PixelJunk Shooter is the latest installment in the popular PixelJunk series from Japanese based developer Q-Games. We kicked the series off by getting behind the wheel in PixelJunk Racers, soon turned to hone our tower defense skills in the equally addictive, impressive and cute PixelJunk Monsters, before populating ethereal gardens in the tranquil and undeniably beautiful platformer PixelJunk Eden.

Since PixelJunk Racers was launched in 2007 the series has gathered momentum and built a substantial fan base. Despite this popularity Q-Games has not shown any interest in bringing the games to the Xbox 360, perhaps because that console is not a popular choice in Japan, and so the series remains exclusively available on the PS3 as a downloadable title via the PlayStation Network.

One thing that has remained consistent throughout the series has been the polished graphics, interesting gameplay and charming music. And I am happy to confirm that the developer has not strayed from this path with PixelJunk Shooter – after all, when you have a winning formula why change it? During development Q-Games ran a competition giving fans the chance to come up with a name for the game but, while the response was substantial, many were not too pleased when the name PixelJunk Shooter was chosen. However, Dylan Cuthbert, President and Managing Director of Q-Games, adamantly stood by their choice, going to great lengths to explain that Shooter was a perfect name for the game, since that is exactly what you do in the game – you shoot. I couldn’t agree with you more Dylan.

Shooter sees players navigating their way through a series of underground caverns in a little yellow submarine. Your mission is to save as many trapped scientists as possible and, with the mantra ‘leave no man behind, soldier’ ringing in your ears, you will attempt to do just that – save the helpless from an imminent and rather unpleasant death, all the while shooting of course.

The journey is a hazardous one, for not only are the caverns teeming with enemies intent on making you the next item on their lunch menu, but some caverns are filled with magma (hereinafter referred to as lava) and other interesting liquids too. And while the game lives up to its name as you will be constantly shooting the cannons on your submarine, take care when you shoot and break through the rock or ice to a new area in order to save a stranded survivor, because sometimes the lava flow may just roast your man alive. This coupled with his cry of ‘Arghhh!’ will no doubt leave you feeling so guilty that you will probably be inspired to restart the stage and save just one more.

To make things even more interesting you will encounter different abilities along the way. These range from a magma suit capable of melting ice to a water suit that enables you to cool the lava and grapple the ice away, and even an inverter suit which allows you to plunge into the lava without taking damage. You can also keep an eye out for handy power-ups including a shield and even a 1UP token as well as treasures which are vital to unlocking later stages.

As you progress through the caverns you will use L1 to deploy your grapple and save the survivors trapped underground. Simply follow the ‘Save me’ icons to lead you to your next mark. If you do happen to take some damage from an enemy or from the environmental surroundings, just lie low for a short while to regenerate. It goes without saying that being too close to the lava will make you overheat, as will taking on enemy fire, while plunging into a pool of water or staying in a safe area will restore your health and so on.

Not only will you have to overcome different lava and water challenges and learn to manipulate three fluids (water, lava and a magnetic black liquid which resembles oil) but you will also have to solve challenging puzzles along the way. Reflecting mirrors may melt the ice blocking your way to the next survivor while transferring water to a lava pool may open a way too. There’s always something to keep you on your toes.

After you save all the trapped scientists (give or take those few who were killed in action) an exit gate will open, allowing you to proceed to the next stage. However, if too many survivors are killed (noted on your casualty counter) you will have to restart the stage. At the end of each level you will meet up with an interesting and challenging boss battle – interesting enough to keep you entertained, but not challenging enough to chase you away for good.

The music, like the other PixelJunk games that came before Shooter, is outstanding and well suited to the actions being performed on-screen. Another aspect of the game that shines in true PixelJunk fashion is the two player component – we all know that the only thing better than playing games, is playing games with a friend and Shooter is no different. It brings more of a strategic element to the game, with one player creating a path to the survivors while the other dashes in to save them before the lava reaches them. Of course sometimes the additional player can get in the way of the lava flow, in which case a steady flow of obscenities may come out of the mouth of the deceased submarine driver. Luckily it only takes a few seconds for the unfortunate player to regenerate and get back into the swing of things, no doubt taking a little bit of lava revenge on his teammate sometime in the near future. Quick note to players: explode the gas carefully when your friend is around, unless you are taking the aforementioned revenge.

Although there are only three levels in the game, each contains a sufficient change of scenery (rock, ice and lava) so as to avoid repetition and the fifteen stages in each level do a good job of keeping you entertained. However, the game was over in about three hours and I couldn’t help but to feel that it was a little too short. With that being said, the price tag of R75 still justifies a purchase because you will no doubt want to replay levels to get a higher score and save everyone so there is a certain replayability to be had. The bottom line is that Shooter is a well-polished fun game that will leave you eagerly looking forward to the next game in the PixelJunk series.

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