[Games] PS Plus February 2015 Free Games

When you own a PS Vita, a PS3, and a PS4, signing up for a PlayStation Plus subscription is a no-brainer. You get at least 6 free games a month, tons of discounts, and online multiplayer capabilities on your PS4.

Sure, most people will probably ignore a lot of these free games. Even I do. But a lot of times, there are hidden gems in these freebies, and now that Sony had been trying to include a launch date in some of the batches, you never know when you’d get a classic for free.

I had been planning on writing about these free games for the longest time, and I hope to finally get this going now.

My plan is to write about each month’s free games as soon as I get news of them, give a brief summary of each game, and give them ratings based on how good the games are (based on reviews) and on how excited I am to download them.

In other words, ratings are very subjective.

For February 2015, Sony has recently revealed the six new entries to the Instant Game Collection. Here goes:

• Transistor (PS4) – A Sci-Fi RPG unlike no other. The game is presented in an isometric point of view, while the player controls the main character while battling enemies known as Processes. While at first it looks like the traditional hack-and-slash RPG in the mold of Diablo or God of War, it actually involves a more strategic element. In particular, at any point during battle, the player can pause combat and assign next moves. Only a certain number of moves can be planned, though, and as soon as they’re executed, the player will have to dodge or hide his way while the Action Bar replenishes. It’s a unique, exciting take, and there’s really nothing bad I can say about it other than the fact that I already bought the game so I wouldn’t benefit from it being given for free. Still, a solid 4/5.
• Apotheon (PS4) – Apotheon is this month’s launch title. It’s another Action-RPG, but this time, it’s of the Platforming, Side-scrolling variety. It is also mythologically inspired, and boasts an “ancient Greek pottery” artstyle. I’m very excited about this game, but I’ve been excited about other disappointing launch titles before, so I’ll hold back a little and just give this game a generous 4.5/5. I will probably write about it in detail in a separate post once I play it, though. Oh, and here’s the official trailer from the official PlayStation channel:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOvwpj0pw9A]

 

• Rogue Legacy (PS4, PS3, Vita) – Let me make this simple: it’s a hack and slash side-scroller with RPG and platforming elements and is a roguelike, so you constantly die and pass on your skills and upgrades to your descendants. It’s also very difficult, and I like difficult games. It provides a bit of a retro graphics, which is a turn off to some of my friends, but which is something I genuinely appreciate. And did I mention it’s one of my favorite PS4 games to date? An easy 5/5. I already own it but I’m a huge, huge fan.
• Kick and Fennick (Vita) – Now this is a game I’m not very familiar with and have never played. It’s a futuristic platformer/adventure game, kind of like in the mold of Ratchet and Clank. It’s something I have to play first before I can comment on, but the gameplay footages I’ve seen look promising enough that I’ll definitely download it when it becomes available. I’ll reserve my score on it, though, and change it when I play it. For now, based only on videos, 3/5.
• Yakuza 4 (PS3) – If you’re a fan of the Yakuza series, this is a definite steal. I’ve never played any of its incarnations, but the title is known well enough that I know its gameplay. For those who don’t though, Yakuza is an open world (i.e. GTA-like) action-adventure/RPG that puts you in an extremely detailed version of Tokyo. I haven’t touched my PS3 in quite a while, but with this and the other free game for this month, I might just charge up the old DS3. 4/5.
• Thief (PS3) – Obviously, Thief is a stealth game, and stealth games have a way of bringing out mixed reactions from players. Sure the Metal Gear Solid games have all been classics, but others, even largely-favorite Assassin’s Creed, do get negative reactions and reviews. Personally, my take on stealth games based on experience is, if you enjoyed the first one or two stages, you’d probably enjoy the rest of the game. So if you’