All For Encore
PixelJunk Monsters: Encore
Published: June 21, 2008
When PixelJunk Monsters arrived, it caught a lot of people (myself included) off guard. It's not that Q Games' first effort, PixelJunk Racers was bad exactly, but it wasn't the strongest PSN debut the UK-based team could have made. Monsters was such a wholly enchanting effort, though -- and one that couldn't really have been predicted after Racers.
There was one thing that managed to come through in both games, though: a fairly high level of difficulty. Monsters wasn't overwhelmingly difficult, but it did require more than a little trial-and-error play to really figure out. That's something that the expansion back, Encore, really blows out, though. Without a doubt, Encore was made with those that managed to rainbow all the levels in Monsters (read: pass without letting a single enemy get by). It is an unmercifully exacting game, but like the original game, there's something so incredibly addictive about the whole experience that you don't really mind.
Very little about the game has actually changed, though. The Ice Tower, useful for slowing quicker enemies, is now a standard item and the Tesla Tower is now a little cheaper to unlock. Other than that, though, it's more a matter of the enemy waves being far more numerous and what seems like an open invitation to have another player tagging along that was the goal for the Encore expansion.
That's not a bad thing, though. Along with five new ambient music tracks from Japanese composers Otograph, the new setting of Toki Island feels just different enough to coax a feeling of déjà vu and of course a handful of new challenges (15 of 'em in all) out of the meager six bucks it costs to play the game.
I honestly don't really have anything new to say that wasn't already covered in our original PJM review. The game still retains a brilliant sense of balance and an intrinsic "just one more try" feeling, and now there's more of it. Granted, those new levels are made with the idea that you've already played through the base levels first, and if you haven't then shame on you because the game may well be the must-have download on the PSN, but really this is an expansion designed for fans of the first game.
Meaning if you liked the original game, this should be an absolute no-brainer. Seriously, if you haven't yet, go buy both and thank us later. I'll be here trying to rainbow all these new levels and failing miserably in the process.
There was one thing that managed to come through in both games, though: a fairly high level of difficulty. Monsters wasn't overwhelmingly difficult, but it did require more than a little trial-and-error play to really figure out. That's something that the expansion back, Encore, really blows out, though. Without a doubt, Encore was made with those that managed to rainbow all the levels in Monsters (read: pass without letting a single enemy get by). It is an unmercifully exacting game, but like the original game, there's something so incredibly addictive about the whole experience that you don't really mind.
Very little about the game has actually changed, though. The Ice Tower, useful for slowing quicker enemies, is now a standard item and the Tesla Tower is now a little cheaper to unlock. Other than that, though, it's more a matter of the enemy waves being far more numerous and what seems like an open invitation to have another player tagging along that was the goal for the Encore expansion.
That's not a bad thing, though. Along with five new ambient music tracks from Japanese composers Otograph, the new setting of Toki Island feels just different enough to coax a feeling of déjà vu and of course a handful of new challenges (15 of 'em in all) out of the meager six bucks it costs to play the game.
I honestly don't really have anything new to say that wasn't already covered in our original PJM review. The game still retains a brilliant sense of balance and an intrinsic "just one more try" feeling, and now there's more of it. Granted, those new levels are made with the idea that you've already played through the base levels first, and if you haven't then shame on you because the game may well be the must-have download on the PSN, but really this is an expansion designed for fans of the first game.
Meaning if you liked the original game, this should be an absolute no-brainer. Seriously, if you haven't yet, go buy both and thank us later. I'll be here trying to rainbow all these new levels and failing miserably in the process.
