Sony’s PlayStation Plus is a subscription-based service that allows members to get weekly and monthly access to discounted games on the PlayStation Network, as well as the occasional free game. Sony has calculated that the $50/year service has granted thousands of dollars in savings.

Everyone loves free games, but nobody likes a free game that’s a piece of HDD-hogging garbage. “In PlayStation Plus We Trust” is a weekly feature outlining the new free addition(s) to the Instant Game Collection to help you decide whether that newest freebie in the Store is worth your time.

 It’s not anything great, but this week’s Poker Night 2 is fun enough to waste some time with.

Poker Night 2

Though Poker Night 2 is a fairly inexpensive game, getting if for free is still a pretty sweet treat, particularly with how much charm is bursting from the game’s seams. There’s a strange mix of characters here, including Brock Sampson from the phenomenal Adult Swim show The Venture Bros, Sam & Max, Claptrap from Borderlands, Ash from Army of Darkness, and of course, GLaDOS. With the latter overseeing, you will play Texas Hold ‘Em and Omaha against the other players, following standard rules and winning items and “tokens” to unlock more goodies such as different decks. There’s a fair bit of stuff to get ahold of.

If you’re like me and don’t particularly remember the rules, the game is relatively good at laying out how to play as well as offering a cheat sheet of possible winning hands so you can strategize accordingly. Of course, this is a video game, and the canned “tells” that the characters display are not nearly as interesting as the real thing. It really boils down to luck, and it’s not as exciting as the real thing. Still, there are some good lines of dialogue, particularly from Brock Sampson and GLaDOS.

On a technical level, the game is a mess. It’s not stable, with multiple stutters and freezes. It can be frustrating. But it is free, so we really can’t complain too much. If you’re a poker aficionado, the only thing that will attract you to this is the set of unlockable goodies pertaining to Portal, Borderlands, Venture Bros. and so on, but other than that, this is a fairly standard poker game.

Verdict: Not for Everyone

 Deals

Of this week’s deals, some of the standouts include the Devil May Cry HD Collection, Remember Me and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition.

Ultimate Editions

As a bonus, today marks the beginning of a discount for a number of Ultimate Editions, games that include all of their DLC. These will be on sale through October 21. Need for Speed Most Wanted is awesome, and Prototype 2, while a bit steeply priced, is quite a bit of fun.

Let us know what you’re picking up, and we’ll see you again next week!