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Okay, okay, everyone, settle down. Listen, we know there's been a lot of unrest in this, our first ever "How to Get Into the Top 20 Globally in World 1 Stage 1 for PixelJunk Shooter" class. You've been here for three weeks now without ever actually talking Shooter strategies and your whispers are starting to become deafening. "Why does Mr. McElroy take such long naps?" we hear you ask, or, "Why did I have to play $3,000 for this?"

On this, our graduation day, we have two messages for you. 1. Watch the video after the break and do exactly that. And 2. The magic was inside you the whole time. Now, if a few of you would just stand on your desks and say, "Oh captain, my captain," we'll be on our way.

... Nobody? Fine.

[Via Twitter]

On the eve of the launch of Q-Games' latest super-stylish opus, PixelJunk Shooter, the studio's president, Dylan Cuthbert, decided to drop a new trailer for the title on PlayStation.Blog. We've posted it above -- as you can clearly see, it contains all of the requisite elements to fulfill the game's moniker: There's pixelated enemies, a great deal of of shooting, and plenty of junk to aim the aforementioned shooting at.

The blog post also contained good news for thrifty fans of the franchise -- on Dec. 22, Q-Games will bundle PixelJunk Eden, Monsters and Racers together into a single $19.99 bundle. Sounds like a pretty sweet package if you're hoping to receive a new PS3 from ol' Saint Nick this holiday season.

Q-Games' latest entry in its PSN PixelJunk series will arrive on PlayStation Network worldwide next Thursday, December 10. Shooter follows the legacy of previous PixelJunk games, by adding a modern twist to old-school gameplay. In Shooter's case, the twist happens to be realistic liquid physics, as players manipulate the flow of water, lava and ice.

Like Monsters and Eden before it, PixelJunk Shooter is expected to cost $10 or the foreign currency equivalent.

Source – 'Tis the PixelJunk Season... [PlayStation.Blog]
Source – Dylan Cuthbert [Twitter]

Ready for some fairly unsurprising news? Nintendo UK recently revealed what we all expected yesterday following the OFLC rating of a Q-Games project titled Reflect Missile -- the game is designed for the DSiWare platform, and features Breakout-esque gameplay with strategy elements. You have to use a special set of missiles to help you clear out the aforementioned bricks, but you've only got a limited number, so ballistic conservation is key.

Ready for some completely flabbergasting news? According to the same Nintendo listing, the game is out right now in the UK. Like, this second, now. You can own it, provided you live in the UK, and have access to the fungible assets required to purchase 500 DSi Points. We've contacted Q-Games to find out when Reflect Missile will be fired at North America.

Q-Games and Nintendo had a recent partnership in the release of Digidrive, but it doesn't seem like they're letting their relationship cool off any time soon. According to a new OFLC rating, Q-Games is developing -- and Nintendo is publishing -- a game called Reflect Missile. No platform was announced, but the safe money's on either a DSiWare or WiiWare release.

Now, let's get to determining exactly what a "Reflect Missile" is. Is is just, like, a really shiny missile, in which one might see themselves? Or is "Reflect Missile" a command in weird, broken English? For instance, "Captain Douglass, reflect [that] missile?" Or is the command being issued directly to the missile itself -- "Reflect, Missile!" The possibilities are as endless as they are nonsensical.

[Via GamerBytes]

For those anticipating the release PixelJunk Shooter, VG247 has footage of the first level in action to whet your appetite. Or drive you bonkers because you aren't the one playing it. Clocking in at around 12 minutes, the video gives you a taste of the game's unique blend of shooting and puzzle solving.

Sadly the game isn't set to hit the PSN until December 10, according to VG247. So for now, all we can do is wait... and dream of a brighter future. Check out the game in action after the break.

Q-Games president Dylan Cuthbert has suggested that rampant piracy of his studio's optimized PSP port, PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe (PJMD), has deterred its plans for further PSP development. "I don't think we'll port anything else to the PSP, we have to see how PJMD does as there's a *lot* of piracy," Cuthbert tweeted over the weekend. Perhaps constrained by character limitations or simply caught up in another Uncharted 2 sesh, Cuthbert did not cite piracy estimates -- nor sales figures, for that matter. He did, however, confirm a demo is in the works; "but I don't think it makes any difference to piracy," Cuthbert lamented.

Cuthbert added in a follow-up tweet, "because Monsters is such a good fit it is being pirated I think," and then he responded to a suggestion to incorporate anti-piracy measures into the game code with: "unfortunately the pirates could just hack those kinds of things out." While the PSP Go has yet to be fully unlocked by would-be pirates and download-only PSN titles seem to be well protected from piracy, PJMD is available on UMD (in Japan and the greater Asia region), which has no doubt lead to the distribution of pirated versions of the game.

While it's somewhat naive of Q-Games to not have anticipated a piracy issue, it's no less disheartening. The PSP has long suffered from a lack of consistent third-party support because of a history of sales losses due to piracy. Q-Games is just the latest developer hesitant to commit further resources to supporting the PSP platform, and without the release of an impossibility firm firmware, it won't be the last.

Update: Cuthbert reemphasizes that PJMD sales will be the key determining factor that drives Q-Games' future in PSP development. Cuthbert's studio has not definitely dropped PSP development, but ostensibly low sales over the first three weeks of PJMD availability have Q-Games in some doubt about pursuing further PSP projects. Of course, a sales spike could certainly change that attitude.

[Via Examiner; thanks, Marcus N.]

Recent connection issues have marred European PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe owners from participating in rousing online games against North American and Asian players. Thankfully, the PlayStation Blog has released a two-part DIY guide to help fix the PSP game's issues. The process is simple:

1. Delete your game through the PSP Home Menu (select Game>Memory Stick>press the triangle button with PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe highlighted and select Delete).
2. Connect to PlayStation Store > Select View Downloads and re-download PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe from the Download List.

Users will still retain their previous progress and now (hopefully) be completely problem free in their quest for online Deluxe dominance.

Q-Games' adorable tower defense title PixelJunk Monsters is getting a wee bit smaller this week with the release of its somewhat ironically named, PSP-sized adaptation, PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe. Though technically tinier in stature, the game offers all the strategic defending of the PS3 version of the title, while adding a new island, new monsters and even a few new towers into the mix. The game also gets a few multiplayer options, including a local four-player cooperative mode and an eight-player online competitive mode.

We've yet to confirm a price for the title, which will presumably appear in this week's PSN Thursday update, but we've contacted Q-Games to try to find out ahead of time.

This may come as a surprise to many of you, but Twitter is actually good for something other than the distribution of DLC codes and pictures starlets take of themselves in bikinis. Every once in a great while, it's good for a tiny sliver of news, such as when Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert tweets that the company's next title, Pixeljunk Shooter, is slated to arrive in Japan this December.

Cuthbert then tweeted a picture of himself in a bikini. Yeah, it got weird.

One of the cooler features of firmware 3.00 is the ability to load dynamic themes onto the PS3. Unlike traditional wallpapers, these custom XMB downloads feature animated backgrounds that respond dynamically to the time of day, analog stick movement and SIXAXIS tilt. While these backgrounds are cool, they're also quite expensive. So far, each theme has cost $2.99.

Yet, in spite of the high price, Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert explains that developers are unlikely to recoup the cost of making a dynamic theme. "Remember that we'll be lucky to sell even a few thousand themes and so the cost of developing the theme (3-4 weeks of coder/artist time, checking, testing etc) will still far exceed any money we make from it," he explained.

We have a solution for Cuthbert, though. Drop the price, and we're certain far more people would be willing to download a dynamic theme as an impulse buy.



[Via Gamasutra]

PixelJunk Monsters is certainly not the first tower defense game, but it's the game that popularized the genre on consoles. When it debuted on PlayStation Network last year, it became an instant hit. The game was easy to understand, but deceptively challenging, encouraging players to master each level to get that all-elusive rainbow.

The original PS3 game actually was playable on the PSP via Remote Play. However, Q Games is now making a proper PSP version that's optimized for the small screen. For example, the camera is now zoomed in closer to the character. While this means less of the map can be seen at once, it makes seeing the towers and choosing the right ones much easier. It may take some time for PixelJunk vets to get used to, especially when the screen scrolls trying to follow you.

The amount of content being offered in Deluxe is almost absurd, making it the most complete version of Monsters to date. Not only does the PSP game feature allt he content of the original PixelJunk Monsters, it also adds the Encore island and a brand new island exclusive to PSP. Ten new stages are added, in addition to new enemy types and towers.

After opening up naming duties to fans, the next PixelJunk game (formerly PixelJunk 1-4) has officially been named PixelJunk Shooter. According to the PlayStation Blog announcement, 10,000 suggestions were submitted for the contest, which was ultimately won by Canadian Mario Paquet. For (somehow) dreaming up the name, Paquet will be included in the game's credits and receive a t-shirt with the game's logo.

After selecting the official name, runner-up winners were selected by the scientific method of placing various names into a hat. Runner-up winners (and future t-shirt recipients) included PixelJunk Depths, S.O.S!, Blaster, Caves and Atlantis.

According to Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert, one of the most popular suggestions for the game was PixelJunk Elements, but the name failed to capture the "shooting side of the game well enough." We don't think the name they ultimately selected will pose the same issue.

PixelJunk Monsters is coming to PSP and, as promised, features a ton of new content not found in the PS3 version. The handheld version of the tower defense game will include all the content of PixelJunk Monsters, Encore, and a bit more. Deluxe will add a new island with ten new stages, new enemies and new music tracks. Two new towers will be introduced into the game, which players can utilize in the classic stages and Q-Games will also challenge the PJM hardcore with a brand new boss as well.

Although PSP isn't getting Trophy support yet, Monsters Deluxe will feature a "Medal Challenge" mode that replicates the achievement system used on the console. In addition, unlocking Medals will give players access to unlockables, such as videos, artwork and more.

Finally, PixelJunk Monsters wouldn't be complete without a co-op mode. You'll be able to go online in both Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure modes. Nice!

Right about now you're probably thinking, "Cool, a compilation of the first four PixelJunk games!" followed by, "Wait a second ... there have only been three PixelJunk games." This is true. As you can no doubt tell from the above screenshot, PixelJunk 1-4 is an entirely new downloadable PS3 title from Kyoto-based Q-Games. It just doesn't have a final name yet.

We can think of some adjectives to describe this summer release based on our first hands-on. "Fun" comes to mind, as does "simple." Two staples of the PixelJunk franchise, when you think about it. Oh, and "really cool fluid dynamics." Wassat? Let us explain after the break.