PJ Shooter 2..has multiplayer

[InfiniteStates]

And it sounds pretty good (we already know the single player stuff is good). If I wasn't getting it already, I'd be considering it now...

After a skeptically received start with PixelJunk Racers, Dylan Cuthbert's Q Games has quickly built one of the most vibrant and admired series in video games with PixelJunk Monsters, Eden, and the original Shooter. While each game has a completely different set of mechanics and visual style, there is a unifying sensibility. Controls must be simple and reminiscent of the early 2-button days of 8-bit gaming, and each game must have a vibrant and artful aesthetic designed to run in 1080p. While this might sound like the loosest possible criteria to define a series, there does indeed seem to be a common thread born from Cuthbert's dual mandate of simplicity and lavishness.

PixelJunk Shooter 2 is the first full sequel in a series that had previously made big departures with each new game. The game will certainly offer more of the same basic environmental discovery with controls built on old twin-stick shooters, but the sequel will also provide a challenging online multiplayer mode to stretch the design concept in a new direction.


More pixel, less junk.

In Online Battle you'll compete against another player in a 5 round competition to see who can rescue the most civilians from a map. One player will begin on offense and fly around seeking out civilians to pick up with her tow cable and carry back to her side of the map. The other player is on defense and has to hunt down the offensive player. The catch is that the offensive player is invisible to the defensive player until the defensive player gets close enough to aim a vision cone towards them. The defensive player will be able to see the civilians being pulled up into the air even if they can't see the offensive player. If the defensive player kills the offensive player they'll get their turn on offense. If not the roles will automatically switch after the game timer runs out.

Before each round begins players will be able to pick out certain ship and weapon types as well as limited-use power-ups. The player with the most civilians in their area after 5 rounds will win the game and earn the ability to unlock new weapons. The turn-taking structure enables some simple but interesting strategic approaches. Even after a civilian has been moved to one player's zone the other player can take them out and move them into their own zone.

This subtle distinction means that games are never over and big score differences can be quickly made up in the last couple rounds. For instance one player might use their powerful weapons early on and jump to an early lead but a savvier player can save all their boost weapons for the last round, then overwhelm the player and take back control. It's not just a game of reflex and skill but one of metered strategy.

I was able to play a game in one planet, which had 5 different maps to choose from but the Sony representative told me there would be several different planets, each with their own unique collection of maps. The maps contained all of the destructible elements of the single-player mode, including degradable walls that can be used to move lava and water around levels. Ships are able to take quite a bit of damage so each round should be fairly competitive. There won't be any single-shot kills with standard weaponry.

A Sony representative told me they're hoping to have PixelJunk Shooter 2 available for download on PSN in Quarter 1 of 2011, or sometime in the next few months.

[DJ-Daz]

I know I'm going to have to get back into PJS. Brilliant game.
But PJS2 sounds very promising.