Tuesday 30 June 2009

Ok who broke the PSN?

The PlayStation Network has been giving readers a bit of trouble today, so we dropped a line to Sony to get the down low on the down time, most of which should be behind us.

Both North America and Europe seem to have been affected by the PlayStation Network outage, though only Europe received any sort of official acknowledgement of network issues via the official forums.

The PlayStation Network is currently undergoing maintenance, which should last until 19:25 tonight. You will not be able to sign into the PlayStation Network during this time. However, if you are already signed into the PSN, either on any of our sites or on your PlayStation 3, you should remain signed in until you choose to sign out.

So the European issues should be cleared up momentarily, if they aren't already. As for North America, the PlayStation Network should be up and functioning now with the exception of the PlayStation Store itself, which Sony informed us is currently undergoing maintenance and will return shortly.

U3S: vox pops, we ask the man on the street:

Does playing the Xbox 360 make you gay?
it's just when i hear all the guys online whining and bitching like a bunch of little girls when they get killed or lose a point i have got to wonder.

thomo87: No it does not . not every 1 is like that some people understand its just a game . but others get wrapped up in it to much

TXXKingX...: look man, it doesnt make u gay

but most games make mommas boys whine like little bitches all the time, they get wrapped up in the game n as soon as they win they talk up a storm of trash, then leave the game when they lose, its a vicious circle my friend. n clans r the worst about it

ESPECIALLY on COD4 you'll never hear as much oh bull ****, ***** camper, i shot him like 30 times, juggerfag, omg triple frag, whatever man he didnt even hit me with that sniper, or my all time favorite "GOD DAMNIT WTF STUPID LITTLE C4 ***** ***** AGHHHHHH!"
IW made eavesdrop for a reason lulz

the madden 09 champ is the biggest ***** ever & a perfect example of my 1st paragraph, he nearly cried in the 1st half for the US championship n they when he won hes ghetto white malibus most wanted *** went off n was like "THIS IS MY HOUSE GET OUT, DONT YOU COME UP IN HERE WITH THAT BULLSHIT U GONE GET PUT OUT" - i r a Fag *madden 09 champ*

but they're just lil bitches n u should just blow em over n stomp their faces in

Tiger Fan for Life: lol it is if you talk like that its why i mute everyone when i play except my friends coz its a waste of time listening to them and most of the time they are really annoying

Jay: no mate it doesnt make you gay it just makes it very clear that them people have no life and will NEVER EVER get laid :) have fun mate n just play what you want n ignore the tards.

Those kinda people really piss me off too

Jw: No my friend, i don't believe in all this. I personally feel that one is gay only if he has feelings for other guys, feelings that are genuine and really true ones. By playing xbox 360 might not be liked by some one and so they termed it as gay. I have a few gay friends through this site- http://BelgradeGayClubs.com, who don't like playing games so are they not gay?

Trick: there is a point where you live so much that get raped and if you all ways get raped you will start to like it

kayleigh: haha no but i hate it when guys whine like a little *****
" oh my ******* god he didnt even shoot me"
" god damn campers"

blah blah....... lol

Harry F: yes, real men play the ps3

technical difficulties


Seems we are having trouble (hi-jacked by some parking site!?) with the redirection of the sites address so please hit us up using http://ps3speech.blogspot.com until we hunt down the zombie kittens and put them back in containment. thank you.

[edit] normal service has no been resumed. Good luck to all the TSR crew who go to fight the noble fight tonight. If you're unlucky i may drop in and throw myself up as a human shield -heheh-

Sunday 28 June 2009

Real Men Own PS3s



Well done to Valentino Rossi for getting his 100th MotoGP win.
real life pwnage! Only the second man in history to do that.

Thursday 25 June 2009

Zero Punctuation: Prototype

Mike Kebby tells PS3 fans STFU or GTFO

"I just wanted to firstly acknowledge that there was quite a bit of disappointment with last week’s update; whilst we do try and ensure we have great content every week sometimes there will be a lull in the release schedule, so all I ask is that you please be patient with us when we do have quieter weeks." - M Kebby

OK, so he didn't really tell the moaners on the ewwwBLOG Store update to fuck off but i bet he's thought it once or twice since having to make THOSE Thursday updates about the Store, poor bastard, i think he has all our sympathies *stiffleschuckling*

Good shit on the Store this week includes SuperStarDust HD for a meagre £1.59, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift – Wombat Signature Livery Pack for nada, LittleBigPlanet – Solstice Costume A BEARD AND A CAPE!! (for free) what more could you want! and the Jon Bergerman (who you ask) Sticker Pack for LBP also at £1.59.

No Fallout 3 DLC despite being told we would have it in June, today is the last Thursday, followed by a pack a month thereafter. So who's to blame, Bethesda or SCEE? i know who my money's on. Jon Kebby is blaming Bethesda :)

"However, as explained by myself every week in the comments section, we always aim for global releases for Sony content, but for 3rd party publishers it is their decision.."

This is what Bethesda have to say on the subject:

Pete Hines, VP of Bethesda, has said the “finishing touches” are being made to Operation Anchorage on the Playstation 3. No release date has been confirmed, but they had planned for a late June release.

Pete Hines speaking about the PS3, “It’s a different platform with a different way of doing things and it requires special attention and plenty of testing before it’s released. We are trying to put the finishing touches on it now, but as I said above it’s a different task than DLC on another platform, and so there are things we have to finish doing and testing before it’s done on PS3.”

Bethesda thinks the DLC following Operation Anchorage will come every month to six weeks. fingers crossed hey.

[mobiletone]

Wednesday 24 June 2009

the LBP contest is now closed


I have to say that despite sending out loads of emails and messages to various web sites and gaming blogs the amount of entries was, how do i say this, fucking disappointing. In fact not one single solitary person even bothered to enter so i had to quickly craft up this video, recorded on my Netto digital camera and Tesco own brand video editor so i had something to show today.

Shame on you all! But thanks to some comments the other day about gaming merch' i have, in my capacity as overlord of the blog, decided to let PabloAmigo win by default. So, if you drop me your address to my PSNid i'll cram the t-shirt in an old tramps carrier bag and get it sent round to you.

This club setting has been uploaded to my levels and is just called 'stage', it looks much better than what you can see in the video.

Tuesday 23 June 2009

can i has a go?


i promise i wont break it, honest.

lets make him an honorary member!



sitting here with blood dribbling down my face, neck and chest due to slicing a chunk of ear off while giving myself a mental patient recession busting home haircut.. you see, sometimes ideas aint necessarily good, unlike what this guy came up with. definitely DO WANT!

[mobiletone] hallucinating from lack of blood

Activision may stop making video games for the PS3


The makers of Call of Duty and Guitar Hero says that poor sales and high cost of the Sony PlayStation 3 console could see it sever ties with the platform.

Bobby Kotick, chief executive of Activision Blizzard, said that the £299.99 entry price of the PS3 was too high.

“I'm getting concerned about Sony,” he said. “The PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don't make it easy for me to support the platform. It's expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation.”

Responding to Mr Kotick’s comments, Sony said: “We enjoy healthy business relationships with and greatly value our publishing partners and are working closely with them to deliver the best entertainment experience."

[mobiletone] via The Sunday Telegraph

Monday 22 June 2009

mr stompy wants to play


What cool game related merchandise do you own? i picked this little chap up at Game(tm) yesterday while trying to blow a gift voucher i had, i suspect they're trying to shift all the pre-order stuff they had laying around.

micro review: X-Blades
That shop is still to goddamn expensive, i mean, inFAMOUS for £42.95?? they're having a laugh i say! The title i did find (on clearance £20) after much wandering was 'X-Blades' i know, i know, but you can't always trust reviewers now can you? "Ayumi is a dumbed down airhead heroine, in a title that's simple and easy to play; it's hack-and-slash all the way. From that view point, X-Blades wholly fulfils its raison d'etre." It reminds me very much of Heavenly Sword, in fact they're pretty much a like except X-B is done in a manga style and HS is all cgi cut scenes, if you're not to bothered about a deep plot and just want to run about jiggling your girl bits at the enemy before hacking them down it'll suit. You get your basic hack hack hack attack and gun blade ranged attack but you can also buy skills with souls and assign them to one of four slots, there seems to be much you can do in this respect. If you're the sort of person who considered buying Bikini Zombie Slayers, you'll like Ayumis' antics. It also runs at 1080p!
[mobiletone]

Friday 19 June 2009

Suck Update - what I miss...

There was NAATHIN in the store yesterday, not for me. In fairness this hasn't happened for a long time, plus I'm still reeling from the awsomeness of Vidzone, which will be even better when I can use the USB keyboard for searches (ultra fiddly at the mo).

I miss the funny rants on Original Threespeech for a crap update. Perhaps all the lurkers could show us they are listening by posting 'crap update' - come on, master the sign in options, they really are easy. It'll be fun to see how many people are reading this.

Also I noticed we are number 9 on a Google search for threespeech, we must get higher!

[mrjimmy]

For Great Justice!


Disgaea 3... how the heck do you describe this? simply it's a JSRPG, more complicatedly it's like FFvii on a bag full of mushrooms where you actually get to be the bad guys, girls, prinnies? dood! For all its off-the-cuff (and in joke) humor, is actually a game with a huge amount of depth to it. It will reward fans of tactical JRPGs very highly for persevering. Given that good JRPGs for the PS3 are very thin on the ground at the moment this title is a welcome addition. It has cool as fuck retro graphics but if you can get past looks you will find a colossal, highly entertaining and challenging game. Though Disgaea 3 does not feel at all like a PS3 game, it does feel like a damn good SRPG.

Disgaea 3 takes place in the Demon World Academy of Evil, a kind of netherworld prep school. The rules work a bit differently from what you'd expect. Doing homework, getting to class on time, following the rules, and generally trying to be a good student earns you the title of delinquent, while the student who avoids homework and skips class the most is dubbed the "honor" student (in a demon world, wouldn't being a delinquent be a good thing though?) The main character this time around is Prince Mao, son of the overlord and the school's highest ranked student, who has never gone to class once. Thanks to an unhealthy obsession with manga and video games, Mao gets the idea of overthrowing his father and becoming a great hero. When asked how he can kill his own father, Mao explains that his father erased all of the data on his PSP memory card (given a different name, though) and so he has sworn vengeance.

Game On! [mobiletone]

Thursday 18 June 2009

Ghostbusters, worse on PS3

Ghostbusters: The Videogame developer Terminal Reality has issued a statement following suggestions that the PS3 version runs at a lower resolution to the 360's.

Despite Terminal Reality previously talking up the Infernal Engine for its proficiency on PS3, the PS3 version appears to be noticeably blurrier.

Terminal Reality has responded: "For the record, the PS3 version [of Ghostbusters] is softer due to the 'quincunx' antialiasing filter and the fact we render at about 75% the resolution of the 360 version."

"So you cannot directly compare a screen shot of one to the other unless you scale them properly," added the spokesperson.

"The PS3 does have less available RAM than the 360 - but we managed to squeeze 3 out of 4 textures as full size on the PS3," they told Joystiq.

Well, that's okay then. Erm... Not that i was buying it anyways.

Tuesday 16 June 2009

Final Fantasy... Is 7 the one we should remember

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/70336-remembering-the-orphan-final-fantasy-viii/

Many of us are rediscovering FFVII on the PSP courtesy of the playstation store, i've just finished disc 2 and while the game remains just as charming as the first time i played it, it's not my favourite. That title goes to VIII. Yet 7 is remembered as a fan favourite, 8 is grudgingly liked/hated, people remembering squall as 'emo' and the story as being unremarkable...

I've not been able to talk about 8 as eloquantly as I'd have liked, but the above article sums up perfectly why the game shouldn't be disregarded as the black sheep of the series, and why there is more than meets the eye in terms of story. If the game comes out on PSN don't ignore it, your missing out on a game yeeeears ahead of its time.

Yeah Baby Yeah!


Hello,

Congratulations, you’re one of the We are PlayStation winners!

Thank you for your submission; we’re pleased to tell you that your photo has won third prize

Please note that, under the rules of the competition, you have given permission for SCEE to use your photo in any SCEE marketing materials including (but not limited to), posters, print advertising, online, TV and Cinema commercials and point of sale material. Under the same rules, if you do not claim your prize within 30 days of receiving this email then it will go to another entrant, so get back to us as soon as you can.

Enjoy your prize, and keep taking great pictures!

*does a happy dance*

[mobiletone]

we are all individuals!


except that GINGER! always one that's not playing the game ;)
where's my free Brutal Legend t-shirt?

Fans of Brutal Legend gathered in England over the weekend to rock out with EA, shattering the world record for the most people simultaneously performing air guitar. Such is the power of the gamer.

The record-breaking feat took place during the UK Download Festival in North West Leicestershire's Donington Park over the weekend. Kerrang FM's Christian Stevenson, 440 gamers gathered around the EA demo trailer, taking up imaginary axes in order to rock out to Motörhead's "Ace of Spades".

\m/ o_- \m/ RAWK! [mobiletone]

we've been picked to go on University Challenge! TO THE STATION!

Monday 15 June 2009

Scratch

Not many of you know that Mister Jimmy was a first generation Hip Hop DJ before I got a job, got married, got a kid and a PS3. I still have my Technics 1210's and have been scratch mixing for 24 years, so I do know how many copies of a wrekkid to buy to make sure you NEVER wear out the good bits.

So, if anyone will be able to put this through it's tests, I'm your man. From this video, I have to say signs are promising. Watch this space.

(BTW I've never even tried a Guitar Hero or similar - closest I've tried is Samba De Amigo :) )


[MrJimmy]

serious PS3 lag issues

PRISON bosses have banned lags from using a top computer games console – because they fear it could help them to escape.

Inmates at HMP Rye Hill, near Rugby, Warwickshire, which holds 660 dangerous convicts including sex attackers and killers, have complained that guards have outlawed the state of the art Playstation 3 (PS3) devices.

The console contains a built-in modem and Bluetooth connection.

And it is feared this could allow prisoners to communicate, via the internet, with crooks on the outside, and organise escape plots.

One inmate at Rye Hill, which is run by private security firm G4S, was so incensed by the ban that he wrote to lags’ magazine Inside Time.

He moaned: “I am currently banging my head against the proverbial brick wall regarding Playstation 3.

“Along with others I am trying to have it included on the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) list; however we are informed by the authorities here that the console has a built-in wireless modem.

“I managed to disprove this, but the security department insist the console has a built-in modem.”

The government has ruled that all prisoners must pay for their own computer games consoles, following revelations last month that £220,000 of taxpayers’ cash had been spent on the expensive toys between 2005 and 2008.

During those three years, two of Britain’s most notorious inmates were given entertainment systems.

Soham child killer Ian Huntley, 35, got a £179 Nintendo Wii for his cell in Frankland jail, Durham, while Shannon Matthews’ mum Karen had a £300 PlayStation 3 at New Hall Prison in Yorkshire.

Lags can purchase items from the Prison Service’s IEP list if deemed suitable for the prison environment.

When Sony launched their PS3 technology back in 2006, the main selling point was its use of interactive gaming that allowed players to play online against one another.

But the science behind the PS3 means it can be used to communicate with mobile phones, blackberry devices and laptop computers, leading to fears that lags could use it to organise escapes and hatch plots to smuggle drugs into prison.

A spokesman for the Prison Service said: “Playstation 3 (PS3) consoles are barred on the grounds that they have the capability to send and receive radio signals as an integral part of the equipment.

“This poses a significant threat to prison security due to the inherent wireless technologies built into PS3 consoles – enabling the user to connect to the internet for example for web-surfing and downloading games.

“The PS3 contains two wireless technologies, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

“These technologies pose a risk to prison security as they can be used to breach prisoner communications policy and are not permitted.”

[ben.goldby]

Thursday 11 June 2009

VidZone is awesome - it's official!

After a shaky start start with connection problems for most people due to high demand, VidZone seems to be working fine now and I'm really liking what I've seen so far.

It's very intuitive to use and navigation is similar to that of the PlayStation store (although the interface doesn't look quite as slick). Playlists are easy enough to set up or you can use a recommended one. I jumped straight into the music by selecting Playlists -> recommended -> Ibiza Party Videos (a winning combination of cheesy dance music, and scantily-clad hot women :)).

Controls are displayed on screen - press select for full screen for example (although truth be told I've not actually seen full screen - if the video is shot in widescreen, I get a black border around it on my 16:9 TV. If it's shot in "full screen" I get black bars to the left and right). Video quality is quite good and seems to vary from video to video - some look slightly worse than standard definition and some look a bit better. Audio quality is good too - seems comparable to what you would get on iTunes (the original 128kbps AAC tracks). I've seen no lag or jitter whatsoever on playback and I'm not on a particularly fast connection - around 2 megabit. If I manually skip between tracks in the playlist it takes a second or two to play the next track but I would expect that due to the nature of streaming media. Without skipping, the transition between tracks in the playlist is seamless. There's a huge selection of videos available as we were promised.

So all in all I'm really impressed and I think that SCEE should feel proud that they've managed to pull this off. I've tinkered with Sony's other "ventures" for PS3 - Home and Life with PlayStation for example. Both of those have just been a novelty to me and I haven't used either of them in months. VidZone I can see myself using regularly and in place of the music channels that I watch on Freeview. Here's hoping that Sony keep it well-stocked with up-to-date content.
[reakt]

GTpsp Hands on Gameplay


Ok, so they have it on the PSP, should it not just be a simple port job to get it running on the PS2? just think, it could have been the PS2s swan song instead of using it to push sales of the new PSPgo/3000, a good game gone to waste i feel. I have never really got to like using the nub on the PSP for driving, it's like pushing a penny around a table top. Now if they let you link your PSP to the PS3 so you can us a 'real' joypad then i'm sold as i'd have the PSP jacked into an HDTV via component too, THAT would be the cats whiskers! [mobiletone]

How was inFAMOUS for you?


I haven't a sodding clue, not having had the chance to play it due to TVs killing themselves and my insistence on playing FUEL until my wrists/brain/arse cramped last weekend. But our spunky antipodean mate has and here's what he has to say on the subject.

also, VidZone Launch.. Typical Sony Experience
– Update 6pm UK / 7pm Europe, Thursday 11 June –

Due to very high demand of the VidZone service, some people may be experiencing some problems when accessing the service.

Sorry for the inconvenience; we are working really hard to get it back online as quickly as possible and appreciate your patience. I will update you as soon as I have any further information.

Thanks!

Ben

Forza3 vs GT5, FIGHT!


Can You Tell The Difference?


"Forza Motorsport 3” offers more than 400 fully customizable and tunable cars from over 50 of the world’s leading manufacturers.

All 400-plus cars in the game have been built with more than 10 times the amount of polygons as “Forza Motorsport 2.” This includes painstakingly researched cockpits and interiors for every vehicle. But realism isn’t just about pretty graphics. Turn 10 takes realism to new heights, leading the industry with the most advanced physics model, artificial intelligence and damage calculations.

vs


Gran Turismo 5 remains the most likely candidate to be the first proper system seller for the PS3. But no released date has yet been confirmed and the game is almost guaranteed to be put back to 2010. The PS3 will be in its fourth year by then and approaching middle age - which is just too long to wait in my opinion. GT5 had better be something very fucking special when it does finally get here as other developers seem to be able to get games out to the same exacting standards and graphical prowess in a fraction of the time. To me, the new Forza3 is something we should have had at least a year ago if it were not for the detail obsessed freak behind GT5's developement. At the end of the day a driving game should be about driving above all else. Forza3 even has it's own in game editing. will GT5 have this? i doubt it very much. will GT5s crash damage look as good? i doubt it very much. will it allow you to customise your car further than a spoiler and a set of chrome rims? i doubt it very much.

Forza 3 has just handed Gran Turismos arse to it on a plate with a big steaming side order of 'what ever you can do we can do better and faster'. Polyphony Digital had better step up to the mark and save the one last thing we had as PS3 drivers. [mobiletone]

Wednesday 10 June 2009

sack it to me


YAY, i found this in my stash hole when i got in from work today, it's the much fabled LBP t-shirt.. though i was kinda expecting an actual sack person. The thing is it's an 'L' adult and i, being the mutant barrel chested freak that i am, wear XL.. what to do, just what to do.. *thoughtful look* OK, so LBP is about creating stuff, so i am holding this sites first ever COMPETITION!!! i want you to photoshop, video or get the glue out and build something and show me just what Little Big Planet means to you. Once you have got busy post the resulting mess online and send the link to me: t.flaxman@ntlworld.com with the subject line: "THE SHIRT OFF YOUR BACK" and i shall decided the winner and post the results on June 24th, so that gives you all two weeks to get busy. good luck people.

Thank You PSP HaXORs


Thought PSP hacking was only a problem for Sony? Think again. PSP hacking is actually robbing you of features on your handheld. Sony’s Director of PlayStation Network Operations, Eric Lempel revealed that security is one of the main reasons you’re “not going to see Trophies on the PSP.” Confused? Read on to find out why.

The problem with Trophies, Gamerscores and any of the other equivalents is that players want them to mean something. That means the console makers have to keep a close eye on them to make sure no one’s cheating the system. Take a look at Microsoft’s treatment of Gears of War 2 cheats to see how it deals with players who trick their way into a higher Gamerscore.

Technically, the PSP’s sophisticated innards and wireless PlayStation network connection should mean there’s no reason why handheld gamers can’t enjoy the same Trophy system as PS3 gamers. The difference is that the PSP been hacked to hell and back.

Therefore, any new Trophy system would be vulnerable to hacking too. “If people can artificially inflate their rankings and amounts of Trophies [then] it kills the whole system,” Lempel explains.

Seems like a fair argument, but then again, we’re not sure we actually care that some 14-year-old code monkey in Sweden has about a billion Trophy points to his name. We just care what we’ve got and our mates haven’t, and we’re hardly likely to look up anyone else’s. It does seem a shame that we’ve all got to miss out because Sony has already written off the system as a lost cause.

Thank you http://dark-alex.org and all your scummy thieving friends!

Monday 8 June 2009

biased, moi?


http://www.goldenjoystick.com/

the HDTV is dead


Back to playing the Dreamcast on the 14" portable then i guess until i can sell a kidney or my bottom down the train yard to passing commuters to get the funds for a new screen... sad times indeed, sad times :(

On an up note i do get to buy a new TV at some point in the future, so, fellow readers, the budget will be around 300 beer tokens, the mission - a new screen for my PS3. What would you do? what would you do. I did spot a couple of 32" 1080P sets in Aldi for a smidge under 300, i was dubious so checked the box and they were full HD resolution and very similar specs to my old dead screen. So i guess the F-HD tech is making it's way to the budget market now.

Knowing me, i guess i'm going to opt for picking up an ex-rental HD ready screen or similar and need at least a 32", anything smaller makes the kittens cry! i could just get a big cheap SDTV until i save the cash for a half decent HDTV.

Any thoughts on what make/model etc i should go for?

[mobiletone]

Saturday 6 June 2009

Issues with reviews

My copy of Infamous arrived today and seeing as I ignored any real footage or media coverage of the game I decided to scour the interwebs for certain reviews etc. Came accross the Edge one last and something just got at me, such harsh criticism without justifying itself...

  1. 'Infamous’ narrative repeatedly shoots wide of the mark' - errrr, does a game even need a 'good narrative' for it to be fun? GTA4 says hello, at the time of release websites praised it for it's 'portrayal of the Americain dream'...what, driving from point A to B occasionally killing people, niceish cutscenes followed by 'NICO LETS LOOK AT TEEEETEEEZZZZ'. Ign said it was the videogame equivalent of the Godfather...Jesus... and despite this almost EVERY PUBLICATION PRAISED IT FOR IT'S REALISTSIC STORY...
  2. 'Though individually overcome with a little suspension of disbelief, the amassed weight of the game’s mistakes has an atrophying power. It makes it hard to invest belief in Empire City beyond a toybox for you to upturn. It renders the already facile moral choices utterly meaningless'.
Give me an example of another game that does moral choices well, GTA4 had a fair few (remember early on where you could save some random dude and tell vlad you killed him, or kill him and carry on...It made fuck all difference considering you end up killing Vlad the very next mission regardless of choice'. Even in Bioshock your choices were spelt out clear (SAVE OR HARVEST) yet the press droooooled over it. Why turn the hate on with inFamous, when it does nothing different to these '10/10 games'?

3. 'At its best, Infamous is an amped-up Crackdown – a game about bounding across a cityscape, discharging your energies however you please' - I don't know how many of you have played crackdown (probably not many), but it was a truely awesome sandbox game. Whats wrong with improving on a design another game creates and ultimately making it more fun and slicker to play. Heck every FPS is just an amped up version of the previous big FPS (or COD4 these days)...

4. 'And such a stumble is perhaps the least of Infamous’ visual problems, which begin with the city itself. Being a ruinous sprawl of crumbling concrete, slums and derelict industry, it was always going to have to work hard for our affection, but it does itself few favours, opting for the most part for a bleak, ashen palette that renders everything flat and dull'...errrr one, a super bombs gone turning the city into an apocalyptic mess with people suffering and dying everywhere...bearing that in mind i'd say it nails the overall visuals (It's not gonna be Katamari Damacy or Flower is it?). Fallout 3's setting is a post nuked america, its visuals aren't exactly screming out at me with vivid pinks and reds, it's supposed to be grey, brown, black...a fucking nukes gone off....

5. fellow courier Zeke is almost instantly annoying rather than a loveable sidekick, and intended romantic interest Trish is a Plasticine-faced harridan who gives you no reason to care for her. Sure, she blames you for the explosion that killed her sister, but the game gives neither Cole, nor the player, any opportunity to defend himself. We can fire electricity from our fingers – just why are we being nagged? Again, everyones entitled to their opinions but come on, I'd like the editors of Edge to come out and say they enjoyed a phonecall from Dwayne mid mission in GTA4, or even remember the names of Nico's various love interests and HOW MUCH THEY CARED FOR ALL OF THEM.
To me there's yet to be an endearing videogame character that I genuinely care about, God knows when there will be...

6. 'Despite the instant ability to fire lightning from his fingers, it takes a curiously long time for Cole to feel really super. Tasering enemies loses its thrill upon repetition' - Now I'm no literary genius, nor am I a videogame journalist...but...IT'S CALLED CHARACTER PROGRESSION, YOU GET BETTER POWERS AND MORE ADEPT AT USING THEM AS THE GAME GOES ON. Imagine playing Fallout 3 and being given all your powers and perks at the beggining just to feel 'badass', half the joy would be lost. Or even in any RPG... If in Final Fantasy XIII you can't cast Firaga/Ultima withing 10 minutes of playing, what, are Edge gonna criticise the game for that? A lowblow if there ever was one

At the end of the day everyones entitled to their opinion, and I do respect that of Edge (at the end they do say its worth playing the game... sorta) But it comes down to several things...should games be reviewed based on the sheer fun of playing it, and HAVING FUN...Or should we always review a game with a view that innovation is the key, If a game doesn't do something utterly groundbreaking of even if it stumbles along the way with its narrative/ colour palate.

Rant over (as you can probably see I'm not the biggest fan of GTA4).

Ah well, all I can say is that 2 hours into inFamous, I've had more fun than I did with the 30 hours I put into GTA4, more fun than playing COD4 single player, more fun than Killzone 2...

Nuff said. [Mittens]

what are ya buying?

have some juicy bonus codes for FUEL,
this is the full set of six unlockables.

: 18041851 : Vehicle Warrior :
: 18021974 : Sludgeray Butterfly livery :
: 17121973 : Mudhog Lightning Bolt livery :
: 48992519 : Character Helmet "Camo" Code :
: 20061977 : Character Jacket "Road Addict" Code :
: 91031985 : Character Trousers "Speed Angel"Code :

and a nice shiny golden hammer too

********************************
Your Amazon Gift Certificate
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Gift certificate code: HARDHITTER
Valid until: n/a
Amount: In-game Golden Hammer
Valid for: Red Faction Guerrilla
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Friday 5 June 2009

Those New Controllers


MICROSOFT has unveiled a hands-free controller for the X-box which will open-up the empty, soul-destroying tedium of video games to everyone.

Project Natal can interpret body movements and facial expressions by using technology that experts say must - for the love of God - have a better use than this.

The technology is being backed by film director Steven Spielberg who said playing a video game was the perfect way to round off a grindingly meaningless day spent watching War of the Worlds or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Natal is named after the stunningly beautiful province of South Africa that people who play video games will never visit because it doesn't display a range of absurd weapons or magical powers in the bottom left hand corner.

A Microsoft spokesman said: "This system is not just for people without thumbs, it's also for people who have thumbs but can't use them properly.

"A two month old baby will soon be able to remove virtual heads using a virtual chainsaw just by moving its lower lip. How long has mankind waited for that particular day?"

He added: "Retired people can finally abandon their hollow, unimaginative dream of traveling the world and instead spend their twilight years fucking-up two-dimensional drug dealers or applying their insanely dangerous driving skills to Grand Theft Auto."

Bill McKay, an arthritic 84 year-old from Peterborough, said: "I missed the invasion of Normandy because of my flat feet, but thanks to Microsoft I'll be able to play Call of Duty III and experience a vacuous, cartoon version of the terror my schoolmates had to endure."

:: stolen from http://www.thedailymash.co.uk ::

Thursday 4 June 2009

E3 - Yay or Nay for Sony?

So a quick summary of the Sony press conference

  • Uncharted 2 to kick things off, STUNNING, despite not having played the first game beyond a demo this is definitely gonna find its way into my collection.
  • MAG- hmmmmmm on paper stunning (256 player online) but it's leaving me very skeptical, the amount of coordination required among a team will have to be huge and just one jackass who runs ahead to be a hero will severly piss off an entire team (128 people!), then again talented folk behind the project so prove me wrong is all I can say Zipper
  • PSP GO- well we all knew about this but...what! JESUS CHRIST THE PRICE- if it costs the supposed £179-£200 the rumour mills are telling me then i may have to delay my purchase by a year or two. The software announcements were incredible (Metal gear (a real one with the mgs4 team behind it), GTPSP (800 cars and 40 tracks, need i say more), resident evil portable, Little big planet etc. Will be interesting to see just how many of these titles make it to UMD...
  • Home was mentioned...errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...seriously Sony, this should be the drunk uncle you keep locked upstairs at a dinner party refusing to acknowledge he exists...
  • Final Fantasy VII on PSN today, go download it RPG fans, £3.49...it'd be rude not to
  • Huge montage of games (modern warfare 2, heavy Rain, RatcheT And clank future, HANNAH MONTANA PSP)
  • Playthrough of Assasins Creed 2, looking good...
  • Final Fantasy XIII trailer, wow, maybe us europeans will get it by spring 2010, english voicework already done...
  • Final Fantasy XIV console exclusive to PS3, WHAT! I choked on my Crumpets and tea came out of my nose when the trailer reached its conclusion, then i saw it was an online only game and went back to sleep.
  • Modnation Racers- LBP on wheels as some like to call it, looking v promising from the 5 min tech demo, will be interesting to see if it gets the same hype and user input the LBP does
  • Motion controls- see Reakts post, pretty impressive and I like the way they ackowledge you actually need a controller for some things (unlike Natal), all i can say is that its prty friggin hilarious how Nintendo's wii motionplus accessory has been trumped in both microsofts and sonys conferences...
  • GT5- your usual pretty trailer from the folk at polyphony but wait, DAMAGED CARS, WRC LICENCE AND...nascar... oh - very cool nevertheless
  • GOW3- WOW, THE LAST GUARDIAN - DOUBLE WOW (i bet the cat-bat-rat thing dies, and every gamer will cry, downing the world...all part of Sony's plans for world domination)
Its worth scouring the remains on gametrailers.com or something as a lot of the stuff has to be seen to do it justice. In other news the 'exclusive' metal gear rising game shown at the 360 conference will indeed be coming to PS3, and has anyone heard the news...hideo kojima behind a Castlevania game... has me excited (huge fan of both)...

see the trailer for yourself i guess
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-castlevania-lords/50687?type=flv

peace out brodeo [Mittens]

Wednesday 3 June 2009

E3: BorderLands shot


/// Just been checking some sites out and the release date is posted as 26/06, but we all know that can change at the drop of a cel-shaded hat. The game features a groundbreaking content generation system allowing for near-endless variety in weapons, item drops and character customization. Borderlands allows for multiple players (4) to share the same game experience simultaneously online in co-op gameplay. Players can freely join or leave each other's games at anytime, or choose to play in the full single-player mode.. I kept getting this game and that Damnation thing mixed up, this is the one i am looking forwards to. Doesn't it look amazing, plus the main story seems to be a reverse of Fallouts in that you're trying to find and get into a vault to find the stash. [mobiletone]

Tuesday 2 June 2009

New motion controller for PS3

Just reading about the Sony keynote speech at E3. A lot of cool stuff announced and covered all over the web no doubt. My favourite announcement being the new motion controller for PS3 - see above (thanks Engadget!). It's designed to work with the PlayStation Eye and tracks movement. In response to comparisons to Microsoft's Project Natal (a similar motion-tracking idea that does away with the controller all together by using a camera and tracking movements of the player's entire body) Sony says they've learned "some experiences need buttons."

Luckily the device on show was only a prototype. I think it looks like the transmitter that Arnie pulls out of his gaping nostril in Total Recall. Let's hope the finished product looks a lot cooler than this!

But wait, does this mean that in 2010 all console gamers will have no choice but to get off their arse and start waving their arms around in front of the TV (Wii-style) rather than just veging out on the sofa with an "old fashioned" controller? I hope not.

[reakt]

Monday 1 June 2009

Wipeout HD Fury announced

Good good, in a blatant need to still check the US blog, look what I've found - a sweet expansion pack for Wipeout HD called Fury - I like.

*Update* - actually the EU blog caught up in minutes, so I take it back. And the screenshots look better there - EU blog rules!



What you need to know:

EIGHT new tracks. Sweet! They are:

Modesto Heights forward and reverse
Tech De Ra forward and reverse
The Amphiseum forward and reverse
Talon’s Juction forward and reverse

plus these for Zone, Zone Battle and Detonator, forward only:

Mallavol
Syncopia
Corridon 12
Pro Tozo

THREE new game modes: Eliminator, Zone Battle and Detonator, plus a new Fury Campaign mode. Nice one!

THIRTEEN new ship models. OK I'll take them too!

No info yet on price or date other than "Summer", I vote for now and free, but I'd guess a nice crisp skydiver and for my birthday. Mittens can get it for me.

Hello.. Is Dave There?


but what do we all really want to see at E3? i know what i want...