Q-Games' PixelJunk series is probably one of the most appreciated series of games among PSN users. Each PixelJunk game brings us a new and challenging experience, whilst retaining the same simple and addictive qualities. So it's not far-fetched to assume that PixelJunk Shooter follows in the footsteps of the previous games, but does it improve on them?

The download is very small, coming in at just over 100MB, and it shows. The games graphics are yet again 2D, but with a slightly different style compared to the previous games. PixelJunk Shooter looks very similar in style to LocoRoco, rather than having many similarities with PixelJunk Eden. Still, it works very well, and although the game is 2D, it's still as addictive and fun as all the other PixelJunk titles.

The gameplay is very simple; you have to rescue workers with your ship, and destroy the enemies that come in your way. The controls are very similar to a standard dual-stick shooters; the L3 stick controls your ship and R3 controls which way you aim. You will however, have to hit R1 or R2 to shoot, which at first seemed a little redundant, but it makes sense, because you don't want to kill the workers. Therefore, having to press a button to shoot, rather than shoot automatically with the R3 stick, allows you to take better control of the ship. When you are near a worker, you can then press L1 or L2 to throw out a grapple and "collect" the workers. The enemies vary from turrets that shoot at you, which have a life bar, to simple bat-like creatures, which are relatively easy to kill.

So with this sort of setup, you'd expect PixelJunk Shooter to be your standard dual-stick shooter right? Wrong. The main focus of the gameplay is not shooting enemies, but shooting obstacles in order to get to the workers. Q-Games have implemented unique 2D fluid dynamics on the elemental features in each level, which begins with your basic lava and water, but progresses to other elements as the game advances. The water can cool the lava and turn it to rock that can be destroyed, but if you don't have enough water, the rock that was created will start becoming lava again. In the later levels other elements come into play such as ice, which of course has a realistic effect on the water, freezing it, and on the lava, which can be used to melt it to clear a path for you.