PlayStation LifeStyle » Q Games

PixelJunk SideScroller – Trophy Guide

Max Murray — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:15:40 +0000

The latest PixelJunk game, PixelJunk SideScroller harkens back to the days of retro gaming with some intense maneuvering and moments requiring the of concentration of a god. Time to shake off the rust and earn some trophies with the most comprehensive trophy guide on the net.

A Close Encounter of the Scrolling Kind (Bronze) – Complete your first Sector.

- Story/Main campaign related, and can’t be missed. Play through the first sector to unlock.

Sector Perfecter (Bronze) – Complete all Sectors in one Stage.

- Story/Main campaign related, and can’t be missed. Each stage has 4 sectors. Play through the first stage to unlock.

S Is for SideScroller (Bronze) – Complete all three Stages.

- Story/Main campaign related, and can’t be missed. Play through all 12 levels of the campaign to unlock.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Bullets (Gold) – Defeat the final Boss.
- Story/Main campaign related, and can’t be missed.

*SPOILER* (highlight to read): After completing the three main stages, an additional final stage unlocks which consists of a one sector level and boss fight. The stage isn’t too bad, consisting of the boss swooping in every so often to unload a few enemies in your direction. Power up your machine gun first, as you’ll need to fire backwards throughout the level. Certain times, you’ll be able to attack him and break away parts of his body. A fully powered machine gun makes short work of this, but the laser is a great substitute if needed. When you reach the end of the sector, it’s one on one with him flying straight through the screen in different directions spraying bullets everywhere. Stick with the machine gun for the battle, focusing on staying between his laser strikes and aiming for the weak ‘links’ in his body. No sweat once you get the pattern down.

Mostly Harmful (Bronze) – Complete any Sector on the Hard difficulty setting.

- Hard mode will be unlocked following completing the game on Normal. Hard mode increases enemy firing rates, so this may take a few attempts on your first try. Play through any level you feel comfortable with to unlock.

Great, kid. Don’t get cocky. (Bronze) – Complete any Sector on the Brutal difficulty setting.

- Same as Mostly Harmful, only one sector is needed. Why not try the first, and easiest level?

Triple Crowner (Bronze) – Get all three hidden Crowns in any Sector.

- Crowns are icons hidden in each sector that will reveal themselves upon being shot repeatedly. The easiest way to spot crowns is to spray bullets with the upgraded machine gun, and keep your eyes open. If you’re having trouble still, check the video below in Pedal to the Metal of level 1-3. Crowns can be spotted at times 0:35, 3:10, 4:35.

You Make Me Wish I Had Three Hands (Bronze) – Use each weapon one time.

- Toggle between your ship’s 3 different weapons, laser, machine gun and bombs, with square or circle and then fire with R1.

Spin-a-delic (Bronze) – Defeat 50 enemies using the Charge Attack.

-The charge attack is performed by holding down L1 and then releasing after powered up entirely. Charge attacks destroy most enemies on contact, so take out 50 over the course of the game to unlock.

You Are the Pris to My Roy (Bronze) – Complete any Sector by playing with a friend in co-op mode.

- Grab a friend and hit start on the sector selection screen with a second controller. Only one level needs completed to earn this.

Combolicious (Bronze) – String together a Combo of 100 points or more.

- You will almost certainly unlock this without trying. Combos are achieved by defeating multiple enemies before your combo timer drains. Simply focus on killing enemies in a steady manner to unlock, especially on level 1-1. Combos will not end if you take damage- only if you are killed.

Pedal to the Medal (Bronze) – Receive the highest ranking Medal on any Sector.

- After completing a stage, you will be rewarded with either 1, 2, or 3 stars, or a special medal. This is entirely score based, so focus on taking out as many enemies as possible while racking up high combos. Collecting the hidden crowns will add a significant score bonus as well. If you’re still having issues, take a look at the following video for some tips on how to achieve it on level 1-3:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to JoeFenix

Q-Beams Glitter in the Dark (Bronze) – Defeat 10 enemies or more using one Laser shot.

- The beginning of level 1-1 will feature two sets of 4 enemies followed by 2 sets of 5 enemies. Wait for them to combine and take them out with one shot. Alternatively, later in the level you will fight a white ‘snake-like’ beast consisting of multiple ships packed tightly together which can all be taken out with a well aimed laser.

Ender’s Game (Bronze) – Complete any Sector without getting hit by a single shot.

- Sector 1-4 is the shortest level in the game, so play through on casual if you’re having troubles, and use the laser to take out the enemies as quickly as possible.

Spin Long and Prosper (Silver) – Complete any Sector without firing a single shot. (Hint: Use the Charge Attack!)

- Charge attacks are performed by holding and releasing L1. Level 1-1 will provide the best opportunity to achieve this, since you can dodge most enemies. Time attacks between enemy shots to give you the best chance to recover safely. If you’re shot or killed, you can still get the trophy- just don’t shoot back!

Navigate Psychedelic Bullet Swarms in PixelJunk SideScroller

Tyler Minarik — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:15:22 +0000

The latest game from the PixelJunk series is setting us up for a neon colored, incredibly hectic side scrolling shooter that blends classic gameplay with a new age style all of its own.

Q-Games holds a special place on the PlayStation Network, as a great developer that continuously brings quality games to the platform. They have a particular trend of bringing classic style games into the new age by adding fresh game mechanics and bright color palettes, and the new PixelJunk SideScroller is no different, bringing sidescrolling shoot’em up action to the new age with an eye-bleeding neon wire frame style. With upgradeable weapons, monstrous bosses, fluids returning from PixelJunk Shooter, and difficulty curving from casual to brutal, the upcoming game is sure to entertain and challenge players everywhere. Gearing up for their imminent release Q-Games has released a launch trailer to show us the trials and tribulations in store for us in Shooter.

If that didn’t look a little mind boggling to you, just wait until you play it. I had the distinct privilege of trying it out for myself earlier this year, and needless to say I died often, but had lots of fun doing so, which oddly reminded me of Demon’s Souls. If you’ve unlocked the secret level at the end of PixelJunk Shooter, you’ve even had a small taste of it for yourself. Q-Games always has a distinctive level of quality within their games, and I don’t expect PixelJunk SideScroller to disappoint fans when it releases tomorrow, October 25th, in North America, and October 26th in Europe, exclusively on the PlayStation Network.

Will you be shooting ‘em up when SideScroller hits the network?

Child of Eden Moving to PS3 Next Month

Cameron Teague — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:12:09 +0000

Q Games’ Child of Eden, which has been out for the Xbox 360 since June, has finally found itself a release date on the PlayStation 3. Ubisoft has announced that the game will be releasing September 30th and will fully support the PlayStation Move and stereoscopic 3D.

To celebrate this announcement, a new video has been released, showing director Tetsuya Mizugichi demonstrating the move controls in the game.

Geoffroy Sardin, EMEA vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft, had the following to say about Child of Eden:

We’re excited to be bringing the critically acclaimed Child of Eden experience to PS3. This is one of those special, rare games that belong in every gamer’s library, and the PlayStation Move integration coupled with the ability to play the game in 3D make for an even more unique experience on PlayStation 3.

Will you be picking up Child of Eden next month when it releases?

PixelJunk Monsters Dances Onto Web Browsers, Goes Free to Play

Josh Fernandes — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:27:24 +0000

Q-Games has built a successful development company around the PixelJunk franchise, which includes four different series: Racer, Monsters, Eden, and Shooter, all of which have become synonymous with the PlayStation brand. At the time of its release, PixelJunk Monsters was an innovative tower defense game that replaced the standard point-and-click model with a controllable on-screen character. After teasing a reveal on Google+, Q-Games have announced that they are making another installment to PixelJunk Monsters, but not in the way you would expect.

Q-Games have revealed that the next installment in the PixelJunk Monsters series will be a flash-based, web browser game for social media sites, such as Facebook. Of course, this means that the game will be free to play. Additionally, if you achieve the highest score among your friends on a level, a crown will appear above the level. The implementation of this feature is to increase competition between friends. Due to technical issues, Q-Games has removed co-op, but are trying to figure out a way to get it to work on social media sites.

There will also be a few significant gameplay changes. The game is ditching the linear progression of levels for a grid based system. Players will need to acquire shovels, which are a sort of in-game currency, to open up new grids for playing. There will also be specialized grids like tiki shops, volcanoes, and ports used to travel to new islands. Also, monsters now travel along a single path that is displayed on-screen, and trees can be planted anywhere on-screen with the use of seeds. Seeds are dropped like gems and the player is given a few at the start of the game. The player can pick up gems just by running the mouse cursor over them and no longer need to run to them to pick them up. Lastly, there will be new towers and monsters in this version of the series.

[Via]

Q-Games Teases “Important Reveal” For Next Week

Sebastian Moss — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:39:39 +0000

Creators of the PixelJunk series, Q-Games have developed a whole host of terrific games for the PlayStation Network, as well as for other platforms. With PixelJunk SideScroller and the exciting PixelJunk lifelike already on the way, Q-Games have teased that they are set to preview something important.

Dylan Cuthbert, game designer and founder of Q-Games, announced the upcoming preview on Google’s new social media push Google+:

A sneak preview of an important reveal which will occur during Q’s very own +Jesse Venbrux‘s talk at Casual Connect next week! If you want to find out more come to the talk!
What do you think it could be….!?

The tease is accompanied by a picture that is most likely from a new title, perhaps as part of the PixelJunk series.

What do you think it could be? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Via]

Free Avatars for PixelJunkies

Tyler Minarik — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:53:34 +0000

There’s certainly no shortage of premium avatars on the PSN, but it’s nice to have some free goodies tossed your way every once in a while. If you’ve been a loyal PixelJunk fan, you might qualify for just that.

We had a great opportunity a while back to interview Dylan Cuthbert, founder of Q-games, about PixelJunk Shooter 2, which at the time had yet to be released. During the interview he revealed that fans who purchased both PixelJunk Shooter games would receive a little freebie as a reward, and it seems that’s finally here. Announced on the PSBlog, Q-Games’ Ariel Angelott has informed us that the free avatar pack is available now. All you need to do is head to the PlayStation Store and find the PixelJunk Shooter 2 Loyalty Avatar Pack under ‘Newest Avatars’, or just the avatar section in general. The three avatars include the PixelJunk ship, a group of survivors shown below, and the lava blasting enemy type.

If you don’t own one of the games, it’s certainly worthwhile to pick up the other, not just for the avatars but for the sheer fun and quality of these games. The original PixelJunk Shooter broke the mold of conventional side scrolling shooters by involving environmental puzzles and obstacles while trying to save stranded humans. PixelJunk Shooter 2 continued the theme and challenge with even more environmental interaction and a unique cat and mouse multiplayer mode. With both earning great review scores and reception from fans, these avatars are the perfect way to show your colors as a PixelJunk fan. Are you able to take advantage of the special gift Q-Games is offering us today?

PixelJunk SideScroller – E3 Preview

Tyler Minarik — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:52:16 +0000

Everyone here should know by now that I’m a huge fan of Q-games and their work on PSN titles, so needless to say I hunted their games down at E3 like a troll hunting for internet controversy. Despite some of their work being hidden behind closed doors, I did get my hands on one of their new titles, PixelJunk SideScroller.

Q-Games is known by now for bringing out the innovation in well established genres, accompanied by a unique visual aesthetic and entrancing soundtrack. Two of the three are definitely there, and while PixelJunk SideScroller isn’t pushing any ground-breaking barriers this time around, the game still offers a fun challenge with a bit of a twist of it’s own. Anyone who has played PixelJunk Shooter 2 will immediately recognize SideScroller as an extension of the very last level of the game, which put a retro twist on the gameplay and visual details. That’s not to say PixelJunk SideScroller is merely an add-on for Shooter 2, but just that the artistic styling and primary gameplay mechanic remains intact.

This is immediately noticeable from the outset, since each level in the preview demo took on the wire frame styling for the enemies, environment, and shooter ship. Lava and water were present with a cubed look to them, and still behaved accordingly by heating and cooling the ship respectively, and mixing to create destroyable dirt. As the name implies, piloting the ship and shooting enemies takes place in a side scrolling fashion, with the panning of the camera being automated to keep the action moving. Killed opponents still drop plenty of icons to collect for points, this time shaped like multicolored crosses. Beyond this however, several differences separate SideScroller from Shooter 2, which serve to increase the challenge and provide variation in gameplay.

Our ship comes initially equipped with three basics weapons: a machine gun, homing missile launcher, and laser beam. Each serves their own purpose in eliminating enemies, and can easily be toggled between with the tap of a button. While progressing through the levels, certain enemies will drop a special power up that when collected upgrades the currently selected weapon. Each weapon can be upgraded multiple times, becoming more powerful as the action becomes more frantic. For example, the machine gun starts off as a simple stream of bullets coming out the front of the ship. The first upgrade turns this into a double stream of bullets, the next upgrade adds side streams coming out at an angle, and yet another upgrade adds a gun stream to the back. Similarly, upgrading the rockets and lasers add more of each respectively, making it important to have the correct weapon type selected when grabbing these pick ups.

The other significant difference between SideScroller and Shooter 2 is in the health system. While our ship still is susceptible to overheating until it crashes and burns, any heat generated by taking damage doesn’t simply fade away over time, or get reduced by collecting point icons. Instead, it only appears be reduced by flying into streams of water, which were sporadically distributed throughout the levels I played. A spin maneuver is still available while holding down the left trigger, but that doesn’t disperse heat either, and instead only serves to plough through dirt and enemies. This presents a greatly different challenge than past games, where the primary concern was rescuing survivors (of which none are present here), and now the main objective is simply survival (and probably collecting as many points as possible).

The two levels I had played offered many familiar enemies from the Shooter series, and new obstacles in the form of mechanical crushers to navigate through. This all culminated in a large boss fight, who proceeded to toss me to the ground like a little girl trying to fight the Hulk. Were it not for the large line forming behind me at the single booth featuring this game I’d have manned up to the challenge, but I’m sure I’ll get my chance when PixelJunk SideScroller releases later this year, hopefully in Q3. While it may not offer much in terms of gameplay that I haven’t seen before, I can still appreciate the throwback to classics like Gradius with a bit of that special Q-Games style sprinkled on top. Of course, we’ll let you know when that date is solidified, since I’ll be personally keeping tabs on this one as the year progresses.

Q-Games to Show Three New Titles at E3

Tyler Minarik — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:05:40 +0000

If you’re a fan of great PSN games, then Q-Games should be a very recognizable name by now, and the announcement of three new titles being shown at E3 by them is a thrilling surprise.

Q-Games’ most recent release, PixelJunk Shooter 2, was a smash hit, just like nearly every other PSN game they’ve released. Throughout all their releases, one major trait stands out, which is the introduction of innovative game mechanics within familiar genres, resulting in fresh and addicting gameplay. Mix that in with a strong aesthetic appeal in the form of colorful animations and great atmospheric soundtracks, and you have some of the best titles PSN has to offer. Considering the length of time between their releases however, the announcement of three new games able to be shown at one conference is surprising, but promising. The great news comes in the form of a tweet from none other than Dylan Cuthbert, who seems as excited as we are:

E3 coming up… it’s exciting! Three of our games are at the show! That has to be some kind of record for a small company like Q right?

Record or not, we applaud them for it. Of course, until the show we can only speculate on what this may entail. It’s extremely likely that one of the games is PixelJunk Lifelike, which appears to be a visualizer of some sort. With the NGP being sure to have a lot of face time at the show, it would seem like the perfect opportunity for Q-Games to release a NGP version of Pixel Junk Shooter, Monsters, Eden, or Racers. Hopefully we’ll see a combination of games for both NGP and PS3, and Q-Games’ unique flair for introducing fun, simple concepts that are great for all audiences. Stick with us, and find out more next week when we bring you this news and more directly from E3.

Dylan Cuthbert to Sony: Help PSN Developers or Lose Them

Cameron Teague — Wed, 11 May 2011 22:56:37 +0000

Not a lot has gone right for Sony with all the PSN downtime, lawsuits, and upset gamers. However they are not the only ones being affected by this outage as PlayStation Network developers are losing money everyday the store is down, with Capcom saying it could cost millions. According to Dylan Cuthbert, founder of Q-Games, they risk losing developers if they fail to compensate them for this downtime.

Speaking with IndustryGamers, the man behind the PixelJunk series had this to say:

I have no idea yet what Sony are going to do to help developers such as ourselves but I have a feeling they are thinking about doing something or they will lose developers which of course is pretty bad for them

Cuthbert also stated he expects to hear from Sony very soon:

At the moment I think they are running around patching holes etc., and in a week or two they’ll have something more concrete to say.

With the outage sure to last at least a few more days and Sony already digging deep into their pockets, we have to wonder just what kind of compensation Sony would give to developers. Give us your ideas below, do you think they should do anything?

[Via]

PSN Review – PixelJunk Shooter 2

Tyler Minarik — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:00:41 +0000

PixelJunk Shooter 2 is the first sequel from Q-games to be released for their line up of PlayStation Network games. Rather than releasing an expansion pack as they have in the past for their other PixelJunk titles, the developer decided to make enough new content to warrant an entirely new game. Thus arises the question, does the new game accomplish all its predecessor did, and more? Find out in our review of PixelJunk Shooter 2.

Q-games is known for creating fun games by taking classic game elements and putting their own twist on it to create a unique experience. When they released PixelJunk Shooter in 2009, it was hailed as one of the best PSN titles of the year by many. This left the team at Q-games with the daunting task of not only producing an equally great game, but improving upon their formula.

PixelJunk Shooter 2 picks up exactly where its predecessor left off, not only with plot and location, but with the complexity of levels and difficulty. This is not to say that the game is overly hard, but there is no hand holding here. From the very first moment you are placed in immediate danger, landing in a pool of acid which eats away at your ship while within the bowels of a subterranean monster. To survive you must quickly find a pool of water to wash your ship off, while navigating the dangerous tunnels that make up your host creature’s digestive tract. This sudden introduction to the first new fluid of the game isn’t the first time you’ll be caught in a trap, since every level of the game is packed full of surprising challenges, and new mechanics to keep you thinking and trying to act quickly.

Progressing through levels still hinges upon rescuing survivors distributed throughout them. Each level is divided into sections, and saving or killing every survivor unlocks the exit for the section. Each survivor that dies uses a life, with 5 lives for every level. If your ship dies it does not use a life, merely punishing the player by forcing them to restart the current section, making the immediate difficulty very forgivable. Hidden crystals also make a return, with about a dozen hidden in each level, and a set amount must be found to unlock the final level in each of the three episodes of the game. This is no different from the original PixelJunk Shooter, however this time there is a definite reward for finding all the crystals, and so it is highly recommended to keep an eye out for them.

All the old fluids and elements from the previous game make a return, such as lava, magnetic fluid, explosive gas, and various suits that bestow new abilities upon the ship. However, the puzzles and challenges have a further depth to their complexity due to mixing of new and old fluids, creating new behavior and interactions. As mentioned earlier, acid slowly eats away at the ship, increasing its heat gauge. Bubbles are eventually encountered, which sends the ship out of control, requiring the player to grab nearby objects in an attempt to change course. Shooting the bubbles causes them to burst, but dousing them in water turns them back into acid. If the bubbles encounter lava, they transform the lava, proliferating more bubbles in a fiery inferno. This is just a few of the many ways PixelJunk Shooter 2 combines new with old, diversifying and layering upon an already great experience.

Eventually light and darkness begin to factor heavily into gameplay. You’ll find yourself flying through darkened areas, where creatures will begin to attach to your ship and destroy it. Finding a light source to use will be necessary not only to survive, but is also required to rescue survivors, since you can’t grab anything hidden in the dark. The mechanics here are well thought out, and multiple ways to light up the levels can be found as progress is made. This includes simply shooting to create a hole in the ceiling, or utilizing large piles of lava in clever way, and even finding the new light suit which equips your ship with a headlamp. Danger still awaits while the light suit is equipped, so prepare yourself to move fast, and try not to get lost!

While trying to rescue your friends in distress, enemies will frequently ambush you. Precise shooting is required to eliminate them without accidentally murdering your allies. Luckily a new attack, the spin dash, makes short work of nearby foes. Rotating the right analog stick quickly spins the ship, cooling it, and attracting any point icons nearby. Clicking the right analog in while doing this causes the ship to dash towards nearby enemies, destroying them without damaging the survivors. It’s an important and welcome maneuver, allowing for more hectic and intense battles.

Each of the three episodes of the game contain five levels, with the final level of each climaxing with an epic boss fight. Every one presents even more new challenges, requiring careful navigation, precise shooting, and brainpower to figure out how to defeat them. They all have multiple forms, and serve as a great reminder of what great boss battles should be. By the end of it all, about eight to ten hours will have probably been spent playing, and depending on skill level, perhaps even more. If you’re worried this won’t leave you satisfied, then fear not. PixelJunk Shooter 2 also has a great multiplayer mode too, adding replayability through strategic battles. continue reading >>

PixelJunk Shooter 2 Blasting Off in Early March

Corey Schwanz — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:22:10 +0000

Q-Games’ PixelJunk series has delved into many different genres, all of which were loved by fans. The franchise’s first true sequel will be hitting PS3′s sooner than you think.

You looking forward to PixelJunk Shooter 2, the sequel to Q-Games physics-based twin-stick shooter? Of course you are! And the wait won’t be much longer. Dylan Cuthbert told us that we’d hear this announcement soon and it looks like he made good on his promise. PJS2 will be available on the PlayStation Network on March 1st, 2011. That’s right, just two and a half short weeks! If you want to know any more about the game, why don’t you check out PlayStation LifeStyle’s interview with Mr. Cuthbert here, part of our PSN 2011 Preview Week.

Remember, if you haven’t got the first PixelJunk Shooter game, you should definitely consider picking it up. Not only is it a great game, but owners of both will get a neat little gift for customer loyalty. I know I can’t wait!

[Source]

PixelJunk Shooter 2 Interview – PSN 2011 Preview

Anthony Severino — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 22:35:01 +0000

PixelJunk Shooter 2 is a follow up to the highly successful PlayStation Network title from Q-Games, PixelJunk Shooter. As one of 2011′s most anticipated PSN games, we’ve caught up with Q-Games founder, Dylan Cuthbert, to talk about the game and what else Q-Games may have in store for PS3 owners.

Hi, could you start by introducing yourself and telling us about your role at Q-Games?

Hi there, I’m Dylan Cuthbert, I’m the founder of Q-Games and this is my fourth decade of making video games!

With each PixelJunk game, gamer’s expectations for a quality game increases – how are you not only able to live up to them, but surpass them?

This is always a tough conundrum for us here at Q. However, making the genre different for each game helps a little as the gamers out there learn to expect something “different” from us instead of the same thing simply getting better and better. This quest for quality has increased the length of our schedules a little though!

The game will include the function to upload game footage to YouTube – how popular was the feature in previous PixelJunk games?

This feature has been very popular since we first included it in PixelJunk Eden, so we then went back and patched it into Monsters and Racers 2nd Lap too. If you search on YouTube you can see lots of examples of people playing, so if you get stuck you know where to look for tips!

Equally, has remote play proven popular, and what difficulties does the feature bring?

We have decided to drop remote play in Shooter 2 because of difficulties combining that with the online versus play. I’m not sure really that people use this feature much anymore but in the past it has been relatively popular.

This is the first fully fledged PixelJunk sequel, rather than an encore style title, is that a direction that you are planning to follow in future games?

It depends on the title – I would prefer not to make sequels unless they are in series 2 of PixelJunk, however for Shooter we still had so much momentum we decided to utilize it. It was a good experiment into online versus gaming too.

Thus far, we’ve seen light, dark, sand and acid as a new fluids – will there be others? And can you tell us what other fluids might we see?

You’ll have to wait and see, but the slippery bubble liquid is one of my new favourites from Shooter 2. You have to use your hook to spin around and navigate the stage so it even feels a little like PixelJunk Eden.

Is there any chance of rewarding players who own or completed the first game?

Yes, there will be a little freebie available to people who purchased both games!

Was there ever any consideration for using PlayStation Move?

Not for Shooter 2 no, because it would have distanced the game-play too far away from the original game. However, PixelJunk Lifelike, a game we are developing, will be utilizing the Move!

The “Play, Create, Share” mantra is becoming more and more popular with PlayStation games, and PixelJunk Shooter has the right elements for some great user generated puzzles and levels. Have you ever considered releasing a level editor to allow for this?

Yes, we have considered this but it would simply take too many of our resources to provide this and we’re a very small company that makes a lot of different games. I think it’s more fun for us to keep making different experiences and focus our resources on that instead.

PixelJunk Shooter had a bit more of a story line than previous PixelJunk games, and it was mentioned that a “Star Wars-y thing” is being done with the bosses. Is this an indication we’ll have more plot elements in the sequel?

Yes, there is a continuation of that theme in Shooter 2 and another great ending is in store for everyone! You begin the game in the belly of an enormous beast that has acid for blood!

Some criticized the length of the single player campaign in the first game, how long will the single player campaign in the sequel take to be completed? Was the addition of multiplayer a way to extend the longevity of the game?

Not really, multiplayer was something we experimented with after doing it for PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe on the PSP (which has a great co-op online multiplayer system in it), and it worked surprisingly well so we decided to go ahead and put it in Shooter 2! Shooter 1 may have felt short to some people but I think that’s primarily because it was such a rich experience that left you wanting more at the end.

How did the open testing call you held a few weeks back in LA go? Any major improvements or additions come from the session?

This open testing went incredibly well! I was really surprised at how much everyone enjoyed the games and especially considering there were a no. of testers who hadn’t played any PixelJunk game before. Those people said they would buy it and other PixelJunk games from now on! That obviously pleased the team here at Q to no end!

When are you planning to release PixelJunk Shooter 2?

The exact date is to be announced but in about a month from now!

Can you tell us anything about PixelJunk Lifelike?

Not yet, although there is a trailer video on YouTube that could give you some hints… or it could just give you the urge to take a walk in a forest searching for weird objects in the ground.

Are there any other PixelJunk games currently in development? Or any plans to make sequels to previous games?

Yes!

PixelJunk Shooter 2 Preview – PSN 2011 Preview Week

Tyler Minarik — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:53:55 +0000

The original PixelJunk Shooter was a fantastic puzzle-filled voyage, which involved piloting a small craft through a variety of hazardous underground passages in an attempt to rescue as many marooned survivors as possible. The premise was simple, and the execution was virtually flawless. However, the short run left many hungry for more. If you’re unfamiliar with why, then check out our review here. With the sequel right around the corner, we had some time to test out the game and some of the new features at a recent Sony event.

PixelJunk Shooter 2 is set to hit the PlayStation Network in the near future, with a soon-to-be-announced release date that is tentatively set for spring 2011. Q-Games is aiming to improve upon the original in what seems like every possible way. They’re bringing us more levels with more bosses, which will be filled with various new fluids and environmental elements, such as acidic fluid, foam, sand, and pitch black areas that the player needs to fill with light in order to navigate and survive. The acidic fluid sticks to the player’s ship this time around, continuously heating it up until the ship can be rinsed off with water, or until it is destroyed. The darkness isn’t a walk in the park either, since spending too much time in it can cause creatures to come out and destroy the ship. New ship suits and abilities will also be included, such as a suit that allows for digging through sand with ease, and a grappling hook attachment that will help control the ship as it slips through foam.

Along with all this comes an all new online competitive multiplayer mode, in which the new weapons will be especially handy. The mode has been described as a cat and mouse type game, where one player is hunting the other. The hunted will be busy trying to rescue survivors and return them to their goal area to score points. In the meantime the other player chases them down and tries to kill them. Upon successfully doing so, their roles reverse, with the hunter becoming the hunted, and trying to steal back any points their opposition may have scored. As matches are won players will gain experience, ranks, and new weaponry for use in custom load outs they can use when entering a match. Players will be able to select up to three weapons or abilities for their loadouts. Among those weapons are various missiles, but also unique ones that summon a wave of water to crash through the level, or even invert gravity. A camouflage weapon was also described that allows players to disguise themselves as a rescue victim, only to surprise their opponent as they approach.

PixelJunk Shooter 2 really looks like Q-Games is upping the ante as much as possible. Want to know more about Pixel Junk Shooter? Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Dylan Cuthbert founder of Q-Games coming very soon.

Q-Games Has Free Treat For Owners of Both PixelJunk Shooter Games

Staff — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:05:13 +0000

PixelJunk games always garner a hefty fanbase and PixelJunk Shooter was no exception. To reward the legions of loyal fans, Q-Games has a surprise in store for owners of the original game and it’s sequel.

Gamers tend to develop relationships with their favorite games and developers. In any strong relationship, there’s some give and take. And in this case, Q-Games is giving owners of both PixelJunk Shooter games a special treat when PixelJunk Shooter 2 releases.

Q-Games founder, Dylan Cuthbert revealed the following in an exclusive PSN 2011 Preview Week interview:

…there will be a little freebie available to people who purchased both games!

PixelJunk Shooter is one of our highest rated PlayStation Network titles and shouldn’t be missed. But if you did, this incentive is should be more than enough to get you to buy it.

Read the full interview with Dylan Cuthbert and Q-Games right here, as part of our PSN 2011 Preview Week coverage filled with news, previews, interviews and more!

PixelJunk Shooter 2 Release Date Announcement Coming Soon

Staff — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:12:17 +0000

The PixelJunk series of games are some of the most unique and varied on not only the PlayStation Network, but on any platform, with developer Q-Games creating truly amazing titles. Released just over a year ago, PixelJunk Shooter left fans craving more, which they’re happily providing with PixelJunk Shooter 2. That craving is about to be satisfied, as a release date announcement for PixelJunk Shooter 2 is impending.

While speaking with Dylan Cuthbert, Founder of Q-Games, we asked the question on everyone’s mind – “When is PixelJunk Shooter 2 going to hit the PlayStation Network?” And while we didn’t get a specific release date, we were told to expect an announcement soon:

The exact date is to be announced but in about a month from now!

This means we can likely expect an announcement some time around late February/early March, with the game’s release soon after.

The news comes from our 2011 PSN Preview Week interview with Cuthbert, viewable here. Stay tuned for more on PixelJunk Shooter 2!