PlayStation Plus deals: Soul Sacrifice available for free on PS Vita

Been waiting for a discount on Soul Sacrifice and missed out on Sony's earlier Japanese gaming discount this year? Now the PS Vita exclusive is free for all PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Here's a description of the game from the PlayStation Plus blog:

Prepare yourself for a brutal combat experience where every decision made will have consequential results. Take on the role of a slave who is about to be sacrificed stumbles upon a forbidden book that allows its readers to relive battles between sorcerers and monsters of the past. In order to use the magic during fierce battles, the player must be willing to make a sacrifice – ranging from personal belongings, a limb, or even a life.

Sacrifice is probably the best deal on a Vita game since Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, with both retailing at about $30 at most stores.

While it wasn't the system seller that many expected, Sacrifice still got a respectable 76.32 percent at GameRankings. It's a Monster Hunter clone that suffers from repetitive play, but players will generally get about 30 hours of gameplay or more out of it. According to a review by The Digital Fix, "with a few tweaks and additions" it could be a successful franchise on the Vita.

Sacrifice is also a relatively new game, released last April. It was developed by Marvelous and published by Sony.

For those that want a deep action RPG experience on the go, the price of free is simply unbeatable for PS+ subscribers.

Other deals on PS+ this week:

• Dynasty Warriors 6: $11.99
• Dynasty Warriors 7: $19.99
• Draw Slasher - Hanzo Avatar: Free

[Image credit: Flickr]

PlayStation Plus will be $20 off on Black Friday

Some retailers will have the full year subscription of PlayStation Plus discounted at $29.99 on Black Friday.

From TechnoBuffalo:

Black Friday will see the drop of PlayStation Plus to $29.99 for the one year entry fee. This will land you countless games in the Instant Game Collection, cloud space to store save game data on, and discounts on a wide selection of other hits. PlayStation 4 owners also will need it to play online.

This is beneficial to all PlayStation owners. Those that don't have it already and don't plan to pick up a PS4 anytime soon should still get it. At this discount, it's $2.50 per month, well worth all the freebies that Sony sends to their customers.

For those that have resubscribed lately, don't fret; any additional subscription that is purchased is added on to the account. Meaning that if someone re-upped for a year last July and decided to buy this now, they would have another year of PS+ beginning next July.

Note that no exact retailers are listed, but expect many standard retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, GameStop, etc. Also, don't expect to just grab these online - to take advantage of this offer, it looks like that it will have to be done in-store on Black Friday. But it wouldn't hurt to keep those eyes peeled online throughout the day in case some stores throw the price up online or if Amazon has it available in a "Lightning Deal."

[Image credit: Flickr]

UK retailer bundles PlayStation 4, Vita together in 'Ultimate Bundle'

The potential for Sony to bundle the PlayStation 4 and Vita together are certainly there to help the company's fledgling handheld system, and apparently a European retailer has already taken that step. But does that really mean it's better?

According to Geek Gamerz, GAME has combined the PS4, Vita along with a handful of games for 599.96 pounds.

The pre-order bundle consists of a PlayStation 4 console itself, a PS Vita Wi-Fi (sadly not the 3G version), a 14 day trial for PS+ along with 4 games – Knack and Lego Marvel Super Heroes for the PlayStation 4 and Little Big Planet and Tearaway for the Playstation Vita. A 16GB memory card is also included for the Vita which will be sufficient to download a handful of vita games and don’t forget the free games available with a PlayStation plus subscription monthly.

Just taking the rough translation into dollars, the amount GAME is asking for the bundle is equivalent to $969.30. That's a lot of money, considering that separately, the standard prices for PS4 is $400 and the Vita is $170. Those games and the memory card still don't make up for the other $400.

Note that this is a bundle that is made together by GAME, and not Sony directly.

Commentors have already voiced their frustration in the article, and that's understandable. This bundle would be an even better deal if it was the PS4, a Vita Wi-Fi (and 3G), a 30-day PS+ trial subscription, and the aforementioned 16GB memory card for the handheld for $600. It wouldn't include any physical games, but the instant game collection would be enough to tide gamers over and they would likely continue their premium subscription.

[Image credit: Flickr]

PlayStation Plus deals for September 24th, 2013

Is Grand Theft Auto V becoming a little too stale? Oh, it's not? Well, no need to rush through the game all at once! How about taking a little break by checking out some deals for PlayStation Plus subscribers.

First off, this week's free game is Rayman Origins for the PS Vita. For those that are owners of the handheld, be prepared for a tremendous treat. This plat-former has been one of the most critically-acclaimed this generation, and it's a solid portable game that's easy to pick up and play.

Here's other deals this week that include a 20 percent discount of Limbo, half-off Worms Revolution, and deals on Pinballistik and its other content:

• Limbo - PS3/Vita - $11.99 - 20% Off - Cross Buy
• Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut - PS3/Vita - $11.69 - 10% Off - Cross Buy
• Pinballistik + DLC Bundle - $3.99 - 20% Off
• Pinballistik - Alien Tycoon Bundle - $3.99 - 20% Off
• Pinballistik - Made of Money - $2.39 - 20% Off
• Pinballistik - Sector X - $2.39 - 20% Off
• Worms Revolution - $7.50 - 50% Off

List of deals from FriskyTanuki's weekly updates on CheapAssGamer's PSN Weekly Deals thread. Get all the deals for PS+ subscribers, non-PS+ subscribers, and so much more there.

[Image credit: Flickr]

PlayStation Plus Deals for the Week of May 28th, 2013

The slate's a little bleak this week for discounts and deals in the PlayStation Store when compared to last week's massive discounts on ultimate editions. That doesn't mean this week isn't worth checking out.

There's a couple free trials of the newly-released Fuse and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Hamilton's Great Adventure for PS3 and Draw Slasher for Vita are both discounted. Germinator makes a return for those that didn't pick it up last week; the bundle for PS3 and Vita is $5.99 for PS+ members.

Free Game of the Week
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend (Vita)

Apologies for not getting to the quick reviews of last week's games, but both of them are easy to pass on. Germinator's controls make it funky enough to not be a comfortable puzzle game despite it's creativity and Pinball Arcade is a little stale and something that can be found right on the Android market.

This week, yet another fighter is given to us. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend is the revision to the original Continuum Shift and was released February 2012 in North America.

The BlazBlue series has generally been met with higher praise compared to other fighters. While I cannot say the same not having played installments of the series, descriptions of the game are of a faster-paced Street Fighter complete with full anime character designs.

Note that this is the Vita version only and not the PS3 version that was also released. General price range for the Vita version is around $25, so it's already a better bargain than last week's installments.

[Photo Credit: Flickr/Jonathan Smith]