If you’re a PlayStation Plus member, you’ve got a great month of free games to look forward to, including inFAMOUS: First Light, Prototype 2, Duck Tales Remastered, and Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition.
It’s a new year, and PlayStation Plus is starting it off strong with January’s free games lineup. While 2014 saw a large amount of indie games in Sony’s Instant Game Collection – which is by no means a bad thing, but subscribers expecting a parade of triple-A titles were less than pleased – Sony seems eager to put that behind them, and each of their three active gaming consoles is getting a free triple-A release. Well technically. One was a standalone downloadable prequel to a triple-A game built with the same engine, and another’s a remastered version of a beloved game from the mid-nineties.
If you’ve already got Sony’s next-gen offering, the PlayStation 4, this month you’ll be able to download both inFAMOUS: First Light and The Swapper.
inFAMOUS: First Light features – aside from a tenuous grasp of how capitalization works – the neon-slinging character Fetch from inFAMOUS: Second Son, and steps away from the four different powers available for Second Son‘s main character, Delsin, instead focusing on one power: Neon. While you sadly don’t get the super death beams that Fetch displays in Second Son, your ability to traverse Seattle is greatly increased, as you have unlimited ‘Lightspeed Run’ from the beginning without having to upgrade your abilities, and the ability to sprint through Neon Clouds, which propel you forward at unreal speeds. The game also features a surprisingly addictive challenge mode, which is where a bulk of the content comes from. It’s a pretty fun game, and if you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, it’ll be a good addition to your collection.
Next for you next-gen owners, there’s The Swapper. If you’re a fan of side-scrolling puzzle-platformer games, as well as the “Metroidvania” style of gameplay, this should be right up your alley. The main game mechanic is making clones of yourself via the eponymous device, “the Swapper.” You can generate up to four clones at a time, with the ability to swap your control between any one clone, and the clones also respond to the movements of the controlled individual, allowing for some complex puzzle situations. Various light sources in the game also affect how your clones interact with the world. For example, red light halts your ability to swap between clones, whereas blue light stops you from creating new clones in the affected area. There’s also a cool dystopian sci-fi setting, and all in all, it’s pretty unique and fun. It was also very well-received, and is currently only available on Sony consoles and the Wii U. So for PlayStation Plus to just offer it up for free, you’d have to be crazy not to grab it.
For all of you PS3 owners, you have Prototype 2 and Duck Tales Remastered to choose from in January, thanks to PlayStation Plus.
Prototype 2, the sequel to 2009’s Prototype, places the player in the shoes of James Heller, a U.S. Marine Sergeant who becomes infected with the Blacklight Virus by Prototype‘s protagonist, Alex Mercer, and is granted superhuman abilities. All of the shape-shifting mayhem you loved in the first game is back, but fine-tuned and with more options. Ever wanted to just rip the limbs off of a Blackwatch solider? You can absolutely do that. You can throw cars, sprint up buildings, and have a ridiculously popped-up collar. You can also just eat people to regain health and absorb their memories. If you’re looking for some insane and violent fun, look no further than Prototype 2.
Then there’s Duck Tales Remastered. A complete remake of the game released in 1989 on the NES, Duck Tales Remastered is the definition of what a remake should be. The visuals are beautiful and move smoothly, it features full voice acting from the surviving cast members of the original show, and it maintains the essential fun and masterful game-making of the original, while still bringing it into modern times. It may seem strange to offer a remake of a game from 1989 that was based on an old Disney cartoon, but Duck Tales is an odd duck, pun most definitely intended. The show was fun (and featured a super catchy theme song), and the game was a surprise classic. If you’ve got a PlayStation Plus subscription, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not picking up Duck Tales Remastered.
And Sony hasn’t forgotten all you PlayStation Plus subscribers with a PlayStation Vita. This month you’ll be getting Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition and Woah Dave!
A remastered edition of 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D, the Megaton Edition features both expansions for the game, as well as enhanced visuals. To the younger crowd, Duke Nukem might only be known for the ill-fated Duke Nukem Forever, but trust us, back in the day, no one kicked more pig butt or quoted more movies than Duke Nukem. Rest assured, Vita owners, you can still pay money to virtual strippers, only now you can do it on the go. Considering the uncertain future for the franchise, and the disappointing recent entries, this is the best Duke Nukem experience you’re likely to have anytime soon.
Lastly for you Vita PlayStation Plus subscribers, we have Woah Dave! Admit it, the strange title has already caught your attention. A celebration of classic arcade games, Woah Dave! isn’t complex or particularly innovative, but it’s fun. It’s reminiscent of the original Mario Bros. back in the arcades, and features fast and frantic two player action. It may not be reinventing the wheel, but when your wheel’s already really good, that hardly matters.
Hopefully we’re in for a great year, because this is certainly a good start for PlayStation Plus subscribers.
