PlayStation Update for 5-6-2014: Borderlands 2 on Vita, Activision sale, free Stick it to the Man

PlayStation Vita takes center stage as the handheld gets relaunched and bundled with Borderlands 2. Also, Activision holds a sale of some of their games including Prototype and Transformers, and there's two free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers.

New Releases

PS4

• Bound by Flame - $49.99 (Digital/Retail*)
• MLB 14 The Show - $59.99 (Digital/Retail)
• Sportsfriends - $14.99 (Digital)
• Stick it to the Man - Free** (Digital)
• Titan Attacks! - $10.79** (Digital/Cross-Buy)

PS3

• Bound by Flame - $39.99 (Digital/Retail*)
• Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi - $27.19**
• Sportsfriends - $14.99 (Digital)
• Titan Attacks! - $10.79** (Digital/Cross-Buy)

VITA

• Borderlands 2 Vita - $199.96 (Bundle only)***
• Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse - $16.99 (Digital)
• Football Manager Classic 2014 - $39.99 (Digital)
• God of War Collection - $29.99 (Digital/Retail)
• Titan Attacks! - $10.79** (Digital/Cross-Buy)

*Comes out May 9th.

**PlayStation Plus price.

***Borderlands 2 on Vita released as standalone next week.

The big release this week is a semi-relaunch of the Vita with a thinner, cheaper edition of the handheld with Borderlands 2. Now the popular title from 2K Games is available for those that want to replay it and loot on the go. There are some limitations in this version, including two-player co-op, and there are some reviewers reportedly turned off by this version in their first impressions.

Elsewhere, PlayStation 4 gets its monthly free game with Stick it to the Man, a game that's already available on other consoles. Other highlights include MLB 14 The Show finally on PS4 along with Titan Attacks! released on all three platforms.

Strangely enough, no classics, imports, or demos are new this week.

PS+ Discounts

Activision is holding a sale on some of their games and downloadable content. The quality of both the discounts and the games on the list are left to be desired, but maybe those interested in messing with one of the Cabela hunting games can finally get their fix.

• Cabela's African Adventures - $17.99
• Cabela's Big Game Hunter: Pro Hunts - $17.99
• Fast & Furious: Showdown - $17.99
• Prototype - $13.49
• Prototype 2 - $17.99
• PT2 Colossal Mayhem / Excessive Force Packs - $2.69
• PT2 Radnet Access Pack - $6.29
• PT2 Ultimate Bundle (includes all DLC) - $22.49
• Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Dinobot Destructor / Massive Fury / Multiplayer Havoc Packs - $6.29
• TF: FOC Ultimate Edition - $40.49
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Maps and Character DLC - $8.09
• Transformers: War for Cybertron Map and Character Packs 1 and 2 - $2.69
• The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct - $17.99

Also, Big.Trip Presents Runner2 is now available for $7.99 for those that didn't pick it up when it was free in the Instant Game Collection. Speaking of that...

Instant Game Collection

This week, there are two free games including the monthly free PS4 new release. As mentioned earlier, Stick it to the Man is free.

The other game is Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, just in time for those that are gearing up for Championship Sunday in the Premier League and the upcoming World Cup.

Enjoy your week, everyone!

PlayStation Update for February 11th includes Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, lots of Far Cry, and actual new Vita games!

There's plenty of reasons why no gamer should abandon their PlayStation 3, and Sony gives us a ton of reasons with new games and incredibly valued bundles.

[Image credit: Flickr]

Well, one of those bundles are.

First, here's the huge collection of new releases this week:

PS3

• Borderlands 2 and Dishonored Bundle - $30 (Retail)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and BioShock Infinite Bundle - $30 (Retail)
• Far Cry Classic - $10 (Digital)
• Far Cry Compilation - $40 (Retail, exclusive)
• Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - $60 (Digital / Retail)
• Zombeer (Digital)

The Last of Us: Left Behind (Digital only, exclusive) will be released on Friday. Demos of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, Far Cry Classic, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD, Skullgirls Encore, and Toki Tori are also available.

Vita

• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - $40 (Digital / Retail)
• Toukiden: The Age of Demons - $40 (Digital / Retail)
• TxK - $7.99 (Digital, PS+ launch price)
• Fort Defense (Digital)

Other (Digital only)

• Blowout - PS2 classic
• Pac-Man World 20th Anniversary - PSone classic
• Wolf Fang - PSone import

The bundles are an interesting combo release between 2K Games and Bethesda. Some of the value is diminished with both BioShock Infinite and Borderlands 2 being free with PlayStation Plus. The BL2/Dishonored bundle is definitely not worth it when both cames have been found for less than $10 seperately, but anyone that picks up the Elder Scrolls V/BSI bundle will come away with countless hours of entertainment that's definitely worth $30.

Also, it's finally to see some good releases for Vita. Both are worth a look and the reviews are promising. Don't let the confusing, hard-to-say titles steer you away!

There's not many discounts this week for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Blood Knights has a two-dollar drop to $7.99 while DrawSlasher slashes it's price over 50 percent to $2.75. Both the Blood Knights and TxK discounts are only available this week.

[Image credit: Flickr]

Coming into the Instant Game Collection is Payday 2. The follow-up to Payday: The Heist (which was also free on PS+ at one point) was well received by many. Here's more on the game from the PlayStation Blog:

PAYDAY 2 is an action-packed, four-player co-op shooter that once again lets gamers don the masks of the original PAYDAY crew – Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf and Chains – as they descend on Washington D.C. for an epic crime spree. The new CRIMENET network offers a huge range of dynamic contracts and players are free to choose anything from small-time convenience store hits or kidnappings, to major league cyber-crime or emptying out major bank vaults for that epic PAYDAY.

The first Payday was very fun, and I haven't had the time to check up on the sequel. I'll give first impressions later this week.

Friendly reminder: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Telltale Games' Poker Night 2 are leaving next week, so get them while you can.

I can feel the frustration for PlayStation 4 owners. Better days will be ahead for new releases and deals.

Have a great week everyone!

Borderlands 2 not coming out March 18th on PS Vita

The handheld port of Borderlands 2 will not be coming out March 18th for PlayStation Vita, as falsely stated by the 2K Games International Twitter account.


According to PlayStation Lifestyle, @2KInternational tweeted that BL2 was set to release on March 18th for the Vita. However, that post was deleted and followed up with two more tweets announcing that "the release date mentioned is incorrect" and they were "sorry for any confusion this may have caused."

All three of those tweets have since been deleted on the account.

PSLS also gives us information on NewEgg's continuing change in their release date:

You may remember March 18th as the original date given by NewEgg, but they then changed it to April 15th, and now it reads December 31st, 2014 (clearly a placeholder).

Considering the game is still available for free on PlayStation 3 for PlayStation Plus subscribers, I don't see much reason to head out and buy this game immediately except for gamers that must shoot and loot on the go. But the game is aging, and if the publisher waits until late spring or summer, will there still be as big of a demand for another edition of BL2?

It's an incredibly fun game with lots of playing time, but you'd think even the biggest diehard fans are ready for the next installment of Borderlands.

Image credit: Flickr

'Left 4 Dead' creator announces 'Evolve" releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC

Evolve, from the creators of Left 4 Dead, had pre-order bonuses announced for those that are planning to pick up the game this fall.


From GameSpot:

Anyone who preorders the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC shooter will receive the Monster Expansion Pack, which comes with a Savage Goliath skin and a new monster character that will be released after launch.

The next team-based shooter will use Crytek's CryEngine, pitting four players against a monster that's played by a fifth person. The catch is while the team of shooters will be focused in a first-person view, the person that plays as the monster will be seeing things from the third-person view.

To change things up, monsters will feature an array of attacks and there will be a variety of monsters that will be unique.

Evolve is being developed by Turtle Rock Studios (known for their L4D fame) and will be published by 2K Sports. Orignially, the game was going to be released under THQ before they went bankrupt. Its release was discovered in the February 2014 edition of Game Informer.

The multiplayer shooter/action game will also see a PC and Xbox One release alongside the PS4. Pre-orders have started as of yesterday.

Image credit: Flickr