It’s a rather risky business putting the word ‘junk’ into the title of your latest game. However, Sony is clearly confident about the mass appeal of PixelJunk Racers, and hasn’t shied away from altering a title that could easily amass a wealth of negative nicknames.

That said, it does fit the moniker particularly well, as it is junk. In the same way that those kinds of titles are ridiculous past the point of consideration, PixelJunk Racers doesn’t have you racing cars around a track, it’s far more about the concept. Sure, it has been put into a slightly more conventional context than we suspect it was originally conceived in, but it certainly isn’t a racing game in the conventional sense of the word, oh no.

Junk has you playing almost before you pick up the controller, it’s that easy to get into. Your objective will be to get into a particular zone, where you’re playing by reflex rather than straining your noggin with twitchy reaction gameplay.

In fact, it’s pretty much essential that you get something out of the single-player mode, and that kind of zoned-out play is the only real way you’re going to enjoy playing on your own. The problem then is that you’re going to be so much better than all your mates, having had that much more practice. Sure, it’s a pick up and play title, as we’ve said before, but at the same time it requires a high degree of concentration.

There are only three buttons utilised by Junk, and while it may look a little like Super Sprint, you have far less control over the car. Essentially you’re just changing lanes and speeding up to avoid (or otherwise) the other cars on the track. The real bonus is the range of race types available. There are 32 in total, which, despite the lack of courses, makes for pretty much unending fun in multiplayer. It’s always going to be worth downloading, for the pittance it is, but whether or not the single-player mode, which forces you to play many of the same courses over and over in the early stages, will have you switching off, we don’t know. The PS3 is reasonably light on non-novelty party titles, and Sony doesn’t have a particularly good reputation for that kind of thing. PixelJunk Racers makes a step towards suggesting Sony is looking at producing regular, good quality titles for the Network. Encouraging indeed.

Tom Leclerc