PSNStores http://www.psnstores.com PSN News and Reviews Wed, 16 May 2012 22:34:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Review: Treasures of Montezuma Blitz http://www.psnstores.com/review/review-treasures-of-montezuma-blitz/ http://www.psnstores.com/review/review-treasures-of-montezuma-blitz/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 22:19:17 +0000 Andrew http://www.psnstores.com/?post_type=review&p=19383 What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that a game is free-to-play? For most people probably a casual mobile or web based game that has the player grinding through boring sections or having to pay money to get to the fun stuff. That’s exactly what would have went through my mind a year or so ago. But these days free-to-play games have proven themselves to be great titles with little barrier to entry, with many having the ability to be enjoyed without ever laying down a dime. Now the Vita is home to one of those games: Treasures of Montezuma Blitz (ToMB).

ToMB is a match 3 game with a 1 minute time limit put into a free-to-play model. Anyone who has played a Bejeweled title or other similar match three games should easily catch on to the in game controls and the game does offer pop up tips to explain everything in-game when you play the first couple of times (which can also be viewed later in the options menu). You have a board that is filled with tiles of seven different colors and you must match at least three of the same color by swapping tiles with the touch screen. Each game lasts only a minute so you have to be pretty quick to make the most matches you can, and if you are really quick you can activate the Score Frenzy mode which doubles the score for each match that you make for a limited time. Along with the touch screen there are a few modes that can be activated in game that utilizes the back touch. Knockout Mode is started by matching 6 tokens at once and allows you to use the back touch to break any tile on the screen, which can be a lot of fun. You can take your time with this mode and try to break certain blocks to set up large combos or go crazy (like I do) and just tap away and watch your score increase. The second is Dark Mode which is started if both the Knockout and Score Frenzy Modes are activated in the same game. In Dark Mode your screen is obscured by dark clouds that hamper what you see and you must use the back touch to light up the game field. While this does make it a lot harder to match you do get an additional 20 seconds added to your time.

Since ToMB is a free-to-play title the game is available to download 100% free, though there are ways to spend your hard earned money with the life and crystal systems. Thankfully the game explains these systems right up front so you know how it all works… oh wait nope nope sorry must have been thinking about a different game. Here lies the major problem with ToMB, you are basically just thrown into the game without teaching you how the life, crystal, leveling, or tournament systems work. There are almost no resources in game that explain these and since two of them can deal with money this is a major problem and can lead to a very negative experience for first time users when the game prompts them to visit the PlayStation Store to continue playing. The game may offer a no boundaries entry making it easy to pick up but a negative experience can make it even easier for someone to put it back down.

How the free-top-play model works with ToMB is that you start with five lives which allow you to play five matches. Once those five lives are gone you can either wait five minutes to get a life back (25 minutes to get all lives back) or pay $0.99 to get a life refill. If you try to play once your lives are gone a prompt will appear that tells you that you can wait for lives to replenish, although it doesn’t tell you how long, or you can refill them now which will bring you to the PlayStation store to buy the life refill. Along with lives you also have crystals which act as your currency in the game. These are used to buy bonuses and totems early (more info on these below) and are also used to apply these bonuses and totems in game. Each bonus/totem has a fee associated with them in order to be used, so having the bonuses/totems equipped before you enter a level will automatically take the cost from your crystal pool. If you don’t notice this the first few times you play you could easily run out of crystals before you know it. If you try to play a game with equips that cost more than your crystal pool you will be blocked from playing and prompted to buy more crystals from the PS store which are a bit costly ranging from $2.99 for 3000 to $19.99 for 100,000. You can easily still play without buying crystals though since you can just unequip your bonuses/totems, but this is not mentioned anywhere in game. There are a few different ways to obtain crystals freely: to slowly collect them in game by matching blocks with crystals in them (which will also increase your in game score multiplier), gaining levels, and through the Free Daily Scratch. You obtain a new daily scratch ticket each day that allows you to scratch 3 out of 9 squares with symbols under them. Each combination of symbols will win you between 200-100,000 crystals. You can also share a fifth of your winnings with your friends through Near. What is great about this is that it gives your friends extra crystals but does not affect your winnings at all; you still get the same amount that you won.

After each round you play you will gain experience based on your overall score and each level you gain will get you a crystal bonus and unlock new bonuses and totems. Starting off you will gain levels slowly but once you start unlocking and using bonuses/totems you will be able to get higher scores easier and therefore start gaining levels faster. To use the bonus abilities in game you must match 4 or more tokens which will create a bonus block somewhere on the field. Creating a match with the bonus block will activate it. There are 6 different bonuses available that range from blowing up adjacent tokens to destroying 2-thirds of tokens that match its color. There are seven different totems, one for each color, and to activate them you must complete two matches in a row of the same color. While this might sound easy it can be quite difficult at times to do. The totems trigger such effects as destroying all tokens that contain crystals to adding additional time. This is one of my favourite aspects of the game, trying to come up the best selection of bonuses and totems to get those high scores without burning through my crystal stash too quickly.

With a game like this it’s all about trying to compete with your friend’s so I was happy to see the game included weekly tournaments. Each week a new tournament starts for everyone to get the highest score out of your friends list. At the end of the week the top 3 are rewarded medals (gold, silver, bronze) and a new tournament starts. Unfortunately besides the ability to prove that you can achieve a better score than your friends the medals don’t actually give you anything. It would have been nice to get a crystal bonus or something for coming in first. Also I would have liked to have your overall top score saved somewhere, because with each new week your score is reset to zero.

For a game that is all about playing for short periods of time one thing I did not like was the loading times. When you start up the game the time it takes to load and log into the servers can be upwards of 50 seconds. For a game that is all about pick up and play that initial loading time can be almost as long as playing a match. This can be mitigated by not shutting the game down and just putting your Vita into sleep mode till the next time you play, but this also blocks you from playing any other game. Also make sure you are signed in to PSN the first time you play. If you cannot access the servers when you first boot up the game you will be unable to save your progress.

While this isn’t a game that you can sit down and play for hours on end (without spending massive amounts of money) the game can be quite addictive. Knowing that you get a new scratch ticket each day has me booting up the game at least once a day but usually if I have a few spare minutes it has been my go to game. If Near is any indication it’s safe to assume the same with my friends. Since the game has released a good 90% or more of the notifications in my friend’s activities have been ToMB. While the lack of information when first playing the game was confusing and has the potential to turn people off, I think if you stick with it the game is quite enjoyable in those small spurts. Now excuse me while I go and enjoy another five minutes of match 3 fun.

A copy of this game was downloaded for review purposes. For more info on our review policy click here.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/review/review-treasures-of-montezuma-blitz/feed/ 0 50 States 50 Codes Giveaway Returns (Rules) http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/50-states-50-codes-giveaway-returns-rules/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/50-states-50-codes-giveaway-returns-rules/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 20:05:25 +0000 Chris K http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19801 FuturLab and PSNStores are combining forces once again to reign terror on the USA. We have 50 vouchers for their latest Minis title, Velocity, which happens to be enough for a lucky person from each state to win a copy of the game. Things will go down much like they did last time:

On Monday, May 21, at 1:00 pm (PDT) I will put up the contest page. There will be a list of 50 states, and to get entered all you have to do is post a comment on that page. I will check the IP from where you are posting from to verify the location, and if it is from a state without a winner you will get an email from me with a code to redeem. Simple as that! I hope it is obvious that you need to be a US resident to win at this portion.

If by Friday we don’t have a winner from each state, I will be posting trivia questions about those states on Twitter. The winner then just has to answer the question to get the code! At this point the contest is open to anyone, all you will need is a US SEN account. (I used SEN correctly here, take note)

So I hope everyone is ready for this, see you on Monday. I would like to thank the awesome people over at FuturLab for letting us run this contest again. Be sure to follow them on twitter.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/50-states-50-codes-giveaway-returns-rules/feed/ 5 EU PSN Store Gets Pre-Order and Pre-Loading Functionality With Sorcery http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/eu-psn-store-gets-pre-order-and-pre-loading-functionality-with-sorcery/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/eu-psn-store-gets-pre-order-and-pre-loading-functionality-with-sorcery/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 19:13:31 +0000 Curtis H http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19790 While you’ve been able to pre-order games before through PSN you’ve never been able to actually download the game itself early. In the past we’ve had the opportunity to pay in advance and then download the game once it released on the PSN store. As of today that looks like it might be changing. The EU PSN updated today with the option to not only pre-order Sorcery (out next week) but to also pre-load the game so that it’ll be downloaded and ready to go come next week. If you use Steam at all you’ll know that this is very similar to how that works.

Currently Sorcery is the only game that you can do this with now. What games might allow for this in the future and if this will come to the US PSN store is currently unknown. Either way this is a cool new feature and hopefully is a sign of things to come.

[Source: TheSixthAxis]

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/eu-psn-store-gets-pre-order-and-pre-loading-functionality-with-sorcery/feed/ 0 How To Access The PixelJunk 4am Live Viewer http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/how-to-access-the-pixeljunk-4am-live-viewer/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/how-to-access-the-pixeljunk-4am-live-viewer/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 18:51:21 +0000 Chris K http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19789 With the release of PixelJunk 4am on the PlayStation Store yesterday, there seems to be a little bit of confusion surrounding the Free Viewer. If you go to the store looking for that, it is no where to be seen. It turns out the thing you actually want to download is the PixelJunk 4am demo.

The demo, free to download, features the Live Viewer within it. So if you want see what PixelJunk 4am is all about, just follow the easy steps in the video above. And if you like what you see, you can unlock the full game right from it.

Our review of PixelJunk 4am will be out later this week.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/how-to-access-the-pixeljunk-4am-live-viewer/feed/ 0 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD Will Have DLC http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/tony-hawks-pro-skater-hd-will-have-dlc/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/tony-hawks-pro-skater-hd-will-have-dlc/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 18:51:18 +0000 Ben Jones http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19788 In a post today on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD’s official Facebook page, it was announced that the game will indeed have downloadable level packs, with the first pack coming from the third game in the series. The post reads as follows;

BIG NEWS: We can confirm that there WILL be downloadable content for THPS HD coming after release, and the first batch will be levels from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3!! However, the exact levels haven’t been decided yet, so Activision, Robomodo, and Tony Hawk himself want to hear from the fans to help determine the final content. So please, comment below on which levels from THPS3 are your favorite and explain why! The Birdman himself will make the final call on what is ultimately included.

So, if you head over to the game’s official facebook page, you should be able to scream to your heart’s content that Canada should be in the DLC pack. Obviously, Canada is the correct choice, you get to help a guy get his tongue unstuck from a lamppost with the power of skateboarding. That has to count for something.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/tony-hawks-pro-skater-hd-will-have-dlc/feed/ 1 PAYDAY: The Heist DLC Tease http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/payday-the-heist-dlc-tease/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/payday-the-heist-dlc-tease/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 02:14:22 +0000 Chris K http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19782 It looks like the PAYDAY has gotten an update to the Steam version and with it is a tease of the upcoming DLC. The “Wolf Pack DLC” will feature Wolf’s personal stash of guns and gear plus 2 additional heists.

Here is what you gain access to with the DLC:

  • 2 “epic” new heists (Counterfeit and Undercover)
  • New Technician skill tree
  • 3 new weapons (ak47, grenade launcher, one other)
  • New Crew Bonus
  • New Player Upgrades
  • Deployable Sentry gun
  • Raised Level Cap

After getting my Platinum in the game just yesterday I am so freaking hyped. No word on the release date or price, but you know I will be the first to bring it to ya.

[Source: NeoGAF]

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/payday-the-heist-dlc-tease/feed/ 0 Sony Announces Plans For Vita Heaven 2 This June! http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/sony-announces-plans-for-vita-heaven-2-this-june/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/sony-announces-plans-for-vita-heaven-2-this-june/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 01:51:43 +0000 Curtis H http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19778 I can’t even begin to describe just how excited I am at the prospect of getting an encore performance to what might just be the highlight of the year thus far. It’s going to be tough to top the excitement brought forth with the original Vita Heaven but I have high hopes for Vita Heaven 2.

In all seriousness according to Andriasang Sony has revealed plans to hold a second Vita Heaven event thing at some point in June. They’ve also stated that they’ve taken the criticism to heart and will adjust things for future Vita Heaven installments. At this point I’m not even sure what to expect from round two of our favorite Vita extravaganza but maybe it’ll be worth keeping an eye on.

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on when and where you’ll be able to catch the next Vita Heaven as well as what to expect in the near future. Let us know how excited you are in the comments below!

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/sony-announces-plans-for-vita-heaven-2-this-june/feed/ 2 Ubisoft’s PSN Sale Is Somewhat Impressive http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/ubisofts-psn-sale-is-somewhat-impressive/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/ubisofts-psn-sale-is-somewhat-impressive/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 22:14:52 +0000 Ben Jones http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19768 Ubisoft is having a sale on PSN right this minute until the store updates on May 22, so if you’re in to excellent titles such as Might and Magic: Clash Of Heroes and Beyond Good and Evil HD, you owe it to yourself to have a browse. All the items listed below are being discounted by 30% for everybody, and by 50% for PS+ members, which makes for some might impressive deals.

From Dust – PS+ price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
Outland – PS+ price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – PS+ price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
Beyond Good & Evil HD – PS+ price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
Scott Pilgrim – PS+ price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
Prince of Persia Classic – PS+ price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – PS+ price $14.69; Sale price $20.99
Assassin’s Creed 2 – PS+ price *$9.79; Sale price $13.99
Assassin’s Creed – PS+ price *$9.79; Sale price $13.99
Far Cry 2 – PS+ price *$9.79; Sale price $13.99
Call of Juarez 2 – PS+ price *$9.79; Sale price $13.99
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – PS+ price *$9.79; Sale price $13.99
Prince of Persia (2008) – PS+ price *$9.79; Sale price $13.99
Prince of Persia Classic Trilogy HD – PS+ price $19.59; Sale price $27.99
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – PS+ price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within – PS+ price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones – PS+ price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – Da Vinci Disappearance DLC – PS+ price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
Assassin’s Creed 2 – Battle of Forli DLC – PS+ price $1.95; Sale price $2.79
Assassin’s Creed 2 – Bonfire of Vanities DLC – PS+ price $3.42; Sale price $4.89
Far Cry 2 – Fortunes Pack DLC – PS+ price $2.44; Sale price $3.49
Call of Juarez 2 – Old West Map Pack DLC – PS+ price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
Prince of Persia (2008) – Epilogue DLC – PS+ price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
Scott Pilgrim – Knives Chau Add-On Pack DLC – PS+ price $0.97; Sale price $1.39
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines (PSP) – PS+ price $9.79; Sale price $13.99
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Complete Edition – PS+ price $14.99; Sale price $24.99
Far Cry 2 Complete Edition (includes Fortune Pack) – PS+ price $11.99; Sale price $19.99
Prince of Persia (2008) Complete Edition (includes Epilogue) – PS+ price $11.99; Sale price $19.99
Scott Pilgrim Complete Edition (includes Knives Chau Add-On Pack) – PS+ price $4.79; Sale price $7.99
Call of Juarez 2 Complete Edition (includes Old West Map Pack) – PS+ price $11.99; Sale price $19.99

See? I told you there were some excellent deals. Go forth, and pick up some excellent titles for some insane prices. Thanks to the PlayStation Blog for the list.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/ubisofts-psn-sale-is-somewhat-impressive/feed/ 3 Rock of Ages Has An Exclusive Obstacle Course Mode On PSN http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/rock-of-ages-has-a-exclusive-obstacle-course-mode-on-psn/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/rock-of-ages-has-a-exclusive-obstacle-course-mode-on-psn/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 19:31:25 +0000 Chris K http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19756 Update: Video is live!

–

We have been teasing it for quite a while now, but since the game is finally out it seems the secret has been revealed. The PSN version of Rock of Ages has an exclusive Obstacle Course mode, which can be played in both Single and Multiplayer.

I am working on unlocking it right now and will post a video once I can. Rock of Ages is out on PSN right now for $9.99 or absolutely nothing if you have PlayStation Plus.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/rock-of-ages-has-a-exclusive-obstacle-course-mode-on-psn/feed/ 2 North American PSN Top 20 For April 2012 http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/north-american-psn-top-20-for-april-2012/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/north-american-psn-top-20-for-april-2012/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 19:10:11 +0000 Curtis H http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19750 Journey slipped from it’s top spot into number two this month with I Am Alive leading the pack for PSN games. Skullgirls and The Walking Dead also secure spots in the top five as Real Steel has finally dropped out of the top 20.

Top 20 PSN and PS3 Games for April.

1. I Am Alive
2. Journey
3. SkullGirls
4. The Walking Dead – Episode 1: A New Day
5. The House of the Dead 4
6. Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
7. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
8. Grand Theft Auto IV
9. NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
10. Gotham City Impostors
11. Sonic CD
12. inFAMOUS Festival of Blood
13. World Gone Sour
14. Resident Evil 4
15. The Simpsons Arcade Game
16. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
17. Dead Rising 2 Off The Record
18. Warrior Orochi 3
19. Pinball Arcade
20. Castle Crashers

Top 10 PS Vita Games:

1. Escape Plan
2. Pinball Arcade
3. Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
4. Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention
5. Plants vs. Zombies
6. Super Stardust Delta
7. Unit 13
8. StarDrone Extreme
9. Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
10. MLB 12 The Show

Top 5 PS3 Add-Ons:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Collection 1
2. MLB 12 The Show Road to the Show Training Points (6,000)
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection: Content Pack 4
4. MLB 12 The Show Road to the Show Training Points (1,000)
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation: Content Pack 2

Top 5 PSOne Classics:

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Resident Evil 2
3. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
4. Final Fantasy IX
5. Final Fantasy VIII

Top 5 PSP Games:

1. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
2. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
3. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
4. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X
5. NBA 2K12 PSP

[Source: US PlayStation Blog]

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/north-american-psn-top-20-for-april-2012/feed/ 0 Global PSN Store Update – May 15th 2012 http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/global-psn-store-update-may-15th-2012/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/global-psn-store-update-may-15th-2012/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 18:59:59 +0000 Chris K http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19749 Here is your weekly look at what is out on the PlayStation Store. Listed below are the demos and games for this week.

Full content can be found on the PlayStation Blogs (US, EU) or Regional PlayStation websites (JP, HK).

This post will get updated throughout the week. Here is a rough content release schedule:

United States Tuesdays
Europe Wednesdays
Japan Mondays-Thursdays (@ 20:00 Pacific Time)
Hong Kong Mondays-Thursdays

Upcoming games can be seen here! Sneak Peek at the US Store can be seen here!

DEMO

Batman Arkham City
PixelJunk 4am
Rock of Ages
Sonic The Hedgehog Episode II

PSN

Jam Live Music Arcade ($9.99)
PixelJunk 4am (£6.49 — €7.99 — $9.99)
Rock of Ages ($9.99)
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II (¥1500 — £9.99 — €12.99 — $14.99)

PS3

Goldeneye 007 Reloaded ($59.99)
Prototype 2 ($59.99)
Rainbow Six Vegas (¥2400)
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (¥2400)
Saints Row: The Third (£29.99 — €39.99)

PS2

Deus Ex (£7.99 — €9.99)
Red Faction 2 ($9.99)

PS1

Myst ($5.99)
Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty (£3.99 — €4.99)

VITA

Mortal Kombat (HK$310)

PSP

Shiren the Wanderer 3 Portable (¥3980)

MINIS

Nom Nation (£1.74 — €1.99)
Rasmus Klump and the Big Maze (€3.99)
Velocity (£3.99 — €4.99 — $4.99)

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/global-psn-store-update-may-15th-2012/feed/ 4 Rainbow Moon Goes Gold – Check Out All These Screens http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/rainbow-moon-goes-gold-check-out-all-these-screens/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/rainbow-moon-goes-gold-check-out-all-these-screens/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 03:45:11 +0000 Chris K http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19716 So Rainbow Moon, the upcoming PSN SRPG, has gone gold and in celebration the developers have released 45 new screens. So here they are:

Click to view full gallery…


“After nearly two years of development and countless hours of fine tuning and testing, this is one of the happiest moments during Rainbow Moon’s development circle,” said CEO of SideQuest Studios Marcus Pukropski. “Including all the optional side quests, dungeons, and end game content, Rainbow Moon has become so much bigger than originally planned. The whole team is very thrilled about the game’s forthcoming release and hopes that all fans will enjoy playing Rainbow Moon as much as we did developing it.”

Did I mention the game has a Platinum trophy… well it does. We don’t have a word on the release date yet, but I think it should be relatively soon going by the press release.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/rainbow-moon-goes-gold-check-out-all-these-screens/feed/ 0 Gem Smashers Coming To Vita This November http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/gem-smashers-coming-to-vita-this-november/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/gem-smashers-coming-to-vita-this-november/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 02:54:36 +0000 Curtis H http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19712 According to the game’s official website Gem Smashers is a casual puzzle game that’s based upon the GBA version of the game (released in 2003) that’s been recreated and updated for the ‘modern market’.

The game contains a Story, Battle and Arcade mode with other modes to unlock as well. You can choose from three different playable characters which include their own style of play and there’s over 50 different bonuses throughout playing the game that can add a bonus to your score or change the game mechanics.

All of this together provides over 200 levels to beat. Below we have some screenshots for the Vita version of the game and above a trailer so you can see what the game looks like in motion. The trailer is NOT of the Vita version.

Gem Smashers will be out on the PSVita on November 16th of this year for £29.99

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/gem-smashers-coming-to-vita-this-november/feed/ 1 Dual-Wielding On The Roof With PixelJunk 4am http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/dual-wielding-on-the-roof-with-pixeljunk-4am/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/dual-wielding-on-the-roof-with-pixeljunk-4am/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 22:43:42 +0000 Curtis H http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19709 Here’s an awesome video showing off some ‘dual-wielding’ PixelJunk 4am action straight from the PixelJunk Youtube channel. Check it out!

PixelJunk 4am releases on PSN tomorrow.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/dual-wielding-on-the-roof-with-pixeljunk-4am/feed/ 0 Review: Datura http://www.psnstores.com/review/review-datura/ http://www.psnstores.com/review/review-datura/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 20:16:43 +0000 Chris K http://www.psnstores.com/?post_type=review&p=19697 As of late my Move controller was collecting dust. There haven’t been many games released on PSN that used it, so when I first heard about Datura I was excited. It seemed like a game that was tailor-made for the controller and with an experimental team like Plastic behind the development I was pretty much sold. I was a huge fan of Linger in Shadows, Plastic’s previous PSN demo-scene production. If you haven’t heard about Datura before, you play as a man in a forest and you have control of his hand, which the Move provides a 1-to-1 analog for. The forest is dotted with different puzzles for you to solve along the way while trying to find an exit. Sadly the game falls short of what it is trying attain.

The first problem I ended up having with the game was the actual controls them self. You seem to have to fight with the Move just to do the most basic of tasks. When I first booted the game up I had to calibrate the Move probably about 5 times just to get it to a point to where I could move the way I wanted to. This did not make a great first impression. The controls are simple enough with the Move button acting to propel you forward and the direction you walk being determined by the way you move the controller. Rotating in place can be done by holding in the X Button. Finally you can enter a “pose” mode by pressing Triangle. This is another thing which took away from my enjoyment of the game, having to pose to solve the puzzles. In a game where you are using this disembodied hand to solve everything you are basically limited in the actions you can perform with it. Here is an example: So you see there is a door in the middle of this forest that seem to go nowhere. After finding a key you return to the door. Now instead of just walking up to the door and using the key and then the handle to open the door, you have to perfectly line up so that you can trigger the pose action. Then you have to perform two actions with the Move controller that feel awkward.

This isn’t the only place where the action you are performing feels off, the worst cases for me occurred during the 2 times you had to throw objects. I don’t know if it was me doing the action wrong or the game improperly diagramming what needed to be done. I don’t know about you but when I throw a ball I just don’t flick my wrist forward, especially when it would seem that I need to get some power behind it. Improper diagrams appear all over the place though, opening gates require a far different motion then what is shown, rotating the Move in circles is a guessing game on which direction you need to go. If you think that using a Dual Shock 3 will solve all these problems you will be mistaken. The game performs far worse when using the standard controller. You lose almost all control over the hand, as it no longer travels in the z-direction. There is also no way to invert the controls, nail in the coffin for me.

When the Move controller does work however, you can see a glimpse at what the team was trying to achieve. Most of the time this happens when the puzzles you need to solve involve physical touching. Pushing in the stones at the gates works great, touching the different trees in the forest to improve your map adds to the immersion, and even solving a later puzzle in the game using just the hand just works. I don’t want to spoil much about the puzzles because this game is really short. With only 8 total puzzles each triggering a scene which lasts about a minute, you can probably finish this in the time it takes to have a pizza delivered on a Friday night. Clocking in at around an hour, 90 minutes at most, the only thing that lengthens the game is the slow and plodding pace at which you walk.

The game does do a few things right though. Each of the 8 puzzles ends with a short scene in which you have to make a morality choice. What you decide to do changes the mood of the forest around you. If you pick all “evil” choices the forest will be covered in a thick fog and there will be flies all around. Picking “good” choices will lead to a forest filled with butterflies and visuals that will remind you of a cool crisp autumn day. Speaking of the visuals with either a good or evil forest the game really looks quite beautiful. It can be almost photo-realistic at times, mostly while standing still. The game does offer up a 60fps framerate, but it is never locked at that. In the video below you can see the framerate drop just by turning or even walking through the forest. The music that plays through the forest and even in the different scenes is great as well. My personal favorite was the song that plays in the car stereo, saxophone track of the year.

The real problem with the game is that I just don’t know if I can recommend it at the current price point. This sort of game is something that you can really only experience once. Sure you can go back and see the different choices, but they don’t affect the game’s ending. After playing it through you will know all of the games secrets and with it just lasting just a little over an hour (even less on a second playthrough) there just isn’t enough there. I am glad that Sony continues to offer a place for experiments like this to be consumed by gamers and I look forward to what Plastic does next, but Datura lacks the polish needed to be considered a success.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. For more info on our review policy click here.

]]> http://www.psnstores.com/review/review-datura/feed/ 1 Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Challenges PSN on June 5 http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/virtua-fighter-5-final-showdown-challenges-psn-on-june-5/ http://www.psnstores.com/2012/05/virtua-fighter-5-final-showdown-challenges-psn-on-june-5/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 13:09:37 +0000 Ben Jones http://www.psnstores.com/?p=19698 This just in from SEGA;

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON – May 14, 2012 - SEGA® of America Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced that the console release date and retail price for Virtua Fighter™ 5 Final Showdown. The stand-alone downloadable 3D fighting game is set to make its console debut on June 5 for PlayStation®Network and June 6 for Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown will be priced at $14.99/ £9.99/ AUD$18.25/ €12.99 for PSN and 1,200 Microsoft Points for XBLA.

Character customization DLC packs will be available immediately upon launch for all 19 fighters, with each character customization pack costing $4.99/ £3.59/ AUD$6.25/ €4.49 for PSN and 400 Microsoft Points for XBLA, and will contain 600-950 customization items. Two additional customization packs, consisting of nine characters’ worth of DLC items and the other with 10 characters’ worth, will also be available at launch for $14.99/ £9.99/ AUD$18.25/ €12.99 each on PSN and 1,200 Microsoft Points each on XBLA.

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown brings the latest arcade version of the Virtua Fighter 5 series to consoles worldwide, adding two new characters—Virtua Fighter 3 favorite Taka-Arashi and newcomer Jean Kujo—and dynamic and interactive fighting arenas. Console-only features include a robust and detailed Training Mode, eight player Online Room Match Mode, and a match record feature to replay, save, and upload fights. Developed by AM2, the console version of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown will bring the storied franchise’s detailed balance, overhauled fighting mechanics, and extreme depth to new audiences and VF veterans alike in the acclaimed series’ best version yet.

That’s some mighty pricey DLC, but the fact that said DLC is all customisation items makes it easier to swallow, as that stuff doesn’t actually affect gameplay. Still, $14.99/ £9.99/ AUD$18.25/ €12.99 is a mighty fine price for a fighter, and is in line with other enhanced re-releases. We’re working on uploading the included trailer as soon as possible.

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