PSN | The Recycle Bin

God of War: Ghost of Sparta – Ultimate Exclusive DLC Pack

I cannot think of the last time I actually pre-ordered a PSP game. In fact, except for pre-ordering my original PSP system, complete with some bundled games, I do not think I have ever pre-ordered a PSP game. I probably have, and am either getting too old to remember, or maybe just embarrassed to carry the shame and stigma that goes with pre-ordering PSP games. Seriously; who pre-orders PSP games? I mean it is not like there has ever been a run on PSP games, which would inspire anyone in the future to have some sort of crazy-assed dire need to get a PSP game on pre-order “just in case” there are not enough copies to go around.

Harsh? Probably, and I am really trying to have some fun and games this beautiful (and hot as hell) Sunday morning by poking fun at yours truly. I have written several times over the summer heat wave that thanks to picking up the right PSP games, I am actually getting some quality time, use, and value from my original brick.

The reality is that a pre-order everything I actually want. Why not, if I know I am going to get the game anyway? These days pre-order of “special” games usually come with some sort of incentive such as coupons for future game purchases, DLC, and special collectable items. For the most part I go for coupons; cash and saving money is king. Next up is DLC. I typically do not care that much for the special collectable items; I squirrel them away for future eBay fodder.

I decided to pre-order God of War: Ghost of Sparta from Amazon for $36.99. I was surprised not to see that Amazon was not currently offering release day shipping; I expect that to change in the future. I went with my Prime second-day shipping because I do not have to get Ghost of Sparta on release day. Thanks to the pre-order I get the ultimate exclusive DLC pack:

Ghost of Sparta Original Soundtrack – Be part of the legacy, and relive the emotional soundscape of defiance and rage through the original soundtrack
PSP® Theme – Are you the ultimate God of War fan? Prove it with the God of War® Ghost of Sparta theme
PS3™ Dynamic Theme – Fully animated in constant motion, personalize your ps3™ system with the official God of War® dynamic theme
PlayStation® Network Avatar – Be one of the few to own the exclusive Kratos Avatar only available through this pre-order
Legionnaire Skin – Discover the origins of the Spartan warrior as you experience God of War® Ghost of Sparta as Legionnaire Kratos
Exclusive Creative Directors Documentary – A full length featured piece with all the past and present Creative Directors of the God of War franchise in front of a live studio audience.

Exactly how exclusive is this DLC when everyone that pre-orders will have a new Kratos PSN avatar? All of the DLC is nice, but I wish it included a few extra in-game bonuses.

I am almost finished with God of War: Chains of Olympus; currently at The Temple of Persephone, which apparently is last area in the game. [Watch this; I am about to contradict myself. I just looked at an FAQ prior to my Ghost of Sparta pre-order because I wanted to see what percent of Chains of Olympus I had completed.]

Hint guides, cheat guides, walkthroughs, or whatever you want to call them can be covered another day. I typically avoid them, but in the case of something like Chains of Olympus, I will uses one the second time around just to make sure I do not miss anything. Chains of Olympus is the rare game that is worth a second play-through. It is that that good and has been a thoroughly enjoyably gaming experience. Longtime readers know I do not describe games as an experience very lightly; Chains of Olympus gets my highest recommendation.

I’ll put this in further context. I am now a huge God of War fan. I just pre-order Ghost of Sparta, I plan to get the PS3 God of War Collection, and I will also tackle God of War III. Yes, I am hooked on Kratos and his story.

Happy Sunday!

Plus Update – Free Games, Odds and Nuts

As we enter the second month of the Plus service I thought now would be a good time to provide a quick update. Am I sold on the service? Is it worth the $50 (annual subscription) price tag? Is there value to be found in a Plus subscription?

Today I am only going to tackle the free games. So from that perspective, as far as the price goes, as an initial subscriber, thanks to the additional three “free” bonus months, Plus only set me back $3.33. For a rental service that is not too much of a concern, which is of course one way to look at things. Another point of view is that I spent $50 straight up on a rental service that offers some free odds and ends and random discounts to go with the free games.

The first two months offered two “free” games: WipEout HD (87 – 52 critic reviews; 8.1 based on 71 votes) and Critter Crunch (87; 22 critic reviews; earning a spectacular 9.7 based on 11 dedicated, caring gamers).

Lucky for me that I did not own either game. If I did, I would probably not be very happy right now. This has to be a significant concern for heavy PSN spenders. Heck, even casual PSN spenders run the risk of having the monthly free game end up being something they have previously purchased. This is really the price you pay for having no idea what free games are going to be on offer; you are taking a gamble that more often than not, you will not own the monthly free download. This is where Sony could change things up a bit by offering an alternative free month of any PSN game you damn well please, but the alternative “rental” only lasts a month. I am not sure what sort of reaction this type of switch up would invoke, but I would be happy to have an option if I already owned the monthly free game.

I have always been a casual fan of the WipEout series, so while it is nice to get a quality game for free, I doubt it will be huge entertainment sink for me. Critter Crunch has been a welcome surprise; this is one of the better puzzle games I have played in a while!

While Magic Orbz (66 – 13 critic reviews, although the masses rate the game a solid 8.4 based on 11 votes) was not offered as a free download, I took a flyer on this one because Plus subscribers were offered two of the expansion packs for free, and the base game was offered at a discounted price. While Magic Orbz is far from a classic, it is an interesting diversion and a nice take on breakout.

I have not bothered with the free minis; I did download them to my PSP to give them a go on my next road trip. Same for the two free PSOne Classics. Rally Cross was OK back in the day, but I seriously doubt that it can hold up. The controls were always a little bit f’up on the PlayStation, so I cannot imagine that they work worth a darn on the PSP. If I remember correctly, Syphon Filter had a cult following, so maybe this one will be decent once I can be bothered to give it a few minutes.

If I take the $3.33 per month view, I am satisfied with the initial Plus offerings, although I am still reluctant to recommend the service. Plus I like getting a variety of games each month; sort of fulfills my gaming ADD. Certainly the $50 I applied to my Plus subscription could have been spent on a new PS3 game, which at some point could be traded in for another game or parlayed into cash to be used towards another purchase. This of course is the advantage of physical ownership of a game.

Digital Content, Summer Sales, and Plus

I thought this was a brilliant article from TheSixthAxis on spending money on PSN digital content. Brilliant as in the article is a good jumping off point that would provide some conversational value. Seriously? This guy has spent a boat load of money on digital content. I am nowhere near £700 (~ $1150) in total purchases; good grief that is a lot of content!

I love the concept of this article: Sony via PSN makes it too damn easy to purchase digital content. For the longest time I was a hold out (kind of like that earlier Facebook post), rallying against digital content, monthly subscriptions, micro-transactions, and the like. Sure I did purchase the occasional title such as Super Startdust HD, 1943, and Flow, but for the most part I steered clear of digital content cooties.

That being said, over the last few months I have really capitulated, including purchasing the Plus service. I guess you could say that I have become what I fought against so long. On that note, I am actually planning on throwing a more dollars Sony’s way during their PSN Summer Sale deals.

I will probably pick up Fat Princess ($7.49 sale; $14.99 reg.) and PixelJunk Shooter ($4.99 sale; $9.99 reg.) two games that I have been watching, but did not really want to pony up for full price.

I am not sure about the PSP games or even if I want to “invest” any more digital dollars into my PSP. I may pick up echoshift ($7.49 sale; $14.99 reg.), and will think about Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars ($14.99 sale; $29.99 reg.) after doing some general research, checking out some reviews, and blog articles. I have not finished Vice City, so I doubt I will throw $14.99 to chase after another GTA title. Lunar Silver Star Harmony ($14.99 sale; $29.99 reg.) is also tempting, but right now I really do not need another RPG; too far behind on the ones I already own!

I am really not that interested in the minis. I would probably pick up Tetris ($4.99 sale; $9.99 reg.) if it were $1.99 just because Tetris is a good way to pass the time, but there are so many other puzzlers available for the PSP that are far superior. Lumines, I chose you!

Speaking of Plus, I think the verdict is still out. I am going to write more about Plus, Wipeout HD and Critter Crunch later.

Home? Not Impressed Yet …

I decided to “try” Home yesterday just to see if there was any reason to log in daily, weekly; am I missing out?

Before jumping in [Home and this article] I think it is worth quoting two Home articles from the official’ish blog, which pretty much summed up my prior opinion of Home.

Midway games will be available on a pay-to-play model, but will also have free “timed plays.” And as you master each game (meaning: you pass level 10), you in turn unlock unlimited plays for that game. Add into this the 100 + rewards (one reward for each level of each game that you beat – including a free personal space), and we think you’ll find the Midway a great value. [source: Home blog]

Like a real arcade at a fair or on a midway, right? Micro transactions are a good way to slowly let your cash slip away.

“Andy’s Room” transports players to the world of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and the other toys owned by Andy Davis. Packed with mini-games and fun interactives, Andy’s Room is a must-have addition to your personal space collection. Pick yours up this Thursday from the Estates store in the PlayStation Home Mall. [source: Home blog]

Ah, another micro transaction.

After jumping into Home, I made a virtual avatar, and decked him out with my minimal choices in my wardrobe. If I do not want a “bland” online presence, it looks like I need to play to play; rather shop to add some personality. Same for my virtual home space, which was virtually empty.

I walked around and explored a little while in the main meeting area, played a fireworks mini game and won a sparkler, and walked around in the midway space (play to play, no thanks) and poked around in the mall.

One thing struck me over and over. In a MMORP such as WoW you are paying a monthly fee, which enables you to upgrade your character’s (avatar) appearance by earning new levels, items, etc. The best I can tell, in the world of Home, you get in for free, but in general you do not earn anything to change your avatar’s appearance. I could be wrong on this one; instead you use micro transactions to do the needful.

Maybe there are free game spaces, and options to earn free items, but I did not stick around long enough to see if I could uncover anything useful. I just cannot see myself paying $0.11 for a “cactus in a pot” decoration for my apartment. Forget about paying $1.99 (and probably a lot lower and much higher) for a new jacket for my avatar.

Good for Sony for striking gold. I could not believe the number of avatars that I saw running around that must have spent a decent amount of money in the mall. Every one of these clowns has given Sony some real money for an upgraded virtual appearance. I wonder how much they have spent decorating their home space?

With all that said, maybe I am being unduly harsh. If you are use to throwing money fees at an online service, this is really the same thing, assuming there is some value to be found in Home over and beyond playing dress up. I have yet to find it, but I admit that I did not look too hard yesterday. I’ll try again later.

Plus – Upon Further Review

Started to call this one “Plusing” – not really a word, but sort of catchy. I wanted to get some additional thoughts on Plus update on this wonderful holiday weekend. This love tribute to Plus from IGN pretty much hits on the mark and mirrors my viewpoint.

Colin Moriarty: We shall see. Rumor has it that Zen Pinball is going to be the next free game, and I don’t own that one either. But yes — the discounts have a lot of power with me as well. They already have me considering buying Cuboid (which I will get to keep even if I choose to stop subscribing to PlayStation Plus). But to me, what’s really exciting about PlayStation Plus isn’t what we’ve already seen and what we already know but everything that could potentially come to the service in the future. After all, as Jeff Rubenstein told us on Podcast Beyond last week, PlayStation Plus won’t be a static service. It will evolve.

The only real disadvantage I see to Plus is that some free games that I already own, in this case Zen Pinball, may be offered as the “free” (er, rental) game. That will sort of diminish the overall value of Plus; hopefully there will be enough free DLC and discounted content to make each month worthwhile.

Is Plus worth the money? As I have previously pointed out, as an initial annual subscriber I am getting Plus for $3.33 a month.

So I got a theme and a couple of avatars – not really my cup of tea. Maybe future updates will have something more interesting than my current retro race car avatar.
WipeOut HD. I would have never paid for this without it being seriously discounted. I have always been a casual WipeOut fan of the original PSX and PSP games, but not a card carrying WipeOut junkie. So this version is a rental for 15 months. Kind of hard to say if that is or is not worth it.
inFAMOUS – I recently got this with my 250GB PS3 Slim bundle. I have not opened the game yet, so getting to play for free for 60 minutes should be worth it. If I like the game, I can open my store purchased bundle copy. If not, eBay is calling for a “new in shrinkwrap” game.
Zombie minis – Did not really enjoy this one, but have not tried it on my PSP. Maybe there is some value there. Still nice to try it for “free” … cough, cough $3.33/month.
Rally Cross – Have not played this yet, but I actually enjoyed this one back in the day on the PSX. I downloaded on my PS3 and PSP-1000. Need to see if I can find my old game save. Anything that gives my PSX “free” games is worth it to me.
Warhawk bonus content – I do not have Warhawk and do not intend to buy it. Figured I would save it in case Warhawk comes up as a free Plus title.
Other game and DLC discounts – Not sure yet if I will purchase any of these.

I think five days in is way too soon to say if $50 for Plus is too much, not worth it, etc. I did enough research going in that I knew this was more or less a subscription service – think of a MMORP monthly fee. I do not think $3.33 (12 months at $50 + 3 months free) is too steep a price for the entertainment that I think Plus will provide me each month.

PlayStation Plus Me Please – Initial Review and Comments

I decided to subscribe to the new PlayStation Plus service last Tuesday. I opted for a year subscription ($49.99) which includes three “free” bonus months, bringing the final price from $4.17 (12 months) to $3.33 (15 months) per month. One of the very first things I noticed was that the T&Cs committed me to an automatic renewal once my subscription expires – I did not see or notice an easy way to cancel the service.

This PCWorld article describes the new PlayStation Plus service as not worth the cost of entry. At least not yet.

What do you get for $50 a year? At this point, not much. I counted nine total PP options, including a trial version of inFAMOUS, free full versions of Rally Cross ($5.99), Age of Zombies ($4.99), a Warhawk Fallen Star content pack ($1.99), a Fat Princess: Fat Roles expansion pack ($4.99), and Wipeout HD (19.99), a lone sci-fi theme, and–wait for it–two Fat Princess avatars.

Additionally, Midway and TikGames-Creat Studios were offering a handful of specially priced items, including stuff like Midway’s Mortal Kombat II (regularly $4.99, discounted to $2.50) and TiKGames-Create Studios’ Wakeboarding HD (regularly $14.99, discounted to $11.99).

But that’s it. All told, it’s more like a sampler platter of what to expect–trial versions, freebies, and discounts–when the service finally ramps up. I though that’d be now, but alas, we’re left to hypotheticals and unofficial conjecture about a holiday content fulfillment period.

Facebook
The writer also limited the fact that the PlayStation Store has some stupid, undefined, non intuitive errors. In one case, not being able to directly publish PSN purchases directly to his Facebook page. I do not do the Facebook thing; I know … maybe one of these days I will get with it … probably. I digress.

I am trying to think if Facebook integration is a cool feature or downright silly. No idea, but I doubt the vast majority of my friends would care that I just picked up two free premium bonus Plus Fat Princes avatars. Actually, they would probably say I was a wanker.

Free Games
I downloaded Wipeout HD, Rally Cross (PSOne Classic), Age of Zombies (minis), and the free avatars and theme. I am not really sure what to do with the “free” expansion content – over the weekend I am going to download it to see if there is any possibility of “keeping it around” for later in case Warhawk or Fat Princess become “free” Plus content or maybe discounted content.

Was the first month of Plus worth it to me? Probably not, although I did get Wipeout HD, which is a game I would have never purchased. Based on the reviews I can find, the Zombie minis is considered one of the better made minis. Too bad, because I thought it pretty much sucked.

Back in the day I loved Rally Cross, but I doubt it has aged well. I consider this bonus content for my PSP because I doubt I will play it on the PS3. I am going to look to see if I can find a game save on one of my old PSX memory cards, but even if I do, while I can transfer it to my PS3, I doubt there is a way to transfer saves between the PS3 and PSP.

The rest is well, not worth much to me. What am I going to do with a couple of avatars and a theme? I doubt that I will purchase any of the discounted games and content, although I will give them a look over the weekend; maybe I am missing out on a hidden gem.

Finally, inFamous was included in my PS3 Slim bundle purchase. Since I have not opened the game, I may give the free 60 minute trial a go. If do not like the game, maybe I get some eBay value out of an unopened copy of inFamous.

Automatic Downloads
This was one of the features that sold me on the Plus service. I love the concept of my PS3 pulling down patches and firmware updates in the middle of the night, so I can just install the next time I fire up my PS3 or patched game.

Right now I have no clue how this works. When I started Wipeout HD for the first time, I was greeted with a message that I needed to download the latest version. Strange since I downloaded and installed (but did not play) Wipeout HD Tuesday night, and played it for the first time Wednesday night. My PS3 is set to auto download between 4-6AM.

It is worth watching to see how this feature plays out, and what sort of message or info is provided when I turn on my PS3. It would be lovely if I was informed that a new firmware update, game patch, or demo was downloaded for my gaming pleasure. Or maybe that is too much to ask.

Qore?
At one point I read that Qore would be part of the service. I was an initial subscriber, however I did not think it was worth the money and did not renew my subscription. The only reason I would like to see it is included is for more Plus content. Seems like it would be a nice perk for Plus subscribers, but no real loss if it remains a “paid for” download; I just will not pay for it again.

PSN Future Purchases?
This is where things could get interesting for Sony. Will the Plus service cannibalize other potential sales? Now that I have paid $50 for Plus, I am not sure that I will purchase minis and other PSN titles. At least not right away because sooner or later they could (hopefully will) end up as part of the Plus service, which in turn would devalue my subscription. Of course we are only talking $3.33/month, but in general I am cheap.

Let’s see what happens next month.

To Plus?

So PlayStation Plus is now available and the $50 question is should I Plus? There was a point in time when I would have said hell no to a subscription service. There was also a point in time where I would have picked it up right away just to be part of the experience (and write a review).

I am leaning towards throwing $50 to the service for several reasons. I really only game on the PS3 (and occasionally on the PSP) so it is not as if I having competing gaming interests. I like the idea of discounts. I also like the concept of automatic download of firmware and software updates; no idea why this would not be offered as a standard service instead of a premium.

“Automatic Download: Subscribers will be able to set their PS3 to wake up from standby at any time of the day or night, download and install any game updates for the games you have been playing so you don’t have to think about it. Also, select demos and videos will be pushed to your PS3 ready to go. System software updates will also download automatically (manual install still required) and then the PS3 will turn itself off again.”

Finally, any additional PSP content is a bonus.

“PlayStation Plus is for PS3 owners as subscribership can only be purchased on the PSN Store. However, some of the content – minis and PS One Classics – available each month will also be playable on your PSP if you have one. Download them on the PS3 and transfer to your PSP, or download directly from the PSP Store or Media Go for PSP.”

So should I Plus? PlayStation LifeStyle posted an article that you will come out ahead with Plus. With that type of value, how can I afford not to buy Plus?

PSN PSX Classic Titles – FFIX

Final Fantasy fans everywhere are rejoicing that Final Fantasy IX (FFIX – of the original PlayStation fame) will be released next week for $9.99. This got me to thinking that it would be awfully nice if there was some way for those of use with FFIX and some of the other PSN PSX titles to convert our PSX discs to digital format.

I doubt it would be that difficult, and Sony could probably setup a digital copy system that would burn your PS3 SN into the digital copy to prevent piracy. Of course that would cut out a revenue stream for Sony, so it will never happen.

Slimming Down PS3 Style

Yesterday my 250GB PS3 Slim arrived safely from Walmart.com via FedEx. Compared to Amazon, I did have to pay more for shipping and sales tax, but Amazon did not have a 250GB Slim in stock, so this was something I decided to absorb. Besides the two game bundle will allow me to dump something on eBay to make up for this modest amount that I would not have paid via Amazon.

Before setting up the new Slim, I used my USB HDD to back up my save data files and media. While I could have setup up both systems and tried to do a system transfer, the USB backup process was a fairly quick and not too painless of a process. Besides, I have been backing up regularly because I figure my original PS3 will die sooner or later. I have the process down; as I said, quick and painless.

My HVB and Heavy Rain save data were locked, and would not copy. I am not sure why these games are setup this way. In the case of HVB it sucks because I have to spend several hours re-unlocking content that I had previously unlocked. I like the game, but I am going to have to decide if I like it enough to unlock some of the decent content again. I am not as concerned about Heavy Rain because I did not get too far into the game before getting distracted with something else (and my PS3 suffering YLoD). With that said, I really do not want to play the opening chapters again; tedious and as a father, not something that I consider very fun.

I also decided to take a few minutes to write down some of my settings. It took me a long time to get wireless working correctly for Remote Play, so I figured it was worth a few extra minutes of effort. Probably wasted effort; I bet the Slim does not have any of the Remote Play issues (PS3 randomly turning on) I ran into with my original system.

Setup of the new Slim was straight forward, as was to be expected. I was quickly in the PlayStation Store looking at my previous downloads to re-download all my paid content and games. I am not sure why, but downloads are noticeably quicker with the Slim. While I was watching Game 4 of the Celtics/Lakers Finals, I quickly downloaded a slew of games and add-on content.

I did not see an option to re-download my MLB 10: The Show classic stadiums content, which was a pre-order bonus. I was surprised to see that this DLC sells for $9.99. Ouch! Talk about price gouging. For that price I would expect to see a whole slew of extras, not just classic stadiums, but I digress. I figured I was out of luck because the Heavy Rain Taxidermist preorder bonus chapter did show up in my cart as being previous downloaded. Since they were both entered via DLC codes, I am not sure why these are considered different.

I decided to put in MLB 10 to see if there was some sort of in-game option to reapply the coded. After the long update and install process, I jumped into an exhibition game and saw the classic stadiums listed as unlocked. Not sure how the game knew, but I am thankful it did realize that I had previously applied this DLC code. Now that the Braves are rolling, I hope the new roster updates have the “improved” first place in the NL East Braves, and not the sorry start of the season Braves. Sorry; another digression.

My kids seemed somewhat concerned that the Slim does not play PS2 games, however these days PS2 games rarely if ever get played. The PS2 has a great library, and I own plenty of classics, but there are just not enough hours in the day. When I am PS3 gaming, it is almost always with a PSN or PS3 title. I have been dumping a few PS2 titles on eBay in anticipation of getting a Slim, so I think I am “over” this major difference in the new Slim, which obviously does not “do everything” as the ads would imply. My personality may drive me to really miss PS2 compatibility (“want what I cannot have”), but in a pinch, I do still have my original PS3; if it comes to that extreme.

I’ll also probably miss the front loading memory slots; plugging in a camera memory card or PSP memory stick was a nice convenience on the original PS3. I can see why Sony removed these to save money; the Slim has two USB slots (original system has four) and of course the Slim can connect to a media server.

I will not miss the extra noise, heat, and constant worry about when my original PS3 is going to blow up. The PS3 is mouse fart quiet, and after several hours of being on, there was very little noticeable heat. My original PS3 would have been blazing hot and annoyingly loud. So that is a worthwhile improvement.

As they say, Slim is in. It’s Friday! Happy Gaming!

Going 3D

Not really. Just thought I would mess with everyone to start off the day.

It seems like everyone is doing it these days, and now Sony is officially in on the act with their Bravio 3D TVs and the long awaited (not really; just f’ing with everyone again) 3D upgrades to a few PSN games and demos.

So no, I am not going 3D anytime soon. The concept may be cool. Can you imagine stereoscopic 3D boobies? I just cannot envision myself sitting around in special glasses over my regular “blind as a bat” glasses.

Then again, we will be in the market for a new TV and audio system over the next six months or so. Why not go 3D? It just seems like a fad, which will quickly fade away like a bad memory.

Tecmo Bowl Throwback

The upcoming release of the classic SNES Tecmo Bowl Throwback title has been on my radar since it was announced. The video game page at ESPN has a nice Q&A with the game’s producer.

Jon Robinson: Without the NFL license, how are the team and player names handled in the game?

Mike Fahrny: Because of the NFL licensing with EA, we couldn’t use any of the teams or players, so they’re all different. All the team and player names are different. But the one thing we did do is to allow all the team and player names to be editable by the player. So if you want to go back and play as one of those old NFL teams, feel free to. It just depends how much you want to go back and micromanage. All of the original stats are there, so your favorite players are in there, and we kept the teams in the same city location, so you should be able to find and figure out where your old favorites are pretty quickly.

That EA/NFL license thing is really the bomb, no? Even without the licensing issues, I doubt all of the players would have appeared correctly “as is” due to issues with NFL Player Association licensing deals.

The article had one further comment that gives some hope to the game; apparently “Q/A team keeps complaining that the game is too hard” – good times. I suspect Tecmo Super Bowl Throwback will do well with a certain middle age gamer demographic.

WKC:I – Free Quests Aplenty!

Sony has announced that they are offering free WKC:I quests, plus those crazy kids are running a sweepstakes, which offers up some serious looking action figure.

Beginning this Thursday, March 11th, we’ll be offering up additional quests for free every week through the end of June! You read right, free. Just log into the PlayStation Network, start up your copy of White Knight Chronicles and you’ll see new quests pop up on the World Map. Each week we’ll be releasing a new permanent quest, as well as limited quests that will only be available for two weeks at a time.

I am nowhere near enough (currently GR2) to be able to enjoy any of these quests. Not sure if this is poking me in the eye, incentive for me to drop what I am doing and get on with the game, or a little of both. I really appreciate Sony’s support of WKC:I with the addition of free DLC quests.

WKC:I has not received critical acclaim, and it is sure to be lost in the shadow of several other soon to be major hits (cough … FFXIII, cough GOW:III … cough). WKC:I has fan favorite, cult classic written all over it. I hope Sony continues to support the game for a long time to come, because I know I will be lagging behind everyone else in terms of gameplay time and guild rankings.

Bo Doesn’t Know Tecmo Anymore?

Another day (technically from Sunday), gives us another silly ESRB story. This time joystiq references Tecmo Bowl Throwback for the PSN and XBLive.

This is a top-down arcade-style football game in which players compete against teams around the country to become the “Tecmo Bowl Champion.” Some of the football highlights are depicted in animated cutscenes (with better graphics); a few non-football highlights depict cheerleaders wearing low-cut tops while dancing. And a jumbotron screen displays a 2D swimsuit model with some exposed cleavage.

It may be too soon to be 100% certain, but it looks like the game will not feature any NFL players – thanks for that exclusive license NFL & EA.

PSN Capcom Sale

The “official” PlayStation Blog has an article from the good folks at Capcom announcing five weeks of PSN Capcom games at the low, low price of 50% off. The schedule includes …

* February 18, 2010 – Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for only $7.49!
* February 25, 2010 – Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix for only $7.49!
* March 4, 2010 – Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix for only $4.99!
* March 11, 2010 – Age of Booty for only $4.99!
* March 18, 2010 – 1942: Joint Strike for only $4.99!

I already have 1942, which may not be worth the full price, but is a pretty good deal at less than $5. Lord knows when I would have time to play Age of Booty, but I have wanted to give this one a spin for a while. $4.99 is a pretty decent price point. As much as I love the Street Fighter, especially the Alpha renditions, I just don’t see putting these in the shopping cart – I have too many new games as it is and my best gaming days for dexterity intensive fighters are far behind me.

HVB Follies

I have spent a lot of time with HVB over the last three days, but my online record does not show any positive results. In fact, I think I am getting worse. I’m currently on a seven game losing streak, and adding insult to injury my disconnect score took a hit yesterday when my internet connection decided to get a little flaky. That sucked because my previous forfeit rate was a pristine 0%.

My rating has plummeted over the weekend from 1400-ish to just below 1200 or so, which seemingly puts the 1600+ Bronze trophy far out of reach. A low ranking is to be expected if I only average 1.5 strikes per game, and typically score around 125 per game. Ouch.

Even if I am playing poorly, HVB is a lot of fun and highly addicting. I actually play like I bowl (I suck in real life too), which is part of the problem. I know you could probably just sit down and go through the motions, but that would not be very fun. I think I am steadily improving; I probably need to play more off line, pick up some of the other characters and balls to see if I can find a combination that better suits my playing style.

From my vantage point, HVB is a must have PSN title. It has all the elements you expect in a good game – it is fun, offers a challenge, you can steadily improve as you practice with the game, and it has some decent trophies. In fact, if you are a trophy whore, there are a few that are easy to pick up. A Bronze trophy is awarded during online play for any of the following: Play 3 Games, 1 Win, 10 Strikes, 15 Spares, and 500 Pins. Some of the others are out of my reach right now – 25 Wins (Silver), 75 Strikes (Silver), Score 250 (silver), and 150 Strikes (Gold). I will probably get 5000 Pins (Silver) by attrition – call this one a lifetime achievement trophy.