The 9 best PSN games

By Joe Dart for computerandvideogames.com

Traversing the PlayStation Store can be a laborious process, wading through the sea of rubbish titles to find its hidden gems. Suffer no longer: here's our most recommended titles available for download on Sony's platform.

FAT PRINCESS

Your princess is in another castle. You've got to save her, but there's a problem... she's really fat.

Working with team-mates online the core gameplay of Fat Princess sees you trying to rescue your princess whilst preventing the other team from taking their own heiress back. A delicate balance of offense and defense is required to make sure that you take back your princess whilst protecting their princess from being recaptured: capture forts, gather resources, attack their castle. Or you could just stuff her little face full of cake, fatten up their princess and make it as hard as possible for the enemy team carry and rescue her.

Players can pick from several specific classes, each with a different job to do in the kidnap and protect efforts. There are a wide array of maps that offer a unique routes and methods to capture the princess, the variety available means that Fat Princess is an addictive title which is almost impossible to put down.

SUPER STARDUST HD

Seen as the PS3's answer to Geometry Wars, Super Stardust HD is a twin-stick shooter focused on blasting action in its purest form. There's a lot to avoid and shoot: huge asteroids and enemy ships will impede your path but fortunately you're able to arm yourself to the teeth with a variety of weapons that can be switched between on the fly.

Big hunk of ice in your way? Then use the Ice Splitter to take that sucker down. Each weapon is suitable in different situations, which adds a level of strategy to the gameplay.

Visuals flash and bang spectacularly during the mayhem and the on-screen details still look very impressive for a title released almost four years ago. Further havoc ensues in local co-op mode and teaming up with friend to blast things has never been so satisfying.

JOE DANGER

A cross between Excitebike and Trials HD, Joe Danger is a stunt motorcycle game that sees our titular hero trying to get back onto the scene after a debilitating injury.

Pulling off ludicrous stunts like a modern-day Evel Knievel is easy for Joe Danger who zips and zooms across levels filled with jumps, loops and shark-tanks with ease. Joe's bike handles like a dream, meaning that even the most complicated trick combos can be performed relatively painlessly.

A huge stack of levels are included in the package as well as a track editor so you can share tracks with your friends online. On top of that, each stage has multiple objectives you need to complete to collect stars which are needed to progress in the game. There's a good chance you'll want to go back to the same level multiple times to collect all the "D-A-N-G-E-R" letters or complete the level with a 100% trick combo. Joe Danger is a game that has insane longevity.

FLOWER

Flower is more of an ethereal playground than a game per se. Each stage revolves around a different theme and gameplay objective, but your method of control remains the same: tilt the controller to direct a series of flower petals through beautiful environments. Starting with a single petal you touch other flowers to gain more petals and blow them along by adjusting the wind flow.