PixelJunk Eden Brings Trophies For You And Me

PixelJunk Eden is a short-form PSN title so there are fewer trophies when compared to, say, a Blu-ray title (which can have the esteemed platinum trophy), but we still managed to pack in quite a few. To begin with, you can get a bronze trophy for opening every “seed” in a stage. This is quite a challenge on some of the stages as the gardens are large and expansive. Then there are trophies for a load of other things, such as destroying 500 of the “prowlers,” or collecting 15 “crystals” in one jump. My personal favorite is a trophy that you can only achieve in 3P mode, where you have to “volley” a player between you back and forth five times without him/her landing on a plant, a bit like tennis.

Sounds great. Very much looking forward to this one.

PixelJunk Eden: Trophies Galore! [PlayStation.Blog]

Pixeljunk Monsters Soundtrack On PSN Today

The best feature of PixelJunk Monsters is the music. Composed by Otograph, the musical duo of Iura Takashi and Oshima Sachiyo, it's the kind of music that you can start up on your favorite music-listening device and just lose yourself in it. Q-Games is releasing the soundtrack today on the PlayStation Network - a first for the service - and to celebrate they've posted an interview with the artists over on the Official PlayStation Blog, providing interesting insight into what goes into composing for the gamespace.

Well, for games, not only is there music, but there are also sound effects and we had to design both not to conflict with each other. For example, we tried to keep the rhythm sections and tones simple because of this. We also paid attention to giving the sound effects and music a sense of unity. The stages in Monsters are basically one screen so we attempted to use the music to expand the world beyond that for the player

Hit the link for more with Otograph, and keep your eyes peeled for the PixelJunk Monsters soundtrack on PSN today for $2.99.

PixelJunk Monsters Soundtrack: An Interview with Otograph [Official PlayStation Blog]

We just returned from SCEA's Pre-E3 Judge's Day, an event that gave us hands-on time with highly anticipated titles like Killzone 2, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet. So why am I writing about PixelJunk Eden first? Probably for the same reason that, at the end of the day, while Killzone 2 demo stations were available with no waiting, the wait to get hands on a DualShock to play more PixelJunk Eden was a good 15 minutes. We're not trying to downplay Killzone 2, mind you, as it's a fine game. But Eden? I'm already having withdrawals.

The thing about PixelJunk Eden is that its appealing and addictive qualities might not come across well in screen shots or trailers. Q-Games Dylan Cuthbert showed a trailer for the previous build of Eden at GDC, likening it to "an organic Mario." It's accurate, in some sense, as the game is a platformer at heart, but one that oozes style and originality.

Here's how you play PixelJunk Eden.

Pixeljunk Eden Does...Something

The Official PlayStation Blog has posted details on the upcoming expansion pack to the utterly charming Q-Games title PixelJunk Monsters, due out next month on the PlayStation Network. The expansion will introduce players to Toki Island, with 15 new levels, 5 all-new music tracks from Otograph, and a few item changes to keep things fresh. Along with the new details, the OPSB have posted a short interview with Q-Games President Dylan Cuthbert, in which he explains the true driving force behind the expansion.

"...my wife simply loved the game so much she would badger me every day for more levels, so in the end I caved in."

PixelJunk Monsters Encore details + interview [Official PlayStation Blog]

The PlayStation Network's Next Big Games

If you've passed so far on Q-Games charming PixelJunk Monsters, perhaps the forthcoming demo will change your mind. It's planned to hit the PlayStation Store tomorrow with the rest of the usual updates that North American PlayStation 3 owners have come to expect every Thursday. Q-Games prez let slip that the cheap and lazy will finally get their hands on the unique tower defense strategy game with a PixelJunk twist in our quick sit-down today, the details of which you'll be reading about soon. Until then, ready the broadband connection and clear some hard drive space.

First Footage Of PixelJunk Eden

Dylan Cuthbert of Q-Games showed off the above trailer at the first day of the Game Developers Conference, revealing PixelJunk Eden to the public for the first time. According to Cuthbert, the third game in the PixelJunk series is like "an organic Mario" in which the player collects pollen to make other plants grow. With a combo-based scoring system, the psychedelic experimental PlayStation Network title extends the PixelJunk credo of bringing simple, 2D games into high definition. Q-Games' latest looks like a fresh and welcome addition to their already interesting line-up of games.

Kotakuite Tim R. loves PixelJunk Monsters. He loves it so much that he emailed creator Q-Games begging for a sequel or expansion. He soon received an email back from a Q-Games employee that revealed an expansion is already in the works.

Thanks for the mail! We are really enjoying the feedback from people about Monsters, it seems to have really hit a sweet spot. There should be some news about an expansion pack over the next few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled.

So there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth. You can expect more tower defense excitement soon. We'll let you know as soon as we hear any more details.

While it's been released to the masses for some time now, I feel compelled to share my thoughts on Q-Games' PixelJunk Monsters, the tower defense title for the PS3. Because while I'd downloaded it hoping for a PS3ized version of the acclaimed Desktop Tower Defense, I received a game that was completely different.

And it's sort of been rocking my world.

Oh Yeah, PixelJunk Monsters Supports PSP Remote Play

My bad. I totally missed Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert revealing that tower defense PSN title PixelJunk Monsters supports PSP Remote Play on the official PlayStation Blog. Thank heavens I watched this trailer for the PlayStation 3 game today, so that I didn't look like a complete space cadet when my future self would have frantically ran to the Kotaku news desk, swept away the Tifa hentai and typed up the "news" in a sweat next week.

Q-Games follow-up to PixelJunk Racers is a tower defense PlayStation Network release known as PixelJunk Monsters. It's due to hit PlayStation 3s next week, according to President and Executive Producer Dylan Cuthbert, who's nice enough to give those unfamiliar with PixelJunk Monsters a quick primer on his team's latest. Unsurprisingly, Cuthbert has kind words for the woodland RTS, writing that its addictive nature is "going to keep you coming back again and again until your eyelids start fluttering uncontrollably." Wild eyelid fluttering? We're okay with that.

PixelJunk Monsters Set to Launch Next Week [PlayStation Blog]

Anyone who's been reading this blog for the past year and has the ability to retain Kotaku editor trivia may know that I was consumed by free Flash game Desktop Tower Defense for some time. So, when Dylan Cuthbert of Q-Games reveals that PixelJunk Monsters is a PlayStation 3 game in the same vein, I'm forced to add funds to my Wallet in anticipation. He profiles his company's new PlayStation Network release on SCEA's official blog, featuring a batch of soft, snazzy 2D screenshots and details on what makes PixelJunk Monsters unique. File under DO WANT.

Monster Madness [PlayStation.blog]

Black Friday on PSN Starts Now, Save 50%

By Brian Ashcraft

"For the first few months of working here, my old boss at Lionheads Studios thought I was working with Mizuguchi," says Q-Games planner Rhodri Broadbent, lounging on a sofa in the developer's third floor Kyoto office space. There's a hi-def TV playing their latest, PixelJunk Racers. Whenever Q-Games is first mentioned, Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q? Entertainment is usually as well — though Q-Games had the "Q" before Mizguchi left SEGA to set up his boutique studio. Sure, Q-Games may not have Miz, but it does have Dylan Cuthbert, who helped create Star Fox while working for Nintendo, and Kenkichi Shimooka, who developed Ape Escape for the PlayStation. Dylan has the chicken pox and couldn't make it. Kenkichi? No clue where he is.

I'm in a white meeting room, waiting for the interview to start. I peer down the street still slick with rain. There are traditional Kyoto-style houses across the street from the modern office building. In the meeting room, there's a clock, a white board (fitting) and ping pong nets. When not used as a meeting room, it's converted into a ping pong room. Well, that's what the recruitment brochure tells me — and the drawer of ping pong equipment doesn't lead me to believe otherwise. A trio of developers enter, trade business cards and speak in British and North American accents. Almost half the office is foreign. These devs sitting across from me were instrumental in bringing Q-Games first game label PixelJunk title Racers to the PlayStation Network.

Q Games—no relation to Q Entertainment—will release PixelJunk Racers for the PLAYSTATION 3 this week, reports IGN, joining High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition for the week's downloadable titles. Q Games is responsible for handheld hits Digidrive and Star Fox Command and promises that the high-speed top down racer is the first in a series of PixelJunk branded games scheduled to hit the PS3.

PixelJunk Racers Release Date [IGN]