31 replies to this topic

[Gabriel]

I figure I'll start a duplicate of my Live Arcade Games thread from the 360 forum in here. Coincidentally, there was a new Playstation Store game today.


So far the Playstation Store hasn't been doing well with original content. Blast Factor is good but games like Cash, Guns, Chaos and Super Rub A Dub only manage to be good examples of how downloadable games can go wrong. Most all of the other items lately have been old arcade games. While Q*Bert and Mortal Kombat II are fantastic, Joust has perhaps been driven into the ground over the past few years, and I'll really go out on a limb and say that Gauntlet, Rampage, Rampart, and Championship Sprint just aren't very good games nowadays. That leaves Flow and Calling All Cars unaccounted for. They'll have to remain unaccounted for since there are no demos.

However, there was a game with a demo today, a game called Go! Puzzle. Amazingly enough, this is a puzzle game. I know you probably couldn't guess that. I was confused by the mysterious title as well. The starter pack gives you a taste of 3 puzzle games for free. Then you can either buy each puzzler indivudually for $3 or in an all in one bundle for $6.

I'm not normally a fan of puzzle games. After years of hearing about Bust A Move and finally playing it on Taito Legends, I was severely underwhelmed. On the other hand, I can definitely get hooked on some games. I really enjoy Lumines. Puzzle Quest (Bejeweled clone) is one of the most awesome things I've ever seen. I played quite a bit of the Puzzle Kombat game on the Mortal Kombat Deception disc. And even though I don't like Tetris or Columns, I can see why others would enjoy them, and actually consider them fairly addictive despite my lack of interest.

I'd like to announce that Go! Puzzle reaffirmed the faith in the Playstation store after the recent string of what I consider poor choices. It would be nice to be surprised by a cool new puzzle game in the same way that Puzzle Quest for the PSP absolutely blew my socks off. Sadly, that is not to be.

I'm not a puzzle expert. I don't live and breathe the genre. Still, there was an overwhelming sense of "I've seen this before, and seen it done better" while playing the three puzzle games. Plus, the games broke the cardinal rule of puzzle games, they weren't simple to explain, as LONG tutorials proved beyond a shadow of a doubt. On top of this, they didn't look good and they didn't sound good.

I applaud Sony for actually providing a demo of this set of games. Hopefully, it's an indication that future games will have free demos. The bad news is that it doesn't do them any good when the game is just plain bad. Go! Puzzle is just plain bad. The games are boring, visually uninteresting, and are just unappealling overall. It's not horrible, but just about any internet flash game would be more entertaining, and possibly more polished. Maybe a greater expert on the puzzle genre will chime in, but I found the demo completely forgettable, and a total waste of disc space. I can't see anyone wanting to pay even $3 for one of these games.

[Mendon]

Good points and great post!!

In my opinion, The PS Store selection leaves much to be desired. Very little has appeared recently other than some video's that I can download from JoBlo or GameTrailers, or some retro-titles that I really have no interest in since I already own them on different compilations for several systems. Couple the poor selection in the PS Store along with the slow release of regular PS3 games, and the PS3 hasn't been too overwhelming so far.

So, based on the above, one would think I'm very unhappy with my PS3 purchase. But yet, I'm not:

A) I'm a NetFlix member and enjoy the quality of picture & sound of Blu-ray movies I rent. Some Blu-ray movies really blow me away with how GREAT they look.

B) I feel good about running Folding@Home.

C) I'm enjoying Calling All Cars (other than those cheatin SOB 'bot cars), Ca$h-Gun$-Chao$, Super Rub-A-Dub (kiddie as hell game but I enjoy it!!), Lemmings, Grip Shift, and Blast Factor.

D) I enjoy playing Resistance and Motorstorm, whether offline or online. And I think I'm one of the very few who really enjoys Full Auto... enjoyed it on the 360 and have enjoyed FA2 on the PS3.

E) I created two new characters in Oblivion and am trying to play the game in different ways than I've done in the past. Playing the game as a Vampire from start to finish add's a whole new feel to gameplay.

F) I can still play PS2 games on the system and am enjoying Tomb Raider Anniversary at the moment.

Plus, there are some excellent looking games coming up in the very near future: The Darkness, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Stranglehold, Lair, and Warhawk. And, after watching the latest graphics video, I'm really excited about Drake's Fortune!

To be honest, I could have waited until this fall to buy my PS3 and had a lot more justification for spending $600 on the system. But yet, I've enjoyed owning and using my PS3 and don't regret its purchase one bit.



Mendon

[Shannon]

You forgot to mention the Lemmings game, check it out. Plus you may wanna cover the PS1->PSP titles now that they are playable on the PS3.

I played the Go! Puzzle thing as well and I thought the towers thing was pretty good. The other two were meh.

[tantone56]

How much does it cost to play the old PS2 games?

[cimerians]

Here's what I have and I'll give them ratings:

FloW - 4 out of 5 (its great, addicting and relaxing although a bit hard to control at first)
Gauntlet II - 2 out of 5 (its good only with multi-player and why dont they ever feature a save state for this game? To heck with authenticity)
Q-Bert - 4 out of 5 (almost perfect port, controls are a bit clunky to get used to)
Wipeout PS1 - I loved this game back then, its still somewhat playable once you get over the graphics.
Go Sudoku - 3 out of 5 (Its ok, my wife plays it mostly and its for her)

Things I've tried:
Go! Puzzle - Didnt like any of the puzzles except the tower puzzle.
Rub a Dub - Its cute but I wouldnt buy it.

Current\Upcoming games:
Ninja Gaiden Sigma- Awesome. If you have a PS3, this is something that needs to be in your library. (I loved the original xbox version)
Resistance - This is a good shooter if your into those. I finished it and I recommend it if you find it for less than 30-40 bucks some day.
Untold Legends - This game sucked (compared to Champions of Norrath and Baldurs Gate). I sold it.

Have not played anything else but I'm mostly disappointed in the lack of PS1 downloadables.

[Gabriel]

Shannon, on Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:33 PM, said:

I played the Go! Puzzle thing as well and I thought the towers thing was pretty good. The other two were meh.

I also liked the tower game the best of the three. But that's damning with faint praise.

[Gabriel]

I downloaded Super Stardust HD based on the pretty trailer. I'm not really sure how to approach it for one of my rants. It's very pretty. I liked it and didn't feel burned. It just didn't feel quite as addictive as Geometry Wars or Blast Factor. It's in about the same league as Assault Heroes. Maybe more later.

I also snagged the Dynasty Warriors Gundam demo and the Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo. I liked Gundam. It was exactly what I expected, and I'm going to be buying it immediately upon release. Meanwhile, Ninja Gaiden didn't catch my interest. Not my cuppa.

[cimerians]

Japan keeps getting PS1 downloadables while we sit around playing Super Sprint and another Joust release....

[Shannon]

Sony is probably focusing on Japan because they are getting their ass kicked by nintendo and wanna get people interested in the PS3.

[Gabriel]

Let's take a stab at this.

Gabriel's Obligatory Super Stardust HD Rant

Super Stardust HD is the latest downloadable game available in the Playstation Store. It's about 300 megs and costs $8. You'll really pay $10, though. This is because you can only drop increments of $5 into your Playstation Store wallet. Take note of that nit, because its something of a harbinger of things to come.

Edit 7-19-07: It turns out this first nit is inaccurate. This complaint should be more about the awkwardness of the menus instead.

Super Stardust HD (SSHD for short) is an omni-shooter like Space Dungeon, Robotron, Smash TV, Geometry Wars Evolved, Assault Heroes, and Blast Factor. This style of game has enjoyed a massive comeback with the advent of the downloadable game services. XBox Live Arcade has several examples of the type and the Playstation Store now has at least three (Blast Factor, Cash Guns Chaos, and SSHD). The good news is that these games are fairly straightforward and hard to mess up. The basic concept is so solid that it produces a game like Pac-Man where even the poor implementations are pretty fun. On the other hand, since there have been so many of these types of games lately, shouldn't the bar of quality be a bit higher?

The first area where SSHD excels is in its graphics. I'm playing in 720p and the game looks absolutely beautiful. This isn't a game like Geometry Wars with abstract visuals. This game goes for a semi-realistic look for everything (barring the powerups). Asteroids are a common hazard and they are huge. To top it off, when they break up they seem to do so dynamically (even though it's probably by some pattern) and the remaining pieces pinwheel around the screen. There's also a planet below you which is nicely detailed and which you orbit around during the course of play. Your ship always nominally stays in the center of the screen, but the orbiting effect is a nice hypnotic touch. There are the explosions and weapon effects which fill the scren with activity. This game, along with Tekken: Dark Resurrection, stands as the best visuals that downloadable games have yet offerred.

Usually, I'm not a big sound critic. I'm more of a visual guy and I only pay attention to the sound of a game as much as it matches the onscreen visuals. To me the sound of SSHD nicely fit the visuals. There's a repetitive technoish theme which plays throughout, and it also nicely meshed with my onscreen activities. Since the PS3 doesn't allow you to use custom soundtracks, it's good that the game has pleasant tunes and blasting sounds.

Now we get to gameplay. Much like Geometry Wars, you are a 360 degree shooting gun at the center of the screen. You can move around, and your ship stays generally in the center of the screen while the planet rotates beneath you. What this immediately means is that your playfield is a sphere with no boundaries. You can orbit the whole planet if you want, and never run into a barrier. Orbiting a planet all day and shooting the upper atmosphere wouldn't be very fun, so SSHD takes the initiative and drops rocks and enemy aliens into orbit with you. As usual in these games, your ship is a one hit wonder. Collision with anything other than a powerup will kill you, so you better start shooting. Shooting rocks reveals they have some green, glowing kryptonite inside. Shooting the kryptonite reveals various powerups. Most of the time, these powerups are mere point pickups, but sometimes they will be weapon upgrades. You have access to three weapons which need upgrading: rock crusher, gold melter, and Ice... something or other. Rock Crusher is your standard green shot which can be upgraded to fire faster and in a wider pattern, and which is best against rocks. Ice Whatever is a blue shot which I've honestly found useless so far, but which is allegedly good against ice. Gold Melter is the nifty one, because it fires out a flamethrower type of shot which you can swirl all over the place. It's supposedly most effective against gold, but I've found it's also effective against evil space caterpillars. Rounding out the mix there's a freighter wandering around on stages which you can shoot the cargo out of (which is always bomb powerups).

At first the game starts off slow. There aren't many targets and the game seems like it's going to be a cakewalk. Whenever enemies enter the planet's orbit, they display a red pulsating circle on the playfield to warn you of their coming. This helps avoid the cheap spawn-on-top death that some games of this sort suffer from. It takes a couple of minutes, but things quickly become crowded. Rocks start spinning all over the screen. Death satellittes start relentlessly homing in on you and giant green space caterpillars make mad dashes to eat you. Explosion and shot animations help fill the screen, and things get more than acceptably hectic. This means sensory overload is a problem. You just might not see something which is about to kill you because of the massive activity on the screen.

I'll say that the levels feel too long. It's not unusual to spend two or three minutes on a single level. During that time you shoot and shoot and shoot, and you get the distinct impression that it's never going to end. Ending a level under a time target results in bonus points. The catch is that I don't really see what the level ending requirement is. Apparrently you're supposed to shoot a certain number of certain targets, but what specifically you're supposed to kill is a mystery to me. I've spent levels destroying every single bit of junk in orbit and still had the level continue until I destroyed the last tiny rock. I've also had levels end abrubtly with what seemed like the asteroid field from Empire Strikes Back still in orbit above my planet. It feels completely arbitrary. There must be some trick to it, but I'm not seeing it yet.

The lengthy levels damage the "zoner" feeling of the game. It could have been avoided had there been a brief pause and then the game continued. Instead, you must press X to continue with the next level. Some people will like how it adds obvious break points into the game. I disagree with that assessment. I felt the mandatory in between level breaks to hit X broke up my shooting vibe, and often just as I was beginning to hit "the zone."

Do your weapons really matter? I haven't gotten far enough into the game to say definitively. For the first planet, it's best to upgrade your Rock Crusher the fastest, and make sure to pick up a few upgrades for your Gold Melter. The Rock Crusher is generally better for the first five waves, while the Gold Melter is most useful against the evil space caterpillars which come after you from time to time. Rounding this out, there's the bomb. The bomb destroys everything in your current area of the planet's orbit. You'll need to use that one a lot, and every level has a cargo ship you can steal two bombs from. There's also the final weapon, the Ice... Whatever. I found it useless. Maybe it's better later in the game. Overall, I found the weapon mix pretty good. There's an actual incentive to change your weapon once in a while, and they don't control differently, so there's no having to quickly adust to a whole new firing parameter.

The main problem with the game is the amount of stuff on the screen. It's easy to lose a rock amidst the clutter and run into it. This problem is exacerbated when on the dimmer side of the planet when the rocks adopt a slightly darker shade. Much like Asteroids, it helps to adopt a strategy of managing your firepower to avoid a crowded play area, but the game doesn't offer much opportunity to conserve your fire.

Then there are boss levels. Much like the other levels, these feel a bit too long. You shoot and shoot and shoot and dodge the pattern spread. The boss I fought wasn't so much an event as it was a mere make-work task to complete.

Perhaps I'm being too hard on Super Stardust HD. After all, I have been playing the hell out of these kinds of games lately. It's definitely better than Mutant Storm on XBox Live. It also competes nicely with Assault Heroes also on XBox Live. The catch is the Blast Factor on PSN and Geometry Wars on XBL just feel better and more fun. Overall the game is very good. It's beatiful, and for all my complaints it plays very well. It's just that the overlong levels make the game sometimes feel like it must be endured instead of enjoyed. The flaws of the game aren't major. They are merely a host of very minor irritants that have the potential to snowball.

My recommendation is as follows: if you haven't overdosed on omni-shooters yet, or are looking for a damn cool game to play on your PS3, pay the $10 for it. If, on the other hand, you already have Blast Factor and/or Geometry Wars, and are looking for something more than 21st century Robotron style fun, then you might want to pass this one by. Good, but not truly great.

Edited by Gabriel, Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:50 PM.

[Agent X]

Great review, Gabriel, although from the sound of it I'm probably enjoying it more than you are. I'd go as far as to say that this is the best downloadable game available on the PlayStation Store.

Gabriel, on Fri Jul 6, 2007 9:38 PM, said:

You have access to three weapons which need upgrading: rock crusher, gold melter, and Ice... something or other. Rock Crusher is your standard green shot which can be upgraded to fire faster and in a wider pattern, and which is best against rocks. Ice Whatever is a blue shot which I've honestly found useless so far, but which is allegedly good against ice. Gold Melter is the nifty one, because it fires out a flamethrower type of shot which you can swirl all over the place. It's supposedly most effective against gold, but I've found it's also effective against evil space caterpillars. Rounding out the mix there's a freighter wandering around on stages which you can shoot the cargo out of (which is always bomb powerups).

The ice weapon you're thinking of is the Ice Splitter. It's most effective against ice asteroids, which you don't encounter until the third planet. As such, it'll seem somewhat useless in the early going, especially compared to the other two weapons which are used much more frequently on the first two planets. Where the Ice Splitter excels is range. Although it doesn't have the spread of the Rock Crusher, shots fired by the Ice Splitter travel a much greater distance (compared to other weapons) before they fade.

Gabriel, on Fri Jul 6, 2007 9:38 PM, said:

I'll say that the levels feel too long. It's not unusual to spend two or three minutes on a single level. During that time you shoot and shoot and shoot, and you get the distinct impression that it's never going to end. Ending a level under a time target results in bonus points. The catch is that I don't really see what the level ending requirement is. Apparrently you're supposed to shoot a certain number of certain targets, but what specifically you're supposed to kill is a mystery to me. I've spent levels destroying every single bit of junk in orbit and still had the level continue until I destroyed the last tiny rock. I've also had levels end abrubtly with what seemed like the asteroid field from Empire Strikes Back still in orbit above my planet. It feels completely arbitrary. There must be some trick to it, but I'm not seeing it yet.

The levels end after you destroy a certain number of enemies. As you have noticed, this goal is not made evident (there isn't a message saying "Shoot X number of red saucers" at the beginning of each phase). However, after you play the game repeatedly, it will become much more evident what you need to destroy. You don't necessarily need to destroy the asteroids to reach the goal...BUT you might need to obliterate a certain amount of asteroids first, in order to trigger the arrival of the enemies that you do need to destroy for the goal. That's one reason why you want to keep shooting asteroids.

Keep in mind that this is being presented as an arcade-style game, with scoring opportunities and a "risk vs. reward" system that resemble many 1980s arcade games. You want to build your multiplier, which increases when you shoot more objects, so that's another reason to keep destroying asteroids. You've probably seen the Points tokens that sometimes appear...ever try pressing L2 to boost into one? Try it and observe what happens. (SPOILER:

Spoiler

it applies a 2x multiplier to it.

) Then try boosting into two or more Points tokens at a time. (SPOILER:

Spoiler

it applies 3x to the second one, 4x to the third one, etc.

) The Points tokens tend to drift toward your ship as you get within close proximity, so with careful maneuvering you can "herd" them and then pick up several with a single boost.

Bombs also are an element of high scoring strategy. If you conserve your bombs, then the amount of bombs you have in your possession are taken into account when the bonuses are multiplied at the end of each phase. The base amount is 2000 before applying the other multipliers (time remaining and the standard multiplier), but for each bomb you have in your stock it adds another 100. This means if you have 8 bombs, then the base amount becomes 2800. But remember, one of the multipliers is time, so maybe you want to use up a bomb to get rid of some pesky enemies or small rocks, thus completing the level much more quickly as a result? Expert strategy demands you to make these decisions...I've completed phases with 200 second time goals in about 30 seconds just because I happened to detonate a bomb at the right time.

Give some of these tactics a try next time you play. It'll probably increase your scores, and along with it your overall enjoyment of the game.

[jedijeff]

Gabriel, on Sat Jul 7, 2007 1:38 AM, said:

Super Stardust HD is the latest downloadable game available in the Playstation Store. It's about 300 megs and costs $8. You'll really pay $10, though. This is because you can only drop increments of $5 into your Playstation Store wallet.

This is a silly comment. If you click all the way through to make your purchase it lets you pick the exact price of the game to place in your wallet. I have always paid the exact amount on every playstation store download.

[Gabriel]

jedijeff, on Sun Jul 8, 2007 8:23 AM, said:

Gabriel, on Sat Jul 7, 2007 1:38 AM, said:

Super Stardust HD is the latest downloadable game available in the Playstation Store. It's about 300 megs and costs $8. You'll really pay $10, though. This is because you can only drop increments of $5 into your Playstation Store wallet.

This is a silly comment. If you click all the way through to make your purchase it lets you pick the exact price of the game to place in your wallet. I have always paid the exact amount on every playstation store download.

I will check again next title I purchase. The only option it gave me was a drop down selection featuring $5 increments I could add to my wallet. This has been constant for every purchase I have made from the PS Store.

Someone mentioned that adding specific amounts was a feature added in a semi-recent firmware update, but I saw no indication of it.

So, comments about the game?

------
Edit

I just experimented by adding Jumping Flash to my cart and seeing what I could do. I currently have $2.75 in my wallet. After tax, I need $3.70 more to purchase Jumping Flash.

After adding the game to my cart, I "Proceed to Checkout." This presents me with a screen asking me to confirm my purchase. Confirming it with my existing wallet amount results in being told I do not have enough funds in my wallet and must add more. Reaching the next screen, I am presented with the option of using a Playstation Card or a Credit Card.

Incidentally, has anyone ever seen a Playstation Card?

I choose Credit Card, and it asks me through a drop down selection box how much I wish to add to my wallet. The only options are:

$5.00
$10.00
$25.00
$50.00
$147.25 (obviously $150 is the maximum wallet amount)

There is no option anywhere else that I can detect to add funds to the wallet. The only place funds can be added is during checkout, either by attempting to click through with insufficient funds or by deliberately clicking "Add Funds". If there is another, more accessible place, please let me know, because it's current location is awkward.

There is also no option I can find to enter a specific amount, or even merely add the exact price of the game or difference between current wallet and purchase amount, to the wallet.

Edited by Gabriel, Sun Jul 8, 2007 9:18 AM.

[Agent X]

Gabriel, on Sun Jul 8, 2007 11:03 AM, said:

There is no option anywhere else that I can detect to add funds to the wallet. The only place funds can be added is during checkout, either by attempting to click through with insufficient funds or by deliberately clicking "Add Funds". If there is another, more accessible place, please let me know, because it's current location is awkward.

There is also no option I can find to enter a specific amount, or even merely add the exact price of the game or difference between current wallet and purchase amount, to the wallet.

You have to add a minimum of $5 to the wallet, which is why it asked you to add $5 even though you only needed $3.70. If the amount you needed was above $5, then one of the options would be the exact amount.

Let's imagine you were in a similar situation with $2.75 already in your wallet, but you decided to purchase an $8 game rather than a $6 game. Assuming you pay 7.5% tax, you would need approximately $5.85 to complete the purchase. When you add it to the cart and attempt to buy it, you would be presented with the "insufficient funds" message and then be asked if you want to add funds to the wallet. You would say "Yes," and then you would get the drop-down menu with various amounts. The system would replace the "$5.00" option with "$5.85".

This is the only situation where you would be given the opportunity to add an amount that isn't one of the defaults. If you try adding funds to the wallet without first adding something to the cart, then you'd only get the standard "$5.00", "$10.00", etc. choices.

[Shannon]

In that case you're paying for things in increments of $5 plus possibly some loose change.

[Gabriel]

Agent X, on Sun Jul 8, 2007 12:46 PM, said:

You have to add a minimum of $5 to the wallet, which is why it asked you to add $5 even though you only needed $3.70. If the amount you needed was above $5, then one of the options would be the exact amount.

Let's imagine you were in a similar situation with $2.75 already in your wallet, but you decided to purchase an $8 game rather than a $6 game. Assuming you pay 7.5% tax, you would need approximately $5.85 to complete the purchase. When you add it to the cart and attempt to buy it, you would be presented with the "insufficient funds" message and then be asked if you want to add funds to the wallet. You would say "Yes," and then you would get the drop-down menu with various amounts. The system would replace the "$5.00" option with "$5.85".

This is the only situation where you would be given the opportunity to add an amount that isn't one of the defaults. If you try adding funds to the wallet without first adding something to the cart, then you'd only get the standard "$5.00", "$10.00", etc. choices.

That makes a certain amount of sense, and I will pay more attention in the future. However, when I purchased SSHD, I had $1 and some odd cents in my wallet. We'll say $1.42, because my backwards engineering of the math shows that to be the amount. The game was $7.99, meaning that after tax it would be $8.67 or so. By the logic above, I should have had an option to add $7.25 to my wallet. There was definitely no such option available. My options were to add $5 and have insufficient funds for the game, or add $10 and have a leftover amount.

As for adding funds to the wallet without adding anything to the cart, there doesn't seem to be any way to do this that I can tell. As far as I can see, you must proceed to checkout before the option to add funds even becomes available.

The issue shouldn't be to allow exact amounts to be added to the wallet. The issue is why have the wallet at all? Why not have it be a straight purchase? Online stores with downloadable PDFs don't have points or wallets. They have straight transactions. Why should the game services be different?

In any event, it was a minor nit. Even at $10, it was still the same price as an equivalent XBox Live Arcade game.

[Gabriel]

Gabriel, on Sun Jul 8, 2007 9:21 PM, said:

The good news is that these games are fairly straightforward and hard to mess up. The basic concept is so solid that it produces a game like Pac-Man where even the poor implementations are pretty fun.

That was me, just a few days ago. I was referring to the general type of game I call the "omni-shooter" as characterized by classics such as Robotron and modern games such as Geometry Wars Evolved. The latest Playstation Store game is Nucleus. Roughly speaking, it's an omni-shooter. I said these types of games are usually decent enough as long as someone doesn't try to mess them up.

With Nucleus, someone tried.

There are only 3 levels in the free demo version. That's "Starter Pack" in the emerging PlaystationStore-ese. Two of those levels have nothing to do with shooting. The first one involves wandering around the screen collecting powerups as they appear. The second one involves shoving crap into a circle in the center of the screen. The remaining level features some conventional blasting, but it fails to be memorable, unless you consider an endless stream of red squigglies to be memorable. The game also commits the cardinal sin of trying to explain a bunch of crap to you in a genre which should be focused on blasting crap apart. Within the first two levels, you are introduced to dashing (L1), activating super shots (L2), power meters (increased by collecting protein), and tractor beams (R2 and face buttons). Trust me when I say it sounds more interesting than it is.

Oh, the visuals. They aren't good. Blast Factor has a similar theme and not only manages to play much better even in the earliest levels, but to also have better eye candy.

The full game is $9.99. Maybe it has more to it than the demo shows, but the demo is pretty damn bad. I'm definitely not buying.

[moycon]

There was a game I saw for the PS3 store that looked like the action took place in a pitri dish under a microscope from what I remember.
What was the name of that game??

[xenomorpher]

moycon, on Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:12 PM, said:

There was a game I saw for the PS3 store that looked like the action took place in a pitri dish under a microscope from what I remember.
What was the name of that game??

Flow?

[moycon]

That's it. That game looks amazing to me. Is it available? I see IGN doesn't have a review but it looks like it came out awhile ago. Anybody on the forum review that game yet?

EDIT : Oh I see the rating and review now. My PC wasnt loading that part of the screen for some reason. Looks like it got a decent rating.

Edited by moycon, Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:38 PM.

[CPUWIZ]

moycon, on Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:32 PM, said:

That's it. That game looks amazing to me. Is it available? I see IGN doesn't have a review but it looks like it came out awhile ago. Anybody on the forum review that game yet?

EDIT : Oh I see the rating and review now. My PC wasnt loading that part of the screen for some reason. Looks like it got a decent rating.

You can try out the original version here: http://intihuatani.u.../cloud/flowing/

[moycon]

Nice.

Thanks for the link. It seems very relaxing. The older I get, the more relaxing something is...the better.

[Gabriel]

moycon, on Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:12 PM, said:

There was a game I saw for the PS3 store that looked like the action took place in a pitri dish under a microscope from what I remember.
What was the name of that game??

It seems like you're thinking of Flow, but the concept you described is that of Blast Factor. In Blast Factor you're a little gunship in a petri dish. Viruses and other abstract cell creatures home in on you like guided missiles to destroy you. Another feature is the ability to tilt the controller left or right in order to slosh the dish around and force the enemies to one side of the playfield.

It's a pretty fun game. The only bummer is the tilt-sensing, which tends to not work when it's really needed, and could have just as easily been done through the shoulder buttons.

Edit: It just occurred to me that there's a trend of microbe games. I think Flow is supposed to be microbe creatues in the sea. Blast Factor is microbes in a dish. And Nucleus follows the same trend. What ever happened to spaceships and robots?

Edited by Gabriel, Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:48 AM.

[MegaManFan]

I think I may be the heaviest purchaser of Playstation Store Games on AA since I've had a PS3 for 7 months + now and always find it preferable to buy something for $5-$20 online than to pay $60 for something new in the store. So far I've got...

* Blast Factor
* Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
* Flow
* Gauntlet II
* Go Puzzle (paid for the full)
* Go Sudoku (don't think I have the full version)
* Gran Turismo HD Concept (yeah I know it was free)
* Joust
* Jumping Flash (PS1)
* Lemmings
* Q Bert
* Rampage World Tour
* Rampart
* Super Rub a Dub
* Super Sprint
* Super Stardust HD
* Syphon Filter (PS1)
* Tekken Dark Resurrection

I have yet to dip my toe into Nucleus but that's because I've been obsessing over SSHD and Tekken of late. Tekken was by far the most expensive of the downloads ($20) but for a next gen fighting game that's actually fairly cheap (Virtua Fighter just got dropped down to $40 and I snagged it but that's still twice as much). SSHD is fiendishly addictive, especially since it keeps track of your high scores online and keeps a running tab of how your friends are doing compared to you. I'm at the top of my friends list in all areas except total arcade score - I've got the tops in each individual planet and in cooperative mode.

[Gabriel]

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is the game this week. It's $9.99. It can be played on the PS3 or on the PSP according to the icon.

I won't be getting it. I already have it as a 360 download.

It gave me the opportunity to test the wallet issue from earlier. Apparrently, you must add the item to the cart, proceed to checkout, and then confirm purchase. Only at this point does it grant the option to add the exact funds if the necessary amount is over $5. If you add funds to the wallet at the previous step, then it does not offer the option of an exact amount.

So, it's not the irritation of having to pay $2 extra for something because of stupid policies. It's the awkwardness of navigating menus due to stupid design.