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Prinny Game Now Available.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:43:07 -0600

NIS's game about explosive blue demon penguins who consider fanny packs to the the pinnacle of modern fashion has been released to wreak havoc on non-believers. Feel free to pick up this maddeningly hard gem for the PSP at your local retailer or hit up NISA's awesomely named Rosenqueen.com. Enjoy.

Nintendo's EarthBound Gameplan: Cold Water on the Crotch.

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:40:47 -0600

In a move that, honestly, surprises no one, Nintendo has essentially shelved plans of releasing the best SNES RPG (empirical fact; eat it FF/CT fans) on Virtual Console. Earthbound fans, accustomed to being the red-headed, freckled, bastard step-children of a drunken, abusive Nintendo, have long since given up hope of Mother 3 or 1 ever being officially translated. In fact, they actually got so down and out over it that they decided that the only way to ever see a translaton was to do it on their own. That being said, at least there was some glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, if they wished hard enough Earthbound would be released on VC and the glorious throngs who would show that there was in fact a market for the title would convince Nintendo to release Mother 3 in America with the only currency that currently holds currency with Nintendo, curren... cash. Alas due to any number of possibilities it will never happen. Move along, nothing to see here. Please, kindly, click the link if you wish to know more. I think I may go take up drinking.

No Longer Left Hanging: Left 4 Dead Content is Free.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:25:52 -0600

In a move that is seemingly solely intended to alleviate some of my (mostly) irrational anger towards Gabe Newell, Valve has announced their plans for pricing on both the PC and Xbox formats, free. While it could be, rightfully, argued that the two additional versus mode maps were already paid for in the initial asking price, the freebie pricetag is a welcome sight nontheless. Additionally, they are including a new mode dubbed, "Survival" with 12 maps; it is not known whether these maps are entirely new or simply segmented maps from the four existing campaigns. The new mode is said to be something like an extended siege/assault. Players can look forward to both updates on the same day... at some point in the, hopefully, near future.

All the Pretty Flowers.

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:06:38 -0600

This Thor's day, Flower, by the fine folks who made Fl0w, comes to PSN. What can you expect? I'm not sure. Lots of pretty grass, flowers, basically flora of all make, model, and description. You may ask yourself, "why the hell do I want to be a flower?" Honestly, I don't know that's a question that requires a considerable amount of soul-searching if nothing else. Besides, I'm pretty sure that you're the wind, not a flower, and that's a rather empowering thought. I suppose. This would be a good time to say something trite like, "hey, just watch the video to see what it's like," but I'm fairly certain that watching the video would only cause more confusion. Regardless it's hard to pass up such an intriguing title.
Oh and thanks to Macfarlane-web.com for the image.

Limited Edition White Dragon PS3 Available in Japan.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:34:02 -0600

"White Dragon" used to my my nickname in martial arts circles prior to my career ending loss in a tonfa pit fight in Cambodia. Ok, so maybe I'm making some of that up. Fine, ok ok, all of it was made up, but the amazing PlayStation 3 that you see above is very real. One day, it could be yours if you can snatch one of 10,000 pebbles from the hands of Japanese gamers. The alabaster creature of legend is part of a bundle that includes Yakuza 3, err well I guess it will be Ryu Ga Gotoku 3... since it's Japanese and all. Granted the game itself is unlikely to be importer friendly for those of you who don't speak Japanese, but the system itself would perform well enough for importers who don't mind region locking on backwards compatible titles and DVDs. Look for it around march 6th.

PSN Update. More Importantly Suikoden.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:41:55 -0600

Due to unforeseeable circumstances Christmas, the PlayStation Store update hit today. And why do we care? Because Suikoden, one of the best PlayStation RPGs was released today. Additionally, maybe, if we all knock our heels together we'll be blessed with a downloadable Suikoden II at somewhere less than 1/10-1/15 of the going rate (depending upon season, moon cycle, and oprah's weight.) So basically, if you're even remotely in the market for a decent RPG, it may be worth tossing your $5.99 towards a classic. Lots of other stuff came out too... That's after the jump.

Lumines Supernova: More Lumines puzzle fun with more themes, including Christmas themes for the next few weeks (to wit.)

Lord of the Rings: Conquest demo.

Toro the Japanese PlayStation mascot has been added as a playable character in Hot Shots Golf.

A new episode of Pulse.

Metal Gear 4 Little Big Planet levels and accessories. What's not to like?

Disgaea 3 add-ons.

Some music game song things for random music games. Notable: Foo Fighters songs are available for Rockband.

And well, tons of other things. Feel free to hit the jump if you're not already turning on your PS3/PSP/PC to check the store out.

NeoGAF strikes awesome again. Prototype Thread.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:09:44 -0600

In the interest of not ripping off other people's work please visit the link. In the interest of getting people interested in clicking the link: You'll find prototypes of Microsoft's 360 (pictured above), several Nintendo systems throughout the years including the quashed fruits of their abandoned collaboration with Sony, lots of Sega stuff, some NEC stuff, many Sony prototypes, and well... since it's a thread, assumedly much more in the future. Many of the things are garish, gaudy, or naked, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying a glimpse of what may have been. Think of it like a box of Christmas presents that you'll never get to enjoy.

Final Fantasy Trailer's from (Random Latin and Greek Letters) Event Released.

Ryan Fulton — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:40:00 -0600

Videos from Square Enix's Summer event, just recently released to the public. Please enjoy.

FFXIII VS:

FFXIII:

GB Review: Midnight Club LA Remix (PSP)

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:48:26 -0600

Midnight Club LA Remix is a competent racer with few niggling issues and annoyances. The portable version holds up well to its fully featured console cousins and for an arcade style racing game on the go you're unlikely to come across a better example of the genre at the moment, but it's far from a must have title if you're not really in the market for a portable racing game. It's worth a buy if you're interested in a racer that's not tethered to a television.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

Every once in a great while, in every field, in any genre, there is a title that exemplifies, redefines, and generally leaves everyone else involved in the business both gob-smacked and flabbergasted. Midnight Club LA Remix for the PlayStation Portable is not such a title, but it is a competent arcade racer spread across the cities of Los Angeles and Tokyo where you can pop parking brakes and bust nitrous boosts to your heart's desire. While it exhibits a few issues it ultimately proves itself to be a fun title.

Launch Gallery: Midnight Club LA Remix

(15 images)

As with any arcade style racer, realism takes a backseat to outlandish physics, over-the-top crashes, and general mayhem. The gameplay is flawed at times, but ultimately enjoyable. The game engages you by using the city as a glorified menu system allowing you to chose races and upgrade your car at your will once you unlock the features. While this is enjoyable to an extent, it feels like a chore after a while -- considering how you're forced to endure at least two healthy loading screens merely to accomplish any task. Once you arrive at your destination you can look forward to a one to five minute race followed by some more loading screens. Repetition of races is also a minor gripe that should be considered.

The racing itself is a blast, the sense of speed is very real, and the turning on most cars feels just right once you get a hang of how to handle each of your cars. The AI controlled races vary from laughably pathetic to fiendishly difficult. While this is not a bad thing it's difficult to find races where there is a definite sense of being in just the right spot for an exciting finish which is somewhat of a let down. On a related note, which explains the lack of exciting finishes to a degree, the AI does not resort of "rubber banding" their way back up to you when you're in the lead or vice-versa. The car modification system is exceptionally robust and the number of modifications available for each individual car is nothing short of astounding.

The game's sound is difficult to quantify. The racers and main character all feature voice acting that's subpar across to board, and the dialogue is beyond poorly written unless you consider 2 Fast 2 Furious to be the apex of screenwriting prowess. That being said, there is a certain campy value that the dialogue and voice acting adds that makes the game endearing or at least mildly amusing the first few times you hear the insults that are thrown about by the other racers. The music is a standard faire of rap, electronic, hip hop, and rock songs. Featuring nearly 100 musical tracks the selection is anything but constrained, and the long list of artists should almost guarantee that there is at least once act that you're interested in listening to. Unfortunately most of the races are shorter than the songs included in the game so the music is often cut short by the lack of a continuation feature.

The graphics are generally sharp with minimal pop up when moving. Upon closer inspection the textures are rather drab and lack much in the way of definition, but this is hardly a deal breaker since this is really only noticeable when you're stopped and looking directly at an object (which really isn't the point of a racing game, is it?) The cars themselves look as if they were recreated with care and the cities seem as if a great deal of forethought was put into their design. Each city has defined districts that differ in appearance from the rest of the city, and the streets seem to flow comfortably in such a manner that doesn't punish the player too badly for making a wrong turn. All things considered it's an attractive visual package for a portable racer.

Midnight Club LA Remix is a passable effort at an arcade racer that while falling short on a few points manages to create an enjoyable casual experience for a portable racing title. The loading screens sort of detract from the pickup-and-playability of the title, but if you've got an extra moment or two it may just be worth your while to put rubber to the streets of LA and Tokyo during your free time. Far from redefining the genre the game offers an experience that is generally pleasing and engaging.

New Xbox Experience: It's Up.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:43:13 -0600

Whelp it's up now. Enjoy all of those features that you've already heard about. Install the four games you can fit on your 20gb drive after uninstalling all of your demos and let rip. Enjoy kids. Or maybe don't if you're like me. It would be super awesome if we weren't forced to pick an avatar. These things were charming on the Wii for all of the first 30 minutes you played Wii Sports before that became tiresome, but honestly, can we please kill this trend? Additionally it would be nice if half of my themes weren't half-assed covered by the icons. Aside from that it's pretty cool.

Square Enix to Open US Studio.

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:14:51 -0600

According to Gamasutra Square Enix has plans to open a US studio based in Los Angeles for the purposes of creating an action game based on an original IP (assumedly for the 360 based upon the job descriptions.) It should be interesting to see how this pans out in the end. Square Enix, original IP, and action game aren't usually phrases that you see lumped together. I'm personally just excited to see what sort of art direction we can expect to see from this new studio. I'm going to be really disappointed if it's full of man-tough space marines rather than my beloved effeminate Gackt copies. In the end, I'm just glad to have had a chance to use this image.

Nihongo Patapon 2 Demo, Yorokonde!

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:07:45 -0600

Those of you blessed with Japanese PSN accounts and PSPs may wish to check out the recently released Patapon 2 demo. It's very much so out, very much so involving rhythm, and very much so about making little genocidal black and white eyes kill to the beat of your magic drums. What more could you possibly want for free?

Valkyrie Profile and Dragon Quest V Release Dates Announced.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:15:43 -0600

MarketWatch (I know, wtf.) has recently given away the release dates to several upcoming 2009 SquareEnix titles. Since I'm not a fan of making people wait:

Star Ocean: Second Evolution, Jan 6, 2009. (PSP)
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Feb 17, 2009. (DS)
Star Ocean: Last Hope, Mar 3, 2009. (360)
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume, Mar 17, 2009. (DS)

Still no release date for FFXIII, but who honestly expected one.

Fable 2: Making Big Promises, Again.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:00:56 -0600

On the Fable 2 Dev Blog, Lionhead has gone and thrown down the big promises gauntlet again. This time they hint at big announcement next week. As to what it is? No clue, but since I'm here... and you're here... and maybe, just maybe someone at Lionhead may look at this before it's too late: Un-fix the co-op camera and give us the ability to be our own heroes in coop. You're welcome to add another dog, some new STDs, actually include the girl from the above posted shot (in fairness I have yet to finish it, but I'm going to guess she was replaced by the blind lady) you know, whatever you want. Just, please, fix the co-op.

Banjo Team: lol j/k We'll Fix it.

Ryan Fulton — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:07:23 -0600

Congratulations luddites! Rare is going to be fixing the text for your standard def TVs. Expect the fix to be implemented sometime within the next month. That's... well, that's pretty much so it. I'm sure you guys can find something else worth playing until then. Maybe read a book? Paint a picture? I don't know. Just be patient I guess.

Curse You Red Baron!

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:43:09 -0600

Everyone's favorite beagle takes to the skies in pursuit of the infamous Red Baron in Snoopy Flying Ace. The title is slated for X360 and Wii release with a tentative 2009 date. Other details are sparse, but the game looks as if they actually managed to expend some effort on the licensed title. Anyway, enjoy a video of the game, since well... that's the best you can do just yet as the official site is rather barren. (You can thank me for not saying baron there.)

NIS: Now Wii 9001 Certified!

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:19:19 -0600

I'm beginning to think that I'm turning into a shameless NIS shill, but I can't help the fact that I keep coming across NIS related information this week. On November 4th NIS signed a contract that made them an official Wii developer. Their first title is tentatively titled and dated "Let's Hitchhike" and March 09, respectively. That's all there really is to know just yet. I suppose one could expect NIS to push their PS2 style sprites onto the Wii. Personally, I'm rather interested in see how this effects their PlayStation 3 Development.

Valkyria Chronicles DLC confirmed for US release.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:07:07 -0600

Sega's beautiful action-strategy-rpg Valkyria Chronicles released today, so if you're keen on experiencing a unique game that bends an established genre and blends another, now's the time to pick it up. If you're further interested, two bits of DLC have already been confirmed for US release in early 2009. One allows you to play as a side character called Edie, and the other allows you to take on the role of the game's antagonists. If Japanese prices are anything to consider, you can expect them to run $5-10 a piece. You can also expect them to be fully voice acted.

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:29:21 -0600

Remember that Prinny game that I posted the screens of? Remember how it the date was unknown? If not, it's less than 10 posts down... And more importantly, you can forget the part about the date being unknown! NISA released a statement today announcing that the demonically hard semi-2D platformer will be hitting the states, hard, in February of 2009. Please, kindly, hit the jump for a full press release.

Santa Ana, CA NIS America announced today that Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? will be heading to the PlayStation® Portable System in late February 2009.
As Nippon Ichi Softwares first pure action game, Prinny will be the most heartpounding
and challenging sidescrolling action game ever. Players will control an unlucky
penguin dude called a Prinny and slash their way through various Netherworlds.
For this tough‐as‐nails action game, youre given 1000 units to accomplish your mission,
but even with those 1000 units you will have to use everything you find on the
battlefield to survive. Lift and throw objects, stomp enemies, even pilot tanks and
planes to bombard whatever gets in your way!

MULTIPLE DIFFICULTIES: Standard mode allows you to take damage up to 3 times
before losing a life, giving mere mortals a chance to beat the game. We also have Hell
mode, where one means instant death! Good luck!

KEY FEATURES

1000 Units: Players will get 1000 lives to beat the toughest action sidescroller!
Lift & Throw: Prinnies are able to lift and throw objects on the battlefield.
Vehicles: Steal and control powerful vehicles, like tanks and UFOs.

Hip Pound: Jump and pound enemies to stun them. Then you can inflict multiple combo
attacks for extra damage.

3D World with 2D Characters: In Prinny, character art is created using fluid 2D sprites,
giving it a classic look with a comical tone. Battlefields and backgrounds, however, are
created with 3D models. This allows for a smooth and unique combat action where certain attacks are rendered in a 3‐dimensional view.

Prinny: Is It Okay If I'm the Protagonist? Screens.

Ryan Fulton — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:08:40 -0600

Dengeki Online has posted quite a few screenshots from the upcoming NIS game Prinny: Is It Okay If I'm the Protagonist. So far the game is confirmed for US release, but no word on a release date. Rumor has it that it's one of the harder games that you'll come across. If you like what you see, you can always try out the demo that's available on the Japanese PSN Store.

Launch Gallery: Prinny: Protagonist

(41 images)

Heavy Rain: 30 Minutes of French and Good Lighting.

Ryan Fulton — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 21:20:20 -0500

Recently released video of Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain from the Micromania Expo in France has reached the gaming site formerly known as Jeuxfrance which shall henceforth be known as Gamekyo. The animations could use some work, and the gameplay looks as if it may be somewhat dry just yet, but damned if the game doesn't have lighting down to a science. Qualms aside it looks like it could very well be an interesting game. The video is definitely worth a look. Just excuse the French... unless you speak French, then please, by all means, ignore what I was just talking about.

Patent Crawling Reveals New PS3 Controller from the Future!

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:24:36 -0500

In a move to further confirm the assumptions of jocks and parents world-round, Sony has patented a controller that looks like some sort of a cross between a Star Trek phaser and a novelty item for children that you see in magazines that sell cheap Chinese crap designed to waste batteries and break. To further engender the lusty gaze of Star Trek fans you can slap the controllers together to make something that looks sort of like a Bat'leth. (Please note that I put a considerable amount of time into finding out the name of that weapon... I can assure you that I've never spent this much time looking up a Star Trek related item that didn't involve 7 of 9 porn.)

All derisive comments aside, this looks like a really neat piece of kit. It can sense like 58 billion things like relative motion, and everything else that the Wii remote can't even come close to doing. Additionally, since it teams up with the PlayStation Eye it can sense body and facial motion. All-in-all, it looks as if Sony could have something amazing on their hands if they can bring it out for a reasonable price, and supply a constant stream of quality software based on the technology including third party support.

Official PS3 Headset: A Non-technical, Non-lengthy Review.

Ryan Fulton — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:40:57 -0500

The Official PS3 Wireless Headset that recently shipped with SOCOM and will see a future solo release on this upcoming Tuesday it is quite a nifty piece of tech. Through testing with a friend and by simply playing SOCOM it's rather apparent that this is a top quality headset.

The speaker is crisp and clear, and the dual microphone setup does an amazing job of picking up what you're saying with minimal distortion. Though untested and personally unconfirmed, the headset also works as a general microphone when docked if you should so chose to use it in such a manner. The inclusion of a mute button is also a welcome addition, especially when you consider the fact that games like Call of Duty 4 use an "open mic" system. The headset is considered comfortable by general consensus and personally I find it easy to forget that I'm even wearing it.

All in all, it's a top quality headset that if you own a PS3 and you happen to not have a headset, or if you're just sick of the horrible one that you have now, it's definitely worth looking into picking this headset up.

Little Big Planet: See You in Another Week.

Ryan Fulton — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:42:24 -0500

In a move that's just shy of incomprehensible Sony and Media Molecule have decided to push the release date of the exceedingly anticipated Little Big Planet back by a week and to break my heart in the process. Citing issues of a song that contains messages from the Qur'an, the game has been delayed in shipping until October 27th in order to remove the offending lyrics; the game can be expected around the 4th of November if Amazon is to be believed.

So... Feel free to play Fable 2 without feeling guilty now. At least for a week or two. Unless Sony does something awesome for atonement and opens a full public beta or something. Please do something awesome?

Ragnarok Online: Play for Free, Now! (Legally.)

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:17:54 -0500

Ragnarok Online, the MMO that put artist Myung-Jin Lee on the Western map, is now officially and legally available for free.

Gravity Interactive, the purveyor of all things International Ragnarok Online, has gone live with their Valkyrie server where you can come to study at the altar of ungodly grinding without paying alms. If I weren't already completely burnt out on Ragnarok Online from a series of addictions in the years past I would be rather tempted to try my hand at RO again.

Portal: Still Alive; Even More Extra-dimensional Hyjinx

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:29:38 -0500

Come October 22, Xbox fairing fans of Valve's Portal will be delighted to find an expansion available for their favorite mind-bending pseudo shooter on XBL's Marketplace.

You can expect to find an additional 14 challenge maps, and assumedly, more witty banter from computers with sultry voices. Expect to pay out somewhere around $15 for the privilege. Granted that's more than the game's original percentage based price in The Orange Box, but if you're like me you were only interested in Portal anyway.

Image courtesy of Brickshelf.com

Mother 3: If You Want Nice Things, Sometimes You Just Have to Do It Yourself.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:12:22 -0500

Glorious news for those of you eager for information concerning the perennially disappointing handling of the Mother series by Nintendo. No, Nintendo hasn't announced that they're translating and releasing the title. If you're the sort of person who has been waiting for a new Earthbound, you're the sort of person who knows that Nintendo will never release a new Earthbound.

For several people who were faced with that stark reality the solution became apparent, if the masses were to ever have any hope of Mother 3 getting an English copy they would have to do it themselves. So thusly, they embarked upon an epic journey involving translating squiggles into slightly more recognizable characters and attempting to pay service to Shigesato Itoi's legendary writing ability.

Fortunately for them and for the rest of us who were not blessed with such multi-lingual functionality, their work is nearly at an end and the patch for an English Mother 3 is ever closer to release.

Thanks to Shannon of Ganza Watching for the amazing picture.

Firmware Alert: PS3 2.50 and PSP 5.0 Due Up Soon.

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:09:06 -0500

Today is a momentous occasion for those of you who were waiting on baited breath for the newest firmware releases on Sony's systems. For today, marks the day, when most of the features for the new updates were announced. While there is no hard release date given, we can assume that the PS3 update, at least, will be sometime this week due to the inclusion of the PS3 headset with SOCOM which releases this week.

For a list of notable features for both systems, hit the jump.

PS3:

Support for the new PS3 Bluetooth Headset.
The ability to take your stalking to a new level and spy on your friends playing habits, or at least see when they last played.
Trophy improvements, for the 3 games that you have which support trophies.
A more upfront manner for redeeming PSN codes to coincide with the advent of PSN cards being available at more retailers.
A welcome sleep-mode for both the PS3 and controllers.
A screenshot function. Allow me to be the first to thank Sony for this awesome feature. I don't know how this is the first time that it has been introduced to a system.

PSP:

You can now access the PlayStation Network and PSN Store by way of your PSP.
I suppose I didn't need a bullet list.

Little Big Planet: SquareEnix/Konami approved!

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:05:56 -0500

God's honest truth, I didn't care about Sony's Little Big Planet until just a moment ago. Ok, that was a blatant lie, it's already pre-ordered, but that's hardly the point of what I'm going for here. Basically, we all knew that Kratos and Nariko were going to be making appearances in LBP, and that was cool. PlaySation Blog one-upped those two by breaking news of an additional round of sacked-out franchise characters.

Assuming you added your own drum roll there, the newly announced characters are none other than Metal Gear's Solid Snake, and Final Fantasy VII's Sephiroth. Please, kindly, resist the urge to make LBP Sephiroth x Snake yaoi. Who am I kidding; I'm sure someone is already writing the fanfic as I'm posting this.

Fable 2: Revenge of the Molyneux, Redux!

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:48:04 -0500

Remember many moons ago when we first reported that Fable 2 would be shipping without a vital component? Well, it looks as if the gang at Lionhead Studios may just have pulled it out in the last moment. Should all go according to plan and the patch passes certification, the feature should be available at launch. See what we get for worrying?

Megaman Press Kits Going on Sale!

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:32:32 -0500

Are you the sort of person who really likes Megaman? Like, really likes Megaman? Do you lie awake at night saying, "once, just once I'd love to get my hands on some random piece of schwag that members of the gaming press get regularly and toss aside like so much chattel"?

Well then you're in luck! For the super low asking price of $49.99 you too can have your very own Megman 9 press kit of the ages! That's a full $700 off. Just hit up the Capcom store directly after 6PM Eastern time and you may just get lucky enough to be able to buy one. Be forewarned, supplies are limited and the fervor of retro gaming fans with too much money is not to be underestimated.

Good luck, god speed, etc.

TGS 08: Resident Evil 5 Video.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:41:01 -0500

Capcom has released a new video for the 5th installment in their ever-popular Resident Evil series. In the video we get to see, zombies, Chris, Sheva, Wesker, chainsaws, etc. You know the drill by now, be ready for some more black man zombie killing action! Follow the link for the goods.

TGS 08: Demons Souls, a New PS3 RPG.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:19:00 -0500

Sony has announced a new RPG title for the PlayStation 3 by the name of Demon's Souls. Billed as a spiritual successor to the Japanese only PS1 RPG King's Field, not much is known about the game at this point.

Launch Gallery: Demons Blood

(11 images)

Thanks to NeoGAF for the original link.

White Knight Chronicles: Bring a friend.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:43:27 -0500

Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki PlayStation has revealed some of the sordid details involving Level 5's White Knight Chronicle's online-multiplayer. In a level of interaction unprecedented in console RPGs, WKC offers 16 person multiplayer that melds directly into the single player game, if you should so chose to use it, and you probably should. I mean, they went through a lot of trouble to add it and all.

Once the desired number of players is reached the game takes it upon itself to split the players into groups of 4 so that they may venture forth into the world of giant turtle-city-beasts and fiery dog-things.

Thanks for this info go to 2chan by way of Kotaku.

TGS 08: The Last Remnant Trailer.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:03:01 -0500

Gametrailers.com has recently uploaded the Tokyo Games Show trailer for Square Enix's The Last Remnant. The video makes the game look rather intriguing. So far, the overall story, graphics, and art direction all look pretty solid. Personally, I'm still waiting to see how the gameplay works out before purchasing this title, but it definately has my attention.

You can find the Japanese blog for the game here. Even if you're incapable of reading Japanese, you can look at pretty pictures or download the backgrounds available on the site.

Club Nintendo Turns its Baleful Eye Towards American Soil.

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:36:24 -0500

Wide spread panic ensues as word of Club Nintendo setting up point-shop stateside reaches the general populace. This is not a joke, lock up your wives and daughters because Americans may soon be exposed to such things as: Tingle's Balloon Fight, Zekkyō Senshi Sakeburein, and the exceedingly awesome Super Famicom classic controller. Granted, it's not likely that these will be released in America, but we can only hope.

In other regions the club is known for making available otherwise unreleased games, and for doling out exclusive accessories. The club's opening date is undisclosed, but it's said to be sometime this holiday season.

Sony's Jack Tretton, "[Numbers and Stuff]."

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:07:45 -0500

SCEA's big man on campus, Jack Tretton, recently announced that the PlayStation brand as a whole is selling like half-priced Ensure at a retirement community. Numbers are up from estimates and everything is going well.

The PlayStation 3 has been selling at a rate that's over 30% better than originally estimated and is on track to hit 10 million units by March '09. That's an increase of over 100% versus last year's sales. So that means, that over the same period of time, Sony managed to sell 100% more consoles than last year which is 30% more than what they were expecting to so that works out to roughly... Ok, we can assume that they're pretty happy with the sales; math was never my strong suit.

The PSP is also said to be selling at somewhere between 20 and 30% over their estimates. All told, things are going pretty well, or at least better than planned.

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Rumor: PS4/Wii HD Planned for 2011.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:41:01 -0500

I never thought I would say this, but I think technology is moving too fast. Perhaps I'm growing old, but it seems as if this generation has hardly learned to crawl and already there are rumors of the next generation of consoles due in 3 years.

Within the last 24 hours, rumors for both the PS4 and Wii HD have surfaced on the web. Just for safety's sake, they're rumors, again, rumors. That being said, it's not implausible that both are interested in getting onto the market first after seeing how much having a first place spot helped the Xbox 360 and PS2 (Let's ignore Dreamcast for argument's sake.)

The PS4 is said to use a similar cell architecture with slight improvements and will be ditching the faster XDR RAM in favor of a more conventional form of RAM. Supposedly Sony has been mentioning the proposed specs to third parties. Other than that details are scant.

The Wii HD rumor is slightly more fleshed out citing rising R&D expenditures and various other tidbits. The tech end of it leaves much to be desired.

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I'm not sure these tired bones can hope to keep up at this rate. The world seems to have gotten itself into a big damned hurry. Maybe the companies should work on maxing our their current product or providing enough to meet demand before they get too involved in producing what's next.

Thanks for both goes to NeoGAF for finding the information, and the respective sources found therein.

Clifford, Not a Huge Fan of DS3 Controller.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:29:43 -0500

Epic's outspoken Clifford Bleszinski is a man of refined tastes. When something suits him, he's all about it, like say the PS3's Blu-ray drive, but when something displeases him... Well let's just say you don't want to displease him, or he may call you out in the middle of a London press conference. The subject of his ire this time? Why none other than Sony's DualShock 3 bluetooth interface device for the PlayStation 3.

Quoted as having said, "I hate the [rough consensual sex between adults]ing controller" it's pretty safe to say that he's not a huge fan.

While the sentiment is seemingly widespread, many people consider the DS3 to be a great controller. Personally, my "40-foot hard on" tends to lean towards the SIXAXIS controller, but I prefer my controllers to feel light, as if they're not even there.

Any opinions from you guys?

Image: bliffyc.com

WipEout HD: How'd they do it?

Ryan Fulton — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:34:48 -0500

Now after playing WipEout HD you may ask yourself, how did they manage to keep the game running at a crisp 1080p with 60 fps? Well the answer isn't a demonic compact, nor is it wizardry of any sort. Ok maybe it's technical wizardry, but that's not really what I had in mind.

You see, rather than being rendered in true 1080p at all times, the game's engine uses a dynamic output that scales based upon how much the system can handle at any given point. After it pushes out the best resolution it can while keeping the game at 60fps the data is passed along to the PS3's hardware horizontal scaler to make up the difference, all the while maintaining the amazingly fast pace of the game.

Pretty neat, huh? Please hit the link to get a far more technical walkthrough of the process.

Fable 2: Revenge of the Molyneux

Ryan Fulton — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:17:51 -0500

In a move that's unlikely to surprise anyone acquainted with the works and words of Peter Molyneux, Fable 2 will ship without online co-op play.

People with real life friends or no friends at all will be unaffected due to the fact that the split screen and single player modes will be entirely functional in the disc release.

Those of you who happen to yearn for interaction with distant friends still have the silver lining that the online co-op mode will be functional via a patch that will be made available within the first week of release--probably.

Let's hope that Molyneux delivers, as it would be horrible to see such a promising game marred by the temporary occlusion of such a heavily touted feature.

New Xbox Experience: What's Bumpin' with Themes?

Ryan Fulton — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:03:16 -0500

We all know that the New Xbox Experience is a fancy way of re-skinning the Xbox's current "blade" interface and adding Mii Avatar support. While a new look is nice, many of us paid hard earned Imperial Credits for our current themes and they suit us quite well, thank you very much. Not to fear! The fine folks at Gamerscore Blog have descended from their perch upon high to allay your doubts and worries.

Not only will your old themes still be viable in the new format, they'll look even better, theoretically. In addition to old themes being supported, some of the new themes will be slightly animated. Avatars will also take an active role on the background representing what your friends are doing and even grouping together when partied. All in all, it seems pretty exciting. Well, as exciting as a glorified menu system can be, which is sort of exciting.

SCEA's John Koller: PSP's Got Games in 2009, Really. Probably?

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:46:09 -0500

On Tuesday Edge Online posted a feature detailing the decline of third party games for the PSP. Backed with data the findings seemed almost damning despite the last years increase in PSP sales. Within two days, John Koller, SCEAs hardware marketing head, responded to this report.

In the short, boring, and abstract, the answer is that somewhere around two years ago businesses decided that the PSP wasnt selling super well and decided to push their resources elsewhere, specifically into the then emerging current-gen consoles.

Where the article gets interesting is when Koller mentions that, [Sony has] a number of very strong franchise games on the docket that will be launching next year. We havent gone public with those, and many third-parties have not yet either because theyre concentrating on holiday, but we have a number of very strong titles coming. As to what those titles may be is anyones guess. Needless to say, this is a welcome sign for PSP owners and an open invitation for those who were on the fence about the system.

PlayStation Store Update: Best. Week. Ever.

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:08:41 -0500

With this weeks PlayStation Store update Sony seems to have gone out of their way to provide gamers with far more content than anyone who has a job and doesnt suffer from insomnia can handle. Including several highly anticipated titles, this weeks PSN store update may just (but hopefully wont) prove to be the biggest week that the service will enjoy. Now, lets make with the mind-boggling, thumb-destroying list.

WipEout HD: After what seems like a metric eternity, SCE Studio Liverpool has unleashed their much awaited futuristic racing title for the appealing price point of $19.99.
Burnout Paradise: Not to be contented with one robust racing title on PSN this week, developer Criterion has turned their disc-based title into a fully featured PSN title that carries a $29.99 price tag.
Megaman 9: Capcom brings back Inafunes titular little blue manservant for another round of stealing skills from the various and sundry bosses that have co-opted the Brady Bunchs opening title. Get down with Rockman for the moderate price of $9.99. (Or just play the demo repeatedly and imagine the enemies being different for free. And your parents said that your imagination would get you nowhere)
GEON Emotions: Bliss, rage, envy or fear use the power of your 8 emotions to purchase and play the title that XBL has had for the last year and a month. You can get in on some GEON for $9.99.
Various Rock Band songs: Rock out like Geddy Lee and Neil Peart with Rushs Moving Pictures. There are a few other songs too, maybe youre into them. If youre at all interested in this sort of thing you likely already know the pricing.

There are also a few demos this week including NBA Live 09 and, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, NBA 09. As one could likely guess there are some videos that have been posted as well; Resistance 2 and Tomb Raider Underworld top the list. Backgrounds and such also make an appearance along with a few PSP games that made the cut this week: Untold Legends and Puzzle Quest. In a shocker to literally no one, there are still no PS1 classics worth writing home about.

So thats this weeks PSN Store update. Please be delighted, and if you dont mind give us a yell about what youre picking up. Youll likely catch me on WipEout HD.

GB Review: Siren: Blood Curse (PS3)

Ryan Kincaid — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:38:14 -0500

"Siren" is a somewhat lesser known series of survival horror games, developed internally by SCE Japan. The franchise is most well known for its Silent Hill-esque game play, supernatural scares taken from the mythology of rural Japan, and for "sight jacking", which allows the player to look directly through the eyes of the enemy. Unfortunately, this newest addition to the Siren mythology does little to improve or reinvent the genre, despite providing a number of truly frightening scenarios and game play concepts that would be more than welcome if they were only developed a little further.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

The latest entry to the modestly received Siren series, Blood Curse (known as New Translation in Japan) is an interesting title. While there are a number of legitimate scares in the game, most of them are derived from the Silent Hill book on creepiness, in that you're more often than not scared of what could happen rather than what actually does. Not to suggest that this is a weakness to the game, but S:BC doesn't dare to tread much new ground, even when its own series is concerned.

In S:BC, an American television crew has traveled to the land of the Rising Sun to investigate the so-called "legend of Hanuda", which states that a village where human sacrifices had once taken place had supposedly disappeared into thin air. The team, needless to say, manages to stumble across the village and naturally, horrors ensue. Although I can't speak for the Blu-ray release in Japan, Sony's choice to distribute the game episodically via PSN makes the experience play out somewhat like a survival-horror soap opera, with occasional interludes to either catch you up to the story so far, or give you a sneak peek at the next episode. The episodic nature of the game seems to work in its favor, with the only obvious gripe being the roughly 10 gigabytes of hard drive storage that a simultaneous install of every episode requires.

The game play is your typical survival horror fare, with various blunt objects, pistols, and the occasional rifle provided as you either stumble across them or they are provided via narrative. Although somewhat arbitrary based on the given situation, the option to occasionally hide in shelves, closets, or pull makeshift weapons from wrecks and piles of garbage or tool sheds does add an open-ended element to an otherwise linear progression.

The familiar "sight jacking" feature is back, which allows the player to look through the eyes of the various possessed villagers to assist in avoiding them, only this time with the much welcomed switch to a split-screen view rather one that takes up the entire display. The feature, although extremely useful in more confined environments, tends to fall apart once you get into more wide open areas, with enemies detecting you at what seems almost random at times.

At the risk of comparing S:BC to Silent Hill too much, when it comes down to the overall look of the game, the obligatory static filter doesn't do a very good job of hiding very PS2-era character models. The environments, while more detailed than the people who occupy them, ironically tend to shine mostly when they're veiled in darkness. Siren has always been very good at suggestion in scares, story, and aesthetics, and even though that might be the point of it all, when held up to even the most rudimentary examination, the presentation just doesn't hold up.

Despite its numerous flaws, however, the Siren series has always been more about the sum of its parts rather than its individual elements. With a number of truly scary moments and competent level and scenario design, the creators are definitely on to something and if they could just step outside of their own safety zone, the Siren series could rise to become something that not just derives from Silent Hill, but easily rivals it.