We weren’t really sure what Sony meant when they said they would come up with some way to compensate those who own PSP UMD games but want to upgrade to the download only PSP Go. We now have a slightly better idea of what Sony is going to do, and it may not be exactly what you were hoping for.

Sony is offering Europeans the chance to take part in a rewards program, which involves placing a UMD in your existing PSP then downloading a special PSPgo theme from PSN. After doing this you should be sent an email containing a voucher code which you can exchange in return for three free downloads out of a choice of 17 full games. Some of the games include Killzone: Liberation (I own this, and it’s actually pretty good), SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, Everybody’s Golf, WipEout Pure, Echochrome, LocoRoco, Patapon and Buzz!: Master Quiz. The offer is open to anybody who owns an existing PSP model, plus at least one game, who buys and registers a PSPgo from its release on 1st October until 31st March next year.

So, while you may not be able to turn your existing purchases into a free download it’s certainly better than nothing if you’re set on buying a PSPgo. People with a large library of UMD games are going to be disappointed, there’s little doubt about that, but I’m finding it hard to figure out how Sony would be able to turn your existing purchases into downloads anyway. How can you prove that you own a game, especially if it was bought a few years back? There must be some way of doing it, and I doubt Sony will be losing many sales by coming up with a solution as the majority of people are unlikely to buy another copy of something they already own.

Like some Dutch retailers I don’t really care for the PSPgo. A smaller screen and more cramped controls doesn’t really do much for me, especially as memory sticks are getting cheaper all the time. I don’t use my PSP much, but if I do buy a game I can now choose to between a UMD or a download, which is far better than only having one option.

If you’re still not convinced that buying Left 4 Dead is worth any of your hard earned cash then Valve is setting out to try and change that mind of yours. Tomorrow Valve will remove the pay barrier on the PC version of the game, letting you access the game for free on Steam. If you’re thinking that’s the best deal you’ve heard in ages then be aware that the game will only be available for free for 24 hours, after which it will revert to its original price until pay for it.

If you’ve always been nervous about getting Left 4 Dead due to it not being the longest game in the world you’ll be happy to know that the new Survival Pack is also thrown into the deal. 24 hours should be more than enough to play through both, but Left 4 Dead should not be judged on how much content it has but rather how much replay-ability it offers. Personally I think it will keep anyone happy for a long while, as the AI ‘director’ makes every game you play unique. Secondly, Left 4 Dead is primarily a multiplayer game and people still play the same maps over and over again on Call of Duty 4, so why can’t you do the same with Left 4 Dead?

There’s no harm in giving it a shot, and if you don’t like it then you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you never spent a penny to play it.