Hello, and welcome to the November 2015 edition of the VSM. In this month's article we'll be omitting the console war coverage in order to return to full month reports in next month's issue. We'll also be covering PlayStation 4's Knack and PlayStation Vita's Freedom Wars in the PlayStation Product Review section. Now without further ado, let's get things started with this month's PS3, PS4, and PS Vita game releases.

Upcoming PS3 Games

November 30th:
One Final Breath

Description:
A Horror FPS, One Final Breath has you playing the role of a father who is trying to track down his missing daughter. The last place she was seen was at St. Mary's boarding school, and so this is where you begin your quest, armed with nothing but a flashlight and a cell phone.


Upcoming PS4 Games

November 3rd:
Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers
Genre: Flight Simulation/Combat
Click here to watch the release trailer
Also, am I the only one that finds it awkward that a game trailer for a World War II game in the U.S. showcases only gameplay as the Japanese side...including them bombing Pearl Harbor? "Look! If you buy our game you can relive one of your nation's most renowned tragedies, and bomb Pearl Harbor in a variety of camera angles!" Yes, many American gamers have been waiting for that exact sales pitch, I'm sure.
Tacky trailers aside, it could be an interesting game.

Need for Speed Sport
Genre: Racing
Click here to see the launch trailer

Peanuts: Snoopy's Grand Adventure
Genre: Platformer
Perspective: Side scrolling
Click here for the launch trailer


November 6th:

Call of Duty: Black Ops III 


November 10th:

Fallout 4


November 17th:
The Crew: Wild Run
Description: An expansion for The Crew, a driving MMO.
Special Notes: Game is online only.
Click here for a trailer

Star Wars Battlefront
Click here for a rather long trailer

Sword Art Online: Lost Song
Genre: RPG
Click here to watch the trailer


November 30th:
One Final Breath
See One Final Breath under upcoming PS3 Games.


Upcoming PS Vita Games

November 10th:
Superbeat: Xonic


November 17th:
Sword Art Online: Lost Song
See Sword Art Online: Lost Song under Upcoming PS4 Games.


November 24th:

Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires
Genre: Hack 'n' Slash/Strategy/Simulation


November 30th:
One Final Breath
See One Final Breath under Upcoming PS3 Games.

In a strange twist of fate, the PS Vita has more upcoming releases than the PS3. A lot more.



PS+ Games

And now for your free PS+ games for the month:

https://youtu.be/26hpBmPDPno


Or for those who wish to skip the video:

PS3 - Dragon Fin Soup, Beyond Good and Evil HD, Mass Effect 2
PS4 - Dragon Fin Soup, The Walking Dead Season 2
PS Vita - Dragon Fin Soup, InviZimals

What are your thoughts on this month's IGC lineup for PlayStation Plus members? We have four AAA games, and a three way cross-buy Indie for free.


PlayStation Product Reviews

As promised, we'll touch on two different games this month: Knack (PS4), and Freedom Wars (PS Vita). So then, let's get started.

Knack:
A PS4 launch title, Knack caught a lot of flak from the vocal minority for being, well, Knack. The game was cited as being too restricting, too "railed", too repetitive, too simple, too childish, and too everything else negative. The story was called laughable, forced, and shallow, the characters were deemed unlikeable, and the graphics were criticized for not being as sharp as critics thought they should be. But was all of this true? Or was the vocal crowd once again blowing things out of proportion like they always do?

First Impressions:
Initially the game did not appeal to me. In fact I only purchased it because I had a shiny new PlayStation 4 that my then five year old nephew wanted to play on, and I didn't exactly think Batman: Arkham Knight was the most kid friendly game for him. And so after a bit of mulling over my options I settled on Knack, despite the hate it caught. My decision was based on two things: firstly, it was cheap. Second, a review I found that stated that they (the reviewer) felt that the game was hated because people wanted a game that showcased next gen at launch, and instead they got a game that felt like a throwback to the PS2 era. Because we all hated that system, didn't we? Yeah, that's why it was the best selling system ever.

So I got the game and since it was used I tested it out before letting my nephew know I had it (who am I kidding? I played it ASAP because it was a new game for my beloved new PS4). Immediately I loved the presentation: the graphics had a very Pixar feel to them, which I was instantly delighted with. Were they cutting edge? No. Were they PS2 quality? Not even close. I'd say what you're getting here as graphics go is a mix between early PS3 with some of the backdrops, and early PS4 (obviously) with everything else. But in all regards, the graphics are pleasing, just don't expect them to be hyper realistic.

Next up, and most importantly, the gameplay. I played through chapter 1-1 and 1-2, and honestly, I was very much unimpressed. However after putting it back in later and playing through a few more chapters, I found myself enjoying the game quite a bit.
And after roughly seven full play throughs and a platinum, I must say that I agree with the reviewer that I found saying that Knack was hated because it felt and played more like an old PS2 era game than a next gen title. But again, is that really such a bad thing?


Story:
There isn't much to say here other than the story is good at it's job. It gives you something simple to follow that explains why you're doing what you're doing, and keeps you engaged and, at times, amused. It might not be an amazing edge-of-your-seat story filled with cliffhangers and intense emotional moments, but it's interesting to those who enjoy a simple tale that you might see in a family film.


Replay Value:
So I've already told you that I played through the game approximately seven times, but what I didn't tell you is that I was bored after the first one...is what I would say if that were true, but it isn't. To be honest, I enjoyed Knack every time I played it, though I did start getting tired around the sixth play through, and I only played it that many times for the Platinum. Still for a game to entertain me after playing it through that many times says a lot.


Final Verdict:
For a quick breakdown, let's recap:
The graphics are charming and very much in keeping with the game's theme.

The story is good, but don't expect an epic tale. Look at the game's screenshots: it's graphics will likely remind you of a Pixar movie, and so will it's story.

The gameplay is enjoyable if you can appreciate straightforward games, beat 'em ups, or old PS2 era adventure games.

Overall:
Knack isn't a game for everyone, but what game is? What you have in Knack is a game that knows what it wants to be, and it doesn't try to be anything other than that. Knack is a very good game for the kind of gamer it tries to appeal to, and if you're one of those target players you will certainly get your money's worth out of it.



Next up: Freedom Wars
Now here's one that met the exact opposite reaction than the previous title in this review did. Freedom Wars was referred to as "The game the PS Vita needs", or in other words, many professional reviewers thought that this game was so good that it could be what put the Vita in the spotlight and brought it's sales up. Now to see if they were exaggerating.


First impressions:
Well, what can I say here without ruining the rest of the mini review? My first impressions here were all quite accurate depictions of what the game would be like.


First off, the graphics are extremely well done, and surprised me at the Vita's power all over again. They really look smooth and do a lot to enhance the already enjoyable gameplay. This of course was one of the first things that made the game stand out to me, preceded only by the story.


The story is engaging from the start: the world is experiencing an intense famine, and in order to survive, the cities around the world have formed panopticons, or autonomous civilizations contained within a large structure that you might compare to a football stadium, only on a much larger scale obviously.
All of these panopticons battle one another for their resources, employing large robots called Abductors. The abductors capture citizens and store them in containment pods (the pods are a part of the robot's structure) to carry them back to the panopticon from which the abductor came, so that they might put the citizens to work for them. Bear in mind that "citizens" are higher class individuals with special privileges.

Next up are the sinners, of which you are one. You live in a prison of sorts and have the right to do almost nothing. In fact at the start of the game you can have your sentence extended for the smallest of seemingly harmless actions, for example you are not allowed to take more than five steps in your cell, you are not allowed to see outside of your cell, you cannot run for five or more seconds, nor can you speak with the opposite sex or citizens. There are many other rules that you will almost certainly violate by accident, and thus extend your sentence.
Finally, your job is to more or less serve as a slave for your panopticon and save citizens who are abducted, take out enemy forces, collect resources, or whatever other jobs you're tasked with. In turn, your sentence will be reduced, often by thousands of years at a time...yes, thousands. I guess I should have mentioned that you were sentenced to one million years for being born.


Gameplay:
The gameplay is where Freedom Wars really shines. It's often compared to Monster Hunter games, but from what I've seen of Monster Hunter, it's actually quite different in terms of mechanics, though it certainly has many similarities and is doubtless heavily influenced by it.

The best things about gameplay in my opinion would be the ability to work with your teammates to take down abductors, and the ability to sever abductor parts during battle. And these often go together. For example, you can launch yourself up to the top of an abductor and begin sawing away on one of it's limbs while your teammates blast away at it from below. When it finally shakes you off it might give chase, focused solely on you, during which time your teammates are free to throw caution to the wind and go on a full frontal assault until they steal it's attention away and you're good to go again. And I could only imagine how much strategy could be involved if you played online multiplayer matches, unfortunately I've yet to get the chance.

I suppose I could sum it up as a little MOBA, a little Monster Hunter, a little Action RPG, one hundred percent it's own brand. For all it borrows, Freedom Wars never feels like a copy of something you've already played.


Final verdict:
If you have a PlayStation Vita and Action RPGs appeal to you at all, or you just like action packed battles in general, Freedom Wars is a must buy. If you don't own a PlayStation Vita but the game sounds interesting, look into buying a PSTV for $50 (or $30 used) and a copy of this game. You'd be scoring an excellent game and access to tons of other great PSTV compatible games. Of course you could always splurge on a Vita just for this one game and stay with it to nab tons of other great titles along the way, but that's kind of obvious, right?



LA Fin

That'll do it for this super late edition of the VSM. Drop by next time for the holiday fix of PlayStation news, when we'll cover:

•The (supposed) Console War
•Upcoming Games
•Holiday Sales*
And more

*Subject to availability

Until next time, keep on gaming, and keep it Sony.

PS3 is only getting one game in all November? Man, that console is dead. 

The long awaited Need for Speed has finally landed. One of my friends has a 10 hour demo for the XB1, and it looks very promising. Sure, it lacks realistic driving, but well, NFS has lacked that since 1995. It does have an interesting car roster, and let's see what can the tuning options do at its fullest.

One small note: the name's simply Need for Speed. It makes no sense for it to be named Sport, since it's a revamp of Underground, not Shift.

While I had some interest for The Crew at first, it eventually fell into forgetfulness after Project CARS landed, and even more now that Gran Turismo Sport has been announced. Still, The Crew is very different from those two, judging by the trailer, so maybe I should rethink my position. Well, unless we see a new Motorstorm, that is, but those chances seem rather slim.

I can't say much more for now. I'm not that interested in Fallout, and while I know some friends of mine interested in the new COD I've always refrained from shooters. I don't think December will show anything interesting, but who knows.

EX Palen : Well according to my main source, yeah PS3 only got one game this month. However I just looked at their list for December, and it seems that some may be missing. Also there were a few Indies that weren't listed this month (that list seems to miss most Indies). I'm in the process of looking for another list to supplement the ones I currently use for accuracy sake.

Need For Speed looks good to me, and I'm not a racing game fan (though I would love a new NASCAR game). I may check it out, but I still haven't picked up Rivals yet. Is that one any good, or do you know?
Also thanks for pointing that out. I got NFS and GT Sport mixed up because of an article about GT Sport supporting PlayStation VR that popped up while I was working on this article. I'm not up to speed with any sort of sports title, so I don't really know anything about them but what I look up for the VSM.

The Crew had my attention at E3 2013, but what PlayStation game didn't? It was the reveal of a new generation, so each game looked amazing. I would still pick The Crew up if it weren't online only just so I could see if their promise of replicating all U.S. roads is true by taking it to my hometown (population: very small lol) and cruising around a bit. Honestly though, Drive club probably has my pick for my first driving/racing game on PS4 still.


All I know about December is the new Civilization game will hit the Vita, and I'm super hyped about it. I hear tale it'll be a free PS+ game too, so that's even better. But yes, time will tell. Oh and thanks for always dropping by. It's nice knowing there's a faithful reader every month, especially one who always has an opinion on the topics in the article that they'll share.

I don't know about Rivals. It seemingly is a revamped Hot Pursuit, as you can race either as Racer or Cop. It also has some tuning features, but very vaguely, nothing compared to the true NFS spirit. Could be good to check out, but if it has the same driving as Hot Pursuit, it will be an absolute junk of a game.

Thanks for reminding me of Driveclub, I also had that one on my list. Then again, GT Sport and Project CARS are beyond what any other racing game might be right now. And continuing the topic about racing games, let's see if we ever get something for the PS4 that can fight face to face against Forza. I've heard Project CARS is too professional, and we all know the many bad things about Gran Turismo that probably this new game, in collaboration with the FIA, can sort out.

And well, while I am a faithful reader, I fear I won't have anything interesting to say in several months. The only other two or three games I'm hyped about won't land soon, but who knows, maybe you discover something unexpected to me that catches my attention, and that's why I'll always stop by here.