GameSmith: Q-Games Does It Again with Sidescroller

If there's one thing I love about the PS3 it has to be the Pixeljunk games. The latest entry is a game called Sidescroller. Now the name alone tells you what sort of game this is. A throwback to the sidescrollers that started almost at the birth of video gaming. This new take on it adds some excellent level design and some unique graphics.

One word of warning though, be ready for some tough old school shooting fun. This game is not a pushover by any means. By the third level I was wanting to reduce the difficulty back from medium, but I just couldn't do it. I had to press on. Thank goodness there are check points or it would be way too hard for the casual player to enjoy it. As for me, after I died, I just had to try the level just one more time, which is a mark of a good game. I didn't even attempt the hard difficulty, but be my guest if your a sidescroller expert.

There are three types of weapons that your ship comes equipped with (machine gun, laser, bomb). Each one has it's purpose. You can also grab powerups from glowing ships that you destory. The powerup will improve the current weapon that you have equipped. You lose all your power ups at the start of a new level (not cool). Also your ship can take two hits before losing a life. Also around lava, you must find water to cool your ship off or it will explode. Speaking of lava, there are items within the game that you can destroy that will change the environment.

Both the art and music is splendid. The screen warps at the edges of your TV, so you have the effect of an old CRT monitor.

Now the bad, Even on easy, this game can be tough. The game is a bit short, there are three stages made up of four levels each and then a end boss encounter. For the $10.00 prices I expected a bit more.

If you love old school sidescrollers like Gradius, Lifeforce, R-type but with some really nice updates this game should fit the bill for you quite nicely. For myself, I would have to give it a 7 out of 10.