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[sinky72]

I'm going to predict when it's available here in UK. It will be the minute my wife and family walk through the door after being out all day been home alone all day and nothing. You watch, as soon as they come home.......

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

I'm going to predict when it's available here in UK. It will be the minute my wife and family walk through the door after being out all day been home alone all day and nothing. You watch, as soon as they come home.......

yep. i get new games RIGHT when i have guitar lesson... and then the next night have to get groceries... and the next night take girlfriend to roller derby practice... then the next night it's my turn to do the dishes and we used a million pots and pans for dinner...

and then i finally get some time to play and end up trying to clear off this huge list of demos in my backlog taking up space on my PS3. end up liking most of them and not deleting them so i can unlock full version later lol.

 

[HiVision]

hmmm, well i like the sound of that. also didn't know it was 1080p@60fps. consider it purchased!

it doesn't happen to have the custom soundtrack feature built in, does it? seems like devs stopped including that a while back because of memory constraints or something. O__O

Um.. I'm not sure actually as it isn't that much of a priority for us, because HFB's soundtrack is too awesome to switch out.

btw, I was just chatting on twitter about this but the boot up sound for this game is all kinds of awesome - listen carefully to hear floppy disk heads seeking (amiga perhaps?), and tape loading sounds and all sorts of other oddities. It's a great sound bite and probably the best in the series so far.

Another sound peculiarity is that we recorded all the voices in the game with a Japanese accent (basically pronouncing the words in "katakana"), even the Italian, Spanish, German and French ones!

 

[schwall20]

Extremely similar gfx to gravity crash. At least the first two sectors.

 

[Zoc]

I wasn't interested in this when it was announced, but sometime after that I bought and played through Shooter 2 when it was on sale. It was such an improvement over Shooter 1, which was already pretty good, that I feel compelled to try this out.

 

[duckroll]

Still not sold on this game, but it looks like it doesn't even matter since:

a) there's no demo so I can't decide for myself if it's better than what I'm seeing in screens and videos.

b) they're not even bothering to release this in Asia, so it's not like they want my money anyway.

Oh well!

 

[HiVision]

Still not sold on this game, but it looks like it doesn't even matter since:

a) there's no demo so I can't decide for myself if it's better than what I'm seeing in screens and videos.

b) they're not even bothering to release this in Asia, so it's not like they want my money anyway.

Oh well!

Err.. it will be out in Asia - same timing as for Japan (within the next few weeks), and there will also be a demo (look upwards in this thread).

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Is it two-player?

 

[duckroll]

Err.. it will be out in Asia - same timing as for Japan (within the next few weeks), and there will also be a demo (look upwards in this thread).

Oh, cool. I just don't see any info at all on it on the Asia Playstation site, so that was pretty disappointing to me, since all the previous Pixeljunk games have been released worldwide in the same week. :/

Regardless of whether I pick up Sidescrolling eventually or not though, I hope you guys continue to do cool stuff in the future. I'm definitely looking forward to another new Pixeljunk game in the future. It feels like there hasn't really been one for a long time now. Is 1-5 actually in development? ^^;

 

[mehdi_san]

I don't know what's "machinegun" in Spanish, but I love the way it sounds with the Japanese accent lol (I'm just trying all the languages now^^)

 

[MrPliskin]

Still not sold on this game, but it looks like it doesn't even matter since:

a) there's no demo so I can't decide for myself if it's better than what I'm seeing in screens and videos.

b) they're not even bothering to release this in Asia, so it's not like they want my money anyway.

Oh well!

I'm sure like all PJ games it'll have a demo in a few weeks, and I believe the Asian release is in Nov/Dec.

 

[HiVision]

Oh, cool. I just don't see any info at all on it on the Asia Playstation site, so that was pretty disappointing to me, since all the previous Pixeljunk games have been released worldwide in the same week. :/

Regardless of whether I pick up Sidescrolling eventually or not though, I hope you guys continue to do cool stuff in the future. I'm definitely looking forward to another new Pixeljunk game in the future. It feels like there hasn't really been one for a long time now. Is 1-5 actually in development? ^^;

Yes, sorry about that, we normally do simultaneous releases but this time the US and EU got a more rushed release so we could still take part in the "spend 60/get 10" campaign or whatever it is called, the "Only on PSN" thingy that are running this month.

4am is coming along, and we'll keep making more PixelJunk if people keep buying them (hint hint). Basically, each game funds the next one.

 

[sinky72]

One thing I was wondering, does it have YouTube integration like PJ Shooters have?

 

[Lord Error]

To repost what I posted in weekly PSN thread: PJ Sidescroller is the best original PS3 scrolling shmup, by far. OK, way to sell it short, the competition is of course abysmal, but the game is really great. Controls are sharp, gameplay is meaty, enemy and bullet patterns are clever and don't require too much rote memorization (can be solved by quick reflexes and quick thinking), visual aesthetics are perfectly realized - the game practically looks like it's running on a vector rendering hardware rather than a pixel based screen, music is sublime and relaxing. Their fluid engine is used for spilling them over enemies to destroy them, to create dynamic mazes in which you have to navigate away from lava and for damage cooldown in the water.

Seriously, the game is almost impossible to put down. It is also very much a non-esoteric game, it's not like PJ Eden where you need to have a bone for experimental games to like it. It's more like Shooter or Monsters, where anyone who's a fan of the genre could enjoy it.

One thing I was wondering, does it have YouTube integration like PJ Shooters have?

It does.

Extremely similar gfx to gravity crash. At least the first two sectors.

Much more authentic looking IMO. Gravity Crash had that 'obvious' look to it. This actually looks like it's running on a vector tracing screen, curvature, scanlines and all. Perfectly antialiased at 1080p, I'm simply amused how I can let myself forget that this is running on a pixel based display.

 

[Kweh]

Is £6.29 the confirmed price for the UK?

 

[sinky72]

To repost what I posted in weekly PSN thread: PJ Sidescroller is the best original PS3 scrolling shmup, by far. OK, way to sell it short, the competition is of course abysmal, but the game is really great. Controls are sharp, gameplay is meaty, enemy and bullet patterns are clever and don't require too much rote memorization (can be solved by quick reflexes and quick thinking), visual aesthetics are perfectly realized - the game practically looks like it's running on a vector rendering hardware rather than a pixel based screen, music is sublime and relaxing. Their fluid engine is used for spilling them over enemies to destroy them, to create dynamic mazes in which you have to navigate away from lava and for damage cooldown in the water.

Seriously, the game is almost impossible to put down. It is also very much a non-esoteric game, it's not like PJ Eden where you need to have a bone for an experimental games to like it. It's more like Shooter or Monsters, where anyone who's a fan of the genre could enjoy it.


It does.


Much more authentic looking IMO. Gravity Crash had that 'obvious' look to it. This actually looks like it's running on a vector tracing screen, curvature, scanlines and all. Perfectly antialiased at 1080p, I'm simply amused how I can let myself forget that this is running on a pixel based display.

Thanks for that.

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

Um.. I'm not sure actually as it isn't that much of a priority for us, because HFB's soundtrack is too awesome to switch out.

btw, I was just chatting on twitter about this but the boot up sound for this game is all kinds of awesome - listen carefully to hear floppy disk heads seeking (amiga perhaps?), and tape loading sounds and all sorts of other oddities. It's a great sound bite and probably the best in the series so far.

Another sound peculiarity is that we recorded all the voices in the game with a Japanese accent (basically pronouncing the words in "katakana"), even the Italian, Spanish, German and French ones!

awww classic line im sure it's a good soundtrack though. hopefully PS4 has custom soundtracks as a standard system feature. sometimes there are just PERFECT songs to go along with certain games.

that sounds awesome! you guys always seem to have really unique soundtracks. floppy disk heads reminds me of the new Android 4.0 sounds that got leaked. one of the ringtones uses those buzzy sounds you hear when your cell phone interferes with your desktop speakers.

 

[Rikkun]

Is £6.29 the confirmed price for the UK?

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/10/26/heads-up-game-store-update-26th-october-2011/

Sony says so..

 

[duckroll]

Yes, sorry about that, we normally do simultaneous releases but this time the US and EU got a more rushed release so we could still take part in the "spend 60/get 10" campaign or whatever it is called, the "Only on PSN" thingy that are running this month.

4am is coming along, and we'll keep making more PixelJunk if people keep buying them (hint hint). Basically, each game funds the next one.

Don't worry about it, lots of games to play at the moment. I'll definitely give the game a fair shot when it's available in my region. Having communication from the developers about what's going on is really appreciated too. It's more than Sega has ever done for Renegade Ops! (lol)

After Eden and two Shooter games, I'm definitely willing to support more Pixeljunk games, it's just that when Sidescroller was announced I felt serious burn out from the Shooter series. I do think that the latest trailer looks a lot better than before though. I hope I enjoy the demo.

awww classic line im sure it's a good soundtrack though. hopefully PS4 has custom soundtracks as a standard system feature. sometimes there are just PERFECT songs to go along with certain games.

Well, I'm sure he's right. I mean, why would any sane human being really want to swap out the Eden soundtrack for example?

 

[Facism]

Why no demo, looks really nice

hey man the amount of shit you've spent money on in the past, why you need a demo? ;p

Now i know my cat's chemo therapy isn't going to destroy my wallet i might be able to put a few quids aside for this.

 

[Lord Error]

duckroll, I know you had this concern, but the game doesn't feel recycled at all from PJ shooter when you play it. I've encountered maybe two enemies that were lifted from the Shooter, it happenes rarely and when it does, it feels more like they wanted to pay homage to their other game than anything.

Seriously, it's a really good, well designed shmup, with some unique mechanics and ideas (liguid pools for cooldown and enemy destruction). About the only criticism I could put against it compared to something like Cave's better shooters is that it doesn't have that super lush graphics, but then again it has a very nice, authentic vector style that just feels great when you see it on a big screen, and with music that just melts perfectly into that aesthetic.

 

[duckroll]

duckroll, I know you had this concern, but the game doesn't feel recycled at all from PJ shooter when you play it. I've encountered maybe two enemies that were lifted from the Shooter, it happenes rarely and when it does, it feels more like they wanted to pay homage to their other game than anything.

That's really good to know. Honestly, I'm always more than happy to admit that I was wrong about the first impressions I had about a game based on screens and trailers if that results in a good game. Being wrong is just a change in mindset, while having a good game means something fun to play forever.

Seriosuly, it's a really good shmup, and a well designed one too. The about only criticism I could put against it compared to something like Cave's better shooters is that it doesn't have that super lush graphics, but then again it has a very nice, authentic vector style that just feels great when you see it on a big screen, and with music that just melts perfectly into that aesthetic.

I dunno if I'll really want to compare it with a Cave shooter personally. Again, this is based on the media I've seen for the game, but I always felt that if it's a sidescrolling shooter with environmental hazards and enemies don't drop tons of medals each time they die, then it's more of a homage to Life Force/Salamander than more modern Cave stuff. I <3 Life Force btw.

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

Well, I'm sure he's right. I mean, why would any sane human being really want to swap out the Eden soundtrack for example?

anytime i land on that game in my XMB and hear the music start up momentarily it brings back so many memories. early PS3 days, cold nights, staying up late with whataburger and trying to get eden trophies. that music (specifically the track that plays when you hover over the game in XMB) reminds me of long lazy sundays with the sun coming through the window.

/rant

no but really, sometimes there are mp3's i own that are way too perfect to not play along with some games. would just be awesome to have it integrated instead of rigging up ear buds and turning the music volume down.

 

[Lord Error]

awww classic line im sure it's a good soundtrack though. hopefully PS4 has custom soundtracks as a standard system feature. sometimes there are just PERFECT songs to go along with certain games.

The soundtrack is not only ridiculously great, but it's of a very non obvious variety, which makes it even more impacting. Then again, I'm sure something like Rush's Tom Sawyer would go great with this game too for a completely different (albeit more obvious) feel.

I dunno if I'll really want to compare it with a Cave shooter personally.

Not in terms of gameplay, just using them as a benchmark for awesome looking visuals in a shooter.

 

[HiVision]

Yes, it's more of a homage to older sidescrollers - Gradius, Darius, R-Type etc., and going even further back, games such as Scramble, Defender, Penetrator (obscure speccy game). I wanted to return to that era with PJSS, but twist it a little in that PixelJunk way.

 

[Lord Error]

It's so good when a shmup dev knows how to make the good feel of your bullets penetrating the enemy and an enemy exploding. This game does this perfectly. You need to let the bullet get into the enemy a bit first, then show the hit reaction. So many lesser games (usually most Euro shmups, but not only them) just explode the enemy the moment your bullet connects with them, which feels wrong!

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I really liked PJ Shooter but I hate the neon vector aesthetic this game has, it's been done to death and I'm frankly sick of it. I'm waiting on a demo.

 

[denomes]

Played just the first level last night. I wasn't really hyped for this one, despite being a big PixelJunk fan, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised!

As others have mentioned, the game's commitment to a retro/arcadey look and feel is really pulled off well. I am not a big fan of scrolling shooters but the entire presentation here is just so cohesive that I couldn't help but get sucked in. The game presents a good challenge and is very bullet-hell at times. Luckily, this is offset by tight checkpointing and a rewarding weapon upgrade system that empowers the player without breaking the difficulty. The sound design and music is also top notch.

Great stuff as usual from PixelJunk, can't wait to play more.

 

[sinky72]

I'm going to predict when it's available here in UK. It will be the minute my wife and family walk through the door after being out all day been home alone all day and nothing. You watch, as soon as they come home.......

Well, they have just arrived home and I'm guessing Sidescroller will be up soon as there's now an error on ps store ( probably updating )

 

[Lord Error]

Yeah, the game does become bullet hell at times, most notably at bosses. It's maybe 50% of hell that Cave bosses throw at you on normal difficulty though

Dr. Zoidberg, the neon aesthetic has never been pulled off so well as it is here. Seriously, it's like everyone else was trying to do it, and these guys actually did it.

 

[HiVision]

Yeah, the game does become bullet hell at times, most notably at bosses. It's maybe 50% of hell that Cave bosses throw at you on normal difficulty though

Dr. Zoidberg, the neon aesthetic has never been pulled off so well as it here. Seriously, it's like everyone else was trying to do it, and these guys actually did it.

Thanks for that sentiment, it makes us feel our effort was worth it!

We do a lot of stuff that is subtle - for example, we colour grade the entire screen per stage, and we add CRT-like scan lines in on areas that are bright (you can see this most vividly on the magma or water), as well as the more obvious effects such as tv glare and warping. The layers all add together to create something that is simply very pretty I think... and I never thought I'd say that about CRT... but there is a weird kind of pleasant "aesthetic" with a CRT or vector-based display.

One thing we don't emulate is "interlace", that can go rot in hell and die.

 

[Lord Error]

Yep, it's got that warm feel of a slightly worn out CRT that's displaying perfect vector lines.

Also, the game's XMB screen + icon is again done in a style of it's own, which reminds me of what an animated box cover for a game from that time period would look like. Perfect again - you see the 'cover', then you start the game, and listen to Amiga floppy sounds of loading.

 

[Rikkun]

Well, they have just arrived home and I'm guessing Sidescroller will be up soon as there's now an error on ps store ( probably updating )

I hope you're right.. come on UK!

 

[Himself]

Is this a bit more fast paced than pjs2? I found that to be a bit to slow for my tastes.

 

[lowrider007]

I recently bought a cheap 46" 1080p TV, I've been using a 32" @ 720p since the beginning of this gen, can't wait to boot this game up on the TV, I'm still in that mode where your wanting to try everything new that matches the native res of your screen to see how it will look, just want the UK store to update now so I can have a blast before I go to work.

That was more of a blog post but meh...

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

sounds awesome. and hopefully the soundtrack is good enough to buy when it's released on it's own.

 

[Wickwire]

Bah! I completely forgot to buy this when I got home last night. Note. Written. PixelJunk soundtracks are usually enough to buy their games. Can't wait to hear this one.

 

[Finaika]

What's funny is the game is full 1080p but its very blurry because they wanted to mimic old arcade games lol.

 

[Himself]

Whew! That trailer is blazin!

 

[Rikkun]

Ok, Sony lost my money for today, I'm firing up my 360.

Is it so hard to release everything at a specific hour?

 

[Lord Error]

What's funny is the game is full 1080p but its very blurry because they wanted to mimic old arcade games lol.

I wouldn't say so. The lines are nice and sharp, but things are selectively processed and blurred. You can still see sharpness behind that post processing and glow. It reminds me of Limbo in that sense.

 

[kassatsu]

There are custom soundtracks by the way.

 

[Lord Error]

There are custom soundtracks by the way.

Doesn't surprise me, their framework seems to support all that stuff as it is in every game. Time to copy that Tom Sawyer on my PS3 HDD. It will be glorious for a play or two.

 

[androvsky]

Looking forward to the demo. One thing though, did old vector displays have scan lines? I wouldn't think something like a Vectrex (or an original Asteroids cabinet) would. On the other hand, then floppy noises wouldn't make any sense at all, and I think that's a nice addition, so I guess it's just a big melting pot of nostalgia.

 

[Ben Morales]

Getting some heavy R-Type vibes from this game. Loving it!

 

[teepo]

excited to try this one

 

[Lord Error]

Looking forward to the demo. One thing though, did old vector displays have scan lines? I wouldn't think something like a Vectrex (or an original Asteroids cabinet) would. On the other hand, then floppy noises wouldn't make any sense at all, and I think that's a nice addition, so I guess it's just a big melting pot of nostalgia.

Vector displays wouldn't be able to display multiple colors to begin with, so the retro display this game simulates would have to be some magical Colo CRT/Vector hybrid. But man does it simulate it well!

 

[wouwie]

Just played a little bit (sector 1-1 and a bit of 1-2) and first impressions are very positive. Until last week, i didn't know this game existed but then i read references to R-Type (a game i loved back in the day) and got excited so i bought it hoping it would be good.

Game looks really great, is silky smooth, controls well, has plenty of weapon upgrades, feels fresh and has awesome music. It also has a good amount of checkpoints and a couple of difficulty levels to choose from.

Surprisingly, i wasn't a fan of Pixeljunk Shooter but this seems awesome from the little bit i've played so far.

 

[Goldrusher]

Beautiful game.

Love the checkpoint system.

 

[Brazil]

I was wondering...

Wasn't Shooter 2 1-4b? Or was it 1-4a?