PlayStation Plus

[Kong Wen]

The PS+ update for July is now live:

Rocket League (PS4)
Styx: Master of Shadows (PS4)
MouseCraft (PS4, Vita, PS3)
Entwined (PS4, Vita, PS3)
Rain (PS3)
Geometry Wars 3 (Vita)

Rocket League is being touted as a big release, but I'm skeptical. It's by the same people who made Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars (or whatever that game was called... close enough), which was a somewhat clunky niche online game that they pulled server support for too early. Still, it promises to be much improved over their earlier title, and it's on PS4, so it might have some appeal.

Sony showed Entwined at E3 last year and I immediately pegged it as a future PS+ gimme, so I'll be picking that up tonight. It looks nice.

Geometry Wars 3 is a beauty of a game that was bogged down by some ridiculous gating at launch. I've heard they fixed that problem, but I haven't gone back to it to check for myself. It'll be a nice fit on Vita. Great quick portable game.

[Kong Wen]

Here are the PS+ freebies for August.

One of those Lara Croft spinoff games, Limbo, Sound Shapes, and Stealth Inc. 2. God of War Ascension and CastleStorm are also available.

[Kong Wen]

At least some future PS+ freebies will be determined by popular vote, depending on how this Vote to Play initiative goes.

I admit to not really having any idea how PS+ works other than on the consumer side. How are the games selected, what is the developer/publisher involvement, how does it affect their bottom line, etc.?

Popular vote could be bad for the people who like the kind of niche indie games that often get attention using PS+ promotions. I've also heard some complaints that this kind of structure won't do anything to combat the sense of entitlement that some people seem to have about getting free/cheap games.

What are your thoughts on voting to choose which games become PS+ freebies?

[Sharecrow]

I don't like the idea, to be honest. First and most importantly, especially as my preferences are often minority preferences, I think the titles selected will be inevitably predictable. Whichever game seems to have the most media buzz at the time...and I'm sure the one I vote for will seldom 'win.'

Separately, I kind of like the process of it being a surprise and how it brings me to consider a game I either hadn't considered getting before or that I wasn't even aware of for whatever reason. Those little curve balls keep it interesting for me.

That said I don't think it'll impact my willingness to continue to be a subscriber. It's still a good deal.

[VictorViper]

I hate this. Share already covered my reasons why, but I'm also frustrated since it can only be an appeal to the whining, self-entitled comment section trolls who deserve a spanking, not rewards.

[Spore]

Have people been unsatisfied with the PS+ offerings thus far? I haven't seen many games come up that looked like duds. Anyway, I imagine Sony will still be vetting the initial pool of games to vote for so it's not like it's going to be Call of Duty winning every time or something. You'll still see plenty of high profile indie releases show up that will garner a lot of votes. Also do we know if this is a zero sum game or not? It doesn't look like they mentioned that this choice option will be replacing one of the free games you've been used to getting. Perhaps it's an addition.

[Kong Wen]

The freebies for September have been announced.

Grow Home (PS4)
Super Time Force Ultra (PS4)
Xeodrifter (PS4, Vita)
Teslagrad (PS4, PS3)
Twisted Metal (PS3)
La Mulana EX (Vita)

[The Shoemaker]

Xeodrifter (PS4, Vita)

Now is your time Kong, give it a try!

[Kong Wen]

Xeodrifter (PS4, Vita)

Now is your time Kong, give it a try!

I'll try it for free for sure. I watched the trailer on the PS Store and it still looks like everything I don't like about Mutant Mudds, but I'm hoping the level design and slightly different genre can rescue it for me.

[The Shoemaker]

Xeodrifter (PS4, Vita)

Now is your time Kong, give it a try!

I'll try it for free for sure. I watched the trailer on the PS Store and it still looks like everything I don't like about Mutant Mudds, but I'm hoping the level design and slightly different genre can rescue it for me.

We'll see then, in the end it's only a couple hours long. I liked the brisk pace, once you know what you're doing it's almost one power up after the other.