Store droppings. Not so bad this week.
Blue Estate
Platforms: PS4
Format: Digital
Crossbuy: N/A
Price: $19.99 or $18.99 for PS+
Gritty (shorthand for gratuitous blood and nudity) arcade shooter that uses the PS4 controller like a light gun. Comes with a demo, so be sure to give that a try first, especially with a friend to see if the co-op play is any good.
R.B.I. Baseball
Platforms: PS4
Format: Digital
Crossbuy: No
Price: $19.99 (not expecting a PS+ discount)
About a century ago, the original game in this franchise was released on about a billion 8- and 16-bit systems. Now it's making a comeback, and again hitting every system it can (except PSV, but that goes without saying). It's already out on PS3/Xbox 360 for the same price, and $4.99 on mobile platforms, and is digital-only on everything (except on PSV, where it is non-existent). If you want an alternative to MLB The Show this year, I believe this is your only option.
Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Platforms: PS4, PS3
Format: Digital
Crossbuy: No
Price: $14.99
Using hand-drawn art to tell a story of love and war, set during World War I, this is a puzzle game from the same Ubisoft studio that brought us Child of Light. The game follows the different threads woven by a variety of characters through a larger story.
BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma
Platforms: PSV (out on PS3 since 25 March 2014)
Format: Digital and retail
Crossbuy: No
Price: $39.99 (no digital discount expected)
The third title of the BlazBlue 2D fighting game series, following after the story in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (Extend), also available for the PSV. It carries over most of the mechanics and characters, for a total roster of 24 playable characters and more to be purchased.
Farming Simulator 14
Platforms: PSV
Format: Digital
Crossbuy: Probably not
Price: $29.99 (no digital discount expected)
Few humans realize that they are tightly caught within what historian James Burke called "technology trap" in his 1978 documentary series "Connections". That is, the technology that makes our lives easier also traps us in a situation which -- should that technology fail -- would leave us exceptionally vulnerable and probably dead within weeks. To combat this, you can hone your horticultural skills in the comfort of your very own trap--I mean, home-- by growing crops, raising livestock, and imagining the redolent aromas that would accompany such earthy pursuits.
Z-Run
Platforms: PSV
Format: Digital
Crossbuy: N/A
Price: Estimated at $9.99
Run from zombies by dodging, jumping, and sliding. Like Canabalt, but 3D-i-er and zombie-er and weapony-er. Also, not really run ... more like jog or speedwalk. (At least from the trailer I've seen...)
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark
Platforms: PS4, PS3
Format: Digital and retail
Crossbuy: No
Price: $59.99 for PS4, $49.99 for PS3, no digital discount expected
This is a sequel to a game (Fall of Cybertron) and a companion to a movie (Age of Extinction). It's a licensed movie game -- I'm not expecting much. Stuff will blow up and change form and someone somewhere will make some money getting people to buy it.
Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland
Platforms: PS3, PSV
Format: Digital (and PS3 at retail too)
Crossbuy: No
Price: $39.99 (PS3 at retail, perhaps cheaper digitally)
This is a remake of the 2010 game of the same name, sans Plus. It is a JRPG in the Atelier series. The story in this game is told through a dozen tasks and runs across 14 main plotlines. There is also a focus on item synthesis.
End of Serenity
Platforms: PSP/PSV
Format: Digital
Crossbuy: N/A
Price: $14.99
This PSP release is also compatible with the PSV. It's a JRPG that evokes the artwork of the 16-bit era and focuses on skills and objects for battles.
GRID Autosport
Platforms: PS3
Format: Digital (and retail?)
Crossbuy: N/A
Price: $49.99 (no digital discount expected)
Ran out of time. Sorry.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
Platforms: PS3 (PS2 Classic)
Format: Digital
Crossbuy: N/A
Price: $19.99?
Ran out of time. Sorry.
XBlaze Code: Embryo
Platforms: PS3, PSV
Format: Digital and retail
Crossbuy: N/A
Price: $39.99
Ran out of time. Sorry.
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Sorry, I have to leave my computer now, or else I'd try to finish this. Someone else can fill in, if they want.
