Welcome to our weekly recap pertaining to all things Inside PlayStation Network. Every MON-FRI, PSU shines the spotlight on a piece of content plucked from the digital delights of Sony’s online service, be it a chunk of DLC, PSOne Classic or regular PSN release. In case you missed out on any of this week’s entries, here’s your chance to catch up and see what titles we dissected under the microscope.
Monday – 1942: Joint Strike
Based on Capcom’s arcade classic 1942 (which, annoyingly, is still younger than I am), Join Strike adheres to the original game’s top-down, plane-flying paradigm that sees you blasting copious waves of enemy aircraft, tanks and ships. However, developer Backbone Entertainment’s freshened things up considerably for the revamp, presumably to entice a whole new generational wave of gamers. For starters, the action’s viewed in widescreen, increasing the area which players are required to patrol over by a substantial margin. (Click here for full article)
Tuesday – Cool Boarders
Excuse me for a second, but I’m experiencing an unavoidable compulsion to yell a hearty “Coooool boooooarrdeeerrs!!” from the rafters. There, that’s much better. If this has raised any eyebrows, then I apologise, but rest assured – I’m clinically sane. However, the unmistakable title call of the Cold Boarders series’ eponymous debut should resonate with anyone who grew up with Sony’s grey box of tricks in the middle-late 90s, and remains firmly embedded on my consciousness to this very day. Long before SSX came hurtling down the slopes, Cool Boarders entertained millions of gamers over five snow-filled outings, calving out a substantial following in the process. (Click here for full article)
Wednesday – After Burner: Climax
SEGA’s venerable After Burner franchise has remained a staple cabinet down local arcades since the 1980s. Plucking everything that made the classic flick Top Gun so appealing (with the possible exception of Tom Cruise – sorry ladies) and chucking it into an interactive experience, After Burner immediately struck a cord with gamers thanks to its user-friendly interface and adrenaline-fuelled, action-packed dogfights. Not content with being grounded in the arcades, AM2’s launched the 2006 offering After Burner: Climax on PSN and XBL back in 2010 – minus the fancy hydraulic arcade cabinet, naturally. (Click here for full article)
Thursday – Dead Space 2: Severed
Dead Space 2 proved a smash success for developer Visceral Games, catapulting the space-bound horror IP to mainstream success following the luke warm reception the inaugural sci-fi outing received back in 2008. Not surprising then, that the team have cobbled together the game’s first batch of DLC to extend our Necromorph slicing shenanigans, namely the appropriately titled Dead Space 2: Severed. The single-player centric add-on plonks players in the shoes of a chap named Gabe Weller, who previously went toe-to-toe with the mutated monstrosities of Dead Space: Extraction. (Click here for full article)
Friday – Ridge Racer: Type 4
Ridge Racer’s been around the block a few times, with the series’ inaugural outing accompanying the launch of Sony’s original PlayStation console way back in 1994. As such, it’s no surprise that the speed ‘em up remained synonymous with the brand for over a decade, before skidding onto rival formats a few years back. Ridge Racer Type 4 – dubbed R4 – marked the arcade racer’s PSOne swansong, releasing back in 1999 for one last spin around the track before shifting up a gear to PlayStation 2 the following year. (Click here for full article)