PixelJunk 1-4Play
We've gone hands-on with Q Games' latest PixelJunk offering. Who wants to touch us?
Published: April 29, 2009
If you've ever played a PixelJunk game, you've probably noticed the little crown-like PixelJunk logo and a number right smack at the bottom of the screen. If you haven't, then track down a screen of the game (might we suggest right here?) and you'll see what we mean. It's sort of the game's unofficial tag -- its working title, if you will -- but it also defines the order in which the games were released. What's truly interesting about PixelJunk 1-4 is that it doesn't yet have one of those names.
You are going to choose it.
Well, maybe not you personally (though it's certainly possible). See, Q-Games is going to open up the naming process to the visitors on their site, so as you read through this preview, start thinking about what you'd dub it. You never know...
It might just be the simplicity of all the PixelJunk games that's made them such interesting (if not absolutely consistent) hits, and 1-4 falls right in line with the dead simple premises of the other games. Simply put, the core concepts are rescue and fire/water. You're a simple little craft, putting around in enclosed caves trying to scoop up little dudes in heat shielded suits with a telescopic arm (aimed with the right analog stick) before moving on to the exit. That's it.
Okay, we lied, that's not all there is to do. There's the occasional bat-like menace or a critter growing out of the walls of the caves that have to be dispatched with the use of rockets, but aside from scooping up little stars that serve as both a points reward system and, when chained, a way to lower your heat (which is how you'll die; overheat and your engines go kaput), you've got the gist of it all. That heat we mentioned comes from arguably the biggest, coolest part of what makes 1-4 so interesting: the interaction between water (which cools you down) and magma (which will quickly max out your heat shields). Introduce water to the magma and it'll cool, forming a crust which you can then shoot through to dig deeper.
It's not so much the way the water and magma combine that make things interesting (though there is that), but rather the fluid dynamics that are introduced when you burrow through a containing layer of rock to cause the liquids to come rushing out in a realistic but stylized show of pressure and gushing founts of orange and blue. Guiding the floes and torrents is absolutely crucial to both saving trapped cave dwellers and getting to the exit in some cases.
We putted around, amazed at just how simple and effortless it all was (think Blast Factor but from a side perspective instead of top-down), and without any instruction as to what any of the buttons did, we were instantly swooping around and saving helpless dudes. How's that for intuitive? Sure, we could chalk it up to there being only two real buttons to press, but we're still going to pat ourselves on the back anyway.
We can't wait to play more of the game, but the short taste we had was more than enough to whet our appetite for what's to come, including what the game will be called. Personally? We're going with PixelJunk Elements. We'll have more soon.
You are going to choose it.
Well, maybe not you personally (though it's certainly possible). See, Q-Games is going to open up the naming process to the visitors on their site, so as you read through this preview, start thinking about what you'd dub it. You never know...
It might just be the simplicity of all the PixelJunk games that's made them such interesting (if not absolutely consistent) hits, and 1-4 falls right in line with the dead simple premises of the other games. Simply put, the core concepts are rescue and fire/water. You're a simple little craft, putting around in enclosed caves trying to scoop up little dudes in heat shielded suits with a telescopic arm (aimed with the right analog stick) before moving on to the exit. That's it.
Okay, we lied, that's not all there is to do. There's the occasional bat-like menace or a critter growing out of the walls of the caves that have to be dispatched with the use of rockets, but aside from scooping up little stars that serve as both a points reward system and, when chained, a way to lower your heat (which is how you'll die; overheat and your engines go kaput), you've got the gist of it all. That heat we mentioned comes from arguably the biggest, coolest part of what makes 1-4 so interesting: the interaction between water (which cools you down) and magma (which will quickly max out your heat shields). Introduce water to the magma and it'll cool, forming a crust which you can then shoot through to dig deeper.
It's not so much the way the water and magma combine that make things interesting (though there is that), but rather the fluid dynamics that are introduced when you burrow through a containing layer of rock to cause the liquids to come rushing out in a realistic but stylized show of pressure and gushing founts of orange and blue. Guiding the floes and torrents is absolutely crucial to both saving trapped cave dwellers and getting to the exit in some cases.
We putted around, amazed at just how simple and effortless it all was (think Blast Factor but from a side perspective instead of top-down), and without any instruction as to what any of the buttons did, we were instantly swooping around and saving helpless dudes. How's that for intuitive? Sure, we could chalk it up to there being only two real buttons to press, but we're still going to pat ourselves on the back anyway.
We can't wait to play more of the game, but the short taste we had was more than enough to whet our appetite for what's to come, including what the game will be called. Personally? We're going with PixelJunk Elements. We'll have more soon.
