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PixelJunk Shooter 2
PlayStation Network
What the Bullet-Hell is This?
4/5 stars
I had a lot of good things to say about the original “PixelJunk Shooter.” Having enjoyed that game, I was expecting an expansion pack to be released in the form of an ‘Encore,’ such as those that Q-Games have released for both “PixelJunk Monsters” and “PixelJunk Eden.” However, such an Encore was not to be – instead Q-Games decided to release the second half of “PixelJunk Shooter” as a stand-alone game: “PixelJunk Shooter 2.”
Presentation
There isn’t a whole lot to say about “PixelJunk Shooter 2’s” presentation that I didn’t already say about the original game. The graphics engine is exactly the same, with only a few new enemies and environment types.
The soundtrack, which was extremely weird and somewhat trippy in the original game, is much more subdued and less weird this time around. There are still a few weird tracks, but the amount of weirdness is drastically less.
Story
After finishing “PixelJunk Shooter,” I didn’t really expect to be rescuing more survivors on planet Apoxus Prime. However, in “PixelJunk Shooter 2,” that is exactly what happens. Since the ending of “PixelJunk Shooter” is recapped at the beginning of “PixelJunk Shooter 2,” it’s no longer a spoiler to reveal that the first game ends after Chapter 3, with the small, player-controlled rescue craft from the Ers Pinita Colada being eaten by a gigantic subterranean worm. “PixelJunk Shooter 2” picks up right after that point, pushing the player directly into Chapter 4. In this respect, “PixelJunk Shooter 2” feels much more like an episodic portion of a single game, than a full-fledged sequel. It also seems ridiculous that “PixelJunk Shooter 2” is sold as a stand-alone game at a price equal to the original instead of a half-price Encore expansion pack.
Complaints about continuity and marketing aside, “PixelJunk Shooter 2” retreads the story of the original game by making the player re-rescue the 540 survivors, as they apparently were scattered all around the worm’s entrails and other subterranean caverns when the worm destroyed their S-Cargo transportation pod. Also like the first game, “PixelJunk Shooter 2” takes place over the course of three chapters (Chapters 4-6 this time), and reveals a bit more about the ancient history of Apoxus Prime – though never enough to actually commit to world-building or the creation of a rich mythos.
Also like the first game, the player has a secondary goal of collecting treasure in the form of diamonds. However, unlike the original game, “PixelJunk Shooter 2” holds its ending hostage until the player collects all the treasure in the three chapters. Upon collecting all the treasure, the game unlocks a true Final Stage, which must be completed to see the ending (which isn’t really anything to get excited about anyway).
Gameplay
The original “PixelJunk Shooter” impressed me by defying the genre conventions of SHMUPs by incorporating exploration-based gameplay, unlimited lives, frequent checkpoints, and a variety of puzzles.
“PixelJunk Shooter 2” also incorporates all of these things. It also has all of the same controls and gameplay mechanics as the first game, along with two new power-up suits: The Hungry Suit, which turns the ship into Pac-Man and changes the gameplay to resemble old games like “Boulderdash;” and the Light Suit, which causes the ship to glow and exists for the sole purpose of being a counter to the new darkness mechanic that appears in Chapter 6.
What is really jarring about “PixelJunk Shooter 2” is that Chapter 5 puts on a big ol’ TrollFace and says, “Problem?” while dragging the player kicking and screaming into Bullet-Hell. Chapter 5 includes a new enemy type that spews out constant streams of bullets (in memorizable patterns, at least). In order to defeat these enemies, the player must dodge bullets in order to get close enough to use the ship’s grapple arm to grab the enemy’s head and pull on it (which stops the hail of bullets) while also shooting missiles at it. Even worse, the Boss Monster in Chapter 5 takes an incredibly long time to kill, has several different phases, and goes into full-blown Bullet-Hell mode for every phase after the first. I’m not a fan of Bullet-Hell SHMUPs, which is why I never bothered to play or review “PixelJunk Sidescroller,” which Q-Games worked on between “PixelJunk Shooter” and “PixelJunk Shooter 2.” It’s obvious that the developers working on this sequel/episode/encore forgot about the low-key vibe of the first game and the fact that the original working title was “PixelJunk Fluid Dynamics” – e.g., nothing to do with shooting at all. Despite the fact that Chapter 5 was an unpleasant surprise, and the Boss Monster nearly made me give up on the game in frustration, I decided to stick it out, and was eventually able to see and memorize the patterns well enough to get through the Bullet-Hell portion of the game. After the fact, the Bullet-Hell in “PixelJunk Shooter 2” only really felt like ‘Bullet-Heck,’ in that the segments were short, the checkpoints were still numerous, the lives still unlimited, and the patterns not terribly difficult. In the end, the only real negative about the addition of Bullet-Hell to “PixelJunk Shooter 2” is how out-of-place it is compared to the first game (as well as Chapters 4 and 6 of THIS game)
Finally, “PixelJunk Shooter 2” also features an online VS mode. At the time I played the game, VS mode was all but dead, with nobody playing. Of course, I don’t really care about this type of thing, so that didn’t bother me or negatively impact my opinion of the game.
Overall
“PixelJunk Shooter 2” is a worthy second half to one of PSN’s best exclusive games. The increased difficulty and change of pace that occurs halfway through this game might turn-off fans of the original, but might also create more appeal in this game for fans of traditional SHMUPs. Fans of the first “PixelJunk Shooter” who are desperate for more stages should feel confident in purchasing “PixelJunk Shooter 2,” provided they have the stomach for some light Bullet-Hell and don’t care about narrative.
Presentation: 4.5/5
Story: 2/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Overall (not an average): 4/5
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