Tag Archives: dead nation

It’s Good to be Back

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PSN fans should be pleased to learn that Sony's Welcome Back Program is live and the network is now completely up, although on shaky legs. 

There's been some debate online about the value of the program.  Some people (including dudes on our podcast) simply want the network to work and say forget the free games.  Others are complaining that the list of Welcome Back titles are weak at best.  They want another five free games, $100 credited to their online wallet, and Sony execs to personally come to their homes and make them a sandwich.  I "welcomed myself back" a few hours ago, and I have to say, Sony's response the the month long PSN outage is more than just appropriate.  It's a terrific deal for hardcore and casual playstation fans alike.

On the Playstation side of things, you pick two free games out of a list of five.  They are:

InFAMOUS

Little Big Planet

Super Stardust HD

Dead Nation

Wipeout HD + Fury

My decision was pretty easy to make.  I've beaten inFAMOUS twice and I'm not the biggest LBP fan.  As for racing games, I own one cart racer (Sonic All-Stars racing...  it's really fun... and it's really cheap.  Get it!) so I've got my racing fix.  Dead Nation and Stardust it was.

I went into this knowing nothing about Super Stardust HD.  I thought it would just be a throwaway title.  You know, play for a couple hours, then forget it.  Oh no, my friends.  It's not like that.  S.S.HD is legit.  I'm shocked I didn't have this game in my collection sooner.  I mean, take a look at the gameplay.  Who doesn't want that?

It's a perfect "casual" game.  I'm a sucker for arcadey titles that can be played while listening to music or podcasts.  I can't tell you how many hours I've sunk into Tetris or Pac-Man C.E. listening to my favorite talk programs.  Super Stardust is an older game on PSN but the controls and graphics are tight.  The game is challenging but not frustrating.  Its mechanics keep you coming back for more, demanding that you replay and improve.  I'd gladly throw down $10 - $15 for this game.

Then there's Dead Nation.  You already know what that's about. 

Let's go kill some zombies. 

Those are just the titles I settled on.  If you haven't played inFAMOUS or LBP, getting both those games for free is a tremendous value.  inFAMOUS will keep you busy for 20+ hours, and Little Big Planet's "create/share" functionality makes it a source of limitless gameplay.  These are AAA titles, absolutely free.

PSP users also get some cool stuff.  Titles like LBP, Modnation Racers, and Killzone Liberation are up for grabs.  Sweet.

On top of all that, you're getting a month of Playstation Plus absolutely free.  Current members get something like an additional two or three months.  Now, I'm not a big Plus fan.  I like my PSN without subscriptions.  But damned if I don't use this trial month to get a few games at a discounted price.  Samurai Showdown, I'm looking at you... 

The only thing left to address is what I wrote in the first paragraph of this article.  While it's great that PSN is fully functional, many users have reported errors popping up while trying to use the service.  I know a lot of it (if not all of it) has to do with the sheer amount of gamers downloading free content at the moment, but it's still a cause for concern.  Sony is just getting through one of the darkest times in its history.  PSN was compromised and its customers were rattled.  The last thing Sony wants is a rickety reopening.  If PSN errors persist for another week or so, it won't do much to restore faith in the network.  On the contrary, I'll be wondering if Sony really did enough to rebuild and secure their service.  Only time will tell on this one.

For now, the main point is this.  Plenty of people have been whining about this Welcome Back deal.  But in all honesty, it's more than fair.  Odds are there's at least one game on the list that you're going to love.  So enough with the whining.  Start gaming.  Thanks to Sony, my already large backlog of games just got larger.

DLC? K.I.S.S.

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If you listen to the Gamers Riot podcast, you know how many of us feel about downloadable games.   Normally,  you buy em’, you play em’ for a solid couple of weeks, then they collect dust on your hard drive.

Remember when I played you that one time? That was AWESOME!

Sure, there are exceptions (Super Meat Boy), but

the truth is, very few downloadable games command your attention week after week, month after month.  Most don’t come packed with the content we’ve come to expect from retail games.  To add insult to injury, the little buggers can get pricey.  Sure, $15 never seems like a lot of cash, but if you’re only playing the game for a week or so, are you really getting your money’s worth?  Let me put it in perspective for you.

I spent $15 to crash the castle. Money well spent.

Then…  about a month later…

I got this on sale for 20 bucks and didn't leave my apartment for three months

While fun, plenty of downloadable quickies are “traps.”  All sizzle, no steak.  The worst offenders are the old school beat em’ ups.  How tempting is X-Men Arcade?  Or Final Fight?  Or Turtles in Time?  Don’t let your sense of nostalgia get the best of you.   After about five minutes of jump kicking dudes, you’ll be ready to put the controller down.

I don't even need to tell you how much this sucks now.

Another inevitable trap you run into is a dwindling community.  Sometimes, it doesn’t take long for a downloadable to go stale, even if it’s a ton of fun.   You’d still be playing it, if everyone else was still playing it.  But they’re not, so you’re not.

Hello? Anyone wanna play? Hellooooooo.....?

I’m intrigued by the trend.   I love watching the new, hot downloadable games drop each week.  And I love watching people forget about them six days later.  So much so, in fact, that I made it a little quest of mine to find those downloadables that bucked the trend.  The ones that keep you coming back again and again.  You know what I’ve found?  The “simplest” games are the best.

For example, I just downloaded the newest version of Tetris to my PS3.  Of course, you get the classic game.  But the package comes with “challenge modes,” multiplayer, and better graphics (obviously).   Win.  Before writing this, I played for about an hour and a half.  It felt like twenty minutes.  I’m sure I’ll get bored of it after a while, but I know I’ll pick it back up months down the line.  It simply has that kind of replayability.

Then, there’s this little guy.

Oh, hell yes

What’s more pure, more basic, than Pac-Man?  If you own an xbox 360 or ps3, you need to buy this game.  You will never NOT want to play this game.  No matter how old it gets, the gameplay is so engaging, so simple, so addictive, you will come back to it again and again.

Hey developers, keep it simple.  I mean, Dead Nation is sweet, but i’m not going to play it forever.  Worms is fun for a few days.  Take a look back to when games were addictive at their core. When the gameplay was undeniable.

Give me new takes on Donkey Kong.  Dig Dug.  Galaga.  Pong, for crying out loud.  Throw in acheivement/trophy support.  Classic games are built for the downloadable scene.  In my opinion, releasing more of them will only strengthen consoles, and more importantly, introduce a whole new generation of gamers to the rich beginnings of our beloved industry.