have missed a number of titles that some would consider key to this year line-up. But my time is not infinite, and nor are my pockets, so while I have tried a wide array of title some have naturally fallen by the way side.

All that aside I have played a lot of incredible games this year, and honourable mentions for those that didn’t make my top five should are in order. From the downloadable games of the year we have Drop 7 the iPhone, a title that took more of my commuting (and toilet) time than I would care to admit. But it really became worrying when I was choosing to play that over my PS3 and 360. Canabalt, again on iPhone should also be mentioned. A simple platformer with a one-touch interface that proved endlessly entertaining especially as updates arrived, slowly adding new twists to the simple formula. Lastly there are Trials HD on XBLA (which kept me entertained for more hours than banging my head against a brick wall theoretically should) and Pixeljunk Shooter on PSN (that arrived to lick my bleeding forehead).

Trials HD, the gaming equivalent of having your junk trapped in an elevator door.

‘Big games’ that didn’t make my cut has the best licence game of the year, Batman Arkham Asylum narrowly missing the five spot. Its fantastic use of the licence and mind-blowing Scarecrow sections were only slightly marred by its weak ending. Earlier in the year I was loving Street Fighter 4, a nostalgia endued two week coma followed, which could well have taken over the year had I had more local opponents to play with. Mad World for Wii was an incredible and entertaining little brawler that slipped in to wean me of my Street Fighter addiction. It brought some more content to Nintendo’s family machine, but never received the sales it deserved. The summer drought was more muted this year that in the past, but it was still there which gave InFamous a chance to shine as I played it to completion twice, thanks to its variety of missions making it constantly entertaining.

But enough of the preamble and games that didn’t make the grade, what did rise above the other flotsam in 2009? It is a somewhat fluid list, in that ask me tomorrow and it may be slightly different but these five (plus maybe Batman and InFamous) are the games that year have stood above all of their competitors’. So ignore the numbers and just take my word for the fact these are game you owe it to yourself to at least try.

5 – Resident Evil 5 (Multi)

Any who talked to me while I was playing RE5 would have heard me complain about indefinable flaws I found in the game. How it wasn’t scary, or a horror game and how it didn’t ‘feel’ like Resident Evil. I stand by those comments, for me it wasn’t as good as the original game or Resident Evil 4, but when those stand as two of the games dearest to my heart that isn’t as damning as it may sound. Resident Evil 5 kept me coming back for months. I earned every achievement, unlocked every… unlockable… and finished the game some seven or eight times.

Yes, characters still controlled like a tanks, but that is Resident Evil, there are only so many changes you can make before you should really just do something else (which for the record I hope they do now). Despite this the game remained fun with just the right mix of hammy acting to keep it entertainingly bad without being horrible. Combine this with the ability to dip in and out of stages at will and it kept me coming back for both solo and co-op play long after I would usually have put it back on the shelf.

My Chris what absolutely colossal arms you have.

4 – The Path (PC/Mac)

Beautiful, evocative and magical, you would be forgiven for never having heard of this (primarily) downloadable PC/Mac title. Taking inspiration from Little Red Riding Hood the game allows you to control one of seven girls on their adventurer to grandma’s house. There is little for the player to do but direct their girl on their journey to the house (or off into the forest), but left alone near items in the world they will interact and their story and personality.

Defiantly a more relaxed, almost passive, experience compared to most games it is really only for a select group who have an interested in narrative and expression in games. Those that fit this bill will find a Grimm Fairy Tale experience unlike any other title on the market.

On of seven Little Red Riding Hoods, heavier on the 'Red' than the 'Hood'.

3 – Uncharted 2 (PS3)

It is an over used expression but describing Uncharted 2 as cinematic is the only way I know to accurately describe it’s presentation. Some of the most breathtaking graphics and voice work yet seen on a home console combine with set pieces that would not be out of place in an Indian Jones movie to create an experience which is almost as fun to watch as it is to play.

Entertaining start to finish (and with a good multiplayer if you are so inclined) it no sits as a game that I will keep to revisit in the future in the same way I would a movie. It isn’t about the gameplay, which is the same rinse and repeat formula almost though out (bar the stunning train level), it is about the Christmas afternoon action movie. The film I used to watch as a kid that I now own on DVD and keep on a shelf, just to give me a warm fuzzy feeling when I look at it.

Drake looking intense. I don't remember why exactly.

2 – Dragon Age: Origins (PC)

Released the latest of my top five Dragon Age Origins has the advantage of being the freshest in my mind, but having pumped neigh on forty hours into the game in the last three weeks I can declare this one of the best of the year. It isn’t pretty, the game went into development some time ago and the engine seems to have only undergone some mild tweaks since it began. Its lack of visual pizzazz however is more than made up for by hours of unique dialogue delivered by its superb cast. It sucks you in, constantly surprising you with incidental dialogue from both your own party and those around you as you walk through the world making it feel alive.

The incredible thing for me was how it managed to engage me in the minutia rather than the grand story. You quickly find yourself living for your party, the group you collect from various miscreants you meet on your travels. Each reacts differently, and not always predictably, to your choices. A positive act to one will repulse another and you find yourself trying to tailor your answers to appeal to a favoured party member. It is basically the ‘paragon’ and ‘renegade’ options from developer Bioware’s other big title Mass Effect, but applied on an individual level. More than any overarching morality system could this granular system judgment by individuals highlights the uncertainty of choices, how the game offers no right or wrong, just choices on your quest for a greater good.

My dog, I called him Flopsy.

1 – Demon’s Souls (PS3)

Number one spot (today at least) goes to Demon’s Souls. A PS3 exclusive that has managed to constantly draw me back in. Set in a desolate world, devoid of any real life it is cold and lonely. Despite this it has beauty, not only in the graphic fidelity but also in the design. It is grand and somehow tranquillity when you are not besieged by the soulless abominations that lurk behind every corner. It is an environment I may never want to go there on holiday to but it perfectly fits the fantasy medieval setting.

It is a game that is usually challenging, often punishing and at times seemingly impossible. Progress is slow, but rewarding and even at its most devious you feel like you can make progress, if you just grind a little harder. Of course if you are in need of help there is the interesting online component. Uniquely Japanese in its implementation it allows you to be constantly sharing your world, without every really having to share the experience. In the game you spend most of your time a spirit, but when you resurrect you are able to summon other spirits in to your world to help. Despite this there is no voice, no communication beyond a boilerplate set of comments that you can leave scattered on the ground. It’s co-operative, intelligent but ultimately just serves to make you feel more alone.

Not a game for everyone, but a game for me, and it stands as one of the few games this year that is continually on my mind and will keep me coming back well into 2010.

He looks tired for a reason.

That’s it I guess. I am already remembering games I have forgotten, games like PSN’s Shatter, but if I didn’t remember them then I guess they don’t really count right? Either that or I could just keep adding to this for the rest of 2010 in the hope of suddenly finding some ‘right’ answer to the question “What was your favourite game this year?” The truth is though, I don’t think that epiphany would ever come, because there are just so many good games. There are so many in fact that I can honestly say if I stopped buying games right now it would easily be 2011 before I cleared my backlog. Guess I won’t be doing that though so here is to a costly year of 2010 gaming, kicking off for me at the end of January with Mass Effect 2.

Dan is taking over. Really there is very little I can do. He swept in here with his fast-talking, smooth segueing ways, and now he is calling the shots. I will continue as a figurehead of the site only. All hail our new master.

Here hit discuss our recent visit to ‘Game Japan Festa’, plenty of news, and of course the games we have been playing.

Hopefully the coup will be unsuccessful and Darren will be back for a ‘normal’ show in time for Christmas. In the meantime keep your self entertained with this hour and a half of edited highlights. Enjoy.

 The DanFuss Show. [92:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I know it is late, with all of the Tokyo Game Show write-ups, reviews and articles that I had to get posted things have been hectic. But it is here now and stuffed to bursting point with previews, discussion and interviews from the show!

To give you that nice cozy and familiar feeling we kick off with just me and Darren for our usual banter but then Darren is out and we switch over to Daniel Feit, another writer and resident of Japan who also attended TGS. Dan and I get down in to it for almost two hours talking about the games of on show and our experiences there. Just be happy we at least break it up for with an interview with The Behemoth (kicking off around the 1h 49m mark), creators of Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers and the upcoming Game 3.

Have a listen and please leave feedback in the comments or on iTunes. Also remember to keep an eye on DoFuss over the next three weeks for some extra audio/visual stuff in the next few weeks as Darren hits Japan.

For my TGS coverage check…
here for Playdevil.
here for Go Gaming Giant!
and be sure to visit DoFuss for my final show wrap-up post later this week.

For Dan’s coverage and all his other articles look here…
to see Game Life.
to see Feitclub, Dan’s home page.

 The DoFuss Show – TGS Special. [136:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download