The Four Games I Got Free From PSN's "Welcome Back"

Four games, one Enrique. PSN has been back up for a while now and I'm not even close to beating any of them, so bear with me on the "Story" aspect of my ratings. These are all quick reviews, not like my in-depth reviews I usually do.

Infamous (or as it says on the cover, inFAMOUS) is a game developed by Sucker Punch, mostly known for making the Spyro and Sly Cooper games. Infamous is a huge departure for the developer known for making cartoonish games, deciding to make a game about a man named Cole McGrath who accidentally receives lightning superpowers. With his new powers, Cole can decide to become a hero or a villain. Infamous was a financial and critical success and just this week a sequel, Infamous 2, was released (I will also review that, give me time to finish the first game).

Infamous deliberately plays like a Sly Cooper game mixing some elements of a sandbox game, creating a game where you can easily scale buildings with your superpowers and either aid or maim the city. The story's not half bad, though it is told like a comic book. The development of superpowers also ties into your alignment, causing a power to either quickly diffuse the situation, or wreak havoc on everyone in the vicinity, including civilians. At this point, I regret not playing Infamous when it was new, because I'm sure I would have tons of fun with a superhero version of Mass Effect.

Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Presentation: 9/10
Replay Value: 8/10

Average Score:      8.25/10

I was pleasantly surprised by Infamous and I look forward to playing the sequel.

Super Stardust HD is an enhanced remake of the Amiga classic, Super Stardust, which is a sequel to Stardust. I've played the demo for SSHD previously, considering a purchase before I eventually purchased Tetris instead. I chose SSHD as my 2nd PS3 game because it's the only one offered in 3D. The game is pretty addicting and the 3D effects are out of this world. Difficulty can spike at times, but usually only at the fault of the player not destroying all asteroids as quickly as possible.

SSHD also boasts local co-op, allowing two people to play split-screen action. I haven't given co-op a chance yet since I have yet to encounter anyone with enough balls to play with me.

Gameplay: 10/10

Presentation: 10/10

Replay Value: 8/10

Average Score:      9.3/10

This shit is just unbelievably addicting and is what PSN offers to counter Geometry Wars being exclusive to Xbox Live. It can get frustrating sometimes when you can't progress past a certain point.

When it came to the PSP games, I downloaded the two games that took up the least amount of memory since I don't really desire to play Little Big Planet PSP or ModNation Racers.

My first pick was for Killzone Liberation, the sequel the Killzone, which was not that critically well-received. Note that this was way before Killzone 2 solidified the Killzone series as PS3 exclusive FPS one could look forward to playing. Because of the poor reception of the original Killzone, Liberation didn't do so well.

I'm beginning to question people's pre-conceived notions, including mine. This game is not a 1st-person shooter, choosing instead to have a top view not unlike Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. The game has a pretty steep learning curve, teaching you several things in the first level, expecting you to remember all of them. Despite that, the game plays remarkably well and has good story pacing. The game also goes online via Ad-Hoc, although that isn't a problem with a PS3 and Ad-Hoc Party.

Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Presentation: 8/10
Replay Value: 7/10

Average Score:      8/10

I could have been kinder towards the Presentation score, especially considering this game came out 2 years before Dissidia: Final Fantasy, but we all know at this point what the PSP is truly capable of. Nevertheless, the gameplay is really good and is well-worth getting from "Welcome Back," especially considering it's only 500MB.

My other choice for a free PSP game was Pursuit Force, a game that came out in North America in March, 2005. This game is just plain ancient and barely qualifies as being a PSP game graphically. This game was clearly made on a budget and it is a game from the PSP's infancy.

Despite all that, this game is surprisingly awesome in several ways, mostly hilariously awesome ways. The entire game is a send-up of Hollywood police thrillers, making you into a cop of EXTREME JUSTICE (which is hilariously enough the subtitle to the sequel) who kills criminals indiscriminately. The bad guys you go after range from mafia to Rambo-like gangs with more and more ludicrous gangs coming after you as the game progresses.

Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Presentation: 5/10
Replay Value: 7/10

Average Score:      7/10

This game is hilariously self-aware of how silly it is and it makes no apologies for it. The game has awful graphics by today's standards set by Dissidia, but it doesn't stop the game from being fun. This is one game I definitely never expected to play.