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Best of the Rest: Jessica's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Threes Threes is ingenious. Its simplistic presentation belies beautiful, thoughtful design and butter-smooth mechanics. Threes isn't a matter of "less is more," it's fully encapsulated and pushed to the limits of what it intends to do, providing hours upon hours of repeated gameplay on that four-by-four tiled screen. On top of the brain-teasing numbers game, writer Asher Vollmer, illustrator Greg Wohlwend and composer Jimmy Hinson infuse Threes with personality, giving the numbers voices and faces, and tipping Threes from "Fun" to "Absolutely adorable. And, of course, fun."
PSN Update: Infamous First Light, Duke Nukem 3D
A new month means a new handful of games added to the libraries of PlayStation Plus subscribers. Beginning today, Plus members on PS4 can add the Second Son narrative expansion Infamous: First Light and indie darling The Swapper to their digital collection. Also as reported, Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition is available for Plus users at no additional charge on the Vita, along with Whoa Dave! – from (rebranded) Bit.Trip dev Choice Provisions. DuckTales Remastered and Prototype 2 are this month's PS3 Plus offerings. Rounding out new content this week is Ubisoft's Rocksmith 2014, which continues to expand with a Rage Against the Machine song pack ($15.99) and various Linkin Park tracks ($2.99 each/$13.99 bundle), and new costumes and a Christmas Module for Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd ($9.99 each). Pinball Arcade games and add-ons are this week's featured sale, with Season One table bundles reduced to as low at $14.99 on PS4.
Best of the Rest: Sam's picks of 2014
WildStar I grew up during what I'd consider "the golden age" of MMO games. I was there for the launch of World of Warcraft, as well as earlier titles like EverQuest and Ultima Online. The genre has a very special place in my heart, and WildStar felt like the last, major, "true" MMO (as opposed to games like Bungie's Destiny that possess MMO-like features) release that we would see in a long time, possibly ever again. A last hurrah, if you will. And what a hurrah it is. We don't really "review" MMOs here, but through a series of postcards, I chronicled my time with a game that is in no uncertain language a fantastic piece of craftsmanship. The visuals are bright and colorful, with a Pixar-esque personality evident throughout. The gameplay is fresh and fast, requiring constant focus instead of hotkey rotation memorization. And of course, the housing. Oh, how I could spend hours simply customizing my plot of land with various wallpapers, decor, even mini-quest objectives. WildStar is a thoughtfully-constructed game with a wealth of content. True that it relied a bit too much on large-scale endgame raids and the promised monthly updates fizzled shortly after launch, but I don't regret a moment spent on Planet Nexus.
Best of the Rest: Susan's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Framed Framed is so elegant and simple that it needs not a single word to teach you how to play. If you understand the basic function of the panels in a comic book and are able to poke things with your finger, you will swiftly understand the basics of how to make things happen in this brilliant mobile game. Arrange the panels one way, and your spy makes a daring escape from the police; position them another way, and he emerges from the wrong door right into the hands of the law. From the very first level, which uses just two panels to illustrate how switching the order of the comic can change the outcome of its events, Framed builds on its simplicity, adding more panels, directionality and timing to create more complex puzzles in its stylish spy-vs-spy thriller. Each page of the comic is a puzzle complete unto itself, making Framed perfectly designed for short bursts of inspiration, or restricted play time. It's one of those games that's so damn clever, you wish you'd thought it up yourself.
Joystiq Discussion: How do you tackle your gaming back log?
January is when the sheer scale of it hits you, when you stare into the inky abyss of your Steam library and wonder: when the hell am I going to play all of these games? Every time the sale starts, the back log grows. Five measly bucks for a copy of Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition! Who cares that I'm smack dab in the middle of three different RPGs? I can't let that pass me by! So the backlog swells, piling more and more games onto the proverbial, sometimes actual, stack. Recently I took stock of my own considerable back log, counting up all the vintage cartridges, discs, recent releases that went on sale, and downloads I'd amassed but never actually fired up to play. Turned out there were 27 games that I'd simply never turned on. In January, I'm trying to tackle them one at a time. Pokemon Y and Silent Hill: Book of Memories are first up! Once I've knocked them down, I'll move on to two more. It's not a perfect system, though. There are plenty of ways to tackle the back log. Do you take it slow? Do you not even bother and just let the back log grow? Or do you manage to keep up, finishing everything as you go. Take the poll, discuss below. How do you tackle your gaming back log? [Images: Nintendo]
Best of the Rest: Sinan's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Dark Souls 2 I've been known to perch on treetops with many a RPG, but even by my standards this was a makeout-heavy year. Four of my five picks are of the role-playing variety, and I've put more than 250 hours into that quartet alone. 2014 was a super-solid time for the genre, and that's evidenced by the sheer range of RPGs in my Best of the Rest. The only place to start this round-up is Drangleic. It was always going to take something truly special for Dark Souls 2 to stay out of its predecessor's shadow, at least for me. We are, after all, talking about following on from my game of the last decade. That proves a challenge too far for From's sequel, despite the many tweaks and additions it brings to the table. Crucially, Dark Souls 2 diminishes that sinking-into-quicksand helplessness, that sense of being lost, in every sense of the word. It is still there, but just that significant bit less so. Yet Dark Souls 2 remains an all-encompassing adventure like few others this year. It draws from both Dark and Demon's Souls to juxtapose a deep, foreboding world against an elegant simplicity of swords, shields, dungeons and big bad monsters. There are more pretenders to the throne now, but Dark Souls 2 still stands out as an idiosyncratic, unpredictable experience. For all my criticisms I plowed at least 100 hours into the world of Drangleic, and I'll be back on the plow when Dark Souls 2 hits PS4 and Xbox One in April.
Sony to compensate PSN users with Plus extension, discount code
Sony's offering five days of extra PlayStation Plus membership as its way of making up for the recent network outage. The gesture of goodwill isn't limited to Plus subscribers, as all PlayStation Network users are getting a one-time 10 percent discount code for the PS Store. Sony's Eric Lempel said the company "wanted to show our appreciation" for users' patience after last month's PSN outage, which saw services like the Store and online multiplayer go AWOL. Both PSN and Microsoft's Xbox Live service went offline on Christmas Eve following distributed denial of service attacks.
Full PlayStation Plus line-up for January revealed [update]
Update: Sony's confirmed North America's PS Plus line-up for January is the same as Europe's. We've updated the post to reflect that and other details. We already knew Infamous: First Light and The Swapper were coming to the Instant Game Collection next month, but now we've got the full January PlayStation Plus line-up. The two PS3 freebies headed to the continent are Prototype 2 and DuckTales: Remastered, while the Vita duo is Whoa Dave and Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition. The line-up hits the PS Store stateside on Tuesday, January 6, 2015. As ever, Europe joins the PS Plus party the day after.
PlayStation Store sale extended following PSN downtime
Sony announced it's stretching out its PlayStation Store sales in response to the network woes endured over the last week. The storefront's Flash Sale now runs through until 12PM PT on December 31, 2014 (3AM ET on January 1, 2015), and the Holiday Sale now ends at 12PM PT on January 6, 2015 (3AM ET on Janury 7, 2015). The Flash Sale features a 30-odd variety of this year's big hitters including Destiny, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor. Not that the Holiday Sale is lacking on that count, with its discounted items including Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition for PS4, Alien: Isolation and Danganronpa 2. On Saturday, December 27, Sony reported the PlayStation Network was back online following distributed denial of service attacks that began on Christmas Eve. However, as of last night, Sony says the service currently has "intermittent connectivity." Yesterday, Sony tweeted out a PlayStation Support page suggesting PS4 users try changing their MTU settings to restore connectivity. Several hours later, Sony said it had made network updates that should forgo users having to delve into the settings menu. At the time of writing, our UK PS4 signed into PSN and we were able to access the PlayStation Store without issue. [Image: Channel 4]
Joystiq's favorite races in games
It was revealed this week that the Heavensward expansion for Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn would introduce not only new jobs, but a new race for players to enjoy: the Au Ra. Featuring tails, scales and horns, the Au Ra blend humanoid features with those of dragons, and who doesn't want to be a dragon-person? The news also gave us a chance to reflect on our own favorite races in gaming, which we've collected here for your viewing/judging pleasure. Of course, not everyone will have the same taste in fictional species (though one does make an encore appearance on our list) so tell us: what's your favorite race in games? >>Joystiq's Favorite Races In Games<<
PlayStation Network is back online following Christmas Day attack
Three days after Lizard Squad's latest denial of service attack knocked the PlayStation Network offline (and Xbox Live, we'd add), the internet gaming service is gradually getting back on its feet. Sony now says that PSN should be up and running for all of its consoles. While the company warns that there might be some "intermittency" as it gets back into the swing of things, you theoretically won't face major interruptions during that big Destiny raid. It's not clear if Sony's infrastructure will be any better at weathering future digital assaults on this scale; given that the attack was supposedly three times larger than the previous record-setter, this probably isn't a permanent fix. However, it's good to know that you can squeak in at least some online gaming on that shiny new PS4 before the holidays are over.
PSA: PlayStation Network back online, service restored [Update]
The PlayStation Network appears to be fully armed and operational, according to an update post on the PlayStation Blog. The update confirms that the PSN suffered a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack on Christmas Eve Day, and though the group that took credit for bringing the service down claimed to have ceased its attack on December 25, it was not until late last evening that service was restored. Sony now reports in no uncertain terms that "PlayStation Network is back online." If you received or purchased a PlayStation system over the holidays, you should be free to enjoy your new console. Update: If you're a PS4 user still having difficulties logging in, the Ask PlayStation Twitter account suggests that age-old fix of restarting your system. A tweet reads, "PS4 users: If you are still having issues signing in to PSN today, please reboot the console and try again." [Image: Sony]
Joystiq's favorite new characters of 2014
It takes all sorts to make up the video game worlds we explore, and sometimes a few characters stand out as our favorites. From the buffoonery of Ratbag to the big splash made by the Troupple King, this year featured a host of unique new faces. As we close out another year of gaming, we look back at some of our favorites. Of course we couldn't highlight them all, so we ask: What are your favorite characters of 2014? >>Joystiq's Favorite New Characters of 2014<<
PSN Store Update: Alien Isolation, Diablo 3, more
In a last-ditch effort to get in your wallet before the end of the year, the PlayStation Store has a number of good deals on games this week. Among the many deals for PS4 players at the moment, Alien: Isolation is $35.99 ($29.99 for PS Plus members), while the game's season pass is down to $14.99. Additionally, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is $39.59 ($35.99 on PS Plus), Escape Goat 2 is half-price ($5, $4 on PS Plus), Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is just $6.80 and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is $25 ($20 on PS Plus). As for Vita, players can download Danganronpa 2 for $27.99 ($23.99 on PS Plus), Nidhogg for $10.49 ($8.99 through PS Plus), Thomas Was Alone and Stealth Inc. for $3.99 each as well as Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut for $5 ($4 via PS Plus). A number of games, such as Nidhogg and Thomas Was Alone, are Cross-Buy compatible, so those with multiple systems only need to pay once to access each version. That includes Flippfly's Race the Sun, which is down to $6.99 at the moment across all three PlayStation platforms ($5.99 on PS Plus). Head over to PlayStation Blog for a full list of the current deals. [Image: Sega]
2014's Box Art: The Year in Review
Gaming is as deeply entrenched in the online age as it's ever been, with more downloadable games hitting storefronts than ever before. So there's no better time than now, while we still can, to commemorate the year through the lens of box art. So many hours and so much thought goes into creating box art, with designers working their utmost to grab consumer attention at ground level. That makes for a curious mix of designs, turning the average store shelf into a kaleidoscope of logos, familiar faces, and occasionally glittering artwork. That very much remains the case this year. We've taken 50 of 2014's retail releases - we've restricted it to games that hit physical store shelves (sorry, Shovel Knight) - and compiled them into a gallery to chronicle the year. As for which box art stood out from the rest, we welcome you to illuminate us in the comments. What was your favorite video game box art of 2014? Which of the covers we didn't include were ones you really liked? And what about the coulda-shoulda-done-betters? Let us know! >>The Year in Box Art<<
Touhou Project games coming to PlayStation 4, PS Vita
The Touhou Project will make its console and portable debut in Japan starting next year with the launch of a series of officially licensed, fan-made games for the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, series creator ZUN revealed this week (via Siliconera). Named as the "most prolific fan-made shooter series" by Guinness World Records, the Touhou Project is a long-running, single-developer franchise helmed by its pseudonymous creator ZUN. Initially a hobbyist project, Touhou evolved to encompass a multitude of commercially produced spinoff games and media works from indie creators worldwide. Previous Touhou games include the acclaimed PC bullet-hell shooters Imperishable Night and Perfect Cherry Blossom. Upcoming Touhou releases for PlayStation platforms include the roguelike Mystery Gensokyo and RPG Genius of Sappheiros for the PS Vita. The PlayStation 4 will host Touhou's bullet hell shooter Gensou no Rondo. An additional game, Touhou Sky Arena Matsuri, is also in development for an unnamed platform. Release dates for the announced games are not yet known. A series of Touhou PlayStation Vita system themes will premiere throughout next year in Japan, priced at 432 yen each. [Image: Touhou Project)
I only play Hotline Miami 2 on vinyl
There's this game coming out called Hotline Miami 2. You probably haven't heard of it. Anyway, I found out you can get this sweet collector's edition with the soundtrack on vinyl. It's, like, sixty bucks and comes with three discs – all of them 180 gram, colored vinyl, of course – and it features 28 different tracks from the game. You also get a Steam download code for the game, printed on a special "phone card," which is, like, what old people used before smartphones or something. You probably haven't pre-ordered it yet. I mean, I heard about it months ago, but it's cool if you like it now, or whatever. [image: Devolver Digital]
PSN Store Update: Damn it Otacon, Get a Grip
Some six years after it hit retail shelves, you can now download Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots from the PlayStation Store. As such, you can now sort of ruin one of the game's most memorable moments. We're of course talking about that tongue-in-cheek bit about the PS3's Blu-Ray capabilities, which arguably loses its edge when you're not playing from a disc. So, it's another Metal Gear Solid moment that only really works when playing the game in its original form. Not that that's a bad thing. If you don't fancy shelling out $20 on a 30GB-ish download, there is other, fresher stuff on the PS Store. Guilty Gear Xrd Sign is the major new release of the week, and you can grab the fighter for $60 on PS4 and $50 on PS3. Also new on PS4 this week are free-to-play shooter Loadout, Tetris Ultimate ($10), and Super Mega Baseball ($20, cross-buy with PS3)
Landmark visual novel Steins;Gate heads west on PS3, Vita next year
Acclaimed Japanese visual novel Steins;Gate will be localized and released in North America and Europe next year for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, publisher PQube announced today. Taking place on the streets of Japanese electronics shopping district Akihabara, Steins;Gate tells a sci-fi tale in which its characters can change past events by sending text messages through time. The mystery deepens when the cast receives replies from a dystopian future hinting at a world-changing conspiracy revolving around the Large Hadron Collider. Steins;Gate topped PC sales charts in Japan for many consecutive months following its initial release in 2010, spawning multiple spinoffs and ports for the Xbox 360, PSP, and mobile platforms. While an English-language PC version premiered earlier this year via JAST USA, PQube's upcoming localization will mark Steins;Gate's first appearance on consoles in North America and Europe. Speaking to Siliconera, PQube head of marketing Geraint Evans revealed that the company is pursuing a retail launch in addition to a digital release via the PlayStation Network. "I'm personally against digital-only releases, so I will do my very best to ensure a physical release happens," Evans stated. [Image: PQube]
PlayStation Plus gave you $1,349 in 'free' games this year
It won't surprise you to hear that your PlayStation Plus subscription provides a healthy amount of gaming goodness for $50 per year, but have you ever crunched the numbers to see just how much you're getting? Push Square has. According to its calculations, Sony offered Plus subscribers a whopping $1,349 (£960 in the UK) in PS3, PS4 and PS Vita software during 2014. If you were diligent enough to add every title to your library, you got quite a bargain -- especially since many of the titles (such as Don't Starve and Dust: An Elysian Tail) would easily be worthwhile as stand-alone purchases.