Price: $9.99  | Release Date: December 10, 2009 | ESRB: E10+ (Everybody 10 and older) | System: PlayStation 3

4 Stars - Brillant, short length prevents a 5-star rating

What should by now be familiar to you, dear reader, is that the PixelJunk prefix to this game means quality. You may know this from playing PixelJunk Eden or PixelJunk Monsters, or you might have heard a friend talk about PixelJunk something or other.

However you've heard it, Shooter is the fourth title from developer Q-Games in the PixelJunk series of games. As with all previous titles, Shooter runs native in 1080p resolution, presents an enjoyable gaming experience in only two dimensions and is exclusively available to download from the PlayStation Network.This won't end well ... gas is explosive.

In addition to the usual Q-Games set of PS3 extra features, such as video-recording, YouTube uploading, Remote Play compatability and in-game soundtracks using music on your hard drive, Shooter allows you to capture still images. I've never noticed this fact before, and so I'm not sure if it's new or I just wasn't aware of it. You can take your own pictures by accessing the XMB during gameplay and going to "Save Screenshot" under the Photo tab on your menu. A neat feature, and I'll have to go back to some other games and see if they also support it.

So then ... what is Shooter all about? Basically, you will be controlling a spaceship, shooting stuff (obviously), rescuing people and interacting with the elements (Fun fact: Elements was considered as a name for the game, but was ultimately rejected as being not action packed enough). There is also some kind of story-line about humanity needed to explore and mine more and more planets for minerals, and something going wrong on this particular planet which needs rescuing (this is where YOU come in!), but honestly, the story takes a back seat when it's just you and a bunch of enemies that need shooting.

Why yes, that is a giant spider who has just vomited lava.The interaction between the various elements plays a cruical part of the game. Basically, there is lava, water, gas and black gunk, all of which affect your ship in various ways and interact between each other differently too. In a sense then, you are playing against the environment as well as the enemies, because the lava is trying to kill you just as much as that weird bat like thing that just spawned.

There are some interesting ways to make the elements interact, all of which you will need to learn in order to succeed in this game. Lava and water make destructable rock, for example, while black gunk and water make explosive gas. The manipulation and use of these combinations will allow you to rescue every stranged scientist and get every gem.

Ah the gems. The collector's dream (and nightmare). Each stage features a number of gems to collect, and you won't be completing the game to 100% without each and every last one. Most of them are quite obvious, but there are some that will need very careful playthroughs to find. Therein lies the replayability factor of Shooter. Without the gems to collect, you will probably be finished with this game in about 3 hours, at most.

Each of the three stages have 5 levels within them, and each has a certain theme: either normal caves, ice or the mining depot of the final stage. Each also comes with its very own boss to beat, which present a unique challenge to master. All in all, 15 stages, 15 unique scientists to rescue, 525 regular scientists to save, 235 gems to collect and three bosses to defeat.

So yes, Shooter is very short. The levels are each short but challenging, but once you have completed them and found everything to find, this game is just going to be taking up space on your PS3's hard drive. Don't get me wrong, you will have an absolute blast playing the game, but make sure to enjoy it while it lasts. I can't help but lament the lack of a level editor, where you can make levels to share with friends or random people. The possibilities of playing around with as much of each element really appeals to me, and I'm sad that it was ommitted from the final game. You'll understand my sentiments when you play the game itself.Lava melting the ice. Look out!

The Verdict: Well, there's not much else to say. It's ten bucks well spent, and you will enjoy it, for the brief time you can play it. There is also some cooperative multiplayer which is fun for a little while, but since you play the same levels and track the same stats, collection wise, this will soon be over too. In fact, since two pairs of eyes looking for gems to collect are better than one, you will probably finish the game even faster in co-op. Still, buy it, but be prepared for a short experience, and to drop some more cash a bit later once Shooter 2 / Encore drops.