Game: Hot Pixel
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: zSlide
Release Date: 22nd June 2008
In the minigame genre Warioware is undoubtedly king, and the standard that any aspiring title has to live up to. In 2008 Atari released Hot Pixel, a collection of over 200 minigames inspired by Atari classics such as Breakout and Battlezone, as well as Street Culture and a large helping of surreal humour (quite like that of the Warioware series). Games are sorted into 10 chapters, but can also be played via playlists, where they're grouped by various characteristics. 70 additional minigames are still available to download from the Hot Pixel site, and provide additional gameplay to the title.
In regular chapter play, games appear in a random order and must be beaten at increasing difficulties and speeds until a set number have been cleared. At this point, a boss minigame initiates and players have their remaining lives (a maximum of 3) left to clear it with. This system leads to quite a bit of 'hoping to get the harder minigames before the difficulty and speed ramp up', but it's not dissimilar to Warioware in that respect. Chapters can be played on Easy or Normal difficulty from the start, and once all have been cleared, Tricky difficulty unlocks, with various tricks to put the player off while they attempt to complete games.
The minigames and boss games included on the game disc are generally fun and easy to pick up, although it's easy to spot when one game is just a simple reskin of another. There's some variety between the games, and the boss stages provide a welcome challenge at the end of chapters. The Atari classics theme can feel a little overplayed at times, with many versions of Breakout, Battlezone and other games appearing throughout the 10 chapters. There are also many games which are similar to Warioware minigames, which seems almost unavoidable in the minigame genre, but is noticeable nonetheless.
The downloadable games from the Hot Pixel website cannot be played in the same style as the games from the disc. Instead players must aim to complete as many rounds of the same game as possible for a silver or gold medal, depending on their score. This is similar to library mode in the Warioware series, but it's a forced part of the game if you want to play the downloadable minigames. In addition to this, many of them use ideas already presented in the games on the UMD.
There's plenty to unlock in Hot Pixel such as videos, extra playlists of games and some other features, but I'm still not entirely sure how the in game pixel currency is used, despite having earned about 60,000 of it. All of the unlocks seemed to be triggered by completion of chapters, rather than currency milestones and what did unlock was of little use to me.
The style of the games themselves ranges from pixel to cartoon to video quality. Some are rather difficult to master, and others can be easily completed by holding just one button down. The control scheme for each game seems to be slightly different which can be disconcerting, however it shouldn't be too much of an issue if you're used to minigame compilations.
Graphically the game has a range of styles and looks, and it only really struggles when attempting to play the full motion video cutscenes introducing each chapter. The game's mascot "Djon" seems to tie the experience together as you guide him through various adventures by completing the minigames. Musically the game features an interesting accompaniment to play; it's enjoyable behind the minigames and whilst playing but it's not something to listen to outside of the game.
Overall Hot Pixel is an interesting minigame collection which doesn't quite stand up to any of the titles in the Warioware series due to its repetition of some games, layout and inconsistent style, but still manages to provide some fun gameplay and challenge for those fond of minigames or Atari classics. While I'd recommend the game, it's not without its flaws and I'm sure that there are people who could easily dislike it.
Rating: 70/100
Grade: C
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