Playstation 4 Games Catch-All

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Update: The PS3 is no longer relevant, the Vita has its own thread for dedicated discussion, and a dedicated thread for PS+ games doesn't make as much sense today as it did 5 years ago, so I'm attempting to transition this thread into a discussion place for PS4 games.

Small games, big games, tall games, short games. Whatever your taste, if you can play it on PS4 and it doesn't have its own thread, talk about it here.

Keep the talk about headphones, firmware, PS4 vs PS4 Pro, 4K, and headphones in the main PS4 thread. This one is for the games.

Link to PSN store: https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/en-gb/home/main

UPDATE: Handy link to all of the current free games for PS+ members: https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/en-us/free-games/cid=STORE-MSF77008-PSPLUSFREEGAMES

I was pretty impressed by my free month but my pile is so big I won't get to any of these games.

This update has Pixel Junk 4am Closed Viewer Beta too.

Having had PSN+ since it started, I've had to start picking and choosing the free content I download (500GB is only so much space). That said, worth every penny.

I'm a big fan of PS+. Yes, there's the whole argument that you don't actually "own" the free games but only have access while you are a PS+ subscriber. I'm perfectly fine with that; so long as you understand how it works you can decide if the service is worth the money for you.

I love it. Just in the past couple of months we got Trine 2, Shank 2 and Far Cry 2. That's pretty good!

My only real complaint is that I tend to pick games up right away when they come out, but there's a part of me that knows if I hold out for awhile there's a good chance it will be free via PS+. It's like the system almost encourages me to *not* buy games right away and wait for PS+ freebies/sales. Although they do usually have day one discounts which I appreciate.

Can't wait to play through Trine 2! Loved the original.

Also, there are rumors that Sony may be looking to add tiers of subscription levels to PS+. One rumor is that Call of Duty Elite could be wrapped into a slightly more expensive tier:

Article at Shacknews

Eldon_of_Azure wrote:

This update has Pixel Junk 4am Closed Viewer Beta too.

Yeah, it's worth pointing out exclusive betas and early access deals too. I didn't even think about it.

As a new PSP owner, is there much value in this for me? I see some PSOne Classics showing up. Do they do discounts on PSP titles via PSN? I've always gotten the impression this is mostly geared toward PS3 owners.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

As a new PSP owner, is there much value in this for me? I see some PSOne Classics showing up. Do they do discounts on PSP titles via PSN? I've always gotten the impression this is mostly geared toward PS3 owners.

I believe you are correct and it's just geared toward PS3. PS1 classics are just accidental crossover.

Also ThatGuy42's advice is great.

Great idea for a thread! I've been a big fan of PS+ since it was released.
ProTip for dealing with your storage space: ALWAYS BUY THE FREE CONTENT. Once you've "bought" the free content that "purchase" is linked to your account. Why is that important? Because if you don't download the item right away, or if you later delete the item off your system, that purchase history will still allow you to download the game as long as you're still a PS+ member, even if the free deal has expired or is no longer offered. Remember, you do not have to download immediately, as long as you've gone through the "purchase".

Edited to add:

ClockworkHouse wrote:

As a new PSP owner, is there much value in this for me? I see some PSOne Classics showing up. Do they do discounts on PSP titles via PSN? I've always gotten the impression this is mostly geared toward PS3 owners.

Yes, there are often discounts and free content for PSP users. And all of the PSOne classics tend to play great on the PSP, although those few games that require dual analog sticks or dual triggers can sometimes be a pain.

I think a lot of the deals they have been throwing out on Plus are great. I just think I would get buried by all the games. Seems either you are a person who never buys games and plays whatever comes up on Plus, you are a day one purchaser and would never have time, or you only play games and therefore attempt to do both.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

I'm a big fan of PS+. Yes, there's the whole argument that you don't actually "own" the free games but only have access while you are a PS+ subscriber. I'm perfectly fine with that; so long as you understand how it works you can decide if the service is worth the money for you.

It's hard to get past the value proposition, although I've found myself frequently 'purchasing' and not downloading stuff as I simply don't have time for it. The service recently spared me a curiosity purchase of Shift 2, and heaped on a load of other stuff. True enough, I don't 'own' these games, but I so seldom go back to a game I own after a year that I see this as a thing that matters. I really wish something like this existed back when I was in school and had to save every penny for two or three games a year - it would have been an ideal recurring Christmas or Birthday present, and provided plenty of stuff to play each month.

In short, when Rabbit stated on the podcast that he doesn't know why he paid for the service, I can only imagine that he either buys everything the second it comes out, thus rendering many 'freebies' moot, or he simply isn't checking in on the offers.

I do have a slight problem in that I typically roll with two PSN accounts, however - a UK and an Aus one, both from times spent living in the countries. I was living in London when I purchased my Ps3 and thus my UK PSN account has become my base account, containing all of my friends and earlier game purchases; my Aus one is now mostly used as my shopping account (clearly because I find it easier - it's certainly never cheaper to buy anything from Australia, not even internet-Australia), and also hosts my Ps+ subscription. I love that the Ps3 allows me to do this and, by token, absolutely hate that my Vita doesn't. I don't see the next hardware cycle making this any nicer for me, either.

But, um - yes. If you've just been sticking to the one PSN account, then + is totally worth it at this point.

Also, I don't think it's been mentioned here yet, but + seems to enable background updating on the Ps3 hardware. This is a super nice, invisible bonus, although I would argue it is one that Sony shouldn't be hiding behind a pay wall.

Originally I had no interest in the PS3 - it was overpriced and it lacked features. Sony worked and worked and finally got it up to speed (force feedback, trophies, price, etc.). I see the same progression with PS +. I was not interested at all, but getting to try it for a month after the PSN fiasco (and getting Borderlands) started to show me the value. I signed up last year so I could get Jurassic Park (which was not too good), but it has definitely proven its value to me over these last 6 months. It's comforting to see my Mass Effect saves being safely stored overnight, or a patch being downloaded, or a beta automatically installing (that's how you get me to to try new things folks!).

Final words: Rock of Ages. Free. Rolling ball and Monty Python visuals. I'm lovin' it.

Starting tomorrow, PSN will be selling "Ultimate" version of retail games, which includes all their DLC. For the first week, all titles are 50% for PS+ members. Just Cause 2 is rather tempting.

Cribbed from CAG:

Bioshock 2 - $27.99 PSN - $19.59 PS+ - Full Game + All DLC - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4
Call of Duty: Black Ops - $66.49 PSN - $46.54 PS+ - Full Game + All DLC - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4
Infamous 2 Complete Edition - $33.99 PSN - $23.79 PS+ - Full Game + All DLC - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4
Just Cause 2 Ultimate Edition - $20.99 PSN - $14.69 PS+ - Full Game + All DLC - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4
LA Noire: The Complete Edition - $27.99 PSN - $19.59 PS+ - Full Game + All DLC - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4
Mafia II - $20.99 PSN - $14.69 PS+ - Full Game + All DLC - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4
Mortal Kombat - $34.99 PSN - $24.49 PS+ - Full Game + Warrior Bundle and Klassic Skins Pack 1 - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4
MotorStorm Apocalypse - $50.49 PSN - $35.34 PS+ - Full Game + All DLC - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4
Red Dead Redemption - $27.99 PSN - $19.59 PS+ - Full Game + Legends and Killers, Liars and Cheats, and Undead Nightmare - Begins 5/29 - Ends 6/4

So sad that this thread has so few posts. I really hope Sony is looking at something beyond content (though I hope they continue with that as well). What they provide is great, and well above what MS provides in terms of a service being payed for- but that doesn't matter. For whatever reason there is a perception issue that Sony is dealing with in terms of being on equal footing with the 360.

Sony has made some mistakes that has kept it from building as big of a community as MS. Also, GWJ does seem to sway towards the Xbox, even though you need to PAY FOR MULTIPLAYER (/fanboy hat off).

GWJ does sway towards 360- the issue is that I think a lot of communities do, which is kind of the problem. I don't think the issue is isolated to this corner of the web.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

I'm a big fan of PS+. Yes, there's the whole argument that you don't actually "own" the free games but only have access while you are a PS+ subscriber. I'm perfectly fine with that; so long as you understand how it works you can decide if the service is worth the money for you.

I love it. Just in the past couple of months we got Trine 2, Shank 2 and Far Cry 2. That's pretty good!

My only real complaint is that I tend to pick games up right away when they come out, but there's a part of me that knows if I hold out for awhile there's a good chance it will be free via PS+. It's like the system almost encourages me to *not* buy games right away and wait for PS+ freebies/sales. Although they do usually have day one discounts which I appreciate.

Can't wait to play through Trine 2! Loved the original.

That's the same issue I have with Steam. I couldn't name a game that I paid full price for from Steam. I'm always scared that it will be "Today's Deal" the day after I buy it. I really want to play KOTOR (I passed it up last generation) but that Steam sale fear keeps me from buying it.

demonbox wrote:

GWJ does sway towards 360- the issue is that I think a lot of communities do, which is kind of the problem. I don't think the issue is isolated to this corner of the web.

And this is why. Xbox Live makes it exponentially easier to game with your friends, so even though there is an annual price to play multiplayer, you are actually getting something from it. PS+ is a brilliant service, and well worth the cost just for the free games, but getting the PS3 to apply patches and getting discounts on loads of other things is what makes it something that I think any connected PS3 should have. If PS+ had a universal friend's list that allowed cross game launching/invites, it would be a much better service than XBox Live, but Sony never insisted on that from the games, where Microsoft did.

Aristophan wrote:

Sony has made some mistakes that has kept it from building as big of a community as MS. Also, GWJ does seem to sway towards the Xbox, even though you need to PAY FOR MULTIPLAYER (/fanboy hat off).

I see this argument way too often. The whole "It's free" thing only goes so far, and as it turns out, that tends not to be very far at all.

I'd rather pay for the service that actually works than use the free one that's been a spectacular pain in the ass every time I've tried to play multiplayer on it with friends.

PS+ offers some interesting content but for me the most important, most core part of the service has never once worked well when I've tried it. That will always trump it being free as long as the basic service and the other systems like firmware and game updates are the way they are. I'll leave out details because we've been over and over them in a hundred other threads.

Thin_J wrote:
Aristophan wrote:

Sony has made some mistakes that has kept it from building as big of a community as MS. Also, GWJ does seem to sway towards the Xbox, even though you need to PAY FOR MULTIPLAYER (/fanboy hat off).

I see this argument way too often. The whole "It's free" thing only goes so far, and as it turns out, that tends not to be very far at all.

I'd rather pay for the service that actually works than use the free one that's been a spectacular pain in the ass every time I've tried to play multiplayer on it with friends.

I don't understand the PSN horror stories. I have never had issues with PSN other than the occasional lag, which I have experienced with Live. My biggest problem with Live is the fact that there is no reason they should charge. With all of the advertising money that Microsoft makes with Live the only reason they still charge is because they can and because people continue to pay. It offers no compelling reason for me to pay for the service, that and the fact that I no longer have an Xbox. Well, I do still have four Xboxes they are stacked in my closet suffering from RROD.

Atras wrote:

If PS+ had a universal friend's list that allowed cross game launching/invites, it would be a much better service than XBox Live, but Sony never insisted on that from the games, where Microsoft did.

PSN (don't need PS+) has a universal friends list and cross game invites. It's not nearly as smooth or well-integrated as on Live, but it's there, it works and it is free. No built-in voice chat, though; I think there are too many memory limitations to make it a reality at this point.

I picked up Just Cause 2 on PSN awhile back, but if I didn't have it already I'd certainly grab it on this sale. Infamous 2 is the only other one on the list that's really tempting me. Red Dead is a great value if you don't own it yet, too.

I also hope Sony does more with the full game trials. Was itching for some soccer so I tried out the FIFA 12 full trial. It's great because you get to play the full game for an hour. This was my first full game trial and it worked really well. The only downside is that once your time is up it just kicks you out to the XMB; they really should have it kick you to the Playstation Store to encourage you to buy the game.

Anyway, I did end up buying FIFA (even though it was full price) and am having a lot of fun with it.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

I don't understand the PSN horror stories. I have never had issues with PSN other than the occasional lag, which I have experienced with Live. My biggest problem with Live is the fact that there is no reason they should charge. With all of the advertising money that Microsoft makes with Live the only reason they still charge is because they can and because people continue to pay. It offers no compelling reason for me to pay for the service, that and the fact that I no longer have an Xbox. Well, I do still have four Xboxes they are stacked in my closet suffering from RROD.

PSN has failed in one fashion or another every single time I've ever tried to play multiplayer. It simply doesn't work as well as Microsoft's system, and god help you if you're trying to get somebody into a game that doesn't play a ton of games. They'll never get anywhere.

Microsoft is charging for Live because they can and because people continue to pay. People continue to pay because it's a better multiplayer service than PSN. The chat/invite/groupchat system is enough. Everything else is gravy.

And that's ignoring the all too common "I turned on my PS3 to play multiplayer with a friend and instead spent 45 minutes waiting for a system update or game patch to finish, after which I said f*ck it and did something else" stories. I'm on 30 megabit down internet. I can download 12+ gigabyte whole games on Steam in less time than it takes the PS3 to patch or install a game, and could probably do it twice in the time it takes a system update to finish. I often skip updates and don't even bother signing in to PSN because I can't be bothered to deal with their update garbage. The last time I updated I only did it because it forced me to if I wanted to keep using the Netflix app.

If not for a better Netflix client and PS3 Media Server working as well as it does I'd never turn the thing on.

Thin_J wrote:

And that's ignoring the all too common "I turned on my PS3 to play multiplayer with a friend and instead spent 45 minutes waiting for a system update or game patch to finish, after which I said f*ck it and did something else" stories.

That's ignoring those because they're a combination of BS and self fulfillment. If you never play your PS3 then you're bound to have updates the couple times a year you play. If you use it regularly you very rarely have to update. They're also much faster than they used to be.

I got Playstation Plus recently, but haven't made use of it yet. Maybe I should download and install Awesomenauts before I run out of time.

Sony filed a patent for ads that pause and resume gameplay. I really wouldn't be surprised to see this used in conjunction with PS+ like, "Play this brand new AAA game for free with ads as part of your PS+ subscription." Pure speculation on my part, but I don't think it's far-fetched.

SixteenBlue wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

And that's ignoring the all too common "I turned on my PS3 to play multiplayer with a friend and instead spent 45 minutes waiting for a system update or game patch to finish, after which I said f*ck it and did something else" stories.

That's ignoring those because they're a combination of BS and self fulfillment. If you never play your PS3 then you're bound to have updates the couple times a year you play. If you use it regularly you very rarely have to update. They're also much faster than they used to be.

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that if it makes you happy.

I didn't play my 360 for a solid six months. Turned it on and popped in a game, title update notice came up. Waited thirty seconds, started playing the game. If I try doing the same thing on the PS3 it'll take a solid hour. As an end user experience that's pathetic.

The PSN experience might be acceptable if it was standard, but it isn't. Someone else is doing it better, and PSN suffers severely in comparison. Even more so because the other guy was doing it better first.

Thin_J wrote:
SixteenBlue wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

And that's ignoring the all too common "I turned on my PS3 to play multiplayer with a friend and instead spent 45 minutes waiting for a system update or game patch to finish, after which I said f*ck it and did something else" stories.

That's ignoring those because they're a combination of BS and self fulfillment. If you never play your PS3 then you're bound to have updates the couple times a year you play. If you use it regularly you very rarely have to update. They're also much faster than they used to be.

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that if it makes you happy.

I didn't play my 360 for a solid six months. Turned it on and popped in a game, title update notice came up. Waited thirty seconds, started playing the game. If I try doing the same thing on the PS3 it'll take a solid hour. As an end user experience that's pathetic.

The PSN experience might be acceptable if it was standard, but it isn't. Someone else is doing it better, and PSN suffers severely in comparison.

I can use my anecdotal experience of a super fast PSN update to counter that. Doesn't really matter. I agree they used to be extremely slow. It's better now.

I also agree Live is much better than PSN, I'm not disagreeing.

My main point was that you see a lot of "I never use my PS3 and when I do I have to update" comments and it's kind of ridiculous considering that the first part of the sentence causes the second.

SixteenBlue wrote:

I also agree Live is much better than PSN, I'm not disagreeing.

My main point was that you see a lot of "I never use my PS3 and when I do I have to update" comments and it's kind of ridiculous considering that the first part of the sentence causes the second.

That's the problem though. The issue is not that you have to update. The issue is that the updates take a vast amount of time longer than the direct competition. How do I use both services, see how much smoother one experience is, and then call bullsh*t that they want to charge for their clearly superior service? That just doesn't make sense. Neither does you calling bullsh*t on people making the complaint.

And if there's been any improvement in the update speed, I sure didn't see it the last time they forced me to update to continue using the Netflix app and to get access to the Amazon Video app. It took just shy of 35 minutes. Well, wait, I guess that's better than the 45 minutes it used to take. So sure, they improved it. If it's faster than that for you, that's great. I'm glad it works for you. But it doesn't work for me and it never has.

If they ever manage to make PSN as usable as Live, and/or do a better job with the same featureset I will switch in a heartbeat. I'll even pay for it. Happily, if it's a better service. I couldn't possibly care any less what logo is on the box I play my games on. I only care that it works sufficiently when I choose to do that.

I don't care about PS+ because I typically don't care about the things they offer you with it. I fiddled with it during the free month after the whole PSN downtime fiasco, and it didn't offer nearly enough for me to pay a monthly fee to them when I don't really want to do anything else on their system.

Anyway, I'll let that be it. We're clearly not going to agree or change each other's minds, and there isn't much else to discuss really.

Could we please keep this thread about PS+ and not a debate on the merits of PSN?

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Sony filed a patent for ads that pause and resume gameplay. I really wouldn't be surprised to see this used in conjunction with PS+ like, "Play this brand new AAA game for free with ads as part of your PS+ subscription." Pure speculation on my part, but I don't think it's far-fetched.

Not sure how I feel about this, especially if it comes into play with PS+. I'm already paying for Plus, why should I get ads as well? I could see giving some of these games for free with ads without PS+, and simply free if you have PS+. Maybe that would be incentive to subscribe?

Of course, paying for things and getting ads have always been two completely unrelated issues. Always rubs me the wrong way though.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

Could we please keep this thread about PS+ and not a debate on the merits of PSN?

It became part of the conversation when someone made the comment about having to pay for live. Don't want to talk about it, don't bring it up.

*Generally. I know you didn't bring it up.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

Of course, paying for things and getting ads have always been two completely unrelated issues. Always rubs me the wrong way though.

I suspect this is something we're all going to end up living with whether we want it or not, regardless of service.

Dreaded Gazebo wrote:

Could we please keep this thread about PS+ and not a debate on the merits of PSN?

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Sony filed a patent for ads that pause and resume gameplay. I really wouldn't be surprised to see this used in conjunction with PS+ like, "Play this brand new AAA game for free with ads as part of your PS+ subscription." Pure speculation on my part, but I don't think it's far-fetched.

Not sure how I feel about this, especially if it comes into play with PS+. I'm already paying for Plus, why should I get ads as well? I could see giving some of these games for free with ads without PS+, and simply free if you have PS+. Maybe that would be incentive to subscribe?

Of course, paying for things and getting ads have always been two completely unrelated issues. Always rubs me the wrong way though.

I could see it as a good, competitive bonus for the system if the games were fairly new. If I could play, say, Prototype 2 or Silent Hill Downpour in the month of June with a PS+ sub, it'd seem like a fair deal even with ads, depending on how frequent the ads are.

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