The PixelJunk series has been going
strong on PlayStation Network for the past three years. The series’ various
installments aren’t connected by an over-arching story or even gameplay genre,
but rather by their stylish visuals and simple-yet-deep mechanics. Until
recently, the series was available only on the PS3; as I don’t own the system,
I’d read up on the series but never experienced it for myself. Now, though,
developers Q-Games have taken the series’ second installment, improved it in a
number of ways, and brought it to the PSP as PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe.
Monsters is a tower defense game.
For those unfamiliar with the genre, tower defense is an offshoot of real-time
strategy. Like real-time strategies, tower defense games see the player attacked
by enemy armies, but instead of being able to create armies of your own to go on
the offensive, as the name suggests the player is instead limited to creating
defensive towers, which will fire upon any enemies that come within range.
Players must use clever tactical thinking when deciding which towers to build,
and where.
As a tribal-masked woodland
protector, it’s your job to protect your flock of … small creatures of some
sort. Honestly, the game’s got no story to speak of, so we’re never really told
who or what these creatures are, but nonetheless they are yours to protect. At
the beginning of each stage you’ll have twenty critters in your flock, and all
that’s required for you to win the stage is for at least one to survive the
waves of enemies that will attack.
As the flock huddles around your base,
you’ll set up towers to attack the oncoming enemies.
Waves of enemies will attack
your camp, making their way through the surrounding woods. By standing at a
tree, you can replace that tree with the defensive tower of your choice. There
are a variety of tower types to choose from, each with a different purpose –
crossbow towers have a long range and fire arrows relatively quickly, for
instance, whereas cannon towers fire slowly and at shorter range, but do massive
damage to everything in the targeted area. Different enemy types will require
different towers to defend with – spiders are too fast for cannons to target
effectively, for example, but if you have an ice tower nearby, which slows
approaching enemies, those cannons will tear them apart.
Defeated enemies grant gold, which
is used to purchase new towers, and sometimes gems, which you’ll use to upgrade
your towers. Every tower can be upgraded five times, with each upgrade granting
an increase in power, speed, or range. You can also upgrade towers by dancing
for them, but that takes time – time you could be using to build new towers or
to collect gold and gems. Gems can also be invested into research, granting you
new, more powerful towers, but this requires you to save them up, which means
your existing towers won’t be upgraded nearly as quickly. The game is constantly
forcing you to make strategic decisions like this, and only by intelligently
spending your limited resources will you emerge victorious.
You’ll have to decide, for instance,
whether it’s better to have lots of weak towers or a few powerful ones.
The game’s first few stages ease you
in gently, with twisting mazes that the enemies must travel through to get to
your base. These forest mazes give your towers ample opportunities to fire on
the enemies; as the game goes on though, the stages themselves can become
devious. Take, for instance, one mid-game level, that sees your camp on one side
of a river, enemies approaching from the other side, and only a small bridge
connecting the two sides. The smart thing, obviously, is to cover the bridge
with powerful towers, so no enemies can get across, right? That works great
until the flying enemies show up, approaching your camp far out of range of your
bridge towers.
A similar situation: heavy defenses
around that land bridge do wonders, until the enemies start flying in via
balloons.
The original PixelJunk Monsters
release contained only one island with 21 stages; an expansion released a few
months later added a new island with 15 more levels. Monsters Deluxe contains
these 36 levels plus an all-new island exclusive to the PSP; this puts the level
count closer to 50. They’ve added two new towers, and also refined certain gameplay elements – ice towers, for instance, originally had to be researched,
but are now available to build by default. They’ve also added Challenges, which
require you to approach stages in new and difficult ways – beat a stage without
ever upgrading a tower, for instance. All these additions and improvements make
the PSP edition the definitive version of the game.
The PixelJunk series is notable for
being one of the first downloadable games with a commitment to HD visuals, and
while the graphics have obviously been slightly downgraded for the PSP it’s
still a beautiful game. It has a distinctive artistic style with crisp lines and
bright colors, and everything from enemies to towers to your character moves and
animates so smoothly it’s hard to believe it’s all hand-drawn. The game also
deserves special mention for its music, created by Japanese 2-person band
Otograph. The gentle tunes combine elements of tribal music with more modern
styles like folk and even electronica, to create a calming soundtrack that’s the
perfect counterpoint to the often frantic gameplay.
As a $20 download from the
PlayStation Network, PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe is one of the best gaming values
in recent memory. For a budget price you get a metric ton of content, all of it
perfectly challenging and infinitely replayable. I must admit, this game has
taken me by surprise. Based on the reception the original received I expected a
quality game; I didn’t expect to start playing at 9 pm and only stop at 3 am
when my PSP battery died (true story). Even if it’s not the sort of game you
normally get into, give it a try – it’s cleverly designed, insanely addictive,
and most of all, just a blast to play.
Gameplay: 9.1
They’ve streamlined the real-time strategy formula, losing the complications
while retaining every ounce of depth. The result is a game that, like many
classics, is simple to pick up but tough to master. The satisfaction you’ll
derive from wiping out wave after wave of enemy attacks with your
meticulously-placed defenses never gets old.
Graphics: 8.3
The game has a unique hand-drawn look that makes looking at the screen for hours
on end a joy. Cute characters (and even enemies) inhabit a simple, beautiful
world, and the visuals are clear so it’s easy to differentiate between all the
various enemies, towers, and environmental elements.
Sound: 8.5
The soothing music is, like the graphics, simple yet beautiful. When the
onscreen action gets hectic it’s nice to have a calming song playing to keep you
thinking clearly and strategically. The game’s sound effects give each enemy
unit and tower attack its own distinctive voice.
Difficulty: Hard
Though the first few stages ease you in gently, levels get tough quickly and
you’ll have to devise clever tactics to make it through alive. There are three
difficulty modes to choose from, and the truly hardcore can try to achieve a
rainbow on each stage, which is only granted by a flawless performance – making
it through all enemy waves with no tribe members killed.
Multiplayer: 8.7
The PSP version includes online co-op play for the first time, though it’s tough
to communicate with your partner through the in-game symbol-based message
system. The real joy’s to be had in local co-op, where you and a friend can talk
to each other, together planning your strategy.
Concept: 8.5
While the game didn’t invent the concept of tower defense, it’s honed that style
of gameplay to a razor’s edge. The bizarre yet beautiful world you inhabit may
not tell a story, but it’s a perfect place for each strategic encounter to
unfold.
Overall: 9.0
While it might have called the PS3 its home first, PixelJunk Monsters is a
perfect fit on the PSP. With more features, levels, and some of the most fun and
addictive strategy gameplay ever, you’re doing yourself a real disservice if you
miss out on this one.
