XBLA/PSN Games

[Kungfro]

So lately I've been getting into a lot of the games on Xbox live arcade, figured there should be a general thread. If you have any recommendations please post them.

Limbo
http://mktplassets.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/EED965F1-1E5A-45D6-B706-F6F554EA33C2/0/simLimbo00.jpg
Gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0SVGWZuf_s)
Cool little puzzle/platformer with a very interesting visual style.



Super Meat Boy
http://xboxlivemedia.ign.com/xboxlive/image/article/107/1070887/super-meat-boy-20100222095232879_640w.jpg
Gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snaionoxjos)
Another Platformer. Very tight controls and fast gameplay. Hard as **** though. Levels can last from 5 seconds to 40, and you have to complete it all in one shot. There are no lives though, and you spawn back in immediately after dying, so there isn't much of a penalty for dying. Still playing through this one, it's addictive, but it burns me out if I play too long.



Costume Quest
Gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY_bCw8EPj8)
http://xboxlivemedia.ign.com/xboxlive/image/article/111/1116219/trick-or-treat-with-costume-quest-20100826111804636_640w.jpg
Very interesting RPG from Doublefine (developer behind Psyconauts, Brutal Legend). Involves kids trick or treating on halloween, and beating up candy stealing monsters. It's a fairly easy game, but it was a lot of fun none the less.



Insanely twisted Shadow Planet
Gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T0BJvir_XI)
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2011/03/1f-ul5qv3s0.jpg
Another game with a unique art style. Very Metroid like as far as how the map is set up, and needing upgrades to access new areas. Not a real long game, but I had fun with it.



Bastion
http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/2121/1492500-bastion_092010_00011_super.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZAuKkv4eZE
Amazing game. It has a real cool narration that changes based on what your doing. The combat stuff is great, and there are a lot of different weapon combinations to play around with. Great soundtrack too.



War of the Worlds
http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/117/1175776/the-war-of-the-worlds-20110613110327704-000.jpg
Gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Xb2DBpL94)
Currently playing through it. Not a real big fan so far. It usually looks nice, although it's tends to be a bit too dark. The rotoscoping stuff just makes for akward platforming and I was never a big fan of it. The narration is done by Patrick Stewart though which is kinda cool, he does a good job.

[Bucket_Nakedz]

Trials hd - ive spent countless hours on this game. its so challenging yet addictive.

Castle Crashers - havent played this game in years but had so much with it when it first came out. good ol' fashion beat 'em up.

Outland - bad ass action platformer. loved the visuals and theme, gameplay reminds me of old school metroid/castlevania.

*i think trials hd is only for xbox live

[glidedrxlr22]

Got Crysis on the PSN. I passed Crysis 2 earlier this year. Crysis looks good for a 4 year old game. Most of the same concepts are in both games. Feels a little more difficult in part 1 to aim. The story seems more dynamic in part 2, but still Crysis has been worth the $20.

[Kungfro]

Castle Crashers - havent played this game in years but had so much with it when it first came out. good ol' fashion beat 'em up.


Yea castle crashers was great, it's especially fun if your playing with other people. I had most of the characters unlocked, even alien hominid.

[GOBB]

Do you get achievements for these games?

[glidedrxlr22]

Do you get achievements for these games?

Yes on achievements and trophies.

[Kungfro]

Do you get achievements for these games?

Yea, seems like 200 or 250 for stuff on XBLA. I never used to care about the achievements, but I find myself going for them more lately. Still don't have that great a gamerscore though.
http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/kananon/games/?&sid=119521

[Kungfro]

Joe Danger just came out on XBLA, after being a PSN exclusive originally. Thinking of picking it up, has anyone else played this?

[Qwyjibo]

Bought Limbo on Steam when it was on sale. Great little game. Waiting for Bastion to get cheaper or to appear on PSN.

[Kungfro]

So Journey is coming out tomorrow on PSN, anyone else getting it?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Journey-PS3-Screenshot.jpg

Giantbomb Quick Look (http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-journey-beta/17-4489/)
GT review (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-journey/727430)

[Kungfro]

So Journey is coming out tomorrow on PSN, anyone else getting it?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Journey-PS3-Screenshot.jpg

Giantbomb Quick Look (http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-journey-beta/17-4489/)
GT review (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-journey/727430)

Finally sat down and gave this a play through. Really cool game. What really surprised me was how the multiplayer component really effected how the game felt. It is fairly short though, 15 dollars may be pushing it as far as value. Still worth checking out, I'd recommend it.

[Kungfro]

Fez is coming out to XBLA on Friday. For anyone that isn't familier with this one, it's been in the works for a long time. It's also featured quite heavily in Indie Game: The Movie.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Fez_videogame.jpg
Quick Look (http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-fez/17-5862/)

[Thorpesaurous]

I strongly recommend both Pixeljunk Shooters.

They have old school control and style, with a really nice little physics based puzzling element. They're on the short list of my favorite games ever actually.

[Kungfro]

Trials Evolution out today, XBLA exclusive.

http://xboxlivemedia.ign.com/xboxlive/image/article/121/1219505/trials-evolution-20120228004851943-000.jpg
Quick Look: Trials Evolution (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg2Mp6MCJjg&feature=g-all-u&context=G28270c1FAAAAAAAABAA)

[Kungfro]

Fez is coming out to XBLA on Friday. For anyone that isn't familier with this one, it's been in the works for a long time. It's also featured quite heavily in Indie Game: The Movie.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a7/Fez_videogame.jpg
Quick Look (http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-fez/17-5862/)

Still haven't finished fez, but I'm pretty far into it. Some of the puzzles are crazy, I can't remember the last time I needed to write stuff down with a pen and paper. I did have to look online for some of them, specifically the red cubes. There's also one last puzzle involving a black monolith that hasn't been solved yet.

[Thorpesaurous]

Game Informer must be reading our message board.

This is their top ten essential PSN games. They're all PSN exclusives, so they don't include the multiplatform stuff like Limbo I guess (actually I'm guessing, because otherwise I don't know how Limbo wouldn't have made it). There's some old stuff on here that I've played, like Flower, and then a couple from as recently as this past March.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/04/17/the-essential-playstation-network-game-list.aspx

[LJJ]

Still haven't finished fez, but I'm pretty far into it. Some of the puzzles are crazy, I can't remember the last time I needed to write stuff down with a pen and paper. I did have to look online for some of them, specifically the red cubes. There's also one last puzzle involving a black monolith that hasn't been solved yet.

I'm going to get this over the weekend, keep hearing about how insane it is.

[Al Thornton]

Trials Evolution out today, XBLA exclusive.

http://xboxlivemedia.ign.com/xboxlive/image/article/121/1219505/trials-evolution-20120228004851943-000.jpg
Quick Look: Trials Evolution (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg2Mp6MCJjg&feature=g-all-u&context=G28270c1FAAAAAAAABAA)

never played the first one but this looks really fun. going to get it soon.

[Kungfro]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2012/05/sound518.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCc3fTHMSo0&feature=player_embedded

A game called "Sound Shapes" just came out on psn recently. Looks like a platformer with some music elements, I might pick it up.

[glidedrxlr22]

Anyone try the XboxLive exlusive Deadlight yet? It's a zombie game with a playstyle similar to Shadow Complex.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/DeadlightBox.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5xK8Z6zSPE

[clipse026]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2012/05/sound518.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCc3fTHMSo0&feature=player_embedded

A game called "Sound Shapes" just came out on psn recently. Looks like a platformer with some music elements, I might pick it up.
I saw this yesterday. Going to pick it up.

[Kungfro]

Tokyo Jungle just came out yesterday on PSN. Kinda tempted to pick it up, game looks so god damn crazy.

http://operationrainfall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Tokyo-Jungle-Trailer_4-3.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEd6wFDI7Og

[Kungfro]

This has been out for a while now, but Okami is available on psn.


Okami HD Exclusively on PSN: Launch Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz1O7cjxLG0)

One of those games I've always heard great things about, I've just never had the opportunity to play it. I'll probably be getting it right away.

[Kungfro]

Terraria is now out on PSN and XBLA. The PC version is cheaper and controls better, but there's apparently some new content on this version.

http://www.xblafans.com/wp-content/uploads//2013/02/Terraria.jpeg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x36mO4qjBDc

[clipse026]

Just noticed your post about Okami. That is possibly going to be on PS Plus in April. It is in Australia and Europe I believe, just need to confirm if the US list is the same.

[Kungfro]

Battleblock Theater is coming to XBLA on April 3. Made by developer The Behemoth who previously did Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers.

http://www.battleblocktheater.com/images/carousel.frontpage/news3.jpg

Great trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mggAckod0k0

[Timmy D for MVP]

XBLA, PSN, and Steam Greenlight have been wonderful platforms for developers to get their games to the mass public. That documentary on indie gaming was really good and the new wave of crowd funded models has me excited to see what the future can bring.

Now... XBLIG (Indie games) is a little bit of a different story, which if you're like me, found out on bored day at a buddy's house. I'll just leave (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubuQfss8MnY) these (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxKP0vn4sik) here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHgOOUgTkNM)

[Kungfro]

XBLA, PSN, and Steam Greenlight have been wonderful platforms for developers to get their games to the mass public. That documentary on indie gaming was really good and the new wave of crowd funded models has me excited to see what the future can bring.

Now... XBLIG (Indie games) is a little bit of a different story, which if you're like me, found out on bored day at a buddy's house. I'll just leave (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubuQfss8MnY) these (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxKP0vn4sik) here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHgOOUgTkNM)

Love Matt and Pat, those guys are hilarious.

[jaydacris]

loved bastion.

cant wait for supergiantgames next game: transistor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTik6sYT_BE

w00t!

[Thorpesaurous]

I'm reviving this old thread to mention a few DL games I've picked up recently.

Just over the weekend I picked up CounterSpy. I haven't played it much, but from what I have it has an awesome art design. Everything has the flecky white staticky elements that make it feel like footage from the fifties. The game play is an interesting Two D side scrolling thing with a slight Metroid-Vania thing going on, but it does jump to an over the shoulder shooter perspective when you pop into coverage. It's a nice concept, but I'm not thrilled that I feel like I have to drop into every coverage spot just to see further ahead than the 2D will let me so I don't just walk into something.


I also go The Road Less Taken, which is a Zelda layout with a weird puzzling element of losing energy while carrying stuff, so you have throw things around to align things to open doors.

I've also played Puddle, which was really interesting.

The quality of this stuff on the New Gen systems has been great, and both networks are giving away free monthly games, so it would be cool to see peoples opinions on them. They don't get enough press to know what's worth digging around for.

[Kungfro]

Good bump, forgot all about this thread. Shovel Knight came to the WiiU, 3DS, and steam a little while ago. Does that oldschool feel better then any other game I've played. If you grew up playing games like megaman or ducktails you really should check it out.

http://cdn.segmentnext.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Shovel-Knight.jpg
Shovel Knight Release Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHvJ5GQoTac)☼ (http://insidehoops.com/forum/)＋ (http://insidehoops.com/forum/)X (http://insidehoops.com/forum/)

[Thorpesaurous]

Shovel Knight got really good reviews. I may have to check it out.

A lot of these DL games are perfect size for my schedule.

[Kungfro]

The Swapper is another recent game that's been reviewing well. Out on Steam/ps3/ps4/vita. I still haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but it looks interesting.

http://hw1.pa-cdn.com/par/img/editorial/swapper.1370265566.jpg
The Swapper - Gameplay Trailer HD PC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3EyhIM9k_k)

[Kungfro]

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon - While it is a stand alone expansion of far cry 3, it doesn't require the original game to play. Currently $5 on XBLA and $15 on psn. Awesome visual style, great soundtrack, and pretty funny. Not real long, but absolutely worth checking out.

http://www.thegamernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Far-Cry-3-Blood-Dragon-logo.jpg
http://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Far-Cry-3-Blood-Dragon-Sneaky-Sneaky.jpg

Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon Intro (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FG7E9gQDIE)
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Soundtrack) 10 - Sloan's Assault (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moiTaZmdOcE&list=PLuDCrjOek9nii9oInGbE-BGZoAplm6MeZ)

[Thorpesaurous]

I finished CounterSpy last night. Good but not great. If you're into stealth, you'd almost certainly like it for 10 bucks. It's got some replay value because you can't come close to maxing out all the goods in one playthrough, and since the levels are procedurally generated, it's not like you can memorize the layouts and enemies and just waltz through it after a while. Although I did find I started to memorize certain rooms. For instance there was a latrine room that had signs so I recognized it, so I knew what to expect for layout if not location of enemies. And that room could appear in any level.

[Thorpesaurous]

I just last night bought Axiom Verge.

It is either a Metroid knock off, or a Metroid homage, depending on your taste. But either way, if you are a fan of retro gaming, and a fan of the original side scrolling, vertical maze, unlockable puzzling, of the original Metroid, then this thing is an absolute no brainer for 20 bucks on PSN.

From what I read, it opens up to be a little more diverse later on, but in the early going where I'm at, it's classic Metroid game play, right down to the crawling on the platform enemies, and the bad guys dive bombing from the roof. It allegedly opens up both enemy wise and in terms of weapons later on.

The reviews seem to be sitting around 4 outta 5. And the short hour I got to play last night was awesome.

Youtube trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U04mprotZU


Screenshot:
http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/arcadesushi.com/550/files/2015/02/axiomm.jpg?w=720&cdnnode=1

[Thorpesaurous]

I just last night bought Axiom Verge.

It is either a Metroid knock off, or a Metroid homage, depending on your taste. But either way, if you are a fan of retro gaming, and a fan of the original side scrolling, vertical maze, unlockable puzzling, of the original Metroid, then this thing is an absolute no brainer for 20 bucks on PSN.

From what I read, it opens up to be a little more diverse later on, but in the early going where I'm at, it's classic Metroid game play, right down to the crawling on the platform enemies, and the bad guys dive bombing from the roof. It allegedly opens up both enemy wise and in terms of weapons later on.

The reviews seem to be sitting around 4 outta 5. And the short hour I got to play last night was awesome.

Youtube trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U04mprotZU


Screenshot:
http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/arcadesushi.com/550/files/2015/02/axiomm.jpg?w=720&cdnnode=1


This game has been really awesome for what it's worth. There's a ton of backtracking as you get new skills that allow you to reach areas you couldn't before. There's enough there that I at least can't remember what was blocking me at any particular point on the map, so when I get something new, I almost just have to start running backward through the map and looking for spots that don't show an enclosure and going and checking them. And even then it may map may be missing a secret drill hole or something you just haven't seen yet.

The story leaves a little to be desired as far as I'm concerned so far.

[Thorpesaurous]

I'm bumping this again, from over a year ago, for two games.


First, BroForce, which my niece and I enjoyed the hell out of. Couch Co-Op in an old fashioned 2D multi level side scroller, sort of like a Contra or Ghosts and Goblins. Classic 8-Bit art design, totally over the top exploding shooting action. There are tons of characters, all parodies of classic action heroes. Each guy has fairly unique gun, and a special move.

The levels are laid out in relatively small set pieces, making it an easy game to pick up and put down. The story is ridiculous Bro-tasticness, about Murica, and hunting down Satan and killing his red ass.

The play mechanic has you freeing characters from boxes, which bring your partner back to life, or if he's alive, lets you keep that character as an extra guy. It really works. I thought the thing was excellent.



Second game is Firewatch. An extremely polarizing game, that I really loved, in spite having some issues with it. It's a first person exploration game, completely story driven, about a guy who's wife is sick, who takes a job as a forest post lookout, where his only contact is via a walky talky to his boss Delilah. It's tons of dialogue choices. It even makes sense to me as a watch through if you don't want to play it. I won't give away too much, but I really liked. The art design was awesome, and the story really worked for me, although I admit some frustration with it, and if you're not into games where you're not going to shoot anything, then this just isn't for you. But it's worth at least looking into. I'd love to talk about it more, which is why I'm bumping this thread, but it's not something many people seem to have played.

[Thorpesaurous]

A few more.

Shortly after finishing Firewatch, I picked up Gone Home, which while a little older, got brought up a lot in articles about Firewatch. It's sort of the genesis of this semi rebirth of these "walking simulators", which are really sort of redesigns of the old point and click adventures from my early PC days. They've twisted up the genre scope though, as it just doesn't make a ton of sense to have a full on adventure like this anymore, so they've written these as small personal stories.

I'm not sure which I liked better. I definitely liked the art design of Firewatch better. And the dialogue was a little more variable. Gone Home has pretty much no interaction, so it's really all finding stuff. The basic plot is you're a college undergrad, coming home from a year in Europe. The family has moved to a new creepy house left to them by a deceased recluse creepy uncle. You've never been to the house, and when you get there, it's late, rainy, and the house is empty. You explore the house (which is ridiculously huge), and through voice overed diary pages from your younger sister, and tidbits of left around items that spell together clues, you discover how the last year went for your family. The thing I liked most is that it plays like a horror game. It's got a tension like the original Resident Evil mansion, even though the threat isn't a shambling zombie. It's also in a setting I appreciate, Grunge era 90s. The main story is about the little sister coming of age. But the stories about each parent, and the creepy uncle, are all just as, if not more interesting, and a less accessible, requiring you to really piece together the story. Overall it was a really cool experience, although upon finishing it, there was a sense of what was the point of all that.

I picked up Life is Strange at the same time, for similar reasons, but haven't played that.

I also bought Oxenfree, which intrigued me as it is also sort of an exploration based story game, although it's done as a side scrolling Metroid sort of way. It's high school kids on a creepy vacation island beach in New England, which I've actually been. And it's got a bit more of a horror / sci fi vibe. I only got a little bit into it though.


And then most recently, I picked up Inside. It's from the same people that did Limbo, which was an excellent game, and I'd say this is better. Semi straight side scrolling platforming with some simply designed by functionally just difficult enough puzzling. It's the art design that sells these games though. Limbo was pure black and white, and used it's shadows in the game play. Inside is more grayscale, with little splashes of muted color. It tells a really good story without a single line of dialogue, which Limbo didn't really do. You're a boy running from a group of evil scientists who make labor zombies. Pushing and pulling blocks, swimming, climbing, swinging, it's all pretty basic. The death is creepily real feeling though. If you liked Limbo, this is sort of a must buy. But I'd recommend it regardless.