Top 5 PlayStation Network games

In the market for a different PS3 experience? Try these cheap options

‘Wipeout HD’

What’s crazy fast, super shiny and twitch-inducing? This game. The graphics are so stunning, you’ll wonder how they squeezed all that awesomeness into a single download. But forget the technical crap - “Wipeout HD” is the same futuristic hovercraft race you’ve loved since the first game. Only this time, it plays online and in high definition. At $20, it’s pricier than most PSN games, but die-hard driving fans will be overjoyed with the transaction.

‘PixelJunk Monsters’

Don’t let the dumb name confuse you: This is NOT an ugly, trashy or scary game. It’s a charming little game where players defend their castle (or base) using well-placed artillery to keep enemies at bay. Yes, it’s another tower defense game. But it requires a lot more strategy since the levels are more intricate and the enemies more varied when compared to the alternatives. Plus, the entire package is so expertly put together, you’ll want to play often.

 

‘Shatter’

Most modern shoot-'em-ups stick to the same (rectangle) canvas. Not this one. Both circular and square levels are present, which radically change the dynamic. Furthermore, while other games simply increase the number of on-screen enemies and projectiles over time, “Shatter” features proper boss battles in a nod to the classics. It’s surprising then that “Shatter” costs only $8, especially when you consider its slick presentation and top-notch soundtrack.

 

‘Calling All Cars!’

This is cops and robbers for $10 � but not just any old cops and robbers. “Calling All Cars!” lets up to four players capture criminals with the help of well-handling cars and zany power-ups. Gamers earn points for driving through key areas of the map and for capturing the bad guy. The game may be light on calories, but things really start to heat up when played with others, either online or in split-screen mode. Either way, you’re in for a ride.

 

‘Fat Princess’

This game offers and ingenious twist on the proven “capture the flag” formula: Why not make the “flag” heavier for your enemy to carry? To achieve this, you’ll feed cake to an enemy princess, making it harder for her subjects to transport and protect her. Throw in a 32-person multiplayer and an equal mix of offense and defense strategies, and you have the makings of an original, winning, and long-lasting game.

Honorable mention: “Cuboid”

Madden NFL 08

It's easy to forget about that big black machine that we've had stashed away for awhile now. Remember the original Xbox? EA sure does, as they've given owners of Microsoft's first game console a swan song worthy of its short but spectacular lifespan. As what is almost certainly the final game to be released for the system, Madden 08 is the best football game you'll ever play on a current-generation machine (including its PS2 cousin).

 

This season's title is as familiar as an old baseball glove (wrong sport, right analogy). Between the crisp visuals, tight controls, and Al Michaels/John Madden commentary, someone who's thrown down in a recent version of the game on any system will feel right at home. Those of you out there who've skipped a gaming generation may feel intimidated by the level of depth, and we feel for you. You've missed a lot, and there may not be any hope left for your football dreams.

There is so much happening on the field that it borders on obnoxious. After you call one of the hundred or so available plays based upon dozens of personnel packages, you can put players in motion, call hot routes, shift line coverages, even take on the lead blocker. Then - and only then - you hike the ball. Defensive pre-snap tweaks are even more pronounced, including the ability to adjust any individual player's assignments based on what you see on the other side of the line. Little of this is new, of course, but it still amazes us every year how far along these games have come. If you don't know NFL football, you don't know Madden.

 

The biggest on-field addition is the Weapons feature, a nifty little option that makes it easy to spot mismatches and exploit or avoid them. Icons appear under certain players to let you know who the top guns are on either side of the ball. Got a fleet-footed slot receiver matched up against a lead-footed, run-stopping linebacker? Time to hit a hot route down the field and light up the defense for six. Suppose you spot your wideout covered by a lock-down cornerback? Better avoid throwing to that side of the field, unless tossing an interception is part of your game plan.

The Xbox version sports crisper visuals and faster load times than the PS2 title. Our main gripe is still a lack of a real celebration when we win the Super Bowl. There should be a ten-minute montage celebrating our awesomeness, topped off by a ticker tape parade. What do we get? Thirty seconds of players celebrating and a "Congratulations" message. Blecch!

It may be the last game anyone will ever play on the original Xbox, and it does the Madden name justice with its smooth play, wide range of features old and new, ridiculously in-depth franchise options, and online games. If there was ever a game to close out a console with style, Madden 08 is the one.

Richard Grisham, GamesRadar US

Perpetually teenage ninja turtles kick it back to grade school and play for the kids

When we first heard that the same studio that makes the fluidly acrobatic, lushly visualized Prince of Persia series was going to make a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, we were thrilled. In our minds, no other team on Earth was better suited to blend the four things that define the turtles: a dark personality (in the original comics at least), incredibly acrobatic ability to treat an entire city like a jungle gym, teamwork, and high-flying martial arts shell-kickery complete with different weapons, styles and co-op moves.

Or so we thought. Unfortunately, TMNT isn't the game we'd hoped for; the one that would finally have the teen turtles growing from the basic brawler playpen into gameplay adulthood and taking their place in the over-21 line. Rather, it's more a case of them going back to Jr High and snapping the lady turtles' training bras because they're still too immature to actually ask them out.

The trouble is, this franchise has incredible potential and it just doesn’t realize it at all. First off, there are four ninja turtles. There have always been. Why then, is this a solo mission? Okay, the PSP version adds an ad hoc racing mode, but that just makes things worse. Playing alone only makes sense when you're playing as the fifth character, Raphael's masked alter-ego the Nightwatcher. Which is a nice touch, frustrating or not.

On the plus side, the turtles feel incredibly nimble as they hotfoot the whole of New York, from sewers to rooftop. They run, jump, pull-up, pole-swing and wall run so easily, smoothly and intuitively that Spider-man himself would approve. The real Spider-man we mean, not that half-hearted, "quitting after three movies" poser. Each has a specific move that helps him get around, too: Donatello pole vaults with his bo staff, Michelangelo spins his nunchuks like copter blades to glide, the sword-swinging Leonardo literally teleports through iron bars and gates, and Raphael just shoves the shafts of his sai into any vertical surface and pulls himself up like a stabby spider.

But this too feels like a missed opportunity - not enough puzzles really capitalize on these abilities and how they interact. A multiplayer game that required the turtles to co-ordinate their efforts and powers could have rocked so much harder. For that matter, so could a camera that chose better angles and thus caused to fewer missed jumps due to misjudged distances.

When it comes time to put a green-tinted bludgeoning on some generic gang bangers or foot-clan ninjas - even a rare boss - you're handed a pool of moves so shallow that a real turtle could stand flat-footed on the bottom and barely get his chin wet. You've got some basic kicks and swipes, a ground-pounding shock wave to clear out crowds, and a tiny selection of special or team up attacks - mostly grabbing another turtle by the feet and swinging him in a circle. But even this move just reminds you of first, figure skating and second, of how much wasted potential there is here. You usually stomp the enemies anyway, because they're all brain-dead, but... argh.

The various versions all have their weaknesses. The 360 and Wii versions are ten bucks more, apparently because 360 is the prettiest and Wii comes with nine single-player mini-games and a "wiggle to slash, jiggle to kick" control scheme that we ran from almost immediately. The PC one looks okay too, but clearly wasn't developed with higher-than-TV resolutions in mind. PS2 is cheaper, but fugly. And the GameCube one exists, which is a marvel in and of itself these days.

This could have been the greatest four-player brawler in history. Seriously, it could have - with deep, coordinated multi-player combat and vast, multi-tiered levels full of environmental puzzles and surprises. But, like the film itself, the game aims low and ends up typical and forgettable. It's even short, at maybe six hours if you stretch it. If this was a real turtle, it would be the one sitting on the side of the road watching cars whiz by, not the one lacing 'em up to take on the rabbit and the road and dare its way to immortality in the history books.

Eric Bratcher, GamesRadar US