PS Plus for August - Hitman Absolution

It's a new month, which means a new set of freebies and discounts for PS Plus members. The Instant Game Collection gets updated once more with the addition of Hitman Absolution and four more games for the month of August. 

Along with Hitman Absolution, here are the rest of the games you get on August:

• Zen Pinball 2: Star Wars Pinball (PS3)
• Bit.Trip Presents Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (PS3)
• Machinarium (Vita)
• Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (PS3/Vita)

Just like last month, the release of the free title is in no particular order. So check out the PlayStation Store every once in awhile to see if your free games for this month is available for download.

PlayStation Store is also holding a discount on the Rayman franchise, with of course PS Plus members getting a bigger price cut.

• Rayman Origins - Original price: $19.99, Discount: $9.99, PS Plus: $5.00
• Rayman 3 HD   - Original price: $9.99, Discount: $4.99, PS Plus: $2.50
• Rayman Origins PS Vita  - Original price: $26.99, Discount: $13.49, PS Plus: $6.75
• Rayman Arena  - Original price: $9.99, Discount: $4.99, PS Plus: $2.50
• Rayman 2 Revolution  - Original price: $9.99, Discount: $4.99, PS Plus: $2.50
• Rayman 2: The Great Escape - Original price: $5.99, Discount: $2.99, PS Plus: $1.50
• Rayman  - Original price: $5.99, Discount: $2.99, PS Plus: $1.50

If you haven't given PS Plus a chance, I highly suggest you do because you will save a good chunk of your money since you'll be busy taking in everything you get out of the service. Their monthly release of free games and crazy discounts make this service difficult to ignore.

[Source: PS Plus Blog US]

Rayman Origins out now, a full retail game?

Rayman Origins is out but for some reason I always thought it was coming out as a downloadable game for PSN and Xbox Live. Never crossed my mind that Ubisoft went retail with a 2D Platformer. These games are rare, so if you're a fan of the genre(like myself) then you should consider this to keep these games alive.

I remember seeing the demo on Game Trailer's live streaming of this year's E3 and was underwhelmed because I thought it was another downloadable game worth 14.99. It being released as a full game got me curious. When I found out it was a full retail game, I started doing research on what else it offers. Tons of collectables, and I mean tons! Is it enough for a game to have its very own disc? For a platformer, yes, what else do you need really? As long as its challenging, easy to maneuver, and have incentive to replay stages, you're set.

Rayman Origins is getting positive reviews thanks to its beautiful art design, four player co-op feature, and solid controls. . You can never go wrong with platformers. Games such as Super Meat Boy, Outland, or even the classic Mario bros. are tons of fun and this should be no exception.

Sadly this might be ignored since it doesn't provide the Full Package(game having online) that every game developer provides nowadays. With a 2D Platformer priced as a full game, it's definitely a hard sell, but kudos for Ubisoft for taking on the risk.

Playing with a friend or family member in Rayman Origins seems to be the way to go, so if you want a casual game where anybody can join in on the fun, this will do. If ever I get this, I'm going to include my 5-year old nephew in on the fun to introduce him to 2D Platformer at its best.

Rayman Origins is out now for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

E3 2011: Ubisoft Press Conference Highlights!

Ubisoft's Press Conference was actually tolerable this year. No more Lazer tag announcements or a lengthy talk from James Cameron would put you to sleep. They gave us what we wanted and it's the games. But if only they put a lid on that damn host they had, jesus can't Ubisoft get a less annoying host? well at least their learning....sorta. Check out the highlights of this Press Conference now! quite the nice game reveals.

- Rayman Origins announced. Live Demo was shown.

- Driver San Francisco announced but with only a trailer revealed.

- Farcry 3 unveiled with a lengthy Live demo of its new game engine and gameplay.

- Brothers in Arms: The Furious 4 announced. Trailer only shown.

- The Adventures of TinTin was announced. Game is said to be connected with the CG movie being created by Steven Speilberg and Peter Jackson,these big names are said to be included in this game's development. A gameplay trailer was shown.

- More footage on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. A live demo was presented revealing that you can play the Campaign game with four players.

- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Online announce. A PC only online game free of charge, only a trailer showing gameplay footage was shown.

- Trackmania 2 announced. Trailer was only shown.

- Raving Rabbits: Alive & Kicking announced. A Kinect game that uses augmented reality. You pretty much kick Raving rabbits right from your living room and play with up to four players. Will be out on Nov 8, 2011.

- Just Dance 3 announced. Will be supported each motion controller, the PS Move, Kinect and the Wii controller. Will be out on October of 2011.

- Rocksmith announced. A game guitar hero-ish game but with the ability to actually make you learn how to use a guitar. Really cords with a real guitar. Coming Fall of 2011.

- And Ubisoft ends with a bang, Assassin's Creed: Revelations makes an appearance. An impressive CG trailer was shown then right after a Live Demo of the game.

Well this was certainly better than last years boring Press Conference. They had a lot of nice game announcements but spent too much time with those weird presentations about what games were in the past. It was Ubisoft's 25th anniversary so they tried to make something.......errr different but just got me annoyed because of their Mr. Caffeine host Aaron Priceman. It's good to see Farcry 3 is coming, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier looks pretty good and Rayman get's a new game which is cool. Assassin's Creed: Revelations, well it just looks similar to each Assassins Creed game since 2 so I wasn't that impressed. I'm sure your all excited for the next one.

Here's a link to the Press Conference to watch it yourself - http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/ubisoft-e3/