As if we didn’t have enough to play in September…

When I initially subscribed to PlayStation Plus, I thought I might have some buyer’s remorse. And admittedly, for the first couple of months, I did remind myself that I could have purchased a full game for the price of Plus. Somewhere along the line (I believe it was with the launch of the game Stacked, which was free to Plus members) my tune completely changed. I based the worth of Plus on how much the “membership” payed for itself over the duration of its life. This value was also determined by how much of the free stuff was actually valuable to me personally (as in, things that I normally would have been interested in buying).

This circumstance will obviously vary from person to person. That said, in September Plus is once again showing its value with a legion of great games that will come for free to Plus Subscribers. Starting today, Plus members can get the highly-praised Plants vs. Zombies for free (or 1/3rd of the Plus subscription fee, if you want to get picky). But it doesn’t end there. Later in the month we will be getting Resident Evil 1-3 (PS1 versions), also for free. I believe Resident Evil 1 alone is worth 10 bucks.

It’s no secret that any free game attained through Plus is no longer available after the membership expires. It’s also no secret that most people who subscribed to the service from day one (and received 3 free months, as well as the compensation for PSN being down) are nearing the end of their subscription. So it seems reasonable that they are making the last month a huge one for free games. And I can’t blame them for an enticing “stick around” tactic. But in all reality, Plus proved its value months ago, through early betas, free games, and serious discounts. And this month will be no exception, even if it is a method of keeping us subscribed. Here is a list of the upcoming content for the month of September. The latest issue of Qore will have some Ico/Shadow of Colossus coverage as well, so be sure to check that out.

Source: PS Blog
Free PSN Games and DLC: Plants vs. Zombies – 9/6
Astro Tripper – 9/6
Altered Beast – 9/6
Free Minis: Bashi Blocks – 9/6
Jellypops – 9/13
Street Smarts – 9/27
Free PS one Classics: Jet Moto – 9/6
Resident Evil Director’s Cut – 9/20 (2 weeks)
Resident Evil 2 – 9/20 (2 weeks)
Resident 3 – 9/20 (2 weeks)
Full Game Trials: BulletStorm – 9/13
Saint’s Row 2 – 9/20
Bolt – 9/20
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 – 9/27
Discounts & Sale Offers: Alpha Mission – Minis – 20% off – 9/6
T.N.K. Iii – Minis – 20% off – 9/6
The Impossible Game – 25% off – 9/6
Vanguard Ii – Minis – 20% off – 9/6
MotorStorm Apocalypse Premiere Pack Bundle – 30% off – 9/13
Cubixx HD – 30% off – 9/20 (1 Week)
Resident Evil 4 – 50% off – 9/20 (2 Weeks)
Resident Evil Code Veronica X HD – 50% off – 9/27 (2 Weeks)
Armageddon Riders – 40% off – 9/6 (2 Weeks)

Lucasarts PSP PSN Sale – 50% off PSN Sale Price – 9/13 (1 Week)
-Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes PSP
-Star Wars: Battlefront II
-Star Wars: Battlefront Renegade Squadron
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed PSP
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Apprentice Mission Pack
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Character Pack 1
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Character Pack 2
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Hoth Mission
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Tatooine Mission Pack
Free Themes: Plus Exclusive Clouds Dynamic Theme – 9/6
Cow Abduction Dynamic Theme – 9/20
Armageddon Rider Dynamic Theme – 9/27 ( 1 Week)
Free Avatars (One Week Only) Armageddon Rider – Armageddon Rider Avatar – 9/6
Armageddon Rider -Collider Zombie Avatar – 9/6
Armageddon Rider – Fast and Deadly Avatar- 9/6
Armageddon Rider – Hot Rod Avatar – 9/13
Armageddon Rider -Logo 1 Avatar – 9/13
Armageddon Rider – Logo 2 Avatar – 9/20
Armageddon Rider – Zombiemower Avatar – 9/20
Media: Qore Episode 40, September 2011 – 9/6 – Early Access

On September 6th (North America), 2011, your Summer vacation ends on Dead Island. But you won’t be alone, as indicated on this new co-op trailer to the anticipated upcoming zombie fest. Dead Island has indeed gone Gold, and is less than a month away from release. So find the nearest weapon of choice and prepare for a unique take on the zombie invasion!

We knew it was coming, and I was personally holding off on pre-ordering the the game until I learned what Bethesda was going to do about some sort of collector’s edition.  Few games warrant the added price of a special edition, but the Elder Scrolls series contains some of the few.  Still… a couple of virtual items and a picture of the game’s director in a swim suit aren’t enough for me to spend an extra $50 to $100 bucks on a video game (for some folks, nothing is), but seeing what we’re getting with Skyrim’s collector’s edition, I am happy to say that it is packed with some worthwhile goodies, if Skyrim is (for you) the second coming of the video game god that some consider it to be.

Here is what we will be getting for $149.99:

• Alduin Statue. Created in conjunction with the IP Factory, this collector’s only statue stands 30.5cm tall and is made of high quality PVC. Modelled from actual in-game 3D digital files, it showcases Alduin, the World Eater. He stands perched atop one the game’s many dragon walls that teach the player the lethal language of dragons.
• ‘The Art of Skyrim’ Official Art Book. Featuring over 200 pages of striking, full-colour illustrations, sketches and models, this stunning 23.8cm x 30.8cm coffee table book showcases the characters, creatures, environments and weaponry of Skyrim. With a foreword by game director Todd Howard and commentary from Bethesda Game Studios artists, readers will be guided through the game’s iconic visual style.
• ‘The Making of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ DVD. This documentary DVD contains exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage, including interviews with the Bethesda Game Studios team as they take you from concept to creation and provide insights into the story, gameplay, setting, legacy of the Elder Scrolls franchise, and much more.

I honestly wish that the documentary was on Bluray instead of DVD, but I guess they have to compensate for the other console that’s still running those older discs.  Regardless, 200 pages of color art from what looks to be a beautiful game, as well as the Alduin statue, make for amazing pieces of Skyrim for collectors.  And who doesn’t want a cloth map to pour over by candlelight, when everyone else in the house is asleep, and you are trying to find the lost dungeons of Muchogas?

This week you’ve got your pick of all out war with the likes of Platoon and Gods and Generals.  If those are bit too in-your-face then perhaps you’ll settle for an animated take on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . . . in 3D.  How about a dose of Charlie Brown?  Good grief, no one can deny the icon that coined the phrase . . . um . . . “Good Grief.”

Here are some of the releases for Tuesday, May 24, 2011:

• I am Number Four (2011)
• Gnomio and Juliet 3D (2011)
• Platoon (1986)
• Gettysburg (1983)
• Gods and Generals (2003)
• Solaris (1972)
• Papillon (1973)
• Burning Palms (2010)
• Tigerland (2000)
• Happiness is a Warm Blanket Charlie Brown (2011)
• The Big Bang (2011)
• Quigley Down Under (1995)
• The Big Country (1958)
• Le Mans (1971)

As tempting as it may be to watch a pre-crazy version of Charlie Sheen in Platoon this week’s pick has got to be 1973′s Papillon.  If you haven’t seen this movie starring a young Dustin Hoffman alongside the incredible Steve McQueen you’ve been depriving yourself of one of cinema’s greatest achievements.  Based on the true story of a prisoner’s escape from a French penal colony in the 1930′s it makes The Shawshank Redemption look like an ABC afternoon special – and I love The Shawshank Redemption.

Presenting the Brink launch trailer in all its glory. This trailer showcases action-packed sequences from the single player and multiplayer aspects of the game. Enjoy, and be ready to choose a side when the game hits stores tomorrow.

We picked up this interesting press release today regarding the influence for the various crimes you will be investigating in L.A. Noire.  The more we read about this upcoming game, the more intolerable it becomes to wait for its arrival on May 17th.  Some of these are down right intriguing.

From the guys at Rockstar:

In the creation of  L.A. Noire, Team Bondi exhaustively researched Los Angeles newspapers of the day, including archives of every single daily L.A. Times from January 1st through December 31st 1947. The team pored over countless true crime reports in those papers, finding kernels of inspiration along the way that led to all the fictionalized cases you’ll work in the game as Detective Cole Phelps – including “The Red Lipstick Murder” and “A Marriage Made in Heaven” as recently detailed.

Today, in partnership with the L.A. Times and their  Archives group, and inspired by the L.A. Times’ own acclaimed  Crime Map project – we present the  L.A. Noire 1947 Edition Crime Map some of those other cases from that landmark year of Los Angeles crime that were researched – ranging from the fascinating to the frightening.
Including true tales of:

• 72-year-old oil man, E.J. Miley, who picked up three hitchhiking youths as he left on a drive from LA up to Fresno. The trio were petty thugs who thought they had an easy mark on their hands…
• A pair of weightlifting rivals in Pacific Palisades who agreed to head to the gym to “settle the question of superiority”, but it winds up being far from a fair lift-off…
• A horrible account of a young, disturbed returning veteran who, with no warning or apparent cause, murdered his bride and himself at his in-laws house one evening…
• Acrobat burglars who broke into a market by ripping off a skylight, chopped a hole in the ceiling, and slid down a pole to make off with $2500 in cash (yes, that was a LOT back then) along with several hundred pounds of meat – but not before stopping to apparently chug several quarts of milk.

Plus a bunch more. Read the original clippings of these stories as they appeared in the L.A. Times that year, and see exactly where they happened in Los Angeles with the 1947 Edition Crime Map at www.latimes.com/lanoire.

Check out the new gameplay trailer to the anticipated title, Rage. This is a nice meaty trailer that shows streamed gameplay, that takes you from a nice driving sequence into a compound, and gives you a good, long taste of this great-looking title.

While this might be common knowledge to some, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to let readers know that, despite the current PS3 outage, Netflix is fully functional on your PS3.

PSNation’s Justin informed me that in order to watch Netflix on your PS3, you simply have to accept the login to PSN, and when you receive your first error, simply press Circle to cancel out and try to log in again.  Once again you will be presented with the login screen.  Press X to attempt to log in and cancel out when you are given the connection error.  At this point you should be at your Netflix selection screen and set to go.

An recent update from Sony states:

Ok, let’s get the obvious out of the way.  This game is not a sequel to Monster Hunter.  If I were a priest, and you came into my confessional and asked for forgiveness (for the sin of mistaking Dogma for Monster Hunter), I would probably forgive you.  Indeed, at first glance the two games might seem somewhat similar.  But after reading the description and seeing the game in action, you will realize that Dragon’s Dogma has some huge things in store for fans of the fantasy action adventure genre.

At the forefront of the differences between Dogma and Hunter is the overarching narrative that Dragon’s Dogma has.  While Monster Hunter did have a basic storyline revolving around the hunt and defeating giant monsters for your own fame and respect, Dragon’s Dogma will carry a little bit more weight in the story department.

Dragon’s Dogma is an open-world action adventure with a strong fantasy base, including wizards and warrior (and Striders), and (yes, you guessed it) dragons.

But you won’t be battling the bad guys on your own.  Dragon’s Dogma will allow for the player to employ 3 NPCs (out of a roster of 200) to battle along side you.  These characters can be upgraded, and they will listen to commands you issue using the D-pad.  Outside of helping you, these characters have their own 24-hour daily routines and are gifted with spoken dialogue.

No word on how multiplayer will factor into all of this, but we are promised “a brand-new approach to multiplayer,” so a multiplayer element will be present.

The game is slated to be released in early 2012.

It’s quite a looker, so lets hope this amazing concept delivers.

Source: PlayStation Blog

The character class that we like to use, when we don’t want to spend time micromanaging magic spells or that other hippie stuff, has its own trailer. But for the rest of us, the trailer gives us another glimpse at the action role-playing game in motion. The end of the trailer reveals a Spring 2011 release date, so let’s hope that Daggerdale graces our consoles soon, because I’m itching for some co-op role-playing goodness.