PixelJunk Racers: 2nd Lap Message Board

So… better late than never right? Yes, finally PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap is coming to PSN and we’ve had a lot of fun fiddling with the original Racers to bring it up to date with the other titles in the PixelJunk series. Instead of going back and just adding trophies we decided to go through and give it a difficulty overhaul — making the game far easier than it used to be (we used to make these games pretty tough back in the day eh). It is still a pleasant challenge of course but not the insurmountable cliff face it used to be.

Let me be the first to say this, but PixelJunk Racers is *not* a racing game – it is more like a PixelJunk reaction-based party game based loosely on slot-car racing. There are all kinds of different rules to play with, for example in one rule all you do is hold the trigger down to “puff up” your car, release the trigger and your car flies along the track like a balloon, the goal is to get as far as you can without hitting anything. We support up to 7 controllers and it makes for a superb game to play with friends around. In another mode you can only keep your speed up by “eating” the other cars (by hitting them and destroying them). For anyone who enjoys fun rules with a bit of a driving motif, this should be right up your alley. It is one of our favourite games in the PixelJunk series — it’s a personal favourite of mine and the one that kickstarted it all off.

On top of this we added a new global scoreboard called Driver’s Points which add up as you play the online score attack modes. This should give everyone a nice long-lasting challenge, especially as to enhance this further we have added ghosts of the other players in the high score rankings that you can play against. You can only select ghosts from either your friends’ list or from the other players near you in the high score table so as you go up through the ranks you should be able to see some incredibly skilled play from some of the best players out there. It makes for a very addictive challenge.

Before I forget, 2nd Lap is totally FREE to existing owners of Racers, and you get to keep the original (difficult) Racers for posterity (it doesn’t overwrite it). PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to get this upgrade a whole two weeks before everyone else too, with also a 25% discount (those lucky folks!) Regular PSN users will soon catch up though, two weeks isn’t too long to wait I hope – it will be available on Aug 24th for just $6.99!

Whether you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber or not, if you’re an existing owner of Racers, be sure to get the FREE upgrade to 2nd Lap. All you have to do is click the FREE button on the 2nd lap product page, add to cart and install… that’s it! For those that are new to Racers, you will automatically be upgraded to 2nd lap at the time of purchase.

Anyway, it’s time for me to get back to work finishing up PixelJunk Shooter 2 (looking pretty cool btw!), I’ll be back in a little while to talk it up and perhaps even to discuss our latest collaboration with Baiyon of PixelJunk Eden fame, so see you soon!

We spent some time with 2nd Lap -- the it's-not-just-a-PixelJunk-Racers-add-on for PSN -- back in March. We enjoyed ourselves and it would appear that Pixeljunk Racers fans will get to try out 2nd Lap themselves on July 1 for ¥500 ($5.50), andriasang reports. We've contacted Sony for confirmation on the potential release date.

2nd Lap builds upon PixelJunk Racers with all-new tracks, mini-games and full Trophy Support -- there's even YouTube integration for you showboats out there who crave internet stardom.

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As the first PixelJunk game from Q-Games, Racers was largely misunderstood by most. Now, after the success of Monsters, Eden and Shooter, Q-Games is ready to go back to its first concept and give it a second chance. PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap isn't just an add-on to the original PSN game, but a new game (with new features like Trophies) that warrants a second look from fresh PixelJunk fans.

Like the original, 2nd Lap is a unique interpretation of classic top-down racers of yore. However, Q-Games' take on the genre makes it more of a puzzle or rhythm game, rather than a racing game -- an easy mistake for players to make, considering both the game's look and title. While some modes do require "winning" a race, most are about achieving rather specific goals. For example, you may need to complete a number of laps in a constantly-accelerating vehicle, while avoiding all the other cars on the road. "Sunday Drive" will have you trying to get past as many slow-driving cars as possible. It's a frustrating recreation of being stuck in traffic, yet it's oddly compelling.

In its second iteration, PixelJunk Racers remains essentially a collection of car-themed minigames, with the ultimate goal of scoring as high as possible on the leaderboards. Thankfully, 2nd Lap has been made considerably easier and more accessible than the first game, easing players into a much easier single-player experience. The addition of YouTube recording support should appease the show-offs, while the presence of PSN Trophies may make the overall package far more rewarding. (Don't worry Trophy hunters, Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert told us that they've learned from PixelJunk Eden and Monsters, and will make the Trophies much easier, akin to PixelJunk Shooter.)

The first PixelJunk title returns with Trophies, ghost races and more.

Round and round they go.