Challenging and fun, but…
PlayStation Plus is an interesting service. Originally introduced as one of many ways for the PlayStation 3 to bounce back and gain an edge on the Xbox 360, it has since become more similar to what an Xbox Live Gold membership used to be, an implied requirement. What used to be a premium service is being pushed harder and harder on those who do not have it. I bought into the service early, but I am beginning to have my doubts on its benefits.
But that is a different discussion for a different time, because this week I downloaded all the “free” titles across PlayStation’s three main platforms and I am going to give my very brief impressions of all of them.
Joe Danger
I had played this years ago on my friend’s PS3 account when the game first came out. I remember it being well-constructed, fun, and challenging in a satisfying sense, but I also remember not having much of a reason to improve at the game besides the fact that I knew it would be possible. Sure, there would be a feeling of accomplishment that would come with mastering a game that is designed to be mastered, but Joe Danger is not the only game of its ilk, and there are other games I would rather play and master. The premise does not excite me, and the flavour of the gameplay is nothing more than adequate. I will likely continue to play the Vita version for a short time, but I imagine that once the challenge ramps up, I will not have the time nor reason to improve my skill at the game. It is a well-made game and I would not tell anybody to avoid it, but I just cannot get excited about it.
LOOK FAMILIAR?!
Sony Smash Brothers
In a similar vein, this Smash Brothers clone is everything I expected it to be. It has tight controls, adequate representations of Sony franchises, and is entirely void of personality. The Nintendo series succeeded and continues to succeed because it not only created the subgenre, but also because its franchises have – in general – more lore to draw from. People can say what they’d like about Nintendo, but they put the proper amount of thought into building the worlds of their characters and it shows strongly in Super Smash Brothers. In Sony Smash Brothers however, while there are some great characters and franchises present, the game feels far less organic in the way it all comes together. The series itself is not given its own personality and the difference feels like the difference between riding a roller coaster and watching a video of somebody riding a roller coaster.
This effect is perfectly exemplified by how forgettable the actual name of the game is. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is such a bad name that I had to look it up to include it in this article. And I was playing the game this morning. It is as forgettable as the game itself. The game is worth the free download to test out the moves and take a look at the different arenas, but it is a little surprising that for all that Sony borrowed from Nintendo, they were unable to replicate the charm.
This is all too bad in my opinion. It would have been great if the game was better, or more distinct, so that Nintendo would be forced to be more creative with its own series, but a sequel is not likely any time soon.
I am not even at this section yet!
Velocity 2x
I have only played two levels so far, but I have played them multiple times as I am already in pursuit of excellence. This game has a lot of buzz around it and although I have barely played any of it, I can see why it does. It is like Joe Danger in that it is clear how much skill will be possible to achieve for the dedicated player, but it is unlike Joe Danger in that the premise is already far more interesting. There is a lot of backstory and lore that is easy to ignore in one sense, but it nonetheless intuitively informs the levels, gameplay, and cutscenes to make an inherently interesting world. I also enjoy the fact that the cutscenes do not appear to be stuffing all the world-building down the player’s throats. Few people want to hear thirty minutes of lore before they play whether or not they find the story or the game interesting. Better to release information at the pace the story requires. Other recent sci-fi examples of this excellent technique include Transistor which was occasionally and unfortunately criticized for this method. In any case, this is a promising game.
TxK
A big “who cares” here. Maybe the game is good, but I sure did not care about it.
Don’t Starve: Giant Edition
All this means to me is free Don’t Starve on the Vita, which I am glad about. What a great little title. I am already more advanced in the art of not starving, which I hear is the point of the game.
Hoard
This was one of the PlayStation 3 PlayStation Plus titles and it is something I would probably only play on the computer. And only during my last job when I was constantly finding reasons to pretend that I was not there. It seems like a competent multiplayer title, but on the console I will take Calling All Cars over it in a second. Now there is an underrated game.
SportFriends
Another big meh bomb. I mean, the games are pretty fun and it is easy to tell that they become more enjoyable the more they are played, but there are only four of them, and one of them requires Move controllers and all of them are multiplayer. I am aware that that is the point, but I tried it with my girlfriend and we both agreed that we would rather stick to Pokémon Stadium 2‘s minigames. Which are excellent.
Final Thoughts
So many games. The mediocre ones just crowd space on my hard drives and the good ones I feel guilty about not paying for. This is why I am second-guessing my time with the “premium” service. What are your thoughts, LusiDownloads?
