PSN Awards - The Start of Spring Fever

For many individuals the frigid temperatures of winter still lie on their thermostat, but PlayStation is looking to warm things up by starting their Spring Fever promotion a little early this year.

Now the actual sale for PlayStation Network (PSN) games will not begin until mid to late March, but Pierre Gravereau just announced on the PlayStation.com blog that it is time for the first ever PlayStation Network Gamers’ Choice Awards in which “20 of the highest user rated games released in 2010 ... [will be] competing in four categories – Best PS3 Downloadable Game, Best PSP Downloadable Game, Best PS3/PSP mini and Best PSN Exclusive Game.  Voting, which starts on February 22 and lasts until March 1, is done within the PlayStation Store “by downloading a free XMB theme corresponding to that game [which you would like to vote for]." The winning game in each of the four categories will be included in PlayStation’s Spring Fever promotion sporting a discount of 30% off its regular price (with PlayStation Plus Subscribers receiving a 50% discount).

Image property of http://blog.us.playstation.com

The nominees are as follows:

Best PS3 Downloadable Game: 

Castle Crashers, Costume Quest, DeathSpank, PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game.

Metacritic Ratings Say:
1 - PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX (91 /100)
2 - Castle Crashers (86 /100)
3 – DeathSpank (79 /100)
T4 - Costume Quest, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game (77 /100)

I say: PSN sports an extensive collection of fantastic games with the bulk of them being playable on the PS3 making this category a heavily contested one. Each participant combines a unique style of gameplay with fabulous presentation leaving each of them worthy of being crowned the Best PS3 Downloadable Game. However I would wager that Castle Crashers should edge out PAC-Man Championship Edition DX and the three other titles to take the award.

Best PSP Downloadable Game:
Ghost of Sparta, Lunar Silver Star Harmony, Phantasy Star Portable 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable, and Valkyria Chronicles II.

Metacritic Ratings Say:
1 – Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable (91 /100)
2 - God of War: Ghost of Sparta (86 /100)
3 – Valkyria Chronicles II (83 /100)
4 - Lunar Silver Star Harmony (80 /100)
5 - Phantasy Star Portable 2 (69 /100)

Daavpuke Says: The PlayStation Network is not only strong on the main console, but is also a leading source of games for the PSP and in particular, the PSP Go! While not all titles are released as downloads, much to users’ discontent, PSN does bring a wide selection of quality games for portable enjoyment. Major franchises were blessed with such titles as Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta. There was also a rise of great RPG titles as 2010 brought life to Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, Ys Seven, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable and the exclusive Valkyria Chronicles II. The latter of which is my pick for this category.

Best PS3/PSP Mini:
A Space Shooter for Two Bucks, Age of Zombies, Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess, Vector TD, and Young Thor.

Metacritic Says:
1 - A Space Shooter for Two Bucks (83 /100)
2 - Age of Zombies (79 /100)
3 - Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess (74 /100)
4 - Young Thor (71 /100)

Note: Vector TD has not been rated on Metacritic, but has received an average of 7.0 from three critics based on Gameranking.com

I say: The explosion of minis on the PlayStation Network has been fantastic in pumping out games that offering high value for low prices. These nominated games present a great experience in their respective genres and all deserve to win this category. Young Thor and the three other games are good titles that are well worth the low price they are sold at, but I must agree with Metacritic that A Space Shooter for Two Bucks is a superb game, and is the most deserving of the award.

Best PSN Exclusive Game:
Dead Nation, Hustle Kings, Joe Danger, Sam & Max Episode 1, and Soldner-X2

Metacritic Says:
1 – Joe Danger (86 /100)
T2 – Sam & Max Episode 1, Hustle Kings (81 /100)
T4 – Dead Nation, and Soldner-X2 (77 /100)

I say: Nothing sells a system like exclusives, and downloadable games can go a long way in beefing up a library.  The PlayStation is lucky in this respect in having so many great exclusives available for download on PSN. Dead Nation, Hustle Kings, Sam & Max Episode 1 and Soldner-X2 are all great titles in their own right, but Joe Danger and its sheer brilliance ought to win this category hands down.

And that wraps up our look at PlayStation Network Gamers’ Choice Awards. The only lingering thoughts are why no DLC category was included, and whether or not gamers will vote for the game they believe is the best or will vote for the game that they would like to buy. Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top, and regardless of the game that goes on sale when Spring Fever hits on March 7 I can honestly say (depending on your individual genre preferences) that all of them are worth picking up.

Source

Joshua McCaul, NoobFeed.