Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe

1. Official Site
2. Platform: PSP
3. Publisher: Sony America
4. Developer: Q-Games Ltd
5. Release Date: 10/20/09
6. Genre: Strategy

by Mike Repella

I’m going to come out and admit this at the start, I love tower defense games. For some reason they scratch a gaming itch of mine and I have yet to play a widely released tower defense game that I didn’t like. Here’s the weird part, I’m not that good at them. For me there is something that is really compelling about setting up your defenses and then watching wave after wave of enemies try to break through your defenses. When Pixel Junk Monsters was originally released on the PS3 I passed over it. I looked at the game and saw the simple graphics and thought that it looked like it would be more at home on the PSP. Apparently the folks at Q-Games were thinking the same thing since the game has now been given the director’s cut treatment for its PSP release, entitled PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe.

Tower Defense Goodness

This PSP version is essentially the same game as the PS3 release, except the add-on island is included instead of as a separate download and a whole new island has been added for this deluxe version. The gameplay in PixelJunk Monsters is pure tower defense. For those new to the genre, the concept is simple. The goal of each level is to protect your base (a hut in this case) from enemies. You do this by strategically placing different types of weapon towers around the map. There is a wide selection of towers to choose from; with bonus towers unlocking after you beat certain levels. Your choice in which towers you place and where to place them is the key to victory, since some towers will be more effective against certain enemies and ineffective against others. For instance, a cannon tower will easily tear apart slow moving ground units, but it is completely useless against flying enemies.

Most levels in PixelJunk Monsters feature twenty separate waves of enemies, with a boss enemy at the end. The monsters typically come in waves, with each wave consisting of the same enemy type. When an enemy is killed they usually drop coins or gems. The coins can be used to build new towers and the gems can either be used to buy new tower types or to upgrade your existing towers. Deciding whether or not to spend your gems on buying new tower types or simply upgrading your existing towers plays a big part in the strategy of each level.

What's Different?

There are two major features that set this game apart from the rest of the tower defense genre. The first is that the player has direct control over an in game character. This character cannot attack the enemies , instead you use him to move around the map and place towers. The character’s other main function is to collect coins and gems dropped by the enemies. He can also increase a tower's level by standing next to it. This system actually immerses you into the action more than your typical tower defense game, because you will be actively moving around the battlefield instead of simply placing towers and then sitting back to watch the action.

The other unique feature in PixelJunk Monsters is the fact that you cannot simply place a tower wherever you want. All towers must be placed on trees. Each map will have a different arrangement of trees and varying amount of trees. Most maps will have multiple paths through the trees that the monsters will progress through on the way to your base. These maps give you a ton of places to setup your towers. However, some maps may only have a handful of trees, making your tower selection and placement crucial. This system not only allowed the developers to create a huge variety of levels, but it also adds to the strategic nature of the game.

Visually, the game stays true to its title with top down pixel based graphics. The monsters in the game aren’t meant to be scary or frightening. The entire game has a very charming hand drawn look that could translate really well into a children’s cartoon.  Perhaps what’s more impressive is that the game doesn’t appear to lose any detail or performance when compared to its PS3 version. On the audio front the game features brand new tracks, when combined with the original score the PSP version includes more than 20 songs.

Multiplayer

As I said in my intro, I can get addicted to tower defense games, but PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe has found yet another way to hook me with its inclusion of co-op play. Through the use of local Wi-Fi or over the internet, you can team up with another PSP gamer and tackle the levels together. This mode really works well in PixelJunk Monsters. In co-op each player is given control of their own character and you work together to defend the same base. Each player can place towers and collect coins and gems. However, there is not one bank allotment to build towers with, instead the coins that your character collects goes to his own bank that he can then use to build towers with. This means that if you don’t co-operate and work together one player can hog all the coins. This might actually end up costing you the game since the player hogging the coins will be only the one who can build towers. Co-op mode can be really fun if you work together and communicate with each other in order to form a strategy. I should point out that while the game does include online multiplayer, I was never able to actually find anyone to play with online, since the game lobby was always empty. So my co-op experience comes strictly from local Wi-Fi play.

New to the PSP version is an original island with 10 levels to defeat. The new island has a tropical island look and feel to it, complete with new crab monsters and all new bonus towers to unlock.  On top of that, the PSP version features all of the add-on content found in PixelJunk Monsters Encore for the PS3. With all of this stuff packed into one PSP game, even gamers that bought the original version on the PS3 will still find something new in the portable version.

Bottom Line

If you own a PSP and you enjoy tower defense games then buying PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe is a no brainer. The game offers a solid take on the tower defense genre. The difficulty will test veterans of the tower defense games and the inclusion of an easy mode ensures that newcomers will be able to enjoy the game as well. With three different islands to complete, each with more than 10 levels, plus co-op play, PixelJunk Monsters offers a lot of gameplay for your gaming dollar and it truly is the ultimate edition of a good game.

Gaming Trend Score

86

1. Graphics: 80
2. Audio: 80
3. Controls: 85
4. Gameplay: 90
5. Value/Replay: 90
6. OVERALL:86