TOKYO – Q-Games, the Kyoto-based developer of the popular PixelJunk series of games on PlayStation 3, was on hand at the Tokyo Game Show to show the press its new game PixelJunk Shooter 2, a sequel to its 2009 download.
This new installment will follow your tiny ship on an escape from inside a giant creature and back out into space – a reversal of the events of the first game. Once again you'll be rescuing stranded crew members and solving environmental puzzles, although this time out the hazards won't be as simple as fire and ice.
The most visually-striking addition to PixelJunk Shooter 2 is the use of light and shadow. It's not just for show though, as the darkness provides two significant problems for your ship: You cannot rescue crew members that you cannot see, and photophobic critters will start to emerge whenever you veer too far from the light. Fortunately, there's a new Light Suit that will let you illuminate your own path.
There's also a new Hungry Suit that gives your ship a flapping jaw. In this mode, you can only move in four cardinal directions (just like Pac-Man) and the puzzles take on a Lode Runner as you eat through the soil and risk being crushed by falling objects.
The biggest upgrade is the new versus mode, which will support online play. Q-Games president Dylan Cuthbert described it as a "cat and mouse game" in which one player must rescue the crew members and the other tries to prevent that from happening. This mode was not on display, but I was told it will include a leveling system that rewards players with bonus items. These items, such as camouflage, can then be equipped and used to your advantage in future matches. Cooperative play will return, but it will remain offline only.
When I asked why PixelJunk Shooter 2 is a sequel rather than an expansion pack, as the company had done for its previous games, Cuthbert told me that there was "too much stuff" to be an expansion. Between the new online play and the fact that the sequel contains about as many levels as the original, I can understand where he's coming from.
Unfortunately, he couldn't tell me when PixelJunk Shooter 2 might be released, other than offering an enthusiastic "very soon."
Another upcoming project for the company is PixelJunk lifelike, a music application for the PlayStation 3. This downloadable software will feature the work of artist Baiyon, best known for his work on the 2008 PlayStation Network game PixelJunk Eden.
Q-Games gave me precious little information concerning PixelJunk lifelike. The only portion of the product available right now is the trailer. The application will include its own music, but supports custom soundtracks stored on your hard drive. It will support PlayStation Move and include Trophies, but this is clearly something that will fall on the fringe of what people would call a "game." It also has no set release date, but Sony press materials say it will cost 500 yen (about $6).
One last item we discussed was PixelJunk Monsters, the 2008 tower defense game which later received an expansion and a portable PSP version. Cuthbert said that the team wants to make a proper sequel and that it would likely "be 3-D in some way" – that's 3-D as in polygons, not glasses. Thus far, PixelJunk games have all been two-dimensional, so he said that sequel would be the start of PixelJunk's "series two."
Images courtesy of Sony
