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Hot PXL Review
Written by Modojo Staff on Monday, October 15, 2007
A few fun mini-games; downloadable bonus games; off-the-wall presentation can be a trip; retro Atari classics.
Multiplayer's pretty useless; some of the mini-games aren't that great; non-fans of Djon just won't "get him".
So, technically, Hot Pixel couldn't go on shelves being called "Djon Ware". There's two reasons for this. Number one, that kind of takes away from the intellectual property of Nintendo's Wario Ware games, to which Hot Pixel is closely related as far as its gaming formula is concerned. Secondly, seriously, before this game, has anyone even heard of Djon? I mean, not to deny him as a person or anything. He's done skateboarding/artistry/deejaying for a while now and he probably has a loyal following on the East Coast or something, but is his presence enough to win over the hearts of gamers everywhere?
Well, that's really a question of tolerance. Djon acts all off the wall, appearing in brief video clips and lending a hand to the game's art style. Players will go through the game, completing several mini-game stints that range from retro Atari classics (always nice to see Battlezone and Asteroids again) to quirky little collection games (going around the board and snagging all of a certain color or avoiding another color). Most of the mini-games are a lot of fun, although a couple of the games tend to grow tedious. After completing the chain of mini-games in that certain "state" (category), players have to face off against a boss stage, usually consisting of an over-the-top challenge like a super-deluxe game of Pong. On a New York billboard, we're guessing.
Visually, the game does have style, but little else. The games almost look slapped together in some parts, but definitely have wackiness and Wario's spirit on their side -- even if Wario himself isn't there. The audio is made up of fun little music chunks and strange sound effects, which suit the game surprisingly well. As far as how it plays, well, it's an ADD lover's dream. If you can't stay focused on something for very long, you're going to find Hot Pixel as your ideal utopia -- unless, of course, you have a Nintendo DS and have been playing Wario Ware Touch for the last year or so.
Along with a not-bad presentation, Hot Pixel also has a lot going for it in replay value. Players can customize their own list of mini-games and sort them together, along with being able to snag new ones online through Atari. The multiplayer, though, leaves a little to be desired. It can be fun but since the games run so brief (almost shorter than the loading time), it's almost pointless.
No matter. Hot Pixel does what it set out to do, clone Wario Ware without actually becoming Wario Ware, and it surprisingly succeeds, even if it's just a modest victory. The presentation won't wow you and Djon probably won't become the next Marc Ecko as far as gaming presence goes (well, wait, does Marc Ecko still have gaming presence?), but it's better than you might think, especially if short attention span gaming is your bag.
