''PixelJunk Monsters'' is the second game in the '' PixelJunk'' series developed by Q-Games for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

. It was released worldwide on the

PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable conten ...

on January 24, 2008. The game was released for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 200 ...

under the title ''PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe''. ''PixelJunk Monsters Encore'', an expansion pack for the game, was released on April 24, 2008 in Japan; May 8, 2008 in North America; and May 15, 2008 in Europe. In May 2016, ''PixelJunk Monsters'' was released by Double Eleven for

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. ...

. In 2018, ''PixelJunk Monsters 2'' was released, incorporating 3D graphics and new features.

Gameplay

Gameplay in ''PixelJunk Monsters'' has similarities to various

tower defense Tower defense (TD) is a subgenre of strategy games where the goal is to defend a player's territories or possessions by obstructing the enemy attackers or by stopping enemies from reaching the exits, usually achieved by placing defensive struc ...

titles. The objective is to build defense towers along the enemies' path to keep them from reaching a hut, or base. Several small creatures dwell at the base. For each enemy that survives the defense towers and reaches the hut, one creature is killed. If all creatures are wiped out, the level is failed. Towers have distinct attributes, such as rapid fire, long range, air-focused, etc. Destroyed enemies usually drop coins and occasionally give gems, which then can be used to upgrade and research new towers. There are a total of 21 different levels (36 with the expansion pack) at 3 stages of difficulty. There are also 3 special stages that unlock unique abilities for the player character. Several "Trophy Challenges" were also added to the game after a patch. Unlike more traditional tower defense games, the player controls a character around the screen, collecting coins and building towers. This replaces the standard cursor controls. A second player can also join in and assist in building towers.

''Encore''

The ''PixelJunk Monsters Encore'' expansion pack includes an additional 15 levels, including layouts inspired by classic

arcade games An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcad ...

such as ''

Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...

'' and ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter an ...

''. There are also small tweaks to gameplay; for instance, the ice tower is unlocked at the beginning of every level and the Tesla tower is less expensive to purchase.

''Deluxe''

A new version of ''PixelJunk Monsters'' was available for the

. Titled ''PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe'', it has been described by Dylan Cuthbert as the "ultimate version" of the game. It contains all of the level content from the original game and its ''Encore'' expansion pack, as well as new levels, enemies, and towers. Additional music, videos, concept art, and other special features are also included.

Soundtrack

The music for the game was developed by Otograph. On May 22, 2008, a soundtrack album for the game titled ''Dive into PixelJunk Monsters'' was released via the

. It is the first audio album to be released through PSN.

Reception

The PlayStation 3 version of ''PixelJunk Monsters'', ''Encore'', ''Deluxe'', and the Vita version of ''Ultimate'' received "favorable" reviews, while the PC version of ''Ultimate'' and the Wii U version of ''PixelJunk Monsters'' received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

References

External links

''PixelJunk Monsters'' official website

''PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe'' official website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pixeljunk Monsters 2007 video games MacOS games Linux games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Vita games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Strategy video games Tower defense video games Video games developed in Japan Video games with expansion packs Wii U eShop games Windows games Double Eleven (company) games Multiplayer and single-player video games Q-Games games