Aww everybody get's to play co-op with real people...
:( I play co-op by my self, so I can always have a little guy working.. :) much easier btw!!
@ Datheron, ya that's true, and you know more about these types of games, as this is my first sorta of RTS in about 10 years,, last one I played was C & C 2 Red alert..?

Radiation

I've been thinking about this game at work all day today....started my 1st game last night at around 830 and when I looked up it was 1230! Been running strats though my head allllllll day!

Knoxximus (360/PSN)

I am really enjoying this game, I was leary when i first bought it off the PSN, but after playing it for 4 hours straight not even noticing that 4 hours had gone by, i realized that i was addicted to it already! Sometimes this game makes me want to pull my hair out, but i think the difficulty is what makes it such an addictive game.

This game is more than worth the $8.99 CDN that its on "sale" for right now on the PSN.

evlyti

@Silverwolf: The best way to get that one little bastard is to get the second powerup (bottom right stage) which is a bomb. You lay the bomb down right in front of your base and when that one or two guys gets through you just blow them to smitherines.

ハリセンボン

@Bluecell: Oh, there most certainly is a demo. It's on the Japanese PSN, take a look.

relin

This was the first game that I purchased on PSN and I am very pleased. It's challenging, addictive, and enjoyable. I wouldn't mind having a zoom as well.

Valrik

It rules. If you haven't played it co-op, you should. So rewarding working together with someone to own a couple waves of baddies.

shwoosh

@Radiation: Heh, thanks - didn't know about the little icons w/ the gem upgrades, I'll look for that next time.

I was speaking more about the timing of the waves/number of monsters per wave, though, not necessarily just the type of monster for the next 1-2 waves. They all seem to have their own funky pathing (since towers' ranges are shorter than most other TD games, this is a real problem if you don't know where they're going...), may or may not be a short or long line of monsters, and may come at you in one or sometimes two separate waves. I just got through Special 1 and even KNOWING which monsters are coming, didn't really help w/ setting up towers. I just fell back to the "build a ton of towers EVERYWHERE" strategy...

Datheron

@pyropetey: True, but there's something to be said about the fun of co-op "yelling at each other" multiplayer and the simple quirkiness of the presentation without rehashing the same SC/WC units over and over again. I'm not sure also, but it seems like a lot of TD maps are made w/ multiplayer in mind and it's pretty hard to find/host a game on WC3 nowadays that isn't Dota.

Datheron

Love love LOVER this game. Best 7.99 ever spent on PSN. Right up there with Everyday Shooter and Super stardust.

soundgarden

ahhh the coins keep falling in the water why I need towers noooooooo

Boxelder

*self defeat*

k gaming isn't gaming anymore -_-;;

I'ma go live my life of past glory where once upon a time.. good games were good games.. and bad games no one played ><

pyropetey

-_-;; INJUSTICE! I SWEAR INJUSTICE!!!

ugh... these games have no where near the calibre of refinement nor the gameplay experience nor the fun of the WC3/SC maps O_O ... why people.. whyy!!!!!!!

WC3 battle chest costs $40. The maps to download are free!! You get like god knows how many GOOD tower defenses with that... so many more options and goodness ><

and not to mention the OTHER MAPS O_O AAAAAHHHHHHHH *dies*

pyropetey

Is this game easy to pick up for someone who doesn't really play RTS style games?

Rzarekta

@Datheron:
Hey guy you said you weren't sure what your upgrades where doing.. If you go to upgrade through a gem.. you will notice different symbols. those tell you what your powering up..aka.. distance/splash damage.. all upgrades provide more damage delt. just check the symbol to understand what your mostly enhancesing. someplacements don't pay off tell you have a 2nd to 3rd upgrade. lastly this game isn't really a gussing game if you can keep up with the wave bar which lets you know your next two incoming waves.. Not as much is left to guessing then..

Radiation

Noooot to mention you can play it on your PSP on the go =D

I love it!

XeroTrinity

DTD IS NOT THE GOLD STANDARD O_O!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ><

if only I had the money I'd buy you guys the bloody wc3 game ><

pyropetey

1st, I Wasn't sure how much I would enjoy this game, but it rocks.(spending too many late nights tyring to rainbow my last few levels.
2nd. Once you get the game go after the special stages
1st special is:Running
2nd special is: Remote Mine(bad ass for saving that rainbow you worked so hard for)
3rd is the Lighting tower(deals damage to everything on screeen)
and finnally anyone stuck trying to rainbow the 4 trees level. (wont' walk you through all of it) but my last my four trees where 1.bee hive. 1 super bomber and two telsa towers.. I finshed with 21 gems left over.. plenty for mines incase one got through!!
Anyhow this should be a must buy for most people. For an 8 dollar game I give it a 10 or a 9.. still would have liked online co-op, but o well :)

Radiation

@DrunkRaba:

Same here. My brother has come over the last two weekends and we played for 18 hours straight both times. It's amazing how such a simple concept can be so incredibly engaging.

This is exactly what the PSN needed.

big_world

Ha, welcome to the classic TD formula.
Most TD's will not allow you to maze. In fact, most mazing TD's are a lot more inflexible in that usually there's one best maze, and anything other than that will either get you killed or won't kill as well.

This TD is clearly going back to the roots (Starcraft/Warcraft III) with the builder.

Providence

Hm, I suppose I have to echo others' impressions and feelings about this game; it's quite addictive, and surely *different* from all the other TD games out there. I still play with a "traditional" TD mentality and I still get destroyed by some levels.

One thing I wish they'd do, though, is be more transparent about all the upgrades, HP, and levels so that I don't HAVE to trial & error my way through the game to try to guess at how to take out a certain wave. I'm still not sure what which level of upgrade does for each tower, and there are different armor types on the monsters plus different amounts of monsters per wave and different timings... I'd really like to try to plan a wave beforehand for what's coming instead of reloading the level after my villagers get repeatedly humped by the onslaught.

Datheron

Also, one of my favorite games. I have to get a round or two in per night. I hope there are more levels in the works.

jp182

@n/a: My PS3 died the week before it came out so I feel your pain

dannyzuko

I love this game! Been playing it with my roomate for the most part as the game is more fun, and a little easier with two people. Good to get someone else involved without a PS3 I always say!

DrunkRaba

One of my favourite games on the PSN. Great value for money. Can't stop playing this and Rez HD on XBLA. Great week for downloads.

steve86uk

@slowpc: @LX:
Ahhh, thats too bad. I guess I'll have to stick to having a friend over for now, cause that shit was some fun! Thanks for the info just the same.

-EDGE-

The only thing I hate about this game is how you cannot use a PS2 controller for co-op. It insists that you use a sixaxis to play. I mean, c'mon, even COD4 doesn't complain about PS2 controllers. What does it need a sixaxis for?

RogueBoar

This game is like crack to me. Very hard to put down.

B1S1

@stevenrafael: Yes.

Sorry for the double post.

Kaneda

I love Pixel Junk's:Monsters ...I have been trying to get all the rainbows like Siegfried and Roy in a gay pride parade.

Seiven

@-EDGE-: I did the exact same! It seems a bit easier alone though. I've been playing it single player and beat 8 level perfectly, including some we couldn't beat perfectly together. I don't know though, it might just be because we weren't working properly as a team. Anyway, I'll go back to it now! I had never really played a line tower game before, but I'm seriously addicted to this cute one and well designed one.

Kaneda

Do more monsters spawn during co-op?

stevenrafael

This really feels like someone took the tower defense genre, warped it back in time ten years, showed it to a SNES developer and then had them make a game for it in HD with kick ass music.

I just finished this last night. It was ABSOLUTELY worth $8 (looking back I probably would have paid $30). Don't ignore this because it lacks the mazing aspects of DTD. That just makes it different, not worse.

Jaded

And the next most awesome psn network release?

SUPER STREET FIGHTER II HD!!!!!!!

kyosuke9999

I have been watching these mini games on PSN for a while now, they seem very high quality and inovative, I like the idea of Sony building up a little arcade of Mini games, it will work well with Home (ITS OUT SOON YAY XD).

Good work Sony.

LordChris915

yeah i played the Japanese demo. i thought it was ok... nice that it's remote-play compatable!

Akmed

@Lightthrower: I played Gemz TD once but I didn't understand what was going on and by the time I figured it out, I was too frustrated to play again. I'd like it more if I played it again. it was interesting. I mostly stick to Ryoko TD and Demon TD.

Five Element Ninja

This game seems pretty awesome may buy this still not sure though.

Tzero7

Not letting the flashy games cloud my judgement... this is the best game I've played since COD4 multi.

Co-op is so fun it's criminal!

Astrofox

it's definitely worth the $8, will still be worth it for $10, and i'm only lukewarm towards tower defense games. imo, the different take on the genre is the major appeal. i like that i have a visible character that has to dodge monsters and collect money and gems while running back to base to purchase upgrades. and the game is even more fun with a friend.

saruxiii

Honestly, ive been at the demo from the japanese store for a while; its another really fun PSN game, with Everyday Shooter and such, and why the demo isnt on the US store is beyond me.

TheIrishNinja

It is a fantastic game, don't forget if you need a quick upgrade you can upgrade using gems, the upgrade is the same as the one where you dance but it is quick and uses up a gem or a few depending on the upgrade level. Useful, especially when you have lots of extra gems.

Maleficence

I love this game. I rented Burnout Paradise for the same price as buying Pixel Junk and yet I've hardly played any burnout because of Pixel Junk. The game can get a bit frustrating since it relies heavily on trial and error, but I don't feel stressed out or pissed when things aren't going my way. Instead, it's a lot of fun to keep playing the levels and see what you can do differently.

The best part is the game is so simple even my girlfriend who hardly plays any games can easily play with me in co-op mode. The game is a blast and definitely worth $8.

Lets hope that they decide to upgrade the game with more levels and hopefully an online co-op mode.

dalejrfanfreak

The game is very hard... but still enjoyable :D

Garo

Two points:

1) Great game, but stuck on Hard 2.

2) It seems that the consensus is that the tower defense defense genre was popularized by "Warcraft 3 mods", but I could have sworn that there was a full on tower defense level in the regular campaign somewhere, either in the main game or in Frozen Throne. Can anyone back me up on this?

Laxcat

Hard game is hard. Only played a little but it was lot of fun, especially coop with a buddy. After the first couple missions the difficulty ramps up big time and you gotta really plan carefully with your friends

Kyle81

@KYLE_ELYK:
That brings up an excellent point. More [PSN] games need to support remote play. It is extremely cool that you can play this game away from the house

LX

I like this game, and I was pretty happy I was able to play it in school when I got an internet connection on my PSP and was able to connect to my PS3 because I was in a boring lecture.

KYLE_ELYK

Why do people think "It's unfair, really, that Desktop Tower Defense has become the gold standard of the genre.", this is not true. The real gold standard are the user map content on War3 or SC. Anyone ever played Gemz TD?

Lightthrower

Yes, this game is fun. Even my wife likes playing it coop, although I'm worried that the difficulty will ramp up too fast for her.

greeble

its funny, my coworker always complains about how crappy the game is...but I always see him playing. LoL guess there is something to the game. Looked a little slow for my liking though.

toneroni

@Morberis: its 100% english :-) (the demo at least)

Rabidsquirrel

PixelJunk Monsters is an amazing game with tons of replay value for $8. Not to mention that the co-op is a fun as-hell ordeal ending up with me and my roommates yelling at each other for placing the towers at wrong trees and arguing about what upgrades to purchase next.

The only thing that could make this game better would be online co-op, instead of just the regular one.

And I think that the ability to place the towers only on the trees adds a certain new gameplay feature to the game since, you have to understand how the towers work: their power, range, fire rate. For example, placing cannons on the bottom line of trees is a really foolish idea, since their ranged would then be gimped.

On top of that, there's the whole do I dance at a tower to upgrade it or spend my gems to do it? Possibilities, possibilities...

I'm in the same boat as you Mark, I have some awesome games to play, but I find myself coming back to PixelJunk monsters over and over again to see if I can perfect one more level :)

DigiMish

@-EDGE-:
if you're referring to monsters then unfortunately you're out of luck. It's local co-op only, the online function is for leaderboards.

Also as many others have said, the game is absolutely brilliant. I'd love to see refinements either as updates or sequels. A map editor would be a definite must along with online co-op. I'd also love a futuristic version but the graphics lend themself well to the current setting.

LX

T@Morberis: I actually downloaded it from the Japanese PSN since there was a demo version there which was missing from the US / EU store. I was surprised that it ran in English.

DrXym

Just got my ps3 and after seeing it on 1up.... I had to buy it. Been playing it the most out of everything too.
Great PSN title for the price.

Edge also... no online co-op, only hotseat.

slowpc

@Rabidsquirrel:

Does it have English options or is it purely Japanese? I think I have an old Japanese account laying around.

Morberis

Nice to see wo many people appreciate this game. I´ve tried recommending this to anyone who has a PS3. Great game, simple concept, great controls and a cheap price tag.

Best one yet on the PSN!

Furu

I, too, was disappointed that you can only build towers on the trees and not wherever you want, a la Warcraft III. creating my own crazy mazes is half the fun for me. still, it's not a bad game and I'll probably end up getting it, even though I've already played TD to death in Warcraft III. now if only someone would make a castle fight type game for PSN, I'd be in heaven.

Five Element Ninja

Hey cool was looking foward to this game!

Witzbold

Don't know if any of you are online, but I'm down to try the 2 player online if someone is up for it. Feel free to hit me up. Also if anyone tried the online yet, is it any good?

-EDGE-

@Bluecell: There is... its just in the JPN store :(

Rabidsquirrel

Aggghhhh! You are killing me! I downloaded this right before my PS3 killed itself...come on Sony...

n/a

The only game my girlfriend suggests we play together. Thank you pixel junk for making a game that let's me do this!

kyosuke9999

This game is so addicting it's maddening. I absolutely love playing it, but at the same time I really hate it when I can't 100% a stage. I think I've dumped 8 hours into the game with 7 stages in, and the difficulty just keeps ramping up. This game is an absolute steal at $8.00, and to anyone on the fence: BUY IT I SAY. It costs about the same as a few pizza slices! One of the best PSN games, easily.

Car2oon

There are some very brilliant PSN titles.

tehFluffz

@Morberis: I prefer the set paths. Each map in Pixeljunk Monsters is unique, and there's essentially already a "maze" built for you. The focus of the game then relies on building the right towers at the right time and spending your money wisely. And a win is based on your ability to do that, rather than whether or not you were able to build a maze correctly.

It's also important to note that there are special levels with a unique gameplay feature. One level you must kill every enemy before it reaches the hut because you only have one villager-baby-thing to protect. On another, you start with a set amount of money and don't gain any extra for kills.

My favourite has to be the level where there is no break between waves. That may not sound like much because in most TD games, the next wave comes immediately and if it doesn't, there's a button to press to make that happen. But with Monsters, you need that time to dance at a tower to upgrade it, or run around collecting money. It really is a lot of fun, and it's unfortunate there's no demo for you to try.

Bluecell

@ Anyone who may be on the fence

If you are thinking about picking this game up it is currently $7.99 (USD) on the PSN. I think however, the price is for a limited time (not 100% sure). If that's the case it will go up to the usual $9.99 (USD) price at some point.

That or they could be fucking with us and drop it to $4.99 (USD) just to teach us all a lesson ;)

-EDGE-

port to Live Arcade? cuz i have no plans to buy a ps3 in the next two years, and i love Tower Defense games

teh_sideburns

never played any war3 custom maps have you

holysocks

@Bluecell: Oh man future monsters would be an epic win.

The game is solid, one of the best PSN games. Would LOVE to see a level editor/online sharing (you wouldn't think it'd be too hard from a design standpoint).

Skemo

This may be the first PSN game I buy.

DigitalHero

@Silverwolf:

I know, I'm stuck on medium 4. The one with only 4 trees. Not moving on until I rainbow that thing. 2 days trying and no luck.

Royal_Highness

i love this game i can't stop i'll play one or two levels quit forawhile go back and get my ass kicked and go maybe a fire tower here and here...BRILLANT!

Raziel3333

I went to a friend's place for a Superbowl / gaming weekend and Monsters got the most attention. We actually beat it, and because we had a system link going for Burnout, we actually had two Monsters games going at once for a while. It really is a lot of fun and challenging when trying to 100% a level.

If there is a sequel, I'd like to see it have a technological theme. Machine gun turrets and missile launchers against an army of robots or something.

Bluecell

Getting rainbows on all level is a b!tch! There's always one bastard that gets thru.

Silverwolf

They don't allow you to make a maze? I'm sorry if they don't allow that this game is useless to me, thats the fun I get out of desktop tower defense. I've played Warcraft 3 maps that sound like this and I found them to be nowhere near the fun of the maps that allowed a maze.

Because of this I'm going to have to decline buying it, and advising others to get it. Instead I'd recommend Warcraft 3 or the free Desktop Tower Defense.

Morberis

Great to hear such good things about this game. I've been thinking about getting it and you just pushed me over the edge.

elliottsa

I literally haven't touched Burnout Paradise or Warhawk in over a week because of this game. I finally finished it yesterday and although I may not go back to it (perhaps to get rainbows on all of the levels), it was completely worth $8. If you have kids, the co-op mode is fun as well.

jojo311

Great game!!

mnml10387

I have been enjoying this game quite a bit myself. I can get bored of a it a little quickly (after maybe 2-3 levels, or 2-3 retries after failing to perfect the level), but I always come back.

My brother and I also play really well coordinated two player matches together, and that just piles on the fun (and insanity!).

This purchase was definitely worth the $8 for me and I believe it would for a lot of others as well, but I'm guessing this kind of game won't be everyone's cup of tea, as the saying goes.

The graphics are really nice too, I'm loving the art style they chose to go with and just the general feel of the game is very nice. I think anyone who has $8 sitting around should give this game a shot.

Zhabin

The difficulty ramps up a bit weird, but I am really enjoying this game. A buddy of mine came over this weekend and we played two player for a few hours over some beers and had a BLAST! This is a game I would recommend to almost anyone.

-EDGE-

can't...stop...pixelating!

ComradeStalin

I saw it on 1up and it looked pretty fun not to mention difficult. I love the art style :)

Irenicus-the one and only

The challenge is appealing, It's nice to see so many unique offerings on the PSN.

Versick

@pyropetey: Funny story... I returned WC3 the day I got it because it sucked when compared to WCII and SC. The only people who I know who play WC3 anymore play DOTA.

Anemone

i fell in love with the japanese demo and its music some days before the u.s version was released. as soon as i heard the music i knew it was something special. after a little problem adding funds to the psn wallet, i anxiously bought the game. only to realize they changed the music on me... poo. still a great game, though. 7/10 score for me.

CancerMan

i love td games
vector tdx... countless hours...
got da japanese demo of pixel... the level of immersion is great... dancing and physically walking to places is perfect...

LittlestLamshi

Too hard. Gave up halfway through.

gblock

It's pretty interesting but jeebus is it hard. I can't seem to get past some of the easy maps... I don't even want to see what the devs thought was a hard map.

nh2

@kyosuke9999: agreed. My wife will only touch two games. Rock Band and now Pixel Junk Monsters.

cio

Pretty spot on impressions Mark. I've been playing this game everyday since it came out and loving every minute. Such an awesome little gem of a game.

k3nji

@pyropetey:

Errr Superstar Dust HD... lol o_O i got no idea where pixel star dust came from -_-;;

... ok i just added a star to it, im officially insane

pyropetey

Maz-ing maps were there back during the days of SC, since upgrades and stuff like that weren't possible.. but stacking was :P

But alot of you are right about the screaming at the dota references. for me its mostly dota now. But it doesnt deter the fact that games like gem TD, island defense, hero wars, etc still are around.

And yeah WC3 cant compete with the coop element of consoles today... unless your computers are right beside eachother ^^

And yeah O_o pixel dust HD rocks lol... it wont take away my dota tho!!

pyropetey

I love this title! It's far and away my most favorite PS3 game so far.

RedFive

@Anemone: lol i haven't played a WC3 TD/DoTA since Superstar Dust came out. This game makes want to not play WC3 TD's even less (except Gem TD)
@Thrillhaus: there's a main/single player version of WC3?

Bleentastic

@Morberis: The original wc3 td maps (what evolved into hero td) did not involve mazes.

@Laxcat: I dont remember any td levels in the campaign, though im not positive. Blizzard did release their own custom td map though.

Damn... all this talk of td makes me want to reinstall wc3 again. Anyone else up for some real td? =P

Thrillhaus

@Anemone: I do think wc3 is worth it just for the td/dota/castle defense/marine shooter custom maps alone, but the wc3 main game rocked as well imo. I personally preferred its hero-centric style of play over sc.

Thrillhaus

The fact that the majority of people above me who are dissing this game are people who've never played it speaks volumes. Couple this with the fact that the majority of those who have played it rave about it means I'm officially off the fence.

mariospants

17/21 rainbowed on my way to 21... can't stop playin pixel crack monsters

nukem55

This game is so great it has given me four firsts. One, it's made me use my PS3 for playing a game for many hours. Two, it made my wife actually *want* to play a co-op game with me. Three, it made me write my first ever FAQ/Guide and post it to GameFAQs. And last but not least, it made me register on Kotaku after years of readership to tell you how great it is! That's a good game!

PsiPab