Holy Voxels! Resogun is Fantastic

Quick Note: Resogun is a fantastic, simple game that everyone should try. Filled with simple gameplay and gorgeous graphics, it's hard to put down. It's free on PS Plus and only $15 to download and has hours of content for those who are committed. 

Videogames have come a long way since the genre's inception in the mid 1950's. Today there is professional voice acting and motion capture to allow actors to embody these characters that we as gamers control. Gorgeous graphics grace our screens with amazing worlds full of atmosphere and the feeling of being in a living, breathing place. Games like The Last of Us help us feel in ways we have never been able to feel while playing games before. These advances are great, but that doesn't mean that straight "gameplay" games have no place in the gaming spectrum. If Resogun is any indication, the opposite is true.

PS Mobile: Make it Visible

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You may not know it, but this week marks the second week of Sony’s Festive Giveaway promotion for PlayStation Mobile. For five weeks, starting last week, two PS Mobile games are being given away to users for free. These games are playable on both PlayStation Certified Android devices and PS Vitas and are created by a community of hobbyists and indie developers.  

What’s that? You’ve never heard of PS Mobile? You are not alone, nor are you a bad person for not even knowing what the program is. Despite the attempt to future-proof the PlayStation brand on cellular devices, Sony has left this small section of its videogames catalog to dry up in the sun, dying slowly and painfully, much like the Minis. However, there are some really great games amongst the mobile titles, and they deserve some much needed love. What can Sony do to make these titles more relevant to gamers?

Proteus Let's You Explore With No Rhyme or Reason, For Better or Worse

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Quick Note: Proteus is an interesting experience full of small surprises, but it feels like an incomplete experience. Great for quick jumps in and out, but it might be better to wait on a price drop before you dive in to this game.

Many games offer the freedom to do whatever it is your heart desires. In some ways, Proteus is that game, but emptier. Proteus feels like the start of a game concept rather than a full experience, but it is special and not like any other game out on the market.

Paint Your Way Through Unfinished Swan

Quick Fix: With a fantastic twist on a similar game play mechanic, a whimsical story and only a few hours to complete, the Unfinished Swan is another key proponent that games can be taken as art as well as a fresh and fun game.

As graphic fidelity gets better and technology gets more advanced, games will continue to grow more beautiful. Thus, the debate of whether games can be considered art becomes more muddled. To throw more fuel to the fire, Sony and Giant Sparrow have released Unfinished Swan, a beautiful and elegant video game that helps keep the medium in the art category.

The Episodic Adventure with Bigfoot Begins

Quick Fix: Jacob Jones is a great puzzle game for pick-up and play on the PS Vita and for a cheap price of $3.99, it’s an easy buy for gamers looking for light entertainment.

The PS Vita is in a unique position to port over games that are both mobile and console quality. So for every Uncharted, you’ll see a Fruit Ninja and for every Jetpack Joyride you’ll see an Assassin’s Creed, at least in theory. This makes the platform an amazing bed of experimentation and ports, with both good and bad games. Jacob Jones is a mix of both, as the game was designed for release on both mobile platforms and PS Vita specifically. Though it’s only Episode 1 out of 5, Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery shines with tough puzzles and amazing presentation.

Though Dated, Sly Cooper is Still A Great Game

Quick Note: Though very linear and old school on level design and enemy AI, Sly Cooper is still a great game to play when you just want to play a game. For only $10 you can download a Playstation classic that will fill the gap between games and still enjoy a solid game.  

During my early PS2 days of gaming, I was kind of a snob. If it wasn't a JRPG or made by Square, I wouldn't have it. It took a couple of good friends and at least 2 hours of play before I even looked at my first action game (the original Devil May Cry). But by the end of my time with the console I had added great 3D Platformers like the Ratchet and Clank Trilogy and Jak and Daxter,  but Sly Cooper seemed to slip right through my fingers. After playing inFamous and inFamous 2, I decided to take a journey down memory lane and play some older Sucker Punch games, and though it is old school design, Sly Cooper and the Thievious Raccoonus is a fantastic game.

Time to Defy Gravity

2D Platforming and Music Come to Life in Sound Shapes

Quick Note: Such simple execution and concepts help Sound Shapes shine through. Having a quick, fun and easy to approach campaign followed by Death Mode for the hard core 2D platformers and a smart and simple level editor, the game works well for just about any type of gamer. Add in the Cross Buy and Cross Save between the PS3 and Vita, and it's a solid package of gaming for only $15.

The 2D platformer has had a Renaissance of sorts over the past couple of years. From LittleBigPlanet to Rayman Origins to Super Meat Boy, it's hard to not be excited, especially growing up with the original Nintendo and Super Nintendo. What's unique is how each of these games differentiates (or doesn't differentiate) from the original platform champions. In Sound Shapes case, it differentiates in a unique way: the sound.

Tales From Space Shines on Vita

Quick Note: This game is exactly what the Vita needs. It's got solid game play, great amount of content and is only $8. Every Vita owner needs to play this and every Vita developer needs to take notice of the fun to play cheap game.

With the release onto PSN at launch time, I expected to pass this title up for some other, blockbuster level titles. Fortunately, Drink Box Studios put much love into this little title; enough for it to shine amongst, and even above, the large triple A titles to become one of the top titles at Vita's launch.

Journey Shows off the Emotional Power of the 2 Hour Game

Quick Note: Journey is a Masterpiece, just like FLoW and Flower. Not only does it have a great majesty about it, it also incorporates online co op in a unique way that brings the player back again and again.

 thatgamecompany has always made wonderful and unique games, offering experiences that mirror art as well as gameplay, and Journey is no different. The game places the character as a wanderer of sorts, stuck in the middle of the desert with no instructions, no direction other than a light on top of the mountain in the distance. That's it for story, but the way it unfolds is astounding. With no dialog  what so ever through out the entire game, it's up to the player to understand and infer as he/she travels across the landscape and watches small, dialog-less in game movies.

inFamous Dresses Up for Halloween and Wins the Costume Contest

Quick Note: This is inFamous lite. It's a quick romp through the world of inFamous 2, showing off Cole and his abilities while making a quick story. Every aspect that makes inFamous great is available, and with trophy hunting the game will take between 2 and 6 hours to play and is only $10.

As technology gets cheaper, it becomes increasingly easier to utilize it to reach a larger audience. This is why cell phones are becoming the most popular medium for game designers, even slowly pulling in large studios like Epic. The three major console companies are starting to get wise to the act and are starting to introduce their own brand of quick to play, short to last and enjoyable download games. With this movement, Sucker Punch has decided to throw it's fighter into the ring and introduces inFamous: Festival of Blood, a quick stand alone game based in the inFamous universe.