Like it or not, good racing games are evergreens in that they never go out of style. You can pick one or a few of a handful of some good to great third-party racers for the PSP, Vita and PS3 in this PSN Flash Sale. I’m ogling both those WRC games myself, as I don’t own them and I’m a huge fan of rally games. Yeah, yeah, they’re not a buck like some of the surprises in past PSN sales, but hey – the discounts of these digital drivers is more than reasonable as the usual prices are a bit “steep” by today’s standards of “give me everything old for nothing because it’s old and no one should pay close to retail for it” entitlement some think will keep a business afloat (it won’t). Anyway, poke around that sale page and score a couple of track burners for your own digital library!
Tag Archives: PlayStation Portable
Incoming RPGs! Nihon Falcom Fans Get To Shake It And Smile Soon. Twice!
It seems we’re in for a Nihon Falcom “revival” of sorts. Granted, PC versions of their games aren’t uncommon at all in Japan, but it seems they take a backwards route here in the west, coming over as console ports and a few years later, making it to PC gamers who also happen to be JRPG fans and want to see more of these titles and faster. Anyway, we’re getting The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky via Steam next week thanks to Xseed Games and it’s been recently announced that Mastiff Games is trying to get Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure up on Steam as a Greenlight game.
In the case of the latter, publisher Mastiff came up with the idea to give away the game to those who voted to Greenlight it AND leave a comment on the game’s discussion boards, but some feel this is a wee bit too much. I think it’s a fine idea, although it could backfire if EVERY person who wanted to see the game pop up as a product they should BUY ends up being a game they all get for nothing at all. I’d have made it a better giveaway by only giving codes to people who still OWN a physical or legal digital copy of the PSP game or happen to have the Japanese PC game somewhere in their possession. Granted, that number might be smaller than the votes needed to get the game on Steam, but it would have at lease quelled the light to medium annoyance some people are feeling who think the publisher is trying too hard to “game the system” as it were. Even though I voted and posted a note, I still own my copy of Gurumin and will gladly post a photo here to score a free code if asked.
Of course, at the end of the day it’s all about the NEW fans who pay for, dive into and have a blast with this modern classic. So here’s to seeing some big sales once the freebie frenzy dies down. I’d love to see some wise publisher get as many Falcom games onto PC’s here at some point (perhaps in a big ol’ box set or series of sets), but that’s me pipe-dreaming up a small storm again…
PSN Flash Sale MADNESS! Everything For A Buck? You’re Broke And You Didn’t Even Look Yet!
WOW. Well, you thought it was going to be a QUIET weekend, huh? Nope. Sony is running an absolutely crazy FLASH SALE on PSN with a bunch of PSOne Classics, PSP and PS3 digital downloads, all for 99 cents EACH. Yaaaaaaah! I had to seriously restrain myself to only buying Wild Arms and Wild Arms 2 before caving in and picking up Legend of Dragoon because I’ve never actually owned my own copy. I have the other two games here on disc, but now that I can take them on the road on my PSP or Vita, I’m happier about not having to stay home to play them (and reconnect the PSOne to the TV, dig out a memory card with the right save files and so forth and so on). Anyway, there are a LOAD of awesome titles up for grabs, no PS Plus account necessary or any other shenanigans. Just DEALS galore this weekend for anyone smart enough to pop onto PSN or SEN and poke around. So stopp reading this and go get some games!
E3 2014: Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley – Not The Only Thing Natsume Showed This Year, But…
You wouldn’t know this by looking at their North American YouTube page. Now, I’m not singling Natsume out for anything mean here at all, folks. They’re a solid but much smaller publisher than some of the bigger and busier ones who show stuff at E3 and to me, that’s precisely why they NEED more updates on their main video page. Granted, they DO have a nice social presence on facebook with a page that’s updated fairly frequently. however, not everyone has or wants a facebook account and YouTube works quite well as far as letting potential customers see what’s coming (despite the pain in the butt that is Google+ hampering some basic functionality there).
Anyway, as I’ve been trumpeting, Alphadia Genesis is also coming (a port of an iOS and Android JRPG) and I posted about the rest of their lineup before the big show. Hey, I just want to see the little guys succeed, so if I can generate some thrills and hits for Natsume and their cool lineup of upcoming and already available games, I’m doing my job here.
E3 2014: Xseed Gets Nicely Nostalgic and Notoriously Naughty This Year…
So, it looks as if Harvest Moon is now Story of Seasons, at least because Natsume owns the name proper and this game, while in the same series, has to get a retitling. No worries there, as it’s the same gameplay and pretty much the same plot as the older games you may have played and loved. Just buy it when it comes out and you’ll forget all about the name change, I say.
Gamers who recall one of the Super Nintendo’s most devious and pesky rogue-like RPG’s will be pleased to know that Nihon Falcom’s masterpiece Brandish is BACK in remake form as a new(ish) PSP game called Brandish: The Dark Revenant. from that video above, I got a few chuckles because it reminded me of playing the old game on the SNES and hating it until I got the hang of things, then hating it some more because making progress was tough as nails even after you got used to the gameplay. The assorted deathtraps here will drive impatient players nuts plus tax, so may I recommend you tape that PSP or Vita wrist strap around your wrist if you buy this game? This way, if you decide get pissed off and actually throw that handheld, you don’t get to see it hit anything unless it whips around your wrist (ouch!).
Corpse Party is also coming back, this time as a PC game for those of you who missed the original indie version. don’t let those initially cute characters fool you one bit. This one’s a creepy horror tale with some blood and gore and a plot that WILL get up under your skin and writhe around like it means it. It’s not really a party at the end of the day, but corpses are indeed involved, so that title is half correct, ha and ha… Continue reading
E3 2014: Sony’s E3 Experience: Greatness Inbound, Warts & All…
SO much good going on here, it’s hard to know where to begin, although this presser’s a bit long and has some snoozy moments. Then again, unlike Microsoft forgetting ALL about it’s “last-gen” consumers, Sony gets in nods to the ps3 while expanding the base with that lovely $99 Vita TV, coming sooner than many thought. I’ll shut up now and let you watch it all, but expect some commentary later on individual titles as I find time to talk about them… enjoy!
E3 2014: Natsume’s Lineup Currently Has More Games Than Capcom’s. This Could Get Interesting…
Let’s see now. Here’s Natsume’s E3 lineup:
Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley (Nintendo 3DS)
A-Train: City Simulator (Nintendo 3DS)
Alphadia Genesis (Wii U)
Reel Fishing: Master’s Challenge (PlayStation Vita)
End of Serenity (Sony PSP)
Reel Fishing Pocket 2: Ocean (iOS)
Gabrielle’s Monstrous Duel (iOS)
Hometown Story: Pocket (iOS)
Ninja Strike (iOS)

And here’s what Capcom is packing:
Dead Rising 3 (PC)
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (iOS)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (Nintendo 3DS)
Ultra Street Fighter IV (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (Nintendo 3DS)
Ready? FIGHT!
Or not really. For that matter, new-ish publisher Little Orbit also will have more games at E3 than Capcom does. Granted this isn’t really astonishing news, as both small and large publishers have been condensing or expanding their lineups over the past few years in order to maximize profits and it seems that we’re at that stage where small and large games make the cut at these companies. Granted, Ultra Street Fighter IV or Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate will easily sell more copies than Reel Fishing and End of Serenity combined. But for a guy like me who just wants to play good games no matter who publishes them, these leaner, meaner lineups are almost a godsend because I don’t need to wade through junk to get to the treasure.
Naturally, not all of these games I’ll get to will be great, but fun is a more important factor than anything else for me at the end of the day, as is enough QA (quality assurance) that’s occurred pre-release that keeps what I play playable from beginning to end without a patch in sight (or at least one that fixes anything that’s busted). Anyway, I’ll have a more complete list of E3 games from more publishers shortly.My inbox is filling up with official lists and I want to do them all in one post as opposed to dropping in multiples.
Back in a bit.
Gallery: Game Library Odds & Ends (Mostly Odds)…

Hokay, I have some ‘splainin’ to do here:
I’ve played both Kane & Lynch Dead Men and Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, but I’ve never actually owned the first game until a few weeks back when I saw this in a stack of games some guy was selling at a sidewalk sale. Two bucks? No problem. As for the much maligned Aliens: Colonial Marines? I never played the demo and didn’t see that footage everyone says was mocked up and not representative of the final product, so the whole controversy went over my scalp. That said, I nabbed this sealed with ALMOST all the collector’s edition goodies (no Power Loader) for ten bucks, which may seem like too much based on the acid spewed upon the game worldwide. I’ve only played about an hour and while it’s far from great, as a FPS, it’s got some fun bits here and there. My money is on Alien Isolation being a more compelling experience and provided the dopes lurking and jerking on message boards REALIZE that the new game is from a C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E-L-Y different development team known for all of their games being solid experiences through and through.
Remember Me? Yes, Nilin… I do, my dear. I played the PC version (thanks, Capcom!) and loved it for the most part. Capcom also kindly sent me the Xbox 360 version, but I couldn’t play it when I got it thanks to my two busted 360’s collecting dust here. So, I gifted it to a friend so he’d crack it open (and let me review it at his place, of course) and ended up picking up the PS3 version recently for about five times less than what it retailed for last year. As for Silent Hill: Book of Memories? I love Wayforward’s games and the demo of this Vita exclusive was interesting in a “Hey, it’s like Diablo, but NOT!” manner. A few levels in, and I read that the game is pretty much the same thing from beginning to end, but has a level cap and some other stuff that makes it a bit tedious. I haven’t reached that point yet, but thanks for the forewarning, Internet… Continue reading
Valhalla Knights, Free Ahead of Vallhalla Knights 3? THANKS, Xseed Games!
Well, now… this is really cool news on an otherwise crappy shutdown filled day. TO celebrate the October 15 launch of Valhalla Knights 3, Xseed Games is giving fans a REAL treat in the form of a 100% FREE download of the first game in the series. Valhalla Knights is now available on PSN for nothing at all until October 21, 2013. In other words, if you’ve a PSP or Vita handy (it’ll work on either handheld) and a PlayStation Network account you can get downloading NOW and check out where it all began.And nope, you DON’T need a PlayStation Plus account to take advantage of this awesome freebie!
I’ve already played this one a few years ago, but it was the UK version and those saves aren’t compatible with the North American version. That comes into play here as I recently scored a bunch of used Memory Stick Duo cards and one card had a VK save file I couldn’t access. Now I can hop into those old saves and see if the former owner had a decent party setup (before overwriting them with my own saves, of course)…
Class of Heroes 2 Pre-Sales Now Live (Via Amazon ONLY, Unfortunately!)…
While it’s absolutely great to see Gaijinworks finally get this game out in a GREAT physical/digital pack for a measly $36.99 (with shipping!), the SOLE payment option (Amazon, via credit card ONLY, no Amazon credits, sorry!) means folks like me who don’t use credit cards are going to be holding out longer for the digital-only (boo!) PSN version to ship before we can actually buy this one.
Sure, I get that it’s much easier for the company to set up and deal with than multiple payment types (and those assorted fees they’d need to pay, plus PayPal’s stupid in general manner of doing business), but it also means they’re not going to see those pre-sales sell as fast as they should at the end of the day. So yeah… so much for that convenient Paypal option for those of us stuck with money burning a hole in our accounts or anyone with Amazon credit looking to polish that off.
Griping aside, a poke around the forums reveals that the game seems to be pre-selling well enough that Vic Ireland isn’t sweating the loss of a few cranky jerks like me who want to throw him our money but can’t – yet. Still, I hope to hell that we see some way we can get the game without paying a shit-mint on eBay for. And of course, there are people already “selling” the game there when it hasn’t even been produced yet. Well, a fool and his money are sooner parted than later, right? Anyway, looks as if I’ll have to “settle” for a digital version when the game is released.



