Europe: PS+ April 2014

Aw yeah! The PlayStation Plus line-up for April has been announced, one of my favourite times of the month. As always, you will be getting five free games if you are a member of PlayStation Plus. Many of last month’s games will be leaving the Instant Game Collection, so be sure to pick up Tomb Raider and the other games if you haven’t done that yet. Alright, so what’s in store for you this month and is it just as good as the previous months?

Mercenary Kings (PS4)

We haven’t seen any triple A games so far for the PlayStation 4, but the console hasn’t been out for that long. First up is Mercenary Kings for the PlayStation 4, an 8-bit indie shooter that should give you the retro feel, yet the game runs very smooth and this makes it very pleasant to look at. If you are up some arcade shooter action, you are in luck with this month’s free game. The game also features multiplayer, which is almost mandatory in shooters nowadays.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (PS3)Most soccer fans around the world have probably played both a FIFA or PES game once, but the majority of the people that I know choose to play FIFA. If you are one of those people, you can give PES another go (for free) now. PES 2014 promised more ball control and better gameplay, yet it fails to deliver. Artificial Intelligence still is one of the weakest points of the game, and it just doesn’t stand up to it’s competitor FIFA.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3 & PS Vita)You might remember Sly Cooper back from the PlayStation 2, as that is where the game made its first appearance. This cell-shaded platformer game takes you back in time: re-live your youth by playing this game and actual time-travelling in the game. Time travelling? Yep Sly Cooper has to travel back in time and do what he’s good at: stealing shinies! Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time also supports Cross Buy, Cross Play and Cross Save, so you do not have to worry about missing any action if you have a PS Vita.

Hotline Miami (PS3 & PS Vita)

Have you ever watched the movie Drive? Did you enjoy it? If you did, you will most likely enjoy Hotline Miami as well. This 2D indie game has everything that you can wish for in an indie game, except if you don’t really .. like blood and violence (you should probably skip this game in that case, just saying). Hotline Miami has an amazing soundtrack and an awesome 80’s feel, mix this together with top-down 2D action and you have one of the best indie games out there. The game also has Cross Buy enabled, so you can play it on both your PS3 and PS Vita.

MotoGP 13

Another racing game is added to the list of PlayStation Plus games, and this motor racing game delivers what it should: a good motor racing experience. It definitely isn’t the easier racing game out there and you really need to practice if you want to be able to ride on the faster bikes. If you are into motor bikes, you will most likely enjoy this game. If you aren’t a real fan of motor racing, you might find the game a bit too hard, but you can always try it out of course.

Be sure to pick up the games that are leaving the Instant Game Collection of PlayStation Plus before the 2nd of April:

Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (PS4)
Tomb Raider (PS3)
Borderlands 2 (PS3)
Pixeljunk Monsters Ultimate HD (PS Vita)

Smart As (PS Vita)

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Next-Gen console purchase on day-one?

With both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One coming out next month, it might be tempting for some of you to buy the console on day-one. New hardware is always exciting, and new consoles definitely are since they only appear every 6 to 8 years. And how much I would like it to have both a PlayStation 4 and a Xbox One sitting under my TV in a month, there is a list of reasons I (and you) shouldn’t buy the next-gen consoles on launch. I have listed the 4 most important reasons that might make you think twice about getting a new console on day-one.

Which console is more powerful?

The rumours that we have heard so far have always said that the PlayStation 4 is more powerful than the Xbox 360, and the latest comparisons are only validating this. It would also be nice to know what console runs its games in 1080p and what the framerates are for these games. The new consoles are new systems that have a new architecture that developers haven’t had years of experience with yet, and this is also why most launch games don’t look that impressive.

You’re buying version 1.0

Brand new products don’t oftenly ship Not to mention the size of the HDD that comes with the early versions of the consoles, which will be 500GB for both new consoles. This may sound like a lot for now, but with some games becoming around 40GB for an install, it won’t leave space for a lot of games. The PlayStation 4 HDD will be replaceable, but the Xbox One won't and will only support external HDD’s. The first run of the next-gen consoles won't have what future versions of the consoles may have, such as bigger HDDs and fixed bugs in the system itself (RROD anyone?).

They don't come cheap

Purchasing a new console on day-one means that you will be paying top dollar: the console will only get cheaper (and better) after it has been launched. The PlayStation 3 launched with an incredible high price of $599, and a few years later you could pick it up for around $350. While $399 for the PlayStation 4 doesn’t sound like that much, you will also have to add the costs for a game and a PlayStation Plus membership if you want to play online. It’s just something you should think about when you want to buy a day-one console.

Where are the games?

The next-gen consoles don’t come with a lot of new games and most of the games that are available can also be played on the older consoles. The Xbox One has a better lineup for launch games, but to be honest neither the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One have an impressive lineup. The biggest AAA titles this year will also be playable on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. So if game titles are your biggest reason to buy a next-gen console, there isn’t really a need to buy a next-gen console: most games will be playable on older consoles and PC.

Of course, in the end it is totally up to you if you decide if you’ll buy a next-gen console or not. Getting a new console on day-one isn’t a bad thing, but most of the time it definitely isn’t necessary and waiting for a few months is a smart thing. But my advice is: wait a bit, soft- and hardware will have been patched out or replaced and there will be a bigger library of games available, and it will probably be cheaper as well!

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PlayStation TV and new PS Vita

In a press conference in Japan, the homeland of Sony, the Vita TV and a new version of the PlayStation Vita have been announced. While the new version of the PS Vita is an upgrade or a downgrade (depends on how you look at it), the Vita TV is really an entirely new device. But first things first: what’s up with the new PS Vita?

Sony classifies the newer model of the PS Vita as a more casual and easier to use model of the PS Vita. It will also be released in a bunch of colors, instead of the black that we all know from the handheld. But that’s not the only appearance change that the PS Vita has gone through, because the new version will be 20% thinner and about 15% lighter than the older model. But one of the more drastic changes is that Sony replaced the OLED screen with a LCD display. While the battery life has been increased by an hour, some people might dislike the LCD display since the quality of these displays are of lesser quality than OLED screens most of the time. The new PS Vita also has 1 gigabyte of built-in storage, which is not very impressing but still a welcome addition to the handheld.

What a lot of people didn’t see coming is the Vita TV: a console with the size of a smartphonethat you will be able to plug into your TV. It’s comparable with the Ouya, except that this console runs Vita games, but you will also be able to play old PSP and PlayStation One games on it. To control the device you will be making use of the DualShock 3 controller, the controller that is used with the PlayStation 3. The specs of the Vita TV are the same as the PS Vita, but since you will be playing it on a TV the resolution will be upscaled from 966x544 to 720p or 1080p.

But you will be able to use the Vita TV for more than Vita and PS One games: if you own a PlayStation 4 you will be able to stream content to the Vita TV and display everything that is running on the PS4 on the TV that the Vita TV is linked to. What else Sony has planned for the Vita TV isn’t sure yet, but with the launch of the PS4 heading closer there is a big chance we will be hearing more about the Vita TV and it’s functionalities.

The Vita TV will cost around $100 USD and will only be available in Japan at launch. It’s not sure yet if western countries will be getting the Vita TV. A bundle with a DualShock 3 controller and an 8GB Vita memory card will also be sold, which will cost around $150 USD.

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Consoles: What do you get for free?

We know a lot about both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, but there are some things that may not be very clear to most people. Both Sony and Microsoft offer an online service: Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus. While both subscriptions offer online multiplayer, you might also need a subscription for some other services that the consoles offer.

A lot of the services that come with the Xbox One will require a Live Gold membership, just as some third-party services. But exactly what will you be missing out if you don't have a membership to Xbox Live Gold? As example, if you want to spend the night watching a movie on Netflix through your Xbox One without a membership to Xbox Live Gold, you can't. Want to stream your gameplay to your friends, or record it with DVR? You can't. Want to call your grandma with Skype? You can't. Or what about a NFL match? Sorry, you can't.

It doesn't look very bright for the people that want to use their Xbox One as a multimedia device without a Xbox Live Gold membership, and that is a shame. While most consumers will probably get a membership, there will always be enough people that won't and these people won't get to enjoy some features you'd expect from an 8th gen console.

For those that will be getting a PlayStation 4, it looks a bit different. It's official that you won't require a PlayStation Plus subscription if you want to use Netflix. And also unlike the Xbox One, you will also be able to stream your gameplay and that DVR won't require PlayStation Plus.

But who knows, Microsoft might make another turn with the Xbox One since they have done it a few times already.

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inFAMOUS: Second Son developer trailer

Sucker Punch, the studio behind the Sly and inFAMOUS series, released a developer diary video today. The video at the end of this post shows some in-game footage together with some developer commentary.

In the first two games of the inFamous series, electricity was your weapon and Cole was your protagonist. In InFAMOUS: Second Son you will be fighting with smoke (and more) and you’ll be taking the role of Delsin Rowe, and while the game definitely went through some changes and updates, the main mechanics of the game have stayed. In both inFAMOUS 1 and 2 Cole had to get his energy from electrical sources in order to use his abilities and in Second Son this didn’t really change, except that you now have to get your energy from smoke. You will be able to gather this energy from sources such as chimneys, fires and exploding cars (

The game itself looks pretty good so far: the way Delsin Rowe moves looks very smooth and detailed, and add some particles effects to this for a pretty awesome looking scene. With a bunch of excited game developers this game should be a nice addition to the inFAMOUS series. The game will be a PlayStation exclusive and won't appear on the Xbox One.

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PlayStation 4 Q&A

Sony has released an official Q&A where they answer the ten most asked questions about the PlayStation 4 and below this post you can find the video, which will be the first Q&A of more to come.

One of the things a lot of people were eager to know is what would be possible without a PlayStation Plus subscription, and what was already known is that you will need a subscription to play online multiplayer. We now know that you can still use services such as Netflix or party chat if you don't own a subscription to PlayStation Plus, which is very pleasant for those that don't aim to use their console for online multiplayer gaming.

The video also shows that the new console will be a bit smaller than its original predecessor, the first 'fat' PlayStation 3. The new console will include a 500GB HDD and just like the PlayStation 3 this will be swappable with another HDD.

Just as the PlayStation 3 the new console will feature some way of 3D functionality in games, but more details will be released at a later time. It will still be able to play 3D Blu-Ray disks, which is a welcoming feature for those with a 3D TV. The PlayStation camera is also capable of filming 3D as well as it can generate AR content in your living room. The camera will also have four microphones built in for both in- and output audio, so you might be able to use it as a microphone for online play.

The following was to be expected but still a bit of a downer; you won't be able to use your DualShock 3 controllers on the PlayStation 4. This is pretty logical since the new DualShock 4 controller has a different layout and more buttons, as well as the motion sensor that can be used together with the PlayStation camera. Luckily PlayStation Vita owners will be able to use their handheld for most games on the console if the developer implements that feature into his game. Oh, and Move controllers will be compatible with the console as well.

Since the console also focuses on being a 'social console', you will now be able to add up to 2000 of your friends. It's a bit much, but at least you won't be running out of space in your friend list. But just check out the video below to hear all about the features of the PlayStation 4.

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PS Vita as a PS4 controller

If you own both a PlayStation 4 and a PlayStation Vita that you will be able to use your Vita as a second controller for the PlayStation 4. This is a great addition if you own both devices, but there is a catch: the developer will have to implement this feature into the game themself, or it won’t work. Sony promises that this will almost be a mandatory requirement for the games on the PlayStation 4, so we are expecting it to be available within most titles for the console and definitely Sony’s own games. Since it depends on the developers, not every game will have this feature.Sony promises that nearly every PlayStation 4 title will have Remote-Play; this means you can use your Vita to play your PlayStation 4 games with your TV being turned off.

Since the layout of the DualShock 4 controller is different than the layout on the Vita, for example the lack of L3/R3 or L2/R2 buttons and I can also imagine it will be hard to use the Vita for games that need to use a camera in order for the game to work properly. Luckily the Vita has the rear touch pad, so it would be possible to assign the missing buttons on the backside of the handheld.

Let’s hope that this feature won’t be forgotten, it will be a nice addition to all the PlayStation Vita owners. Even if you don’t own a PlayStation 4 but you do own a Vita, you could bring your Vita over to a friend to use it as a controller on their console. It could become a very handy feature if it works out and developers don’t forget about it.

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