Feature- PSN Playstation Store downloadable games

With home consoles getting in on the previously PC only aspects of gaming, such as online gaming and automatic updates, an exciting development is the opportunity for consumers to purchase and aquire games online. In this feature I will be looking at a few of the games available for download from the PSN store, with followup articles on the Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare distribution to come.

Playstation Store

The Playstation Store is accessible from the Playstation 3's main menu, and can be used to download a variety of things including movies, downloadable content for games and full games, including brand new PS3 games, demos, PSP games and Playstation 1 games. For the purposes of this article I will be looking at 3 of the currently available PS3 games which can be downloaded.

Pixeljunk Monsters

There are various Pixeljunk games released on the Playstation Store, and each time a different genre has been tackled, with varying degrees of success. Pixeljunk Monsters is a tower defense game, with a few added strategy elements. The general gist of the game is to annihilate waves of monsters before they reach the end of the stage, by strategically placing a variety of gun towers in thier path. However different towers have different uses, and are particularly suited to destroying certain monsters, thus you have to manage the building and upgrading of the towers to overcome different waves, and managing your gold reserves, obtained by defeating monsters, is important. In a move away from the classic tower defense games, you can only place towers in predefined positions, and rather than having a cursor to place things, you have to move your character around to position each tower dodging the oncoming monsters yourself, and chanting at the towers to speed up thier upgrades.

This is a neat twist on the genre, and the game is quite addictive with unlockable elements and a strict learning curve. Trying to get more gold and eradicate larger chunks of monsters each time keeps you coming back and stages are well designed with a decent variety of challenges.

Flower

From thatgamecompany, this is a hugely unique game that almost defies description. Their first game, flOw is also available but for a real treat it is Flower that I would recommend. With excellent visuals and music, the game is relaxing and enjoyable. It takes place in the dreams of flowers on a windowsill, and using the PS3's motion controller you move through colourful worlds, restoring nature by collecting flower petals. Some people may be put off by the ecological message, but the game's beauty is more than enough to attract attention and make it a worthwhile play. The only issue with this game is its relative short length, and although some effort has been made to put in a mechanic for replayability, collecting the 3 hidden green petals in each level, once you have played through you have seen most that the game has to offer. As a downloadable game though, this works well as it provides a good challenge and an interesting and unique experience.

I really love this game and highly reccomend it, although I am aware that it's sedate pace and short length may make some feel it is not worth the money. Overall though I think the experience is worth it and if you are interested it is definetely a memorable and enjoyable game.

Wipeout HD

The latest installment in the popular Wipeout series, this futuristic racing game retains the thrills of the previous games. With a variety of tracks and a graphical overhaul this game looks great, and the online play is superb. If you have played any of the previous games you will know what expect, and as a flagship Playstation title a lot of people will be familiar with the game. For the uninitiated, it is basically a futuristic racing game, with spaceships rocketing along tracks instead of cars, and with a variety of powerups to give you an advantage against your opponents, the standard rockets and speed boosts alonside mines and energy stealing lasers. Some of the features and tracks are taken from the PSP version although there are a few surprises, such as new modes to keep you on your toes. With an upgrade, Wipeout Fury available for download giving you new tracks, this one can be a bit heavier on the wallet than some of the other Downloadable games on the PSN store but it is a very good example of a classic game given a HD renovation.

If you are a fan of the series, or the racing genre in general, this is a solid and enjoyable game, and the online modes allow you to test your skills agains the world. However there are not a lot of new ideas here and without the upgrade to Wipeout Fury the game feels a little unfinished.

Is downloading the future?

Hopefully from this article you can begin to see that a variety of interesting games are available on the PSN store. For me, this is a great use of the medium, smaller, cheaper and more unique games fit well within the store, games which may not make it to full retail but can be designed and sold for a smaller price and audience. The ease of distribution allows consumers who may not normally be interested in games of this type to try them out without getting stung for the price of a full game. With careful pricing strategies the future sccess of downloadable games looks bright.

Have you played any of the games mentioned in the article, or do you have other favourites from the Playstation Store you would like to recomend? Leave a comment below and let us all know!

Thanks for reading!
Andrew