For our latest edition of "Hitting It Off", join Lauren and I, as we spelunk through the "Depth's of Disaster" in Q games latest IP, PixelJunk Shooter.
S: I am a fan of Q games and everything they bring to the PS3. Whether or not their PixelJunk franchise is a system seller, it still offers some of the best downloadable titles on the Playstation Network (PSN). Previous games in the PixelJunk series fell into familiar genres like racing, tower-defense and platforming, but their art, music and sense of style make the experiences seem fresh. Therefore, when they announced their new game was a shooter, I was curious as to how "qualified" that statement would be. Lauren, from the time when I first described this game, to after we completed it, was it the experience you expected?
L: When you said "space shooter", I initially imagined more of a Space Invader format. Shooter pleasantly surprised me, which was much more interactive than the name implies. You carefully navigate through this underground expanse, interacting with various elements to save both people and mine diamonds. My favorite part of the game was your interaction with the elements: water, ice, fire, smoke, and oil.
S: Yeah, "space" shooter could not have been further from the truth, probably needed to work on those description skills... Your identification of how we would "carefully navigate" a level is an important distinction from a traditional Shoot 'em Up (Shmup). Most Shmups are fast-paced and riddled with bullets, but PJ Shooter on the other hand is a slower paced, strategic exploration game. From the mission objectives listed above, you mentioned the elements being your favorite component of the game. Was that impression due to how the elements affected those objectives or more simply, how the elements affected the environments in the level?
L: Well, to your credit "space shooter" makes a lot more sense to me than Shmup. I would have probably given you a weird look and made up an excuse to do something in the other room. ;)
The elements played a key role in the levels from early on. Initially, you learned that water is your friend; not only could you fully submerge yourself, but you could also "cool" your engines and revive health after overheating. In other levels, you are introduced to not so friendly elements - specifically the lava. While you cannot manipulate the lava on your own, the purpose of the game is to learn how to mix the elements in order to progress through the level. All while trying to avoid opening up a lava flow on poor unsuspecting miners!
S: Ammo was also tied to the overheat function, so if you were blasting away at a rock face or enemy, it was best to do it submerged in water. Keeping your ship cool, avoiding the chance you would spontaneously combust and fall to your doom. I felt the physics is what made these elements so striking and dangerous: lava flows with gravity and collects in empty pools, as water encounters this lava it changes to form rock. Water could also flow into the magnetic oil, creating an ignitable gas, which rises to fill ceilings and chambers. Then the magnetic oil was even dangerous by itself, as a ship passing over a pool of it would see the oil reach up to pull the ship into its depths. To balance your ships abilities against the elements, Q Games added the ship "suits", bringing another layer to the gameplay. I happened to think this was the best way for the user to experience those physics first hand. Do you agree?
L: Overall, the suits were an awesome addition to the game. Your normal ship was equipped with both firing and grabbing functions, allowing you to save miners and collect diamonds. The suits would modify these abilities, for example with the Lava Suit would allow you to shoot lava and thus melt ice. The water suit would allow you to grab chunks of ice and pull them down. Finally, the anti-magnet suit allows you to repeal the magnetic oil. The major downside to the suits is within the 2-player function. While the lava cannon is fun if you have the suit, it is difficult to avoid melting your teammate. Same with the oil, it was very hard to stay within the sphere of influence of your teammate's suit. Although frustrating, you have many lives, which help ease the pain.
S: Well I am glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. I know there are moments in Co-op where sharing the experience can be frustrating if we are not working together. There is a lot to appreciate from this games unique art, to chill music and tailored physics, making it another most own for PS3 owners. There is one last topic to wrap this little discussion up and I cannot let it go. After playing this game from beginning to end, do you think “Shooter” was the right name for this entry in the Pixel Junk series?
L: I don't think the name perturbed me as much as it did you. Sure it could have been a bit more descriptive, but the short name goes with the overall simplicity of the series.
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