Month: November 2013

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The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Even though I bought this pretty much as soon as it hit the eShop on Friday, I didn’t really get a change to dig deep into it until last night, due to the weekend’s PS4 adventures (see the previous posts). I’m glad I didn’t rush into it though, and what I have played so far (2-3 hours) has been simply magical. The first thing that hits you – if you’re an old fart like me – is that the music brings you right back to those days of playing A Link to the Past, although it’s all beautifully rearranged. And oh how I missed playing a Zelda game top-down like this – and the 3D really is a cool effect on this kind of perspective. I know I’m going to have some lovely adventures playing this.

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Warframe

Of the three PS4 free-to-play games available at launch, this was the one I was most excited to try out – partly because I prefer 3rd-person over first-person in my shooters, and also because I was digging the sci-fi setting and character models in the trailers I had seen. In the end, it’s the one I ended up playing the least, but I do want to spend some more time with it. What I did play was fun, but didn’t really blow me away or anything.

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Blacklight Retribution

As I’ve mentioned many times, I’m not huge into FPSes – I like the ones that incorporate more story and RPG elements – but since this is free-to-play I decided to give it a try, and I won’t lie, I had a blast playing through some of the multiplayer modes and maps. It doesn’t offer anything new or special in terms of gameplay, but I dig the aesthetics – both of the general UI and character models/guns. Maybe it’s because I’m excited to have a PS4 and just really want to experience as much as I can, but I’m glad I spent some time playing this, and I imagine I’ll return.

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DC Universe Online

To my surprise, I really got sucked into this, and put in quite a few hours. I remember trying it out when it first came out on PS3, and I wasn’t particularly impressed, but this time I was quite wowed by the visuals – this game looks VERY crisp, especially for an MMO – and ended up really getting into fighting bad guys in Gotham City (my mentor in the game is Batman, so I assume you start out in different areas/cities depending on who your hero/villain mentor is), teaming up with DC heroes, and levelling up  to get fun new powers. It’s free-to-play, so you’ve got nothing to lose by trying it out.

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Sound Shapes

This is like Flower, in that if you have the PS3 version you can download the new PS4 version for free. Since I originally played it on Vita, it’s hard for me to tell how much better it is than the PS3 version, but again, like with Flower, it gave me a nice excuse to revisit the game. I truly love this game – such a great combo of music and visuals – and you really need to own it if you don’t (to play on Vita, PS3, or PS4).

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Flower

I decided to play though this again – if you have the PS3 version, you can download the PS4 version for free. It was of course a gorgeous and mesmerizing experience, just like it was the first time I played it, but for me it was hard to really tell how much better it is than the PS3 version, since I remember that initial experience being a gorgeous one as well. It gave me an excuse to play through it again though, which made me happy, and if you’ve never played this then you need to (it’s only like $6-7 on PSN). It also still has the best ending credits sequence ever. I hope they do this to Journey too, as that’s a game I’d also love to revisit on the PS4.

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Contrast

This is a flawed game, but the concept behind it is an interesting one. Unfortunately, it involves a lot of platforming, and the mechanics to do so are a bit clumsy. But I like the setting, the idea of using shadows to create your platforming “blocks,” and just wish that gameplay was smoother. But hey, it’s free if you’re a PS+ member, so definitely worth trying out – and I imagine I’ll finish it.

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Resogun

This game sure has lovely ‘splosions! Everyone has been raving about this being the best game from the PS4 launch lineup, and they’re certainly right that it’s a fantastic game – and the fact that it’s free if you’re a PS+ member is just nuts. I love shooters, and I’m doing OK at this, but I really need to try and understand how to up my game, because looking at some of my friends’ scores on the leaderboards, I’ve still got a ways to go.

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Need for Speed Rivals

Putting aside the fact that the game looks absolutely amazing (on PS4), when I started playing I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the chaos I was encountering: I’m driving around, shit is happening all over, what do I do? But as I started getting a better feel for the UI and goals I was handed, and started to familiarize myself with the “world” (yes, it’s a connected world, not a series of tracks), I fell in love. This game is crazy fun, and feels incredibly alive, with the multiplayer seamlessly integrated within “regular” play. Also, I don’t usually have as much fun playing the cops in the NFS games (like in Hot Pursuit), but I started REALLY enjoying it here, cruising around in my Aston Martin Vanquish cop car, chasing down fools. Certainly a must-buy from the PS4 launch lineup – and it just makes me that much more excited for the upcoming The Crew.

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Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

This is absolutely the most fun I’ve had with an Assassin’s Creed game – and I’m quite a big fan of the series, having played through and finished all of them (except the first one, which I didn’t finish). It starts off like a regular AC game, but a few hours in, once you have access to your ship and crew, as well as all parts of the game world, and start visiting islands to explore or pillaging passing ships, this game turns into something incredibly fun and special. As for the PS4 visuals: wow.