Gaming On The Cheap - PS+
Written by Craig Will Saturday, 05 February 2011 14:22
My gift to my wife for Valentine's Day 2010 was a PS3 and, being relatively broke, we've relied heavily on Gamefly and Goozex to get the games we want to play. When Sony announced the Playstation Plus service that offered free games (among other things) for just $50 dollars a year, we were sold. Which brings us to the point of this article: Gaming On The Cheap (or in this case free).
This week we'll be looking at the new (free) PS+ additions:
- Digger HD (PSN Game)
- Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (PS1 Classic)
- Karimogi (Mini)
Digger HD
For those of you too young to remember the original Digger, Create Studios would like to introduce you to the heavy construction version of Pac-Man. This HD remake looks gorgeous and comes with several play modes available: Arcade, Survival, their Co-op counterparts, and Vintage (the original game). The premise of the game is to guide your digging machine through the underground in an attempt to collect gems and money bags without being caught by the monsters that follow in the tunnels you create. Strategy is a big part of the game as there are bonus points for collecting eight gems in a row without any empty dirt in between as well as dropping the heavy money bags on enemies to kill them. Of course, you could opt to instead shoot the enemies with a press of the X button, I didn't figure this out until level 8, though reload time is rather lengthy. This classic remake is well worth the price of admission: free.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage
Spyro has always held a place near and dear to my heart. My formative video gaming years were engulfed with the lovable purple dragon's flame. And the first and only PS1 Classic I paid money for was the original Spyro. Spyro 2 is is hands down my favorite Spyro title and aside from the outdated graphics (it is a PS1 title) it is as fun as I remember it. As Spyro you must jump, glide, hover, charge, and flame burst your way through multiple worlds, platforming for gems and killing tiki men, lizards, and all manners of baddies to save Avalar from the evil wizard Ripto. You're not alone though, Sparkx (it was the 90s), your friendly sidekick dragonfly will help collect gems and he doubles as your HP bar. Killing innocent creaturs such as frogs and sheep will release butterflies that Sparkx eats to replenish your HP or earn extra lives. Also handy is the Guidebook, a detailed report of everything you've collected in each world. This is classic platforming at its best and it lives up to the nostalgia.
Karimogi
This mini title Karimogi plays like a mix between bomberman and tetris with a hint of bejeweled. Colored blocks with pictures of fruit drop down from the top of the screen and your job is to push the block around in an effort to complete rows so they disappear a la Tetris. The bomberman aspect comes into play when you've painted yourself into a corner and need a quick escape: Place a bomb with triangle and get out of the way. The resulting blast will decimate an entire row of blocks (and you if you weren't able to climb or drop to safety), but be careful as you only get a limited number of bombs per level. As you progress through the levels the difficulty intensifies with shorter invtervals between blocks as well as additional blocks falling at once. Overall an entertaining yet shallow diversion, perfect if you need to kill a few minutes waiting in line or riding the bus.
You may be thinking, "These three games sound great and all, but are they really worth $50? Can't you get all of them for less than $25?" I don't know what they all cost separately, but I'm sure you can get them for less than that... However, since subscribing to PS+ I have received, for free:
- 16 Minis titles including Age of Zombies
- 8 PS1 Classics including the first 2 Oddworld games
- 12 PS3 games including the full Sam and Max Devils Playhouse series, Wipeout HD, and Zen Pinball
- A few PSN titles (I'm not sure which ones because I have bought some)
- As well as a subscription to Qore
Amazon Video Game Deal of the Day
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