Can you remember the excitement of purchasing penny sweets in your childhood? My parents would often give me a small amount of money in order to purchase a selection of sweets either from a local shop or town market. Sadly my excitement for penny sweets diminished a long time ago but I’ve noticed a number of budget hand-held titles for a low as 89p! So, each week, I would like to put a Pick ‘n’ Mix list together for cheap video games which are both fun and designed to be played in short bursts.
I’ve been playing three such titles this week and I thought it would be good to share more about them here.
Space Invaders Extreme (PSP/PS Vita)
The original Space Invaders is a classic video game which has inspired many single screen arcade 2D shooters over the years. Space Invaders Extreme is a modern take on the arcade classic. It boasts multiple sound tracks, a variety of weapon boosts, iconic pixel ship designs that feature numerous attack and defence capabilities and an assortment of bosses. The handheld versions were originally developed for both PSP and Nintendo DS but the PSP version is still available for PS Vita via the Playstation Store. The game is well designed, very rhythmic and highly addictive.
Lemmings (PSP/PS Vita)
Lemmings is a classic Retro puzzle game that stands the test of time. Even though Team 17 isn’t the original franchise developer, it’s PSP version must be one of the better console versions, and it’s fully portable. The game’s goal is to save a set number of Lemmings from each stage by giving Lemmings various tasks and items. This may involve digging, blocking, building, climbing etc.
I have such fond memories of Lemmings. This was one of the first video games I ever owned for my Commodore Amiga in the 90’s, and even though I still consider that to be the definitive version, Team 17’s development team did a great job in being faithful to the original. There are some nice graphical touches, in-game music remains catchy, and I highly recommend it to puzzle fans.
PS Vita owners can still purchase this great PSP title via the Playstation Store.
Jumping Joe and Friends (Nintendo Switch)
Jumping Joe and Friends is a really fun Switch game. The game’s objective is to climb as high as you can by jumping from platform to platform, and by using available items, while avoiding traps such as spikes, bats and saw blades. It supports multiplayer, contains numerous unlockables, and provides hours of fun for 89p (it’s currently on sale!) if you’re into competitive multi-player titles, or like to challenge yourself by beating your own set high-scores then you’ll have great fun with this.
Jumping Joe’s visuals are colourful, it features a fun soundtrack, and even children can play it and enjoy it. This is a great party game if you’re on a tight budget.
I have eaten my sweets for this week…
Next week I hope to include Mahjong Huntress and Super Stardust Delta in our small pick and mix round up.
If you’re interested in any of the above games, or would like to share information about your favourite pick up and play titles for hand-held systems; please leave your comments below.
It’s interesting that Team 17 did a Lemmings game, since they made a gory take on that type of game with Flockers.
I’ve also seen a Lemmings TOTAKU figure in the game shop.