{"id":30792,"date":"2017-11-14T15:14:40","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T23:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/?p=30792"},"modified":"2017-11-14T15:14:40","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T23:14:40","slug":"worms-dancers-rag-dolls-nov-ps-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/bens-bytes\/worms-dancers-rag-dolls-nov-ps-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"Worms, Dancers, and Rag Dolls Caught in November’s PS+ Slump"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s been a year of ups and downs for Sony\u2019s free offerings through their PlayStation Plus (PS+) subscription service, but the last few months have led to a particularly noteworthy upswing, especially their October titles. Unfortunately, that momentum has been halted with their November selections.\u00a0 Lacking a significant AAA-caliber title isn\u2019t something new to their slates, but the general lack of interest this docket generates with uninventive sequels, arty platformers, and a bland party-atmosphere fighting game really pulls down one\u2019s enthusiasm.\u00a0 Let’s hope they end the year strong; until then, let’s take a look at the game on offer for this round.<\/p>\n

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Click Here to Grab\u00a0a 1-Year PlayStation Plus Subscription\u00a0at Amazon<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Plastic

Plastic<\/p><\/div>\n

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PS4<\/h3>\n

Worms Battlegrounds<\/h4>\n

For over two decades now, the Worms have been waging war amongst themselves in exuberant, humor-injected tactical combat, spawning clones and spinoffs aplenty. Battlegrounds<\/em> isn\u2019t a particularly innovative title for those aware of the series, as it\u2019s largely a port of the previous installment, Worms Clan Wars<\/em>, onto modern consoles.\u00a0 Turn-based strategy combines with an arsenal of quirky weapons in the creation of relatively family-friendly warfare, containing over 60 types of weapons and the return of specific character classes for the worms. Both single-player campaign progression and multiplayer competition are available, though the lack of innovation in its gameplay components restrict the appeal of Battlegrounds<\/em> to those seasoned to the series who aren\u2019t expecting much beyond more of the same.<\/p>\n

Bound<\/h4>\n

The mechanics of the side-scrolling platformer have a predictable, relatively strict rhythm to them, which has made it possible for developers to expand upon their framework in inventive ways. The folks at Plastic hope to dazzle with artistry and metaphorical representations in Bound<\/em>, in which a lyrical dancer — also a princess — maneuvers through the responsive landscapes of her mind as she relives her memories. \u00a0This falls more into the style of experience that has made thatgamingcompany\u2019s catalog so worthwhile, operating less on challenging level design and working more towards a beautiful and immersive landscape in which the player can get lost. An absence of difficulty and the game\u2019s reliance on the framework of platform design have too heavily impacted the game\u2019s reputation, though, overpowering its artistic merits.<\/p>\n

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\"Qi

Qi Studios<\/p><\/div>\n

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PS3<\/h3>\n

R-Type Dimensions<\/h4>\n

The strategy and precision involved with playing the pair of R-Type<\/em> shoot-\u2018em-ups has given the franchise an enduring reputation as an arcade classic. Over the course of thirty years, the composure required to conquer those two games has continued to be a noteworthy gaming feat, to such a degree that the games have repeatedly been released on various formats since their heyday. \u00a0R-Type Dimensions<\/em> bundles together both R-Type<\/em> and R-Type 2<\/em>, offering both the original graphical presentation and updated 3D visuals that can be switched at any point during play.\u00a0 Cooperative play has also been included, while modern additions involving a \u201cContinue\u201d function lets the player pick up from a checkpoint.\u00a0 If you want the original R-Type<\/em> experiences, they\u2019re there; if you want a more accessible version, that\u2019s there as well.<\/p>\n

Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s hard out there for indie fighting games, having to land brows with enough impact to make themselves known underneath the likes of Injustice<\/em>, Street Fighter<\/em>, and Smash Bros<\/em>. To stand out, they\u2019ve got to deliver an experience that\u2019s both different from their competitors yet can scratch the same itches, including a novel hook in its concept and versatility of competitive modes.\u00a0 Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic<\/em> banks on its charming action-figure design winning over those who end up playing it, operating on the notion of the player\u2019s combatant defeating waves of enemies in a 2.5D environment, with the PlayStation\u2019s motion controls largely in mind. \u00a0Multiplayer tends to be its focus, either couch play or the online option that was added later on, but the simplicity of its fighting mechanisms fails to hit hard enough to really resonate among genre fans.<\/p>\n

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Hyper Awesome<\/p><\/div>\n

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PS Vita<\/h3>\n

Dungeon Punks<\/h4>\n

Side-scrolling brawlers have the tendency to strike a memorable chord with gamers, something that stretches back to the classic cabinet arcade days with Golden Axe and up to last generation with Castle Crashers.\u00a0 The fun of the setting and controls might play a key role in their popularity, but a big part of the appeal comes when a second player joins in on the fun, either by popping in a quarter or hitting the start button. Dungeon Punks<\/em> takes a little bit from all those games in the subgenre, from bits of Altered Beast<\/em> to the exaggerated tempo of Dragon\u2019s Crown<\/em>, and combines them with RPG-lite customization, a half-dozen classes to choose from, and dense fantasy-inspired levels.\u00a0 Certain limitations wall it off from being considered of the same caliber as the others, notably some clumsy controls and the inability to either play solo (without CPU teammates) or online, but it\u2019ll get the job done as a couch beat-\u2018em-up.<\/p>\n

Broken Sword 5<\/h4>\n

One thing that Sony has been really good about over the past year: they\u2019ve routinely includes point-and-click style of adventures for a change of pace.\u00a0 This month\u2019s inclusion is Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse<\/em>, the latest installment in a two-decades-old series, in which series lead characters George and Nicole embark on an adventure across the globe in search of a mysterious painting. \u00a0The graphics have naturally been updated, but by all accounts fans of the series feel it\u2019s true to the tone and intentions of the franchise, while new players also seem to dig the mystery and the characters. Perhaps not as good as its predecessors, but still a worthy installment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a year of ups and downs for Sony\u2019s free offerings through their PlayStation Plus (PS+) subscription service, but the last few months have led to a particularly noteworthy upswing, especially their October titles. Unfortunately, that momentum has been halted with their November selections.\u00a0 Lacking a significant AAA-caliber title isn\u2019t something new to their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":30797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1564,1303,1302,401,25],"class_list":["post-30792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bens-bytes","tag-ps","tag-ps-vita","tag-ps3","tag-ps4","tag-video-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30792"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30800,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30792\/revisions\/30800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}