Games for Lunch: PixelJunk Eden

In a nutshell: A garden party.
8/5/2008 7:00 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3

Developer: Q-Games
Publisher: SCEA
Release Date: July 31, 2008
System: PS3
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

0:00 I've heard this game described as good but "hard to describe." Good thing I don't have to describe my experience playing it for the next hour or anything...

0:01 After adjusting the display size to my tiny SDTV and skipping through a 12-page license agreement, a title screen... grows. It's red and yellow silhouettes of flowing flowers amidst a black background. Ethereal synth music drones on behind.

0:02 Before I know it an extremely tiny gnome-like guy appears on the floor. I bring up the options screen and immediately gravitate to "How to Play."

0:03 "Eden is on an unknown garden. You use the oscillator to tune into other gardens which you can explore freely." Um... what? The game recommends an HDTV and headphones. THANKS FOR RUBBING IT IN, GAME!

0:04 So far, I've gathered that collecting floating Spectra, whatever they are, can make my home garden grow. "If the oscillator goes out of tune you will be ejected from the garden." Oh sure... who wants an out-of-tune oscillator in their garden? Not me!

0:05 The "basic gameplay" is based around releasing and collecting pollen to charge nearby "seeds," which then sprout into platforms, allowing you to climb further. This is some abstract stuff.

0:06 I can swing around the places I jump from with fragile "silk." How very "grappling beam."

0:08 I try to get a feel for the controls on the fully explorable menu screen. It's weird not being able to walk, but I can jump in any direction using the analog stick and face buttons. I'm already depressed by the lack of a double-jump, and the inability to send out more silk to continually swing through the air. Oh well... time to jump into the first level and figure this thing out.

0:09 "Welcome to your first garden. Numerous Spectra are hidden throughout this world. Seek out at least one Spectra to take back to your home garden." Spindly Blue palm fronds sprout up to my left and I jump on over. If I hold the jump button, I can spin through them instead of landing. It's hard to force myself not to hold the jump button.

0:11 Floating "pollen prowlers" can kill me if they touch me or my silk. That's all well and good, but "Pollen Prowlers"? Is that the best name they could come up with?

0:13 It's very, very hard to control the floaty jumps once I'm in the air. I have to plan my trajectory very carefully before taking off. I like being able to use my "silk" tether to collect floating pollen... makes precise jumping less important.

0:14 As I collect pollen, it floats to a floating blue "seed" area. Once I collect enough, it starts glowing. I jump in and it sprouts in an undulating curve of fronds. A satisfying rumble accompanies this growth.

0:16 My "oscillator" time meter is going down quickly, and the rejuvenating crystals seem in short supply. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places? Meanwhile, I'm climbing ever higher using more pollen and newly growing plants. Once false jump, though, and I fall ... alllllllll the way back down. Blarg.