PixelJunk Monster Encore Impressions

Well, the expansion to Pixeljunk Monsters was just released in Japan and I've already beat the game. It'll be released in the US next week. Needless to say, I couldn't wait that long. So I went ahead and purchased a Japanese Playstation card and downloaded the game off the Japan Playstation Network.

I was disappointed to find out that my previous game and saves files were not compatible. So I had to re-purchase the full game in Japanese for the expansion to work. I think it ended up costing me something like $15 and I’ll gladly pay $15 for a game I love!

In one day, and in almost one sitting, I was able to completely beat the original game as well as the expansion! Oh and to top it off, I beat the entire game in two player mode....BY MYSELF!
I'd move a character, set the controller down, move the next character, and repeat. I eventually got to the point where I could move both characters at once, not well mind you, but I could.

For some people, two player mode is much easier and for me, I'd agree with that statement. The game is still difficult, but with two characters, you're able to multi-task much more freely. Also, playing in two player mode by yourself, was really enjoyable. It added a whole new dimension to the game that I hadn't previously experienced, and as you can see below, its entirely doable. I got multiple first place global rankings.

My impressions on the expansion, including minor spoilers:

The expansion is more difficult than the original game. Most notably, the last level was especially difficult, resulting in tactics that I had never fully explored. Oh, and the expansion will throw some twists and turns at you, stuff that you've never seen before and would never expect. There were quite a few "WTF" jaw dropping moments.
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I really appreciated the variety of levels. Overall, the levels were much prettier looking and were much more frequently themed. For example, one stage was inspired by Pixeljunk racers and resembled a race track.
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There are five new songs from Otograph to listen to, some are better than others. Kudos to Q-Games for adding more songs, my insanity level was wavering.
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I was disappointed to learn that there were no new towers or monsters in the game. I suppose adding those things would have created more play test time, but it still would have been nice.
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Finally, there's a secret at the end of the game which is simply amazing! If you don't want to know what that secret is, you can stop reading here. If not, click the link below to take you to the full post with screenshots (containing spoilers) and new information straight from Dylan Cuthbert of Q-Games, whom I recently contacted.

Also, check out the video below for a brief preview of Pixeljunk Monsters Encore:


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After completing every level in both the main game and the expansion, you unlock a third island called Tum Tum island. This presented a problem for me because, as I mentioned above, my US save files wouldn't transfer over, so I had to beat the entire game again.

On Tum Tum island you are able to enter a phrase consisting of five spaces, using letters, numbers, etc. By doing this, you are able to randomly generate a level. Which in theory, provides for infinite replay value.

Here's an email I sent to Dylan Cuthbert of Q-Games:
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Hello there,

You might be the first person to get that far - that was pretty quick! We made that last level nice and tough... I'll bet you were surprised when all those bosses started showing up. :-)

Using the generator there is no way to know what stage will come out of the mix, that would remove the fun! Try any combination you want (there are 38 to the power of 5 combinations, which is a considerable amount) - such as D Y L A N, T I M M Y, D O G G Y, etc. Hopefully people will set up threads which list a daily or weekly challenge and then post their scores.

It was a complete experiment to include that and give people effectively infinite replay value, so hopefully more and more people will get that far. Because of the random nature some levels will be impossible to clear, never mind rainbow but your score is recorded locally even if you lose.

Regards

Dylan
Q-Games Ltd.
----- Original Message -----
From: Tim Russell
To: dylan@q-games.com
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 9:43 AM
Subject: Pixeljunk Monsters Encore Tum Tum Island Question

Hey Dylan,
I've just completed Pixeljunk Monsters encore and unlocked the level generator. First off, thank you so much for making an expansion! Secondly, thank you for included a level generator. I was praying you guys would include something like that!

So I have a quick question about the level generator. I see that there are five slots to enter in numbers, symbols, etc. Is there a method to how these levels are generated? For example, is there a way to know what to expect, such as the specific level being played.

Also, can you recommend any good phrases for the level generator?

THANK YOU AGAIN! I love the game! (The last level was crazy hard)

kind regards,
-Tim Russell