At this point, Sony’s PS+ service is competing against widely different rivals in terms of the free games they’re offering each month. Once a battle to see whose games would be better each month, now there’s little opposition between it and Xbox’s lower-profile Games With Gold monthly downloads. However, there’s no arguing with the momentum of that company’s Game Pass dedicated service and the excellent titles they’ve been making available. While PlayStation does have its own version of that kind of service, at this point the “comparisons” mostly boil down to complete packages … and in that regard, PS+ has taken great strides over last year to kick their quality into gear.

Does that continue into this first month of 2021? Absolutely. They’re starting things off right by including one PS5 game for owners of that console (only playable on PS5s) and a pair of excellent titles for the PS4, one being a AAA powerhouse and the other an exciting, well-received time sink of a game. First impressions are important, and Sony’s doing the right things with their PS+ service shortly after the launch of their newest console.  Let’s take a gander, but before we do, be sure to Grab a Year Subscription to PlayStation Plus on Amazon.

PS5

Maneater

My enthusiasm for Maneater could be felt within a several mile radius upon both the release of the trailer and while I was playing through the game. There have been shark video games before, but nothing like the freedom afforded to the player in this one, in which they gain control of a baby bull shark dumped into the waters of a pseudo-Floridian bayou shortly after the murder of their parent.  It’s amazing to see how the moving parts of an action-RPG guide the gameplay along here, where the wimpy little character must eat up enemies how they can early to level up their body, preparing to enter bigger bodies of water and get revenge.

At that larger body state, Maneater cashes in on its promise as something resembling a shark RPG.  There are choices, yes, which hinge on the types of mutations you choose to give (and upgrade) to the bull shark, and you do have some say in how many humans or sea creatures you’d like to consume. That said, like most action-RPGs, it’s typically best and the most fun to do as much as possible to complete tasks and earn rewards: attacking human hot spots for mass consumption, destroying seafaring vessels, defeat shark hunters.  Filled with personality and addictively easy controlling of the shark, Maneater’s one of the better games to come out of last year and far and away the best shark game, like, ever, dude.

PS4

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Despite Lara Croft being one of gaming’s most popular characters, the Tomb Raider franchise began to suffer from escalation. Even after a reboot, it reaches bizarre levels of action by the end of the 2000s, growing more fantastical with each installment. Amid a time when gritty, semi-realistic video games were gaining popularity, 2013’s rebooted version of Tomb Raider came right on time, capitalizing on the popularity of “female survivalist heroes who are also archers”. Semi-open exploration of areas, thrilling but smart cinematics, and grounded use of tech gave Lara Croft the right touch of realism.

Fast-forward to Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the third entry in this latest trilogy, and it’s come close to reaching “that point” again by putting Lara Croft in a race to resolve the conundrum of a mythological box that could trigger the apocalypse. Beyond the storytelling’s outlandishness, however, the game has refined its now-familiar combat and survival mechanisms as Croft navigates jungles and tombs alike, to a point that’s arguably not that different from the second entry in the series. It’s tricky to balance not going overboard in the story with gameplay that’s well-tread but works, and while Shadow of the Tomb Raider doesn’t do it flawlessly, it does get Lara Croft to the end of this trilogy with her head held high.

Greedfall

While it’s a struggle for developers to get an action-RPG title to make it on a mainstream level when they aren’t a AAA studio, there’s always some solace to be found in the fact that those who like RPGs like this are rather voracious and will eventually get around to the title at some point. Spiders attempted to break into this niche several years back with Bound By Flame, but it was met with subpar reviews to its gaming shallowness, bluntly adult characterizations, and lack of role-playing interactivity despite its customizable veneer. It’s as if Spiders listened to each of these criticisms and aimed to correct every point when making GreedFall.

On an island environment that combines the swagger of a pirate tale with mystical powers and dangerous monsters, GreedFall allows the player to customize their character and engage in versatile combat and exploration of an absorbing setting. Both critics and players take no time in mentioning that the game liberally borrows its elements from other AAA titles – a healthy mix of old-school BioWare and peak Ubisoft — but it does so with reverence and quality in mind. Depth, party mechanics, exploration surprises, diplomatic maturity, and choice-and-consequence design prove that Spiders knows what its audience wants.

January’s PS+ Titles Sink Teeth in 2021 With RPGs, Lara Croft

Well, we’re about a month into the release of the next generation of video game consoles, and it’s been a pretty shaky period for owners of the new PlayStation console. From continued struggles to even get one in the first place to consoles that crash, overheat, and sporadically uninstall data, entering this next-gen gaming atmosphere proves to be a challenge for those on the PS side of things … but at least there are more “enhanced” gaming options on this unit once you’ve jumped those hurdles.

Something else that’s rewarding for those on the PlayStation train, particularly PS+ subscribers? It also appears that Sony will be following a familiar path – unlike the other system’s lowest level subscription service – by including a PS5-capable title on a monthly basis.  Naturally, the selections will be slim for the next half year or so, but it’s a very smart way of sneaking in value for new adopters alongside what appears to be an uptick in the caliber of the titles being offered, too.  Let’s take a closer look, and be sure to Grab a Year’s Subscription to PlayStation Plus at Amazon so you can get it on the goods.

PS5

Worms: Rumble

The Worms line of video games has existed in some form for a tad over a quarter of a century now, and the core amusement factor of the premise hasn’t changed much since then: it’s about worms wielding guns and engaged in warfare.  And not the Earthworm Jim type of near-human worms, but full slithery worms that have little arms and facial features slapped on their smooth, pink little bodies.  While graphical fidelity elevated the games from the run until 2016, the turn-based tactical gameplay remained largely intact and untouched … until Worms: Rumble.

Shaking things up a bit, Rumble transforms the gameplay into a real-time side-scrolling shooting platformer and battle royale experience, with the worms’ signature high-pitched mumbling dialogue – sounding more and more like the Minions – swirling together with a bunch of artillery chaos.  This iteration of Worms has been described more as a spinoff than a permanent pivot in overall game design, yet despite some negative comments about the overall simplicity of the experience, the positive reception could make it more permanent.

PS4

Just Cause 4

Avalanche Studios seemed to know the exact time when the gaming arena needed a new Just Cause. Taking 4-5 years to develop between installments, these titles seem to hit exactly when there’s either an absence or a lull in open-world exploration experiences, beginning with Just Cause’s release early in the days of the 360 and leading into the vastly improved Just Cause 2 in the quiet sandbox patch leading into the heavy hitters of 2010. While they’ve all received fine enough reviews, the critical reception has been on the downswing since that second installment due to lagging cinematic satisfaction and lower graphical fidelity, reaching a head with Just Cause 4.

Even with some fan dissatisfaction regarding the environment details and technical hiccups, and even with a noteworthy been-there, done-that feeling to the experience, players have still enjoyed jumping into the open world of fictionalized South America amid a dictatorial regime. After some time to release patched and with new consoles, maybe it’s a good time to dive into this one.

Rocket Arena

While the early days of competitive online gaming predominately centered on first-person shooter games, that space has greatly expanded into one where vibrant, interactives games draw players in with alternatives to the repetitive, stern-faced aiming and trigger pulling of yesteryear. Rocket Arena meshes together the pacing of squad combat with the whimsy of science-fiction, pitting teams against one another as they fly around a battlespace on the propulsion of jet packs, magic, and other stuff in between.

The setup feels like EA and First Strike Games borrowed from Overwatch, Fortnite, and from Mass Effect’s third-person shooting multiplayer design, then added flight options for elevated mobility around the arena maps in which players attempt to blast off other combatants from the level’s space, not unlike the way knockouts occur in Super Smash Bros. Both critics and players haven’t let Rocket Arena’s similarities to other multiplayer games slide, but they’ve still embraced its appeal to a wider age audience and its flighty tweaks.

December’s PS+ Freebies Deliver Worms, Just Causes and Jetpacks!

More and more, especially with their September lineup of free games, Sony seems to have gotten the message about their waning lineup of PS+ titles following the removal of their legacy offerings.  Over the past few months, in degrees both small and significant, the quality and prestige of their titles has gone up to a near-respectable level.  This round, however, makes a big case for them being back in the game, though, boasting two AAA titles – one that’s been out for a while, another that’s fairly recent – with recognizable brands and strong prestige behind ‘em. Will they continue to offer games of this caliber? Who knows, but for now, this seems like a strong indication that PlayStation Plus’s monthly free games might once again make it worth the price of admission for a subscription. Let’s explore them further.

PS4

Batman: Arkham Knight

Rocksteady’s third installment in their Arkham series of videogames shares more than a few similarities with the final entry in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight film trilogy: it’s an excellent conclusion to a remarkable series, despite also being the lesser of the three due to some story missteps. Arkham Knight finally takes Batman outside the separated boundaries of the previous games — both the institution grounds of Asylum and the “quarantined” section of the city in Arkham City — and into the full space of Gotham itself, though its millions of citizens have been evacuated due to a plot orchestrated by Scarecrow.  Piloting the Batmobile and soaring across rooftops, Batman battles the criminals who remain in its boundaries, including both familiar faces as the “new”creation of the Arkham Knight: a seasoned, familiarly-trained adversary who dresses in a mech-like suit resembling Batman. Exploration, drama, stealth and combat variety are all there in classic Rocksteady sandbox fashion, though the twists and turns of its story may leave some players, even seasoned comic-book readers, a little perplexed.

Darksiders III

The original Darksiders surprised with its Legend of Zelda-like progression of hack-‘n-slashing and puzzle-solving through a mythical storyline and high-fantasy action, while Darksiders II unleashed even more of developer Vigil’s potential with open maps, expanded loot, and tightened combat.  Vigil has shuttered and will be missed, but the hope was that Gunfire Games — the folks behind the Darksiders II remastered edition — might be able to continue their legacy with the third installment, featuring the female among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Fury. What they’ve done instead, to mixed successes, is tweak the game’s mechanics to adapt to the current realm of reflexive, deliberately challenging dungeon crawlers. Critics and players seems divided on whether the spike in difficulty seems fitting or cheap, but some agreements can be made on two fronts with Darksiders III: while the graphics are decidedly lower-fi than one might expect of the current generation, the mythology of the setting, the fluidity of the world, and the execution of combat still make this yet another ride worth taking.

PS+ Delivers Big in September With Dark Knight, Darksider Freebies

Whether it was intentional or not, Sony hit the pedal to the metal with their PS+ games last month, leading one to believe that they just might be on the upswing with their free subscriber games. Matching up with what was offered previously isn’t easy – Detroit: Become Human is considered a technological marvel and a novel, exclusive cinematic experience — and that shows with the reputable, yet less-satisfying twosome on offer for August.  One’s a remastered collection of futuristic racing titles that go together with PlayStation’s legacy, while the other’s a tactical shooter with its own early roots in the PlayStation 2 era. Both games have the soul of the Sony brand in ‘em, but they’re not the same caliber of heavy hitters that’d continue to elevate the reputation of PS+, instead merely sustaining it for the time being.  Let’s set our sights on the pair of games.

Click Here to Grab a 1-Year PlayStation Plus Subscription at Amazon

PS4

Wipeout HD Omega Collection

Oftentimes, when looking back at games in previous generations that you remember having a real “Wow!” factor in terms of graphics, many of them simply don’t hold up. The ones that seem most forgiving in this area are the geometric racing games that move briskly through 3D landscapes, and one of the biggies in this realm is Wipeout, a launch titles for PlayStations at the time. That reputation has led to a stunted but consistent legacy, eventually zooming toward the Wipeout HD reboot — and something of a vague partial remake, since it also integrated content from other entries — about a decade ago and another title, 2048, released 4 years after that.  This Omega Collection bundles together the past two games, along with the Wipeout HD Fury expansion, and naturally has been remastered for the current consoles. Yes, the new visual presentation and speed put the originals to shame, but there’s something about the fluidity, the momentum, and the 3D space established here that still distinctly reminds one of the original.

Sniper Elite 4

First-person shooting enthusiasts can tell the difference between a game where using a sniper rifle is merely an option, and a game where utilizing stealth and sniping are the intended course of action. While other shooters offer plenty of opportunities to hit shots from a distance and complete missions in a more methodical fashion, the Sniper Elite series operates around that as the core purpose of its maps, artillery, and controls, building into a true sharpshooter experience.  Taking place shortly after the third installment in the series during 1943, Sniper Elite 4 has been received as something of a mixed bag. Positive impressions have been centered on the size of the maps and the freedom allotted with a more open-world aspect to the game, while criticisms have been lobbed at the campaign and the same-old, same-old feel of nailing shots from a distance and watching how the brutal “killcam” emphasizes exactly what the bullet’s doing inside Nazi enemies.

PS+ Free Titles For August All About Precision, Legacy

There isn’t much hesitation in saying this about Sony’s PS+ free downloads for the month of June: this marks the first truly decent slate since their decision to reduce the number of titles per month.  Granted, there still isn’t anything to generate an extreme amount of excitement, as we’ve got a compilation of remastered favorites from one franchise and a throwback revival of a classic platformer in another.  With that said, the all-around quality and value this time around is leaps and bounds above previous months, delivering on titles that’ll trigger interest among gamers out there. Yes, it might be slightly … safe to tap into fond memories of past games to rejuvenate some feelings about the benefits for the subscription service, but it’s a good start that’ll hopefully fire up the momentum.  Let’s take a look.

Click Here to Grab a 1-Year PlayStation Plus Subscription at Amazon

2K

PS4

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection

Making this remastered collection of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel a freebie title couldn’t have come at a better time, as Borderlands 3 was announced at PAX East just a few months ago, with a release date of September 13.  Those who haven’t played through these installments in the franchise — or any of ‘em — will have a blast discovering what the loot-based post-apocalyptic shooter is all about, relishing the cel-shaded graphics in both that have been remastered at 60p and can run at 4K with a quick patch update.  Those who’ve only banged through the Game of the Year edition of the first Borderlands will, of course, appreciate the availability to jump into the next ones.  And then, there are those who know and love everything that Borderlands 2 did to improve upon the solid foundation of the first game, who will jump at the chance to go nutballs throughout the wastes again.

SEGA

Sonic Mania

While the quirky, small-eyed and furry-legged redesign of Sonic the Hedgehog for his motion-picture debut might be the most recent instance of controversy around the blue speedster, it’s far, faaaaar from the first time, as the SEGA Genesis darling has struggled to find his footing on any of the most recent current-gen consoles. Whether it’s the weight of the physics, the graphical presentation, the precision of controls or … the color of Sonic’s arms, he’s hit numerous stumbles in adapting to the current climate that have made it tough to get excited about his return.  To cleanse the palate and get things back on track, SEGA released a healthy dose of nostalgia with Sonic Mania, a new release that mashes up “remixed” old-school levels with new creations in an incredibly stringent replication of the 16-bit aesthetic.  Turns out, sometimes the best answer is to return to one’s roots instead of trying too hard to innovate, because Sonic Mania had the best critical and player reception of any of the franchise’s titles released in over a decade and a half. As evidenced by the fan response to countless forms of Sonic media in recent memory, that’s no small feat.

Sony’s Handsome PS+ Titles For June Are a Big Dash Forward

Not much else probably needs to be said about Sony’s PlayStation Plus freebies for the month September beyond Destiny 2, but that’s not the only trick up their sleeve this time around.  Along with such a heavy-hitting AAA title, they’re also offering a remastered edition of one of the absolute best third-person action RPG-ish games from the previous generation, something that’ll satisfy the lingering hunger of those who recently completed one of the PS4’s finest exclusives released to date.  As has become the custom for the subscription service, the other legacy titles are footnotes and obligations, a cluster of legacy platform and puzzle experiences.  PS4 owners should be very happy. Let’s explore ‘em further.

Click Here to Grab a 1-Year PlayStation Plus Subscription at Amazon

Bungie

PS4

Destiny 2

A lot of pressure fell on Bungie at the announcement of their newest creation, Destiny. How could they possibly follow up on the lore, gameplay formula, and popularity of Halo? Turns out, they weren’t entirely sure of how to do that either: the first game in the series received lukewarm reviews upon release, and it only really started to jibe with its playerbase after numerous updates and expansions.  But once the shooter-RPG roots of Destiny took hold with its audience, it really started to appeal to ‘em, and that’s the lessons and foundation Bungie tries to take over to Destiny 2. As is so often the case with big releases like this, the sequel earned a broad range of both highly positive and damningly negative reviews: encouraging impressions center on its advancements over the original, the scope of both its story potential and gameplay setting, and how it focuses on better laying out what the game’s really about; the criticisms center on its threadbare content, sameness to the original, and other common dings like balance issues and loot disappointment. That just comes with the territory, though.

God of War III: Remastered Edition

One of my fondest gaming memories occurs in the very first scene in the original God of War: the moment when you’re given control of Kratos as he starts rapidly slinging his glowing chained blades on the surface of a rainy boat.  It’s exhilarating, sinking its hooks into the player almost immediately as the antiheroic story of vengeance sprawls across several chapters, which made the final installment, God of War III, an essential PS3 system seller for console fence-sitters.  As the franchise continues to be a driver for Sony with its recent Norse-inspired reboot, they’ve also offered the previous timeline’s final installment in a remastered version for the PS4.  It’s a little awkward that first two games aren’t backwards compatible and playable on the new hardware, but luckily each of the games have been designed to be relatively self-contained, so that anyone could pick up and relish the precise, chaotic, absorbing action that flowed through the series. God of War III is a dazzling finale, but it’s also a brilliant experience on its own.

The Digital Lounge

PS3

Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition

Reading over the list of systems that Another World has transitioned to since its creation in ’91 is overwhelming, numbering over 20 (!) if you’re counting its 20^th anniversary release. Even in its earliest blocky and pixelated version, it’s easy to see why the cinematic atmosphere strikes a strong-enough chord to be constantly re-released across platforms, which only gets enhanced – but not “changed” — by the polished visuals of the anniversary released.  The consensus among both critics and players, however, is that as soon as someone starts navigating the game’s challenges and trying to get used to the frustrating controls, the whimsy and nostalgia surrounding Another World quickly evaporates.

Q.U.B.E.: Director’s Cut

Take the sensation of figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B in the Portal series, then picture it done in a similar fashion with color-block slide puzzles and physics-based manipulations of an environment. Essentially, that’s what Q.U.B.E. aims to accomplish.  Originally created as a student project by the game’s developers, the game has been expanded into a narrative of sorts, in which the player deciphers chatter from two different comm channels explaining what they’re actually doing: either solving the ship’s puzzles to prevent the destruction of Earth, or doing so in an Aperture Laboratories-esque series of experiments in a vague location.  Critics have praised the straightforward but effective narrative and the elegance of the puzzles, though some dissatisfaction can come in the simplicity of its puzzle-solving and the potential futility of where the narrative goes.

10tons

PS Vita

Sparkle 2

This is yet another of those touchscreen puzzle games designed to function well enough on consoles, but are mostly engineered for portable devices. It owes a tremendous amount to games like Zuma, Bejeweled, and Luxor in its mechanics, with a little modernized spit-polish for visual allure.

Foul Play

Ever feel like an audience member watching the events of a side-scrolling game take place? Foul Play takes this concept and runs with it, in which the characters controlled by the player are performers on a stage in the midst of a play gone wrong. Standard 2D beat-‘em-up controls are in place, but they’re tied to a somewhat unique mechanic, in which visible audience members under the stage need to be amused by what’s going on. The visual presentation, the novelty of entertaining the audience, and the general charm of Foul Play seem to entertain both critics and players in progressively less-enthusiastic stages, as the enjoyment dries up once they see the lack of variety in this production.

Appeal of PS+ Free Games in September Driven by Destiny

When the biggest, most significant title offered to PS+ subscribers for a given month is a remastered version of a game from the same studio releasing a new creation later in the month, it’s tough to get excited. Perhaps that’s understandable from the point-of-view of building enthusiasm for a certain studio’s next piece of work, but if the rest of the titles on offer lack the noteworthiness to compete with that tie-in effort, then there’s something direly lacking. Couple that with Sony’s observable waning interest in freebies for the legacy consoles, and what’s available for May’s PlayStation Plus goodies can’t be called much more than extremely lackluster.  Let’s delve into the games.

Click Here to Grab a 1-Year PlayStation Plus Subscription at Amazon

Quantic Dream

PS4

Beyond: Two Souls

With Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain, David Cage gradually began to carve out a reputation for his Quantic Dream studio, hinged on immersive mystery adventures that tested the boundaries between standard gameplay and interactive cinematic experiences.  Instead of further narrowing the gap between the two, however, he skewed more toward the cinema side of storytelling with Beyond: Two Souls, a science-fiction concept in which a young woman, Jodie (voiced by Ellen Page), learns to manage her psychic connection with an incorporeal being, Aiden, and navigate the separation between our world and that of the deceased. An outlandish concept hopes to overpower the perfunctory “gameplay” required to move Jodie between locations, get her out of peril, and flip perspectives between she and Aiden. Unfortunately, wobbly storytelling causes one to dwell on both narrative faults and the lackluster mechanics involved with the interactivity, earning Beyond: Two Souls its fair share of criticism.

Rayman Legends

Ubisoft’s platformer franchise has turned into a reliable source of freebies across many of the console subscription services; two other Rayman titles have popped up in offerings over the past six months. Arguably the best, Rayman Legends finds itself remastered for current-gen consoles, continuing the story from Origins a century later as it finds the hero saving princesses from the Dark Teensies and The Magician.  Also carrying over almost directly from Origins, the franchise’s side-scrolling model remains intact as up to four players can progress through levels and unlock more through various activities. Rayman has been doing his thing for over two decades now, so the fact that the critical and player communities both heaped praise upon its old-school concepts, unlockable content, and straightforward fun should be a good indication that it’s worth the time.

Pirahna Bites

PS3

Risen 3: Titan Lords

It’s tough to break into the action-RPG genre and maintain a presence, even at lower tiers of popularity. Underneath the likes of Elder Scrolls and Diablo lies the Dark Souls games and now the Witcher series, and underneath that comes Divinity, Fable, and a handful of other one-shot games like Dragon’s Dogma and Kingdoms of Amalur. Amidst all that — and yet another tier of mediocre entries in the genre — the Risen series has managed to stick around for three installments, culminating in this latest iteration, Titan Lords. A large world, varied enemies, quest diversity and some role-playing responsiveness give it the tool to combat against its competition, though the absence of innovation and marginal visual appeal prevent it from climbing up a level or two in the subgenre’s hierarchy. Better alternatives are out there, but it’s the kind of action-RPG that’s good enough to prioritize at a lower entry fee (especially free through PS+).

Eat Them

This game gives off major Rampage vibes, in which a monster controlled by the player demolishes buildings, takes down aircraft, and deflects damage however they can. Another similarity can be found in the consumption of humans, which lends the monster life. The key difference lies in the presentation and the monster itself. Eat Them transpires in a three-dimensional space instead of the static 2D or mild 2.5D perspective of the classic and updated iterations of Rampage, which deepens the realism and opens more interactivity.  The coolest aspect, however, comes in the customization that goes into the monster, in which the player essentially builds their chaos-wreaking beast from the ground up, both in terms of capabilities and aesthetics.  There … isn’t a lot more to it than that, but sometimes you just need to unleash a little monstrosity, and Eat Them caters to that.

10tons

PS Vita

King Oddball

In terms of both level completion and visual elements, there are a lot of obvious similarities between King Oddball and the towe-destruction juggernaut Angry Birds.  Despite a general uptick in difficulty that might prove intriguing to some players, what’s missing between the two is the same sort of personality, trading out goofy birds and scrunchy-faced pigs with a stoic rotating face with a peculiar tongue launching apparatus. The critical consensus is that if one does decide to give this time-waster a go, they should do so on a smaller portable device than on a big screen, because it loses much of its flair as a standard game.

Furmins

While there’s an element of characterization involving the little Furmin critters, it’s the gameplay aspects of Furmins that really strike a chord. It’s strongly reminiscent of the classic physics puzzle game Incredible Machine — now 25 years old! — in how the player utilizes angles, platforms, propulsion and devices to get objects from one side of a level to the other, and there are over 100 different levels ready to challenge the player here.

Sony Doesn’t Go Above and Beyond with May’s PS+ Oddball Freebies

At this point, finding interesting and worthwhile titles across three different platforms to offer as freebies through the PS+ subscription service – ones that Sony hasn’t previously offered — must be a bit like hunting down valuables in a post-apocalyptic environment.  The truly noteworthy ones have been mostly salvaged from the depths and offered to their customers, leaving titles of increasingly lower value shoved in the cracks for another date.  Sony’s lineup for the month of April prove that the pickings are getting slimmer, especially if one considers what’s already been offered as free downloads through competitor subscription services. PS4 owners will be getting a better-than-expected wasteland sandbox game that ties into a popular film franchise, but the rest of the titles don’t offer much to make the digital scavenging worth the effort. Let’s explore the games.

Click Here to Grab a 1-Year PlayStation Plus Subscription at Amazon

Avalanche

PS4

Mad Max

While it was released the same year as George Miller’s triumphant return to his wasteland universe with Fury Road, Mad Max wasn’t designed to tie directly into the film. Avalanche Studios, the folks responsible for Just Cause, had this game in the pipes for several years and originally planned to release it a year before Fury Road; therefore, while the names and landmarks are recognizable, they aren’t of a shared universe. Mad Max attempts to capture the same spirit of Miller’s original intentions, though, with gameplay hinged on vehicle modifications and combat, powered by a story of Max Rockatansky seeking vengeance and yearning to reclaim his iconic car, the Interceptor, from marauders who belong to familiar circles. Those who enjoyed Mad Max did so at full throttle through a versatile and visually striking open-world landscape, accelerated by adept driving and combat controls alongside its customization aspects. Critics weren’t so won over by its spare storytelling or quest structure, though.

Trackmania Turbo

For the most part, the Trackmania racing franchise has spent its time as a popular PC title, developing a reputation for its difficulty hinged on quick reflexes and reaction time. Turbo marks the first time that the series has showed up on primary consoles, sporting the familiar addictive fantasy-racing concept of attempting to best one’s personal time on 1 of around 200 tracks, spread across bright environments. The simplicity of its controls can be deceptive, as the design of the levels and the profoundness of the vehicles’ speed produce a tough experience that, based off critical comments, almost seems masochistic in how it provokes and almost demands repetition. An in-depth track creator extends the fun and interactivity, allowing custom levels to be shared with others.

Force Reply

PS3

In Space We Brawl

If you were to transform Asteroids into a player-versus-player game and injected it with a heap of color, then you’d essentially have In Space We Brawl.  Floating obstacles complicate the “brawls” between players as they utilize the classic twin-stick control scheme to both blast through obstructions and land blasts on their opponents, to which players are also able to engage in local versus matches with friends.  Critics are quick to point out that … well, that’s about all there is to In Space We Brawl, and the absence of online multiplayer makes the brawling a lot less stellar than it could’ve been.

Toy Home

It takes confidence and a little guts for Sony to offer two games from the same genre in one month of PlayStation Plus freebies, because the two titles need to be different enough to stand apart and not feel like … y’know, the same kind of freebie.  While Toy Home is also a racing game, it couldn’t be more different than Trackmania Turbo: its pacing is slower, its controls less demanding on reflexes, and it incorporates SIXAXIS motion controls for its piloting of literal toy cars zooming around rooms of a house.  The general consensus is that there isn’t much beyond the surface of Toy Home, though, and the motion controls are more trouble than they’re worth.

QUByte Interactive

PS Vita

99Vidas

Games that pay homage to classic genres, or even specific titles, walk a very fine line separating respect to their inspirations and outright copying ‘em, relying on the elements of what they did right like a crutch.  99Vidas has the essence of beat-‘em-up classics like Streets of Rage and Double Dragon coursing through its veins, injected into a Brazilian-infused realm that deliberately cobbles together elements of ‘80s and ‘90s popular culture. Pixelated graphics, quirky music, and side-scrolling combat hammer home the retro feel, featuring nearly a dozen different playable characters that can be unlocked and online co-op play with friends. Similarities to other games of its ilk end up being both a selling point and its flaw, as critics have noted that there’s little beyond the genre reverence and dogged repetition of controls.

Q*Bert Rebooted

It may seem rudimentary, but the way Q*Bert utilized jumping between squares along its tiered, pyramid-like puzzle grid was one of the most successful early usages of a 3D space in videogames. It achieved depth of an environment while also retaining the personality of the cartoon characters moving closer and further away on the grid, and that’s a big part of why Q*Bert remains an iconic game entity over thirty years after its release.  After enjoying some renewed interest due to cameos in recent movies, Q*Bert received a reboot with … uh, Q*Bert Rebooted, which contains spruced-up graphics as well as the original visual presentation.

Beyond Mad Max, Sony’s PS+ Freebies For April Are … Ahh, Mediocre!

Sony has gone compact and independent with its December PS+ freebies. Instead of flaunting a large, attention-grabbing AAA title, they’ve dished out a collection of six smaller-scale games that give fresh spins to old-school concepts, ranging from tactical turn-based adventures to blitzed side-scrolling platformers and echoes of classic cabinet arcade games. Few really stand out from the lot, but there’s enough diversity in what’s there to scratch many different kinds of gaming itches. Let’s take a look.

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Klei Entertainment

PS4

Invisible, Inc

Originally released on PC by Klei Entertainment, Invisible Inc. received praise for its turn-based stealth gameplay and its clinical but engaging narrative, set in the relatively near future and hinged on advanced espionage technology. The game’s title doubles as the name of the game’s focal organization, which operates in corporate espionage until a Bourne or Bond-style compromising of its agents throws the operation into upheaval. Inspiration was taken from XCOM in developing its tactical gameplay, as was its punishing difficulty, which has received both positive comments and frustrated criticisms from players. This console port was released about a year after its debut, and seems to have sneaked onto the platform without many, if any, hitches.

Stories: Path of Destinies

This action-RPG from Spearhead Games takes the idea of “choice and consequence” rather literally. Gameplay-wise, Stories: Path of Destinies appears similar to other isometric, hack-‘n-slash games of its type, reminiscent of indies like Bastion or Torchlight in its controls and incremental upgrades. Powered by its steampunk-inspired atmosphere and talking animals, the narrative branches are what give it distinction, with points throughout the game that allow for different paths to choose for the main character, Reynaldo, to go down. This results in many versions of the story and multiple end points, though they all lead back to righting whatever wrong turns that the player took so they can arrive at the true ending. Stories received negative marks for repetitive and simplistic gameplay, but makes up for it in charm and the choose-your-adventure branching.

InFramez Technology

PS3

Hyper Void

If you’ve ever wondered what the classic Atari game Tempest might look like had it been developed some thirty years later, you’ll have a pretty decent idea after spending some time with Hyper Void. Essentially, it does for the tube-shooter style of games what Geometry Wars did for Asteroids, amplifying the color palette and propelling it with slick electronic music. Much like the games from decades ago, there’s not much to it beyond the straightforward presentation of the side-to-side controls, timed firing, and close to thirty levels of escalating difficulty. The incentive to keep going is rooted in conquering levels and the thrill of the motion, and theren’s nothing wrong with that.

Tiny Troopers Joint Ops

At this point, the top-down shooter games with dual-stick controls need a little extra something to hold one’s interest, whether it’s novel weaponry or unique, challenging level design. Aside from its squatty soldiers and colorful presentation of the battlefield, critics have noted that there isn’t much of that to be found in Tiny Troopers: Joint Ops. Without that little extra something, this warfare shoot-’em-up from Kukouri Mobile Entertainment must rely on the tightness of its controls and the drive to keep pushing forward, a battle that’s tough to conquer for a port of a mobile game. Also playable on PS4 and PS Vita.

Fair Play Labs

PS Vita

Color Guardians

Fair Play Labs had a tight grasp on nostalgia while developing Color Guardians, a brisk side-scrolling platformer that throws together the flow of Donkey Kong Country with the response windows of Sonic the Hedgehog. Lots of challenges are quickly hurled at the player that requires them to maneuver between different colored “guardians” with applicable powers, amounting to seventy levels of quick thinking and quicker reflexes. Like some of those classic platform games, the bright and youthful design masks a demanding gaming experience hinged on precise control mastery.

VVVVVV

There’s a lot of retro gaming going on in this month’s PS+ offerings, so it’s actually a pretty strong words to say that VVVVVV is probably the most retro out of the bunch. That’s because, well, it’s designed to be just that: from the rough 8-bit graphics to the synth music, this old-old-school platformer developed in Flash relishes how antiquated every ounce of it appears. Featuring a grinning or frowning protagonist, Captain Viridian, who’s rescuing members of a spaceship crew at various points in an alternate dimension, VVVVVV operates not on traditional jumping, but on a peculiar gravity shifting mechanic that tests the patience and reflexes of the player.

Indie PS+ Freebies Blast, Creep, and Slash Their Way Through December

No Gods of War or Princes of Persia to be found in Sony’s slate of PS+ freebies for the month of November, which stays almost entirely away from high-profile franchises and AAA releases. Spanning from a so-called “walking simulator” to a word-solving RPG and a high-flying BMX trick game, there’s a lot of variety and uniqueness to be found in the curated titles. Most of them have received substantial acclaim, too, for the novel directions they’ve taken in their respective genres, showing that big titles aren’t necessary to generate enthusiasm when the content’s distinctive. Let’s jump into the games.

 Click Here to Grab a 1-Year PlayStation Plus Subscription at Amazon

The Chinese Room

PS4

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

Projects like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture are tough to label, transcending the notion of what a videogame should consist of while telling an interactive story. Plot is everything here: the player navigates through a small, empty English town filled with glowing energy orbs, which unlock fragments of the mystery surrounding the disappearance of all these residents. Development team The Chinese Room drew inspiration from classic science-fiction novels instead of overtly religious themes, concentrating on an ominous mood lingering throughout the beautifully rendered countryside town. Rapture lingers in a fairly neutral philosophical zone that allows the story and gameplay — or lack thereof — to speak for itself, which guides it through many of the normal criticisms and praises that other “walking simulator” games endure from both critics and players.

The Deadly Tower of Monsters

Atlus have taken the charms and corniness of B-movie science-fiction and elevated them — literally — with The Deadly Tower of Monsters, a quirky top-down action game that has players progressing up a, well, tower in a vintage low-budget movie setting. With the director voicing a “commentary” for the film’s DVD release as an amusing narration device, standard dual-thumbstick controls take three high-profile (in-universe) actors through different cinematic scenes. Critics cite the short length and simple gameplay as mild negatives, but that doesn’t stop the general consensus from being a thumbs-up for its tongue-in-cheek attitude and raw amusement factor.

PS3

Dirt 3

Codemasters has been doing the racing-game thing for a very long time: Colin McRae’s Rally, the first entry in the series that evolved into the Dirt franchise, was released in the ’90s. It’s a well-regarded franchise featuring fast-paced rally racing with a robust offering of modes, a legacy continued by Dirt 3, which steers the franchise even further back to its core rally strengths. Alongside the standard racing mode that centers on earning sponsorship attention through reputation points, the game also features a few obstacle-style modes, such as capture-the-flag and a fairly peculiar option where you can spread a zombie infection. Both critics and longstanding fans feel that this installment keeps speed with the rest of the franchise.

Costume Quest 2

We’re a month past Halloween, but for those that didn’t get their fill of trick-or-treating and the spooky holiday spirit, Sony’s got the answer by making Costume Quest 2 free for download. Once again, through a mixture of quirky characters, turn-based combat, and role-playing depth, Double Fine delivers an enjoyable tale of Reynold and Wren defeating foes hoping to overtake Halloween. This time, they’re against Dr. Orel White and his voracious legion of Grubbins who hope to brush away the holiday, employing time-travel and outlawing of the decay-heavy festivities. Those hoping for more of the same from the original will find it in Costume Quest 2, as well as a dialing-up of the personality that made the first one such a hit with even more humor and abilities.

Bacon Bandit Games

PS Vita

Letter Quest: Remastered

It takes a certain amount of gusto and ambition to take a chance on combining two very specific niches like role-playing games and word-spelling games, yet that’s precisely what Bacon Bandit Games did with Letter Quest. The execution plays out probably about how one would expect: two hooded grim reapers land attacks on incoming foes by the player successfully spelling words from a grid of letter tiles (picture Boggle or Scrabble), with each victory granting level-up currency to purchase upgrades. There’s a quickview dictionary for defining the words, playful wordplay in game’s onscreen descriptions, and appealing artwork bringing life to both the heroes and the villains. Critics and players have found Letter Quest‘s blend of turn-based combat and spelling mechanics quite addictive for both younger and older audience, which is a good thing considering there’s over 30 stages to tackle. Cross buy available with PS4.

Pumped BMX+

Finally, we’ve got a port of the mobile game franchise Pumped BMX, a stunt cycling game developed by Yeah Us Games, led by someone with experience riding bikes. Colorful graphics and natural fluid movement capture the experience of accelerating into the air and performing tricks, racking up points along earnest 2D courses. It’s the nature of this kind of beast for the jumps, stunts, and landings to get a bit repetitive after a while; however, according to critics, the game’s focus on staying anchored with realism also seems to have overly impacted its gameplay variety as well. Cross buy available with PS3 and PS4.

Sony Rises to Occasion With Diverse, Low-Key PS+ November Offerings