The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service knows no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. Whether it’s PSN exclusives, PSOne Classics, minis or plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another instalment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We got you covered. Conversely, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking in to over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
Today, we slip on our Commander’s hat and wage war in R.U.S.E. add-on The Chimera Pack.
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Developer: Eugen Systems
Region(s) available: North America, Europe
Players: 1-4
Eugen’s deceptive strategy romp R.U.S.E. turned quite a few heads upon its release back in 2010. Applauded for its lush interface, user-friendly controls and application of sneaky trickery to facilitate victory, the game also proved one of the most competent releases to make use of Sony’s wand-waggling Move controller at launch. Unsurprising, then, that the game was short listed in our list of Best PlayStation Move Games in our recent 2010 game awards. Motion-sensing shenanigans aside, the World War II-based command ’em ups’ compelling marriage of information-based warfare, tight narrative and comprehensive unit roster offers a welcome distraction for those looking for a more cerebral RTS affair. With one batch of downloadable content already up for grabs, publisher Ubisoft has marched out its latest skirmish supplement in the form of The Chimera Pack.
Weighing in at $9.99 USD, this latest chunk of DLC augments both the game’s competitive and single-player components, coughing up three new multiplayer maps and a further three solo challenges. Avid online skirmishers will no doubt want to plump for the three extra maps up for grabs — Blood and Sand, Djebel and Nuclear Winter — which offer a series of fresh, diverse backdrops to supplement up your multiplayer needs. If you’ve conquered every corner of the standard maps, then these make a worthy purchase. The real meat is in the solo operations, though, with a trio of unique challenges to tackle that take you on a globetrotting march through several theaters of war spread throughout the 1940s.
First up is Bir Hakeim, which takes place in the sun-baked Libyan Desert in 1942 as the Free French Forces dig in against the invading Nazi hordes. The action then transitions to Tunisia circa 1943, with players stepping in to the boots of commander of the Afrikakorps. Titled Medjez, here you’ll face the snappy pincer movements of the British Army and the Free French Forces. Bringing up the rear is Zapad Operation, which plonks players in a time machine and whizzes the action forward to post-WWII era 1947. Joining forces with a mate, you’ll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Soviet War Machine to take on American imperialists as a scuffle on the German borders inaugurates a nuclear war. Indeed, if you’ve already bled the out-of-the-box basics dry and are salivating for a fresh skirmish, then The Chimera Pack should be right up your street.