2015 games to look forward

Below are some of the games of 2015 that I am looking forward to with keen interest. Not all of them must plays, but definitely worth a look. Here are the 20 games on PS4 in 2015 (not in order).

1. Evolve
2. Dying Light
3. The Order 1886
4. Bloodborne
5. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
6. Uncharted 4: The Thief's End
7. The Division
8. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
9. Batman: Arkham Knight
10. Just Cause 3
11. RIME
12. No Man's Sky
13. Galak-Z
14. Bastion
15. Hyper Light Drifter
16. Rainbow Six Siege
17. Battlefield: Hardline
18. The Witness
19. Broken Age: The Complete Adventure
20. The Banner Saga 2

Games of 2014

My PS4 is nearly one year old and here is the year's look back with my list of 10 best/worst games of 2014 and their reasons why.

Tomb Raider - The Definitive Edtion: The first completion 
Although Tomb Raider is essentially a remastered version of a PS3 game, since I did not play it on the older console, it became my first completed game on PS4 (although I had AC IV, CoD: Ghosts, Killzone at that point).

Infamous Second Son: The best character movement
While it has received slightly mixed reviews from its fans, I thoroughly enjoyed this game because I did not came with the baggage of having played Sucker Punch's previous instalment in the franchise. The city of Seattle looks beautiful and player's main character Delsin Rowe handles great. The movement and traversal mechanic is one of my best gaming experiences so far. The game is solid, runs fantastically smooth on day one, not something that can be said with some of the bigger games in 2014.

Don't Starve: The most deaths
This is looks so simple, but yet so difficult to master. Death is permanent and you lose your character and have to restart from scratch. There are many 'secrets' to be discovered and explored. A fascinating game with a lot of charm but one I have seen too many deaths, probably one that I am unlikely to return to.

Child of Light: The most beautiful

Child of Light is easily the most beautiful looking game. As you play, you can really feel like you are living in a storybook world. Many kudos to Ubisoft for allowing their team to experiment with smaller games.

Watch Dogs: The most anticipated
Ever since it's debut at E3 2012, Watch Dogs has become the most anticipated title that is meant to make its debut alongside the next generation console launch. We now know that the game was only released six months in the console lifecycle. The game sold well, but suffered critically, largely because of the great expectation and perceived graphical downgrades since its E3 debut.

P.T: The most scary and disturbing

Though strictly speaking this is not a game, but this playable teaser to Silent Hills takes the crown as the most scary and disturbing gaming experience on PS4 to date for me. If the actual game is anywhere close to this game, you can bet I won't be playing it. :)

Destiny: The most hyped anti-climax

Bungie's return to Playstation with a brand-new space shooter saga was as exciting as the come. I was on the hype train early. Playing the alpha, the beta and finally the game or was it just the shell of a game. Plenty have been said about this game and I don't have time to explain what I don't have time to explain.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare: The most disappointing
Every year, a version of Call of Duty gets released, promising changes and tweaked improvements. You figured that gamers should be tired of this by now. I was too until I start reading the reviews that convinced me otherwise. Well, it turns out, it is just another Call of Duty game with its tired formula. Chaos intensified by the exo suite speed movements. Nothing new here. Move along.

Far Cry 4: The most fun

Far Cry 4, was my first foray into this franchise, after missing the first 3 entries in the series. I must say, it is one of the most entertaining games I have played in 2014. Always something to do, the Outpost and Bell tower mechanics are fun and addictive.

Dragons Age Inquisition: The most daunting

This is my final game purchase of the year and it comes highly recommended. However, I am finding the game quite daunting. It has so much depth that you really have to invest some time and attention into the game's story and game play mechanics. I hope I can overcome my fear or inertia to play this. One thing is for sure, killing dragons is certainly not for the faint hearted.

There you go...enjoy the holidays as we bid adieu to 2014 and look forward to more gaming greats in 2015.

Gaming Season Is Here!

Far Cry 4

Movies has its summer blockbusters. Games has its gaming season this year is looking like a blockbuster of a season. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare kicked off the season (and will sell by the container-loads, no matter what) last week, Nov 4th. The coming weeks, PS4 will see the launch of the following big budgeted games:

• Assassins Creed Unity
• Winning Eleven 2015
• Dragon Age Inquisition
• Far Cry 4
• GTA V 
• Little Big Planet 3

Far Cry 4 and Dragon Age Inquisition are two of my most anticipated titles this season. Early signs are looking good, but will they turned out to be disappointments like Destiny and Call of Duty:AW? Being fairly new to both franchises, will it turn me off? Time will tell.

Dragon Age Inquisition

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is here!

Another year, another Call of Duty...but based on the review, it seems this year's installment has done enough to revitalized the tired CoD formula.

I went in with renewed hope and the outcome was mixed. The graphical overhaul designed for the current gen consoles shows up nicely during the campaign and some of the cutscenes were very well done. In-game though, the framerate of the singleplayer campaign is not consistent with noticeable slowdowns at various points in the game.

This years single player campaign lasts for about 6-8 hours depending on how you fare. Kevin Spacey delivered a top-notch performance, though some might say he just did a digital version of Frank Underwood. The campaign missions are slightly varied, peppered with some new varieties seldom seen in a CoD game. Some of the missions that stood out were stealth infiltration, hoverbike driving sequence, movie-inspired highway action, sniper drone mission and a frustrating spycam recon mission. Although the addition of the exo suits lends itself to more variety in movement, it is sadly missing in the single player campaign as the mission loadouts are hardwired for you. Story-wise, while more coherent compared to some of the recent instalments, is linear and too predictable.

So, multiplayer, is where it is at...but unfortunately, Activision/SledgeHammer games did not deliver on their promises of dedicated server. The game can't even deliver an hour of stable game session without dropping out several times. The networking code of the game also seems to matchmake unsuitable players together, adding lag and bullet detection problems to the mix.

It seems that Call of Duty Advanced Warfare is my final straw. Call of Duty Ghosts last year didn't impress me but this years installment makes it even worse than before. Twitch shooting with the comically fast movements further accentuated by the exo suits special ability and poor netcode, makes the whole thing feels fake and not even fun. Deaths in the game becomes so cheap, as most of the time you die because someone just sits and waited for you to appear at the doorway or someone runs behind you.

There, I have put my copy of COD:AW for sale to someone who can better appreciate it. I experienced it and I sure hope I won't be tricked into buying another Call of Duty next year.

Destiny: Post Launch Report

I got Destiny on launch day, played a bunch of games all throughout the weekend. Teamed up with a few online players, level up and looking for more experiences from the world set forth by Bungie. Reviews have started rolling in online, a lot of them not too favourable and I can understand some of the reasons why.

Here is my overall take on the game thus far(nearly 24 hours of gameplay in various game modes), thus far because Destiny is not a single game, in fact it becomes clear once you finished the in-story missions, that the game's story serves only to setup your journey to be a guardian. 

My experience with the initial introduction level of the game was very much affected by my participation in Destiny's Alpha and Beta test. It feels like, "I've played this already, can I get to somewhere more interesting?"; in which the same served up after the missions on earth.

Overall, the game's presentation and FPS(first-person shooter) mechanics are top notch, very Bungie-like. The game has a lot of potential going for it, but so far, at least from the story perspective it is remains just that, potential. Perhaps in future we will get more in-depth story-based content. Somehow, Bungie's decision to mash-up three different genres(FPS, MMO and RPG) into a single game seemed to lack a certain level of depth that kept it from being a satisfying experience. For example, from the FPS perspective, it took the best elements of shooting mechanics from Halo but it lacks the meaningful story, memorable characters and awe-inspiring set-pieces. 

One area of major frustration is the game's unfair loot redemption system. A legendary redeem code may yield only rare or uncommon items when redeemed at the in-game cryptarch vendor, is like trolling the player or setting up unfair bumps to extend the game's longevity to make you hunt for higher level gear.

Your guardian's level maxed out at level 20 for XP gains and levels 21 to 26 is gained solely by  leveling up your 'Light' level. Enemies at higher level are less affected by your weapons, so if you are at level 22, enemies at level 24, will be less affected by your gun shots compared to an enemy at level 21. Light levels can only be gained by acquiring light-infused armor that is rare (blue drops) or legendary (purple drops). Therefore, your 'Light' progress is negatively impacted by the game's redemption system...essentially making the progression a grind.

So here is my strategy on how to enjoy the game. 

Do not focus on grinding to level 26, just log-in daily to do the following:

- Check the Daily and Weekly Missions

- Visit the Tower and purchase related Bounties

- Join up in a fireteam 

- Do the Missions

- Do a few Vanguard or Crucible Missions

I hope this will essentially take us till October/November when the next round of games like (Alien Isolation, Far Cry 4 and Dragon Age Inquisition) start rolling in.

Destiny - Become Legend

We are the final hours before the launch of Destiny...on 09.09.14. 

The time is near, get ready to become LEGEND.

Go Fetch!

Infamous First Light, is Sucker Punch's backstory add-on content for Infamous 2nd Son, one of my favorite games on PS4 so far...in terms of fun game traversal, mechanics and technical graphical prowess. So, a 4-6 hours worth of add-on content that explores one of the more interesting characters from 2nd Son is definitely something that I would check out.

I am happy to report after my first run through the story, it did not disappoint. First Light started off with Abigail Walker's (aka 'Fetch') recounting the events two years prior to the timelime of Infamous 2nd Son. The flashbacks are intermixed with arena battle sessions in the Curdun Cay Prison for the Conduits. These arena sessions serves as the tutorial to introduce or 're-introduce' to us Fetch's powers as she gets interrogated by Augustine, the prime antagonist seen in Infamous 2nd Son.

The main campaign lasts for about 5 hours to complete, with various side-missions to explore the smaller scaled version of Seattle. As a stand-alone DLC, this game does not require Infamous 2nd Son to run and since I bought it from PS Asia Store during the promotion, I got it for MYR36 with an entitlement to buy the digital version of Infamous 2nd Son at MYR83. Which is a steal....imagine, both games for only MYR119. However, since I have already played Second Son, I will skip that for the time being.

All in all, Infamous First Light is a pretty neat experience, packaged in a stellar digital offering. The physical copy is coming soon at MYR69 (with good resale value) and no doubt will be a favourite among fans of the Infamous franchise.

Remastered!

US NPD is a Consumer Market Research Group that publishes monthly data of total sales of gaming hardware and software in the US for July 2014, shows that PS4 is the #1 console and The Last of Us Remastered is the #1 selling console game software.

Initially, when Sony announced The Last of US Remastered is coming to PS4, it rubbed some journalist or gamers the wrong way. I didn't know the extent of the negativity until I read some of the comments online. 

One such article is from Crave Online Why The Last of Us Remastered Shouldn't Really Exist

The author raised some valid points but unfortunately maybe from either a biased or uninformed position. 

He argued that on the other hand, Microsoft's Halo Masterchief Collection(MCC) was worthwhile because it showed there was work done there, as it involved some major retooling work. 

The Last of Us on PS3 uses many of the tech and engine work that naughtydog custom-built over the years while working on the Uncharted series. Many of these tools either have to be adapted or rebuilt for the PS4 version. Sure, while I agree that MCC offers great value (4 games for the price of 1, games spanning 2 console generation), saying that its just a graphical bump is the understatement of the year. To the gamer yes, because that is all you can see on screen, which the developer will strongly disagree.

His article is just a representative of some of the opinions and here are some of their typical comments/arguments:

- Cash grab! Game is barely a year old!

- Naughty Dog should work on something else!

- These kinds of 'remastered' version should not exist at all!

- I just bought this game on PS3, no way I buying this again!

I have addressed some of these points in my previous post

Anyway, the gamers have voted with their wallets. The Last of Us is a great way for previous gen console owners to join the new-gen consoles (which might be the last, who knows). Shiny new hardware with an award-winning game to boot.

Inclusive: Sony @ gamescom 2014

Sony's conference started off with several game trailers, Infamous: First Light, The Order 1886 and Bloodborne gameplay trailer. Jim Ryan then started the conference and stated that this year Sony will do gamescom a bit differently. Some of the major highlights of the presser was:

• Sony announced worldwide sale of 10 million PS4 to consumer
• Firmware 2.0 will provide SharePlay and Youtube app support 
• Playstation Now will come to Europe, UK beta early 2015
• Playstation TV will launch in Europe, November 2014
• Hideo Kojima on stage to showed off some hilarious cardboard box techniques for MGS V
• Until Dawn action-based survival horror relaunched for PS4
• Mike Bithell spoke about his new game, Volume
• P.T. from 7780s was announced (turned out to be a cool new way for a game reveal)
• Gameplay Trailer Debuts for: Bloodborne, Destiny Multiplayer, RIME, The Order 1886(Tesla)
• New IP announcements by
• Ninja Theory: Hellblade 
• Housemarque: Alienation
• Q-Games: Tomorrow Children
• Media Molecule:Tearaway Unfolded
• Wild Sheep: formed by Michel Ancel, developer from Ubisoft: WiLD

Sony's presser had a lot of content to cover and this year pacing was excellent. Games bam, trailer, bam. No long waffling about numbers or products no one really cared. In fact, this year's conference was even shorter than Microsoft's. One thing I noticed this time round, Sony didn't bother too much about giving long introductions, except for Hideo Kojima, some of the folks just come up on stage after a trailer, Far Cry 4. If this is the new way of Sony conference, please keep doing it.

Notably absent was any major announcements related to PS VITA, although Sony later commented that many games are still incoming for the platform, for example Minecraft Vita should ready anytime soon.

Microsoft may won gamescom 2014 on showmanship (Tomb Raider exclusive) but I prefer the Sony way. They seems to understand what the gaming audience want. We like to see companies bring games to their platform, not deny other platforms their games. Be inclusive instead of exclusive.

We prefer to see and hear about interesting games. We love to see developers like Michel Ancel or Mike Bithell on stage to talk about their new games rather than ex-Man Utd goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, talking about this years' FIFA.

Exclusive: Microsoft @ Gamescom 2014

This is my 'exclusive' Microsoft gamescom 2014 presser quick recap.

Phil Spencer took to stage and opened the conference day. Microsoft fired the first salvo, Rise of The Tomb Raider, coming holiday 2015 exclusive on Xbox. We also go a closer look at gameplay for Ori and The Blind Forest, beautiful platformer, dreamy art style, with a Rayman-feel. Several new IPs got introduced along side with staple Call of Duty, HALO, FORZA Horizons 2, Fable Legends and Sunset Overdrive. Microsoft also announced several hardware bundles: 1TB Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, Sunset Overdrive white XboxOne  and FIFA 15 bundles. FIFA 15 also continued its exclusive FIFA Legends DLC on XBOX.

During the presser, we also got to see gameplay footage of Quantum Break from Remedy Entertainment. In short, the game is a 3rd person cover-based shooter with timecontrol mechanic. It also oozes a Max Payne vibe which is not surprising given Max Payne was Remedy's IP before it was sold off to Take2.
Here's the gameplay demo

Packed in somewhere in the middle of the presser is the ID@xbox section, which Escapist, Space Engineers, SMITE, SuperHot and Goat Simulator, were among the highlights. From the list of indie titles, Massive Chalice(Doublefine), Inside(Playdead) and Cuphead(SMHR) were some of the titles that piqued my interest. I hope they will come to PS4 eventually. Anyway, here's the ID@xbox games montage.

Overall, a strong showing from Microsoft, great variety of software from the 'indies' and 3rd party partners. HALO: The Masterchief Collection is a great way to play all of HALO story campaign and multiplayer on a single console and likely to be a great holiday gift for the XBOX gamer that will potentially move the XBOX360 player to upgrade to XBOX ONE.

The biggest news however that came out of the conference is Rise of Tomb Raider, coming Holiday 2015, exclusive on XBOX, which drew gasps from the live audience and thousands watching the livestream. This was later clarified as not an IP purchase and has a specific duration, further details were withheld.

Sony is next...

Countdown to Gamescom 2014 - Call of Duty

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Multiplayer Reveal

- Power Changes Everything -

Another year, another Call of Duty. Shooter-fatigue is a real thing. How many military shooters can we play year in year out? Well fortunately for the developers, it seems not, as every year it sells by the bucket loads. Every year they make little adjustments here and there and just about managed to keep it fresh. 

This year however, is a brand new take on the franchise, by SledgeHammer Games. This is SG's first time at the helm, as the new addition to the regular CoD-factories, Infinity Ward and Treyarch. They did so by combining some of the elements from both studios with a little secret sauce of their own.

Key to this new game is the Exo Suit, adding a new dimension to the already fast-paced signature action of Call of Duty. The Exo Suit adds new capability for attack, defense and traversal, making the multiplayer game more frantic and action-packed. These mechanical suits adds a new level of verticality to Call of Duty, seen from games like Halo and the upcoming Destiny.

The Pick-10 system from Treyarch's Black Ops 2, is back in CoD:AW as Pick-13, giving you further customization on your character classes. Another new feature to look for to in CoD:AW will be its Custom Scorestreaks, allowing you to custom-fit your scorestreak with additional munitions.

CoD: AW will be released world-wide on Nov 4, 2014, and those that pre-ordered will get the Day Zero Edition on Nov 3, bundled with 2 custom gun and 2XP enabled 24 hours before the rest of the world get their grubby hands on this season's biggest shooter.

Gamescom 2014 Conference Schedule - MY Time

Covering events from a different timezone is always tricky, here's my cheat sheet for gamescom 2014. Time/date are GMT+8

Day                  Time             Event
Aug 12(Tue)    0100             Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Multiplayer Reveal
                       2000             Microsoft gamescom 2014 Conference

Aug 13(Wed)   0100            Sony gamescom 2014 Conference

Aug 14(Thu)     0200            Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
                        1600            EA gamescom 2014 Conference

Exclusives Done Right

Skip it if you are someone who is rich and don't have a care in the world.
Read on if you are someone frugal who would feel something eating you inside if you see something that you own sitting there not being used regularly.

In my humble opinion, Platform Exclusives is the necessary evil for platform holders like Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. Exclusives help sell their hardware and ultimately offer them the platform differentiation. So, I am very happy that the big 3, have several in-house game development studios (generally called first party studios) to develop exclusive games for each of their platforms. The first party studios have early and in-depth access to their own hardware and more often than not develop games that utilizes each platforms unique features. I fully understands and supports this.

Then, we have the 3rd party development studios, fronted by big publishers like Activision, EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Take2 and the like. Finally, the indie development studios. Surely if you are a third-party studio, you would want your games to be on more platforms as long as it is economically viable, making platform exclusives some sort of misnomer.

So why 3rd party studio exclusives?
Things started off simply with the more benign platform exclusives such as characters in a fighting game, then grew all the way to platform exclusive games. If I were to point fingers, it will be to Microsoft who started this initially with Activision's Call of Duty(COD) during the Xbox360's glory days. It meant that Playstation owners will get COD map packs a month later the Microsoft console owners. This has now ascended to the gamer-divisive exclusive such as Titanfall, Sunset Overdrive and Bayonetta 2. Platform holders fill the coffers of these companies to secure these exclusives. I bloody hates this. Why?

Any form of exclusivity means that the larger general console gaming public (ie one that owns a single console) will never get to experience the magic of some of these titles, which is such a shame. I will never get to play Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Galaxy, Mariokart 8, Professor Layton, Shovel Knights, Bastion, Gears of War 3, Splintercell Conviction orTitanfall, because they are either on Nintendo or Microsoft platforms.

So, how can Platform Exclusives be done the right way? Here's what I think:

• 1st Party Platform exclusive for game: YES but
• This should be done but I think with hardware sales struggling Nintendo should look into porting a set of hit franchises from previous generation (N64 or Wii) to XboxOne/PS4. This will help the non-Nintendo gamers develop some love for Nintendo games and perhaps buy Nintendo WiiU or future hardware as the secondary console. 

• 3rd Party Platform exclusive for game: NO because
• This limits the market potential for the game. Developers can consider timed exclusive to reduce risk if the game is a new IP

• Indie Platform exclusive for game: Definitely NO because
• Any form of exclusive alignment with a platform holder kind of goes against the tenets of an indie developer 

That being said, here are some of the recent exclusivity terms that we are seeing and what I think of them:

• Time-limited exclusive - means that the game and/or its downloadable content will be exclusive to a single platform. It will arrive to other platforms later (1 month, etc)
• My opinion: Ok, patience is a virtue

• Platform exclusive content - means that a game content either character or game mission will be exclusive to a single platform. 
• My opinion: Totally against this. Unless the character is totally useless or the game mission is totally uninspiring, developers should never have different experiences for a specific market subset

• Early Access or Beta Access - means a specific platform get to beta test or play a portion of the game early than other platforms
• My opinion: Ok, no problem with this (quite similar to timed exclusive in a way)

No doubt, some of these exclusives in the previous generation (Xbox360, PS3, Wii) could be due Xbox360's supreme market position, PS3's insanely difficult architecture and Wii's lower horsepower. 

I am hopeful that this current generation, with XboxONE and PS4 market parity (arguable though, if you look at worldwide sales at the moment), their similar PC-based architecture, and multiplatform development tools such as Unity(PC, Android, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft), platform exclusives will rear its ugly head less and less. Money should be spent on developing your own games, not blocking other platform's access to a 3rd party or indie developer (Microsoft, I am looking at you)

gamescom 2014 is coming

Gamescom-Cologne 2014 is coming up next week. 

It is the equivalent of E3 for the European market, and for the past few years it has been growing and may soon be even be bigger than E3. One of the key contributing factor is its timing, smack in the middle after E3 and the holiday season. So it gives many studios the opportunity to show teasers at E3, then show gameplay at gamescom (with their product closer to release).

Gamescom 2014 will be from Aug 13-17 (with the first day, press-only).

My gaming sites are already prepped their coverage team and casted their predictions for this year. I will be following the coverage closely and hopefully be pleasantly surprised.

To Double-dip or Not Double-dip

The Last of Us, naughtydogs' stellar and award-winning swansong to the PS3, is finally here, new and improved in the recently The Last of Us Remastered. Improved lighting tech, textures and graphics, smooth 60fps gameplay, and great storytelling. Pretty much everything great about TLoU on PS3, made faster and better-looking.

There were many naysayers about doing this graphical remaster given the fact that the PS3 version was just released a year ago. I am not of that opinion though. Here is why I think TLoU PS4 Remastered is the right thing at the right time, written by a PS3 owner who has played the PS3 version barely a few months ago.

TLoU Remastered on PS4:

• gave naughtydoggies a great opportunity to do exploratory work on the PS4 hardware adapting some of their latest in-house tech and developing new ones on PS4 platform
• new PS4 owners (that haven't owned PS3 or played TLoU) a great experience with the definitive version
• great new TLoU PS4 bundle with an award-winning game
• help Sony filled in the summer gap, the typically slow period in terms of game releases

Unfortunately for PS3 owners who owns and played the game recently, Sony did not offer up any trade-up or rebate for them to double-dip (ie. repurchasing a game they already played albeit on an older platform). 

For that, I will have to wait a bit longer for my purchase, to dive back into the world of Joel and Ellie, and try out the unique experience offered in the Factions, TLoU's take on multiplayer, in the cordyceps-filled post-apocalyptic world.  Possibly when TLoU Remastered joins the PS4 Hits or if I managed to snag a used copy for cheap. Luckily though, I am looking at fantastic games line-up on the horizon.

Indie Hate

One of the evolution of the gaming scene over the last decade has been the extinction of mid-sized publishers and game studios and the rise of indie development studios. The liberalization of the console development scene also gave rise to interesting new titles from some of these indie studios. From the true one-man indie developer to the publisher-funded studios like thatgamecompany, the indie movement has given us some unique experiences ranging from the retro-inspired Super Meatboy to the artistically impressive, Journey.

Unfortunately, because of this, triple-A or AA budget games are getting few and far between, especially early in a console lifecycle. This had many gamers or late adopters complaining that the lack of games for this current generation of consoles.

So let me set the records straight. There is no shortage of games. There may be less of US$60 games (RM200) released monthly, but certainly no lack of games. Here are some of the 'indie-games' or digital downloads that you might have overlooked because of such pigeon-boxed thinking.

Don't Starve, Dead Nation Apocalypse, FEZ, Towerfall Ascension, Transistor, Child of Light, Valiant Hearts, Rouge Legacy, Road Not Taken. (all less than US$20 each, higher game-time per dollar value)

I must say, not all of those games are to my taste. I enjoy a bit of platform jumping in my games, but an entirely platforming Metroid-vania game is not something I play a lot. That is down to my poor sense of timing and slow reactions. Lack of games no, in fact, lots of variety. 

So, before you jump in to join the indie-hate bandwagon next time, have a think whether is it because of your gaming tastes or is it just a narrow opinion that is stopping you from enjoying a different slice of gaming?

Till next time. Open your Minds and Happy Gaming!

Far Cry 4

FAR CRY 4

Release Date: 18 Nov, 2014

What is it:

open-world based first person shooter developed by Ubisoft Montreal

Why I'm hyped:

fully-developed open-world system

beautiful locale to explore (not warzones or post-apocalyptic)

interesting villains

Why I might be worried:

limited older-game engine that straddles between previous-gen and current-gen

EVOL V E (updated)

EVOLVE

Release date: 21 Oct, 2014 (now delayed to Feb 2015)

What is it:

Unique sci-fi themed co-op based shooter with MOBA influences, 

developed by Turtlerock Studios, developer of Left 4 Dead series

Why I'm hyped:

4v1 mechanic

Monster's Evolve Cycle

Unique hunter classes

Why I might be worried:

Non-existed AI-based monster/hunter team-mates

No other players to play alongside

Dragon Age Inquisition (updated)

Dragon Age Inquisition
Release Date: 7 Oct 2014 (now delayed to 18 Nov 2014)

What is it:

Action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts, a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II, making it the third major game in the Dragon Age franchise

Why I'm hyped:

Bioware; Mass Effect in a fantasy-like setting

Large worlds to explore;before Witcher 3 comes out ;)

Why I might be worried:

Buggy game because of EA game rush

Life-less characters with poor animations

Copy-paste boring fetch quests

ALIEN Isolation

Alien: Isolation

Release Date: 7, Oct, 2014

What is it:

It is a sci-fi first person survival horror based on the ALIEN franchise

Why I'm hyped:

It is looking like a true return to what makes the original movie a cult classic. 

Unlike other more action oriented ALIEN games, you cannot kill the ALIEN, 

you need to survive each encounter.

The Alien AI based on a complex set of behavioural designs that progressively learns 

and adapts its hunting strategy appropriately.

Why I might be worried:

Many have tried to make a game based on ALIEN franchise, none of the good

The game is AI is too predictable

The game is too short

DESTINY

DESTINY

Release Date: 9, Sep, 2014

www.destinythegame.com

What is it:

It is an online sci-fi FPS with MMORPG elements

Why I'm hyped:

It is BUNGIE's return to Playstation after several HALO outings on Microsoft platforms. I played the Alpha experience recently and I happy to say that the game is looking stunningly good, gunplay is feeling great and the seemless transitions from single-player and online multiplayer gameplay is working a treat.

Why I might be worried:

The single player storyline is non-existent or boring

The game's season pass / subscription is cost prohibitive

Games of Holiday 2014 (updated)

E3 2014 is over and its another two months before gamescom. So, it is a great time to take stock and plan for the rest of 2014. While there are many smaller indie titles, I would like to focus on several AAA titles on 2014's release calendar that I am hyped up for. Some of my favourite indie titles are: Galak-Z, The Witness, Road Not Taken, Rime

The AAA titles on my shortlist to date in the order of release date:

9 Sep 2014

7 Oct 2014

7 Oct 2014 (18 Nov 2014)

21 Oct 2014 (10 Feb 2015)

18 Nov 2014

Some of the games that nearly made the list are:

• Assassins Creed Unity (28 Oct, 2014)
• Call of Duty Advanced Warfare (04 Nov, 2014)
• Lords of The Fallen (28 Oct, 2014)
• Diablo III (19 Aug, 2014)

I will be posting feature articles about each of these games as Games of Holiday 2014.
Look forward to it!

E3 was here...now onto 2015 :)

This is my post-E3 blog post. I thought about breaking it into smaller post

As Pre-E3 press-conferences go, this year's most jam-packed with games. So here are the summary of all of the conferences, on-stage and off-stage.

MICROSOFT

Microsoft lived up to their promises and delivered games, games and more games. The things that caught most gamers' eye for the 2014 season were:

Halo : The Master Chief Collection (Halo 1 to 4) on a single-package

Assassins Creed Unity

Sunset Overdrive

DLC content to be XBOX first : Call of Duty, EVOLVE, Dragon Age Inquisition

2015 and beyond were:

Halo 5, Rise of The Tomb Raider, The Division, Scalebound, Crackdown

Indie: Playdead Studios' Inside and Moon Studios' Ori and the Blind Forest

EA 

With a new CEO on-board, EA changed things up a little, opting to talk about games/concept early in their development cycle. Among the pressers, I find EA's strayed way too far from what these conferences are about. Traditionally E3 is to inform the retail partners and industry about the games about to be released for holiday 2014 and 2015. 

A lot of EA's conferences material while offers interesting insight into their development plans, are way too early in the dev cycle. These include: new Mass Effect, un-named IP, Criterion-developed extreme-action game, Starwars Battlefront, Mirrors Edge 2.

Their saving grace is a list of well-known franchises to be released in 2014 that includes: Dragon Age, SIMS, UFC, NHL15, Madden NFL15, FIFA 15 and Battlefield Hardline(arguably is Battlefield 4 with a Payday2 skin). 

UBISOFT

As usual, UBISOFT's conference is always the most entertaining, the source of awkward moments and exciting demos of 'E3 target builds'. The latter being a version of a game that somehow looks inferior when it gets released a year or two later. Perhaps the most exciting content that came out of UBISOFT's presser is the return of Rainbow Six : Siege, a 3v3 tactical operations shooter.

SONY

Sony had a lot going into the conference. Expectations were high when they decided to book cinemas around US cities to livestream the conference. It was nearly 2 hours of great game content, sprinkled with some smaller indie magic titles and monotonous middle section (Shawn's and Powers announcements).

2014 looked like a lean year for Sony first party, with the delayed Driveclub the only first party content. Sony XDEV bridged the game somewhat with the inclusion of Little Big Planet 3 (by Sumo Digital).

So, the strategy is for Sony to lean-on their third party multiplatforms with the promise of being the better place to play. 

Some of the highlights of Sony presser for me were:

Destiny, The Order 1886, Bloodborn, Diablo III, Far Cry 4, Grim Fandango Remastered

No Man's Sky, ABZU, Batman Arkham Knight and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

NINTENDO

Nintendo did not do a live press conference, opting for a digital broadcast of their 'conference' on Day 1 of E3 and a steady stream of announcements during E3 days from their Nintendo treehouse at their E3 showfloor. I think for Nintendo did a great job with their E3 event, bringing all the games their fans would like to play. Some of the highlights were: Super Smash Brothers, Zelda and Splatoon.

SUMMARY

I love E3. It happens at a particularly slow time in the year in terms of game releases. It shines a bright light into the future as a beacon for all gamers to jump onto the hype train for the holiday season with a promise of great gaming experiences. 

I do notice a worrying trend though. It seems that the industry is focusing on developing shared experiences, 4-player co-op seems to be this seasons' black. with the likes of Assassins Creed Unity, EVOVLE, Little Big Planet 3, Rainbow Six Siege, The Division, etc. Will the single player experience suffer because of this focus? I sure hope not. Fingers crossed.

E3 is Coming

E3 2013 was one of the most memorable ones in recent history. Two platform holders fighting for mindshare, one failing miserably with several missteps (Microsoft) and the other just steadying their ship and staying on their current course with 100 dollars advantage to boot.

12 months later, Microsoft reversed nearly all of its 'perceived anti-consumer policies', dis-Kinected the pricing issue and introduced a 'friendlier' indie program. Sony on the other hand, carried on with their momentum and opened up a 3 million units advantage in consoles sold to date. Things are not all fine and dandy on Sony's camp however, delays of marque titles such as Drive Club and The Order 1886, development dramas at Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica meant that E3 2014 is of particular important for Sony to refocus their energy and rebuild the positive aura surrounding the PS4.

So, what can SONY do to win the hearts and minds of gamers at E3 2014?
How about live streaming their conference to cinemas all around United States for FREE?
I find this interesting. Compared to Nintendo who decided to shy away from the nerve-wrecking 1-2 hours of E3 press conference, Sony has decided to double-down and do a country-wide cinema livestream. I tell myself, this can go either way, horribly wrong or wonderfully awesome.

Sony gotta be sure to have something very interesting to say to be doing this sort of thing...especially on this scale.

All will be revealed very soon...looking forward to it.

WATCH_DOGS Reviewed

Beware of the Night, My Child of Light

UPDATE (May 18th, 2014): I finished Child of Light last night, the game is beautiful but the game coding leaves much to be desired. It crashed several times before the end and after I finished the game. During one of the free-roam post-game, it crashed and corrupted the save file. It couldn't recover and I had no choice but to revert to an older save. My advice to you, upload the savefile to the PS+ cloud manually or copy it to a USB stick). If not you might end up having a feast for your eyes but a sour taste in your mouth.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
Child of Light is a exploration-based role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Montreal, released on various platforms: PC, PS3/PS4, Xbox360, Xbox One in April 2014. Made by the team that was behind Far Cry 3, Child of Light is the team's love letter to JRPG, drawing inspiration from various sources such as Final Fantasy, Vagrant Story and Grandia

The game's story puts you in the shoes of young Aurora, a child who must in her quest to find her way from and reclaim the moon, the sun and the stars held captive by the Queen of the Night.

The Art Style
The game's art style is said to be inspired by the likes of Studio Ghibli and Yoshitaka Amano. Its dreamy storybook-like watercolour style is powered by UbiArt Framework, the technology behind the last two entries in the Rayman series. The multi-layered painted scenery and animated backgrounds gives the game an ethereal atmosphere.

The Music
Composed by Cœur de pirate (Béatrice Martin, a Canadian singer-songwriter), the game's music is both ear-pleasing and youthful. It supports the exploratory gameplay nature of the game superbly. The score also swells occasionally to complement the drama during larger scale combat gameplay. You can sample some of the beautiful music here

The Gameplay
Essentially, Child of Light is a game of exploration, puzzle solving and borrows elements of JRPG. You collect items treasure chests peppered across the beautifully crafted environments and claim loots from defeated foes. As you and your party members gain experience points from each fight, you can choose to upgrade the skills of each member.

Personally, I am not a JRPG or even RPG fan, primarily due to the fact that most RPG are 40+ hours experiences and include a fair bit of XP farming or level-grinding.

One of the most important feature of an RPG is the combat system, an area Child of Light succeeded is creating a simple yet deep strategic system. The ability to 'interrupt' your opponents during the fight will cause them to miss a turn. This is key to winning and feels very satisfying whenever it is successfully executed.

Summary
Child of Light is the perfect RPG for the busy gamer or casual-RPG gamer, who is looking to experience a well-made game.

Child of Light is my game of the month. I bought this game from Malaysian PSN Store, at MYR36, a limited offer for PS+ subscriber, a cross-buy for both PS3 and PS4 platforms.

Namco, We misses U!

Through my gaming  years with the Playstation generations, franchises like Ridge Racer and Tekken has always been the staple of each console launch. To most, their absence on this new generation is quite telling about the gaming market shift in Japan to focus onto mobile and handheld.

A few months after PS4's worldwide launch it seems eerily quiet from Bandai Namco. The Japanese household name in game development used to be a brand that was strongly associated with console gaming since Playstation (PSX/PSone), PS2 and PS3. 

Namco, please bring back my beloved Ridge Racer and Tekken. I miss you on my PS4. 

First Four Months on PS4

It is now the fourth month into my next-gen (now called current-gen) console gaming  on PS4.

This is my first time buying a console early in the lifecycle; so far the experience has been great.

Below are the list of games that I have purchased (full priced, free by PS+, discounted) and played. Looking forward to Watchdogs in May, and E3 in June for more news on upcoming games in 2014.

December

Call of Duty: Ghosts

FIFA 14

Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag

January

Killzone Shadowfall

February

Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition (resold)

March

Towerfall Ascencion
Infamous Second Son

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Fez

Playstation Plus Free PS4 Games

Dec : Resogun, Contrast
Jan: Don't Starve
Feb: Outlast

Mar: Dead Nation Apocalypse

Apr: Mercenary Kings

*physical game in italics

Your Games and Your Network

The Network - or internet has brought to gaming, something revolutionary. The game is no longer just defined by the players in the room, we can be playing with or against a player across the other side of the world. We can buy games digitally over the network and download new games content.

However, the network also created a problematic side effect, game patches. While I welcome the fact that game breaking bugs can be rectified, I cannot accept half-baked games rushed to meet release dates or holiday sales. One such example is Battlefield 4. The game could have benefited from an additional month of QA and testing, not released into the wild and patched several times. These patches are not small but the crown jewel of all patches have to be Dead Rising 3 on Xbox One, a whopping 13Gb. 

Next, as we step into the new generation where graphical assets such as textures are of higher quality, digital game sizes are on the uptrend. For example, on PS4, NBA2K14 is over 40Gb in size. This is one of the major roadblock for consumer adoption of digital gaming. 

I have a 5Mbps that costs me RM150 (~US$45) a month, and a 10Gb download will probably take me about 6 hours. Although my current ISP does not impose bandwidth caps, it won't take long if I continue to make large game downloads. Or maybe my ISP can look into working with Sony to launch a new streaming game service.

Playstation Now, is one of the key announcements from Sony from 2014's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The idea is simple, to enable the consumption of Sony Playstation's family of gaming content across multiple technological platforms, both Sony (like PS4, PSVita, Bravia TV) and even non-Sony device like tablets and smartphones. It is US only and will be in closed BETA in February with a launch planned in July.

It was demoed to the CES visitors and worked wonderfully, showcasing games like The Last of Us and God of War: Ascension. The technology uses custom hardware stored in data centres and streams the gameplay to your device. It is a novel idea, however even the most optimistic person will be concerned about how this will perform over the internet, raising latency and bandwidth concerns.

If local ISPs and Sony can work together to deliver this gaming service, things could be interesting. Playstation NOW could entice new audiences to the world of Playstation and Playstation 4.

TV upgrade for a budget-conscious PS4 owner

Sony have always made good TVs...picture quality have always been top notched although their price have always been on the higher side compared to Samsung or Panasonic.

After getting a PS4, I found myself revisiting my need for a new TV to succeed my reliable servant, a 40-in Samsung Series 5 LCD bought for RM2,650 in 2009. It has served me well but PS4's arrival expedited my upgrade. 

First of all, to be able to appreciate the clarity and nuanced details of a full 1080p picture, a 42-in TV is the starting point. Undoubtedly, larger screens of 46 or even 55 offer even better cinematic experience, as a videogamer, there are several points to consider.

1. Viewing Distance

My gameroom's view distance of 5ft is not suitable for any screen larger than 42-in

2. Picture Processing

For videogame consoles, TV's built-in picture processing is not required, therefore features such as Game Mode is something to lookout for. Although many vendors advertise this, your mileage may vary, so if possible you need to look out for factor number 3, input lag.

3. Input Lag

This terminology simply describes how much delay a signal encounters from the time it enters the TV's input to the time it gets displayed. Benchmark testers uses high-speed photography to see the time differential between a custom clock connected to the TV via HDMI. The lower input lag the better it is for gamers. This is especially true for fighting games where the timing of specific button presses are key to pulling off that superhit combo. Unfortunately,  input lag is not something you normally find on your TV specsheet.

So, how did I shop for my new TV? I found it through a tech forum recommendation. 

It is a Sony W-series 42W674, which normally retails for RM1, 999 but can be had for RM1, 700 during promotion. If budget was not a constraint, I might have gone for 46-in W904 but getting a TV for more than RM5, 000 is really too expensive.

W674 is very good for my needs, the input lag is 14.5ms (every processing turned off). A recommended setting offered by a forumer to handle both P3 and PS4 yields an input lag of 19ms.

So, there you go, my recommended TV for gaming in 2013/2014 that is under RM2, 000, my new gaming partner, Sony 42W674.

Below are the settings provided by Lowyat forumer, SSJBen
Game Mode
Backlight: 6 or 7 (6 if I turn off all the lights)
Contrast: 93
Brightness: 49
Color temp: Warm 1
Sharpness: 50
Gamma: -1

White Balance
All default except blue gain at -2, this is to account for setting Clear White at Low

Post process settings
All disabled except - Clear White (Low) and Smooth Gradation (Medium)

Using these settings, I've managed to get delta errors to less than 3 which is the optimal limit for a mid-range LCD LED TV.

Measured gamma point is at 2.38 which is just 0.2 point away from the standard set by ITU and THX as a reference level.

Input lag with these settings is at 19ms, (+4ms from an everything disabled 14.5ms W6).
By rule of thumb, anything under 30ms is optimal for games, under 20ms is exceptional in today's standards.

FAQ: PS4 vs PS3, What's New and Improved?

As a recognized gamer among friends and family, I often get pulled aside and asked this question.
"I heard that PS4 was launched recently, is it good, how does it compared with PS3?"

<<The Hardware>>
Supercharged PC-based Architecture
PS4 hardware is based on a supercharged PC-based architecture, making it easier to program. While PS3 Cell-processor architecture was powerful and ahead of its time, it was also very difficult to program for 3rd party developers. PS4 was built from the lessons learned from PS3's painful evolution and developer feedback. The result, is a PC-based architecture that is well understood, 10x more powerful than a PS3 and supported with matured toolsets to help developers shorten their ramp-up time to develop for PS4.

Console Performance Parity
With PS3's complex architecture, many of PS3's multiplatform titles tend to suffer in graphical fidelity or game performance. With PS4, Sony and Microsoft are on a level playing field in terms of hardware with a slight edge on PS4 vs Xbox One, demonstrated by some of the launch titles such as Call of Duty Ghosts which runs natively at 1080p on PS4, but only at 720p on Xbox One which uprezed it to 1080p to your TV.

<<The Software>>
PS4, with a more powerful hardware, can deliver greater graphics and better sound in your games.

Graphically, PS3's graphics references DirectX9/OpenGL2.0 features that circa 2003/2004 compared to PS4's that is up to the recent 2012 DirectX11.2/OpenGL4.4 specifications. PS4 benefitted from this 8-year technology jump that makes games on PS4 looking closer to modern PC standards.

With a more powerful console, developers now can further enrich the sound fidelity in their games. One example is Call of Duty Ghosts -- contextual acoustics are implemented so that each gun fired sound different based on the environment that you are in, each bullet shell dropping onto wood, dirt or steel giving off different sound.

With PS4 being closer to a PC, we expect to see more titles getting the console 'treatment'. We can expect to see more indie titles and free-to-play games to further enrich the console gamer's portfolio.

<<The User Experience>>
To put things into perspective, when PS3 was launched in November 2006, iphone has not even been released. Facebook was just two years old. As we moved further into the PS3's lifecycle, the social network really took off. Online multiplayer becomes a phenomenon and games with large open world exploration World of Warcraft and Skyrim captures the imagination of many.

PS4's hardware allows for transition from PS3's Networked Experience (online multiplayer, digital downloads) to the Social Experience of PS4. You can either immediately share your special gameplay moments on Facebook/Twitter or choose to broadcast your gameplay to a worldwide audience via twitch.tv or ustream.tv

PS4 also have added a few key improvements over PS3 that enhanced the overall user experience.
They are:
- ability to run in a low-powered state - that charges the controllers and download any updates/patches
- suspend and resume a game (available in a future firmware update)
- improved controller design that is more comfortable and precise compared to Dualshock3
- able to play a game (while a portion of the game is still downloading or installing)
- better user-interface layout and response time

So there you have it. My answer to you, what is PS4, what has improved and how it compares with PS3.

I leave you with a quick look at one the games releasing this month, Tomb Raider The Definitive Edition, with the producer describing what they have done for the game on PS4.

2014 is gonna be the year for PS4

PS3 - The Best Console To Get Now

I can't believe the only post I had written for this blog was about waiting to buy a PS3.

Eight years later, I bought a launch model PS3 (aka Phat) and subsequently, bought another two to replace my R.I.P. YLOD (yellow light of death) consoles, death from overheating, the issue that plagued the XBOX360s and to a lesser degree the PS3.  I also bought a XBOX360 to play some of the platform exclusives such as Gears of War and HALO. I enjoyed both platforms and had many hours of online and offline gaming experiences. I have also plonked down some serious money to get a PS4 and a low input-lag TV in December 2013. I will write a few posts to fill in the blanks...2005 to 2013.

But the target audience for this article is for those who never had the living room couch gaming experience on the TV, typically they are PC gamers and smartphone casual gamers. As the title suggests, my predicament for you is that Sony Playstation 3 is the best console gaming experience that you should seriously consider.

Why PS3 not PS4?

Price

500GB Super Slim PS3 can be had for not more than RM1,199 (Update: May, 2014 - 500GB PS3 retails for RM899) whereas 500GB PS4 retails at RM1,799. The difference of RM600 will help towards funding for PS3 games or a PS4 when you make your purchase late 2014 or early 2015 (if you are able to hold off that long, *smirks*)

Future Hardware Revisions

Buying a PS4 later may also help you in other ways, for example, the 500GB manufacturer-supplied hard disk with the PS4 is unlikely going to be enough as every game will pre-load a large portion of the disc-based games and digital versions of PS4 games are typically more than 30GB in size. If you are buying a PS4 now, you may have to think about upgrading to a 1TB hard disk at the very least, whereas if you are buying a PS4 in the future, you may have benefited from a hardware version refresh (i.e. even lower power usage/heat, bigger hard drive, etc.)

Availability

With the PS4 launch being fairly recent and some regions like Japan, awaiting launch, stock availability of PS4 are likely to be low in numbers. The negative effect of this is some unscrupulous retailers jacking up their prices. PS3s are generally available in the market and if you are lucky you may even snag a used PS3 from the gadget-chasers for a good price.

Games

While PS4 launch line-up are solid, it does not hold the candle when compared to PS3's eight year-old line-up games. Ranging from  from big budgeted AAA games to the whimsical indie titles. Since currently you cannot play PS3 games on your PS4 (pending Sony future announcement of Gaikai-powered cloud-based gaming), you definitely want to get a PS3 to play some of the best games the platform has to offer. In no particular order, here are some of my best remembered games on PS3 and since a lot these are older games you can get them cheaper new or used. Some of the digital titles on PS3 (Flower, Escape Plan, Soundshapes) are also Cross-Buy; meaning buying the PS3 version will entitle you to get the PS4 version for free.

The Last of Us, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Pixeljunk Monsters, Mass Effect 2, Metal Gear Solild 4, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Journey, Might and Magic Clash of Heroes, Uncharted Trilogy.

Playstation Plus

PS+ as it as affectionately known is a monthly paid subscription based service offered by Sony. It is priced at RM129 per year on PS Malaysian store, and US$49.99 on the US-based store.

Since online multiplayer on PS3 has always been subscription free (unlike Microsoft's Xbox360), Sony has differentiated its PS+ offering with cloud-based saves, PS+ special discounts, monthly free games and instant game collection. It is a single subscription that is valid across all Sony-based consoles(PS3/PS4/PS VITA TV) and portables(PSVITA).

Upon joining, new members get to download a selection of titles for you to have an instant game collection. These games are free for you to play for the duration of your subscription. Every month, PS+ also offers up new free games of the month as the current game of the month makes it way out. Another point to note though, PS+ game offerings differ across different PS store regions.

Currently, the UK/Europe trumps in terms of content while the US store offers the best value/content mix. The Malaysian/Asian store is now catching up after a slower start last year.

For example, in December 2014, the PS+ offer on the US store's are shown below, offering hit games such as Uncharted 3, XCOM Enemy Unknown, Borderlands 2, ICO, Shadow of the Collossus and Gravity Rush.

In January 2014, new games of the month offering will be Don't Starve on PS4 while PS3 gets Bioshock Infinite, Devil May Cry and Brothers, whereas PSVITA gets Smart As and Worms. This month's content alone already paid for the subscription fees.

Source: http://us.playstation.com/psn/plus-latest/

PS+ Pro-tip:
Every month, you can add the PS4 game(s) of the month to your download queue so that when you get your PS4, you have a library of free PS4 games waiting for you.

Go Get it Now

If you are still reading by now, it means you are quite interested, so how do you go about getting one? Where to get it? What else do you need? Here are my recommendations:
Pre-requisites:
- Get a high-speed wired broadband service (Unifi/Maxis), preferably 10Mbps
- Get a nice Full HD 1080p TV of at least 40" in size
- Get some good used games at great prices

Buying and enjoying your PS3
- Visit a local Sony Store* (not Sony Centre as those are Sony-branded stores operated by resellers)
- Be a Sony Card member (buy something RM250 and above and be a member for free)
- Get a Sony-branded Credit Card
- Buy a PS3 with and additional Dualshock 3 controller, pay by zero-interest installments
- Connect up your PS3 and go online
- Create your Sony Store account (SEN account) and sign-up PS+
- Download all applicable free games
- Enjoy

* I am not affiliated with Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment or any of its partners