PS3 Fanboy

If you've recently checked your Japanese PSN account, you may have noticed that PixelJunk Monsters Encore is already available for download. The expansion pack that brings you to the whole new Toki Island, adding in 15 new missions, is priced at ¥600 (US$5.77).

That's all well and good for Japan, but what about North America? Will we be seeing a similar price point? And where exactly is our North American expansion? It was given an ambiguous April 2008 release schedule, but has yet to come out all month ... until now -- at least for Japan anyway.

We're probably jumping the gun on this one. The North American PlayStation Store has yet been updated today, so there's still a good chance this much wanted add-on will sneak up on there. Although, a stealth release is not of the norm; if the game was ready, we would have heard about it by now. We guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we?

[Update: We contacted SCEA. Encore is currently scheduled for an early May release. And by early, we mean really early. Stay tuned.]

First and foremost, Q Games' Dylan Cuthbert said before this PixelJunk Monsters expansion would be released sooner rather than later. It is so. The expansion is due out sometime in April. That's pretty quick, especially if you spent last night with a friend getting perfect scores on every single map in the original. But anyway, what's new in Encore, the expansion?

A new island, Toki Island, is available with 15 new missions. The maps for the missions look quite experimental and different from much of the original island (Tiki Island). At the beginning of missions, you'll now have instant access to the mostly-useless Ice Tower. The cost of the Tesla Tower has decreased to only 10 jewels. You'll have to earn the abilities from the original game again (like running, land mine, et cetera). There's also a strange little bonus island whose purpose is unknown right now. There are also five new music tracks. We're excited, but until we get word of the final build, that's all we know for now.