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Down Lo on the Downloads: Shop-Store-Market 02/09
Posted February 06, 2009
By CHAD SAPIEHA, EVERGEEK MEDIA
Sony may have gotten off to a slow start in the downloadable games market, but the Japanese gaming giant seems to have hit its stride in 2009. The first few fortnights of the year have seen some excellent titles released through the PlayStation Store, including a polished tower defence game called Savage Moon as well as the best in downloadable entertainment this month: Flower, a splendidly upbeat and innovative game that explores the dreams of urban blossoms.
Of course, Nintendo and Microsoft have been busy stocking the shelves of their virtual stores, too. The former's Jungle Speed, a fast-paced virtual card game, can be oodles of fun in a multiplayer environment, while the latter is looking to please platform lovers with The Maw, a fun and colourful run 'n' jump adventure.
But now is undeniably Sony's time to shine. Best fatten up your Sony Store wallet, because you could easily spend $50 or more on terrific new PlayStation Store content this month, starting with...
Flower
PlayStation Network
4.5 (out of 5)
From the talented crew who brought us the highly innovative PlayStation Network game flOw comes Flower, a serene and wholly delightful game about lonely urban flowers dreaming of what it might be like to float on breezes over far-off fields. We control these dreams with our motion-sensitive SIXAXIS controllers, guiding at first one petal, then dozens, and eventually hundreds by directing a digital draught that sends them flittering through meadows and canyons, causing other flowers to bloom, bringing colour to yellow and grey swaths of grassland, and even restoring power to dead wind turbines.
It's a brilliant achievement in accessible game design, and it's eye-poppingly pretty to boot.
The experience of floating over the countryside surrounded by flickering dabs of colour is one that will stay with many gamers for years to come.
Minesweeper Flags
Xbox Live Arcade
3 (out of 5)
Minesweeper, a game that has players trying to determine whether certain cells on a grid contain mines based on information provided about the surrounding spaces, has been available for free on PCs for about two decades now, so why should we even consider paying for this spruced up version? For starters, it's cheap: Just six bucks.
Second, it has prettier graphics that see the game's traditionally two-dimensional grids laid out over three-dimensional fields in diverse locations around the globe.
Third, this edition offers a campaign mode, which provides motive to keep playing.
And last, there's a brand new mode that sees a pair of players searching for mines (or flags, as the case may be) rather than avoiding them, and it's actually pretty addictive. That said, no matter how you slice it, it's still just Minesweeper.
Savage Moon
PlayStation Network
4 (out of 5)
This sci-fi themed entry in the burgeoning tower defence genre -- which has players building and strategically placing towers in small areas with an aim to fend off a steady stream of ever more powerful enemies -- adds some new ideas to the mix.
All of the standard trappings of the category are here, including a monetary system based on the number of enemies dispatched and a wide variety of tower upgrades. However, there are also a few novel features, like the ability to focus on either tower strength or economics, as well as the capacity to summon fresh waves of foes before they're due and receive bonus cash as a reward.
Savage Moon probably won't win any converts, buts it's worth a peek for gamers who cue to the intricacies of and strategies involved with turret construction and maintenance.
R-Type Dimensions
Xbox Live Arcade
3.5 (out of 5)
The classic side-scrolling shooter gets a nifty upgrade in this option-laden remake that allows players to switch between a crude, Zaxxon-ish, three-dimensional view and the classic, pixelated, two-dimensional classic mode shooter fans know and love.
You can also play around with variables governing camera angle and aspect ratio, and choose whether you want to play with limitless lives or confine yourself to the allotment supplied in the original game.
Of course, none of these features really change how it's played, so the key consideration when buying is simply your taste in games. If R-Type's brand of sci-fi shooter action hasn't been your cup of tea in the past, then it will likely prove just as unpalatable now.
Lit
WiiWare
3.25 (out of 5)
Lit puts you in the shoes of a fellow who searches for exits in pitch black rooms. But you don't just shuffle blindly through the night -- try that and you'll find a quick demise at the hands of dark creatures that lurk in the shadows.
Instead, you look for ways to illuminate your environment, like letting moonbeams in through windows, flicking on lamps, and powering up computers to make their monitors glow.
Only bummer: you aren't provided enough information to determine which light sources to turn on (some won't light up the desired area, or will blow a fuse), which means plenty of trial and error. It's fun and somewhat original, but it can also be frustrating.
The Maw
Xbox Live Arcade
4 (out of 5)
This little platform game lacks the scope, polish, and sophistication of bigger budgeted titles in the genre, but give it a chance and its cute design and clever play may well suck you in.
Players take on the role of a bipedal alien inmate who escapes from a ship when it crashes on a strange planet. He befriends a second alien that looks a bit like Monsters Inc.'s Mike Wazowski, who he leads around on a leash, directing him to eat various creatures that help him grow in size and impart special abilities, like fiery breath, which are used to help him confront even larger creatures and overcome environmental obstacles.
So long as you don't go in expecting the next Super Mario Galaxy, there's a fair bit of fun here.
Jungle Speed
WiiWare
3.5 (out of 5)
Based on an ancient card game, Jungle Speed is all about reflexes, which makes it perfectly suited for Nintendo's motion-sensitive controls.
Up to eight players surround a table trying to match cards containing ornate symbols. Should a card come up that corresponds to one in your hand, you flick the Wii remote to try to grab a totem in the centre of the table. Flick faster than other players who have the same card and you get to get rid of yours. Flick mistakenly and you'll be stuck taking additional cards.
It sounds simple, and it is -- particularly if you find yourself playing against the game's flaccid artificial intelligence. However, play it with group of friends and Jungle Speed has potential to eat away hours of spare time.
GTI Club+
PlayStation Network
3 (out of 5)
GTI Club+, a port of a decade-old arcade racing game, is a modestly entertaining throwback to what racing games used to be like before they became overwhelmed by massive garages full of real-world cars, scads of authentic tracks, and driving physics so sophisticated that even real race car drivers use them for practice.
Featuring just a handful of vehicles, a single city through which to careen, and car handling that allows players to fly through turns at unrealistic but exciting speeds, GTI Club+ is a short, simple, and satisfying adrenaline rush of a game.
Only one problem: A few hours is all it takes to see everything the game has to offer and to master (more or less) all its difficulty levels.
Fun, but not exactly bang for your buck.
Of course, Nintendo and Microsoft have been busy stocking the shelves of their virtual stores, too. The former's Jungle Speed, a fast-paced virtual card game, can be oodles of fun in a multiplayer environment, while the latter is looking to please platform lovers with The Maw, a fun and colourful run 'n' jump adventure.
But now is undeniably Sony's time to shine. Best fatten up your Sony Store wallet, because you could easily spend $50 or more on terrific new PlayStation Store content this month, starting with...
Pick of the Month
FlowerPlayStation Network
4.5 (out of 5)
From the talented crew who brought us the highly innovative PlayStation Network game flOw comes Flower, a serene and wholly delightful game about lonely urban flowers dreaming of what it might be like to float on breezes over far-off fields. We control these dreams with our motion-sensitive SIXAXIS controllers, guiding at first one petal, then dozens, and eventually hundreds by directing a digital draught that sends them flittering through meadows and canyons, causing other flowers to bloom, bringing colour to yellow and grey swaths of grassland, and even restoring power to dead wind turbines.
It's a brilliant achievement in accessible game design, and it's eye-poppingly pretty to boot.
The experience of floating over the countryside surrounded by flickering dabs of colour is one that will stay with many gamers for years to come.
Minesweeper FlagsXbox Live Arcade
3 (out of 5)
Minesweeper, a game that has players trying to determine whether certain cells on a grid contain mines based on information provided about the surrounding spaces, has been available for free on PCs for about two decades now, so why should we even consider paying for this spruced up version? For starters, it's cheap: Just six bucks.
Second, it has prettier graphics that see the game's traditionally two-dimensional grids laid out over three-dimensional fields in diverse locations around the globe.
Third, this edition offers a campaign mode, which provides motive to keep playing.
And last, there's a brand new mode that sees a pair of players searching for mines (or flags, as the case may be) rather than avoiding them, and it's actually pretty addictive. That said, no matter how you slice it, it's still just Minesweeper.
Savage MoonPlayStation Network
4 (out of 5)
This sci-fi themed entry in the burgeoning tower defence genre -- which has players building and strategically placing towers in small areas with an aim to fend off a steady stream of ever more powerful enemies -- adds some new ideas to the mix.
All of the standard trappings of the category are here, including a monetary system based on the number of enemies dispatched and a wide variety of tower upgrades. However, there are also a few novel features, like the ability to focus on either tower strength or economics, as well as the capacity to summon fresh waves of foes before they're due and receive bonus cash as a reward.
Savage Moon probably won't win any converts, buts it's worth a peek for gamers who cue to the intricacies of and strategies involved with turret construction and maintenance.
R-Type DimensionsXbox Live Arcade
3.5 (out of 5)
The classic side-scrolling shooter gets a nifty upgrade in this option-laden remake that allows players to switch between a crude, Zaxxon-ish, three-dimensional view and the classic, pixelated, two-dimensional classic mode shooter fans know and love.
You can also play around with variables governing camera angle and aspect ratio, and choose whether you want to play with limitless lives or confine yourself to the allotment supplied in the original game.
Of course, none of these features really change how it's played, so the key consideration when buying is simply your taste in games. If R-Type's brand of sci-fi shooter action hasn't been your cup of tea in the past, then it will likely prove just as unpalatable now.
LitWiiWare
3.25 (out of 5)
Lit puts you in the shoes of a fellow who searches for exits in pitch black rooms. But you don't just shuffle blindly through the night -- try that and you'll find a quick demise at the hands of dark creatures that lurk in the shadows.
Instead, you look for ways to illuminate your environment, like letting moonbeams in through windows, flicking on lamps, and powering up computers to make their monitors glow.
Only bummer: you aren't provided enough information to determine which light sources to turn on (some won't light up the desired area, or will blow a fuse), which means plenty of trial and error. It's fun and somewhat original, but it can also be frustrating.
The MawXbox Live Arcade
4 (out of 5)
This little platform game lacks the scope, polish, and sophistication of bigger budgeted titles in the genre, but give it a chance and its cute design and clever play may well suck you in.
Players take on the role of a bipedal alien inmate who escapes from a ship when it crashes on a strange planet. He befriends a second alien that looks a bit like Monsters Inc.'s Mike Wazowski, who he leads around on a leash, directing him to eat various creatures that help him grow in size and impart special abilities, like fiery breath, which are used to help him confront even larger creatures and overcome environmental obstacles.
So long as you don't go in expecting the next Super Mario Galaxy, there's a fair bit of fun here.
Jungle Speed WiiWare
3.5 (out of 5)
Based on an ancient card game, Jungle Speed is all about reflexes, which makes it perfectly suited for Nintendo's motion-sensitive controls.
Up to eight players surround a table trying to match cards containing ornate symbols. Should a card come up that corresponds to one in your hand, you flick the Wii remote to try to grab a totem in the centre of the table. Flick faster than other players who have the same card and you get to get rid of yours. Flick mistakenly and you'll be stuck taking additional cards.
It sounds simple, and it is -- particularly if you find yourself playing against the game's flaccid artificial intelligence. However, play it with group of friends and Jungle Speed has potential to eat away hours of spare time.
GTI Club+ PlayStation Network
3 (out of 5)
GTI Club+, a port of a decade-old arcade racing game, is a modestly entertaining throwback to what racing games used to be like before they became overwhelmed by massive garages full of real-world cars, scads of authentic tracks, and driving physics so sophisticated that even real race car drivers use them for practice.
Featuring just a handful of vehicles, a single city through which to careen, and car handling that allows players to fly through turns at unrealistic but exciting speeds, GTI Club+ is a short, simple, and satisfying adrenaline rush of a game.
Only one problem: A few hours is all it takes to see everything the game has to offer and to master (more or less) all its difficulty levels.
Fun, but not exactly bang for your buck.
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Newsroom Notes
Down Lo on the Downloads: Shop-Store-Market 02/09
File Under:
Casual, Round-up, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony
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