PixelJunk Eden is the 3rd in the PixelJunk lineup from Q-Games. This amazing puzzle game takes on biological form to delight and frustrate you. 

From the first announcement, I was curious about PixelJunk Eden.  I'm a sucker for puzzle games and the whole biological evolution to the puzzle intrigued me.

In Eden you are a "Grimp" which is a little creature that moves by jumping from place to place and gripping onto plant like structures. Your objective is to collect spectra that spread across the "garden" or stage. The spectra are usually located very high and in hard to reach places. You begin in the bottom of the garden and start collecting pollen that activates seeds out of which plants grow upwards and you continue to climb until you reach a certain number of spectra.

For gamers that span generations, this is how I would personally break Eden down for you: jumping and rope swinging in Worms meets any goal-driven, puzzle-based game, modern music, great 2D graphic color schemes, and 10 challenging gardens and hours of entertainment. 

Graphics: 90% (lost points for certain color combinations clashing)

The graphics in this game are simple yet very stunning; they are drawn as silhouettes of plants that go upwards onto the map as any growing plant would. The detail is fine enough for you to tell the difference between a rock surface and a plant. The different surfaces determine what kind of jump you can make as you climb. While your swinging around and bursting pollen sacks it is easy to see where the bits of pollen that you need to collect are as they float towards the bottom of the map.

The color combinations work nicely on almost all of the 10 gardens and my only knock comes on a level that was green with very similar colored pollen that were hard to pick out sometimes against the green background. Also, when you are on a plant and you have the analog stick pointed in the direction you want to go, it is sometimes hard to see the guide they provide for you.

From the first beat, the music in Eden is interesting and adds another element to the game.  Throughout, the rhythmic, techno-like, drum and bass like music may put you into a trance as you stare at the screen. The sound effects come off in the same manner. They are subtle, but add another element once you start to pick up the audible clues. These lead you on your way to helping you find the big pollen sacks floating around. 

Gameplay: 90% (lost points for the goal remaining the same every level)

Seeing how Eden is a puzzle game and represents this theme very well, from the start I thought the gameplay was excellent, overall.  From the simple level selection menu which acts as a garden itself, to entering your first level, this game covers it all.  You start off in each garden required to find a single spectra and the level has you exit out. You get the chance to re-enter the garden and now try to collect two spectra. This continues on until you have collected five spectra. You are battle a timer that gets reset each time you grab a spectra and there are various other particles floating around that will add some extra time. 

I enjoyed the difficulty scales as you move further through the gardens. The large sacs are easy to pop on the first few gardens and then take an unexpected turn later in the game. I spent a lot of time flying around with broken silk in the middle levels before again getting control of my Grimp. You run into your fair share of mini-bosses along the way which make things a bit more difficult. With some practice, these shouldn't be a major issue.

This is the first game to ship with the trophies installed, and I made my way through two of them in the first three gardens.The game has a total of 20 trophies and each board has at least one to unlock.

Controls/Interface: 100%
The controls are very easy to learn and intuitive. It was simple to pick up the left analog and any button controls. Once the player gets the hang of spinning this game becomes very easy to control. The interface is very simple as there is hardly and overlay at the bottom of the screen showing your score off.  

Multiplayer:

PixelJunk Eden can support up to 3 players at one time. I did not get a chance to try out this aspect as of yet myself. You can fling yourself off the silk of your friends and there is a trophy to be obtained through multiplayer mode. 

Summary: 92%
This game arrives via a great price on the PlayStation Network.  I've read it has from 15-20 hours of playability and I believe that is a decent estimate. I'll keep my fingers crossed for expansions to Eden since I've thoroughly enjoyed this action puzzle game. It brings me back to my gaming roots with some very pleasant graphics and sounds.

Fast Facts:
Publisher: Q-games, SCEA, SCEE
Web: Playstation.com Site
Developer: Q-Games
Release date: July 31, 2008
PEGI: 3+
Format: PSN Download
Genre: Puzzle

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