Monday 28 February 2011

Happy Birthday Pokemon

On this date (Feb 27th) in 1996 a revolutionary new franchise was born – Pokémon. I don't think anyone could have imagined back then what this behemoth of a franchise would one day become.

I have Diamond, Chaos Black, and Soul Silver loaded on my R4NDS and have enjoyed the series totally, despite the very slow evolution of the game, maybe it's that unchanging nature that keeps me coming back and battling my pokemons and still getting excited when one evolves. The games are great for pick up and play to kill 1/2hr while waiting for a bus etc.

Much has been written over the years about Pokemon, so i'll just say thanks Gamefreak, Nintendo and all my fellow battlers. Happy Birthday.

Sunday 27 February 2011

3DS Warning

A weekend with Killzone 3




Because I spend a LOT of long nights with the KZ3 Beta, plus ran through the single player demo and a couple of public beta sessions, cracking open the Blu Ray didn't exactly drown me in surprises...

The campaign mode is nice, fast paced, everything you've read about elsewhere. I will enjoy this, but already have a feeling I'll crack it in no time. There is a campaign co-op, this is local only, not online.

One for tone - I tried the Botzone last night, it's all the same games and levels as online, but ran locally. The AI was very impressive - this works well.

Onto the main course - Multiplayer. I really like the different characters and the unlock system, with the beta I unlocked engineer and tactician quite thoroughly, this time I'm ignoring weapon upgrades and unlocking skills across all characters. Every character has it's place - I use tactician when my team lacks spawn points, engineer when we need ammo/turrets, medic when we are getting hammered, marksmen when need to camp out, infiltrator to hide in plain sight.

The downside with Killzone is the same as ever - games are loooong so it eats your life, and it's all very harsh and warlike, so hours on this are not the most jovial way to spend your time. Little Big Planet 2 makes me smile ear to ear - Killzone - not so much!

Loving this game, but for sure it's not for everyone.

Saturday 26 February 2011

Sorting Out The Collection


And found a few i've yet to play,those being: Final Fantasy XIII, Tekken 5, WALL.E, Wet.

FFXIII - well, it just keeps gettign put off until i finish whatever other RPG i'm working on at the time, currently that's the awesome Mass Effect 2.

Tekken 5 - Thanks to having the previous one downloaded to my drive it never gets a look, bought it as a uber deal with teh arcade stick.

WALL.E - my wonder little sis only gave this to me a couple of days a go.

Wet - Loved the demo and picked this up secondhand one day and totally forgot that i'd actually bought the damn thing.

What do you own that you haven't played? and why?

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Go Wolverines!

Killzone 3 tasty trailer - out on Friday people!

If you are undecided, does this clinch it?


Threespeech Driving Academy


T.D.A or Taken and Driven Away. Very apt. Today we launch the U3S GT5 B-Spec Driver training school. Are you sick of shouting at your HDTV as your numptie driver pulls over for a picnic on the last lap, do you dispair as they can't seem to understand even the most basic overtaking situations, can you just not be arsed to level the driver up because you have better things to do?

Well, after an intensive beta testing period, thanks Marvzilla!, if you'd like to drop your driver off at the daycare centre while you get on with the real job of, you know, actually driving around in circles, then we can offer you exclusively limited places for the first ever T.D.A. Your driver will complete an intensive training course, earn you Cr and themselves much needed XP as we get them to understand the finer points of kicking arse on the blacktop.

"I've gone from having one stig to a whole team of stigs" - Marvzilla

So, don't miss out on this unique chance, proven results from our crash course, you will not be disappointed by the champions we return to you. To Join just friend request PSN User: OPM_HotLips and we will get on with reviewing and testing your driver to see what we can do for them. Thank You.

Sunday 20 February 2011

Steal My Ride


Or rather, since the new GT5 update you can now borrow cars that you friends have decided to share in their online profile garage. Just go to their profile page, click on the car to bring up the rotating display screen and hit the [borrow] button. I was surprised at just how many people haven't bothered to upload cars.. maybe i just own too many of them ;)

But to tempt you munchkins to try this feature i have decided to 'share' the RedBull X2010, and if you kill yourselves in it please make sure it is fully valeted before bringing it back. There's also some of my other classic rides including the mildly famous sub nine minute Nurburgring VW Camper from [this video]

PS: sharing your b-spec drivers online is a great way to level them up, Friday i uploaded 3 x Lv0 drivers, logging in now they are all Lv10 and Lv9.

DCUO: Zero Punctuation

Friday 18 February 2011

GT5 Update: Remote B-Spec Racing

https://eu.gran-turismo.com/gb/gt5/user/MobileTone/

full details here: {JUMP}

PS: set some of your b-spec drivers to share online, i've uploaded 3 Lv0 ones so i can have some online shared b-spec and keep my real driver for in-game grinding.

Finally Some Good News

After pounding the arse out of GT5 lately, nearly 11,000 miles driven 80% completed and 800 game days, i decided to see if my Logitech Driving Force Wireless would work on my 22" Bravia/PS2 Combo rig. I jacked the wheel into the mains, turned on the set and plugged in my wireless dongle, instantly the wheel autoconfigured itself by doing a full right/left turn then centering. cool, it had never done that on my PS3! why??

Loaded GT4 in and got all fuzzy nostalgic, it does look sweet running on that Bravia Engine 3 display. I got in my garage, picked my old tuned 80's Nissan Bluebird and went for a thrash. The wheel handles perfectly, as good as it does on GT5. Also noted was that fact i'd spent 1,500 game days in there, completed 50% of the game. So from that i deduce that GT5 is probably half the game GT4 is.

Going to dig TOCA 3 out at some point as that was my other favorite 'proper' driving game on the PS2. Hope i can find the memory card with my game save on. Do you remember proper crash physics and blown engines and tyres? GT5 missed a huge trick there.

Thursday 17 February 2011

PSN And Your Credit Card Details Hacked

Sony has officially stated that anyone using hacked firmware or any sort of circumvention technology will have their console banned for life from the PlayStation Network, but how does the company know when such a console logs in? One person claims to have broken into the PlayStation Network, and what he has found is rather shocking. If his findings are accurate, your credit card information is being sent to Sony as an unencrypted text file, and Sony is watching every single thing you do with your system, keeping detailed records all the while.

"Sony is the biggest spy ever... they collect so much data. All connected devices return values sent to Sony's servers," the hacker said. He claims that Sony knows what controllers you're using, what USB devices are plugged in, what sort of television you're using—everything. Here's another section of the chat log:

user2: another funny function i found is regarding psn downloads
user2: its when a pkg game is requested from the store
user2: in the url itself you can define if you get the game free or not. requires some modification in hashes and so on tho
user3: ..
user2: is like
user8: :D
user3: my god
user2: drm:off
That's not all: your credit card information is apparently being sent as an unencrypted text file. This is how the code is being sent to Sony:

creditCard.paymentMethodId=VISA&creditCard.holderName=Max&creditCard.cardNumber=45581234567812345678&creditCard.expireYear=2012&creditCard.expireMonth=2&creditCard.securityCode=214&creditCard.address.address1=example street%2024%20&creditCard.address.city=city1%20&creditCard.address.province=abc%20&creditCard.address.postalCode=12345%20

This information is allegedly being stored online and is updated every time you turn on your system. We've been receiving reports from various sources that e-mails are being sent to those with hacked firmware even before they log back into the PlayStation Network, which is even more evidence that Sony is grabbing information from your system just from being connected to your wireless network.

The ability to enable free downloads is likewise unsurprising, as there may be a way for some users, such as press and developers, to access the PlayStation Network without needing to pay for content. While other console manufacturers may keep free, pre-review content in a separate, closed-off network, it's possible Sony keeps everything in one place, and controls who pays and who doesn't via a simple toggle. That would be unsafe from a security standpoint, but when has that stopped anyone from stupid mistakes in the past?

It's also very possible this is all fake, but much of what the unnamed hacker is saying links up with what we know from other sources about the behavior of the PlayStation Network. It's worth treating this as a very real threat: use PSN cards instead of credit cards on the PlayStation Network, and make sure you don't share any passwords or login information between your PSN account and other accounts.

We've contacted Sony for comment, but have not received a reply at time of publication. The hackers joked that the next update will remove the PlayStation Network, just as Sony removed the Other OS feature when it became compromised.

Saturday 12 February 2011

Yet Another Broken Game

Bad news for those who picked up Test Drive Unlimited 2 this week: the game is apparently falling apart, thanks to a few game-breaking bugs across various systems, including "permanent loading screen" problems and issues where the game's save file will get corrupted or not load. A number of network-reliant game components have been taken offline already, and the official Twitter account says the Eden Games team is working as fast as it can to sort things out. Programmers have been pulled in from other projects with the dev promising that "no one is going home until we get this working."

So, if you bought the game and encountered these issues, sit tight. If you were thinking about picking up the game this weekend, it might be prudent to wait until everything gets sorted out. In the meantime, there are lots of other games to play, or there's even this thing called "outside" we've heard about, whatever that is.

[Thanks, Tony]

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/11/test-drive-unlimited-2-slammed-with-game-breaking-launch-bugs/

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Why I'm selling my copy of Black Ops

The lag issues in Black Ops are rediculous, and despite all that is good and fun about such a fast and frantic multiplayer, it's several steps backwards on Modern Warfare 2. Sixaxis today found a great YouTube demonstration of the problem, it's pretty damning:



See what Sixaxis are saying on it here (gotta quote your source!)

FloorFiller

We Has Teh Uplaod Codez

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Kotaku Redesign

http://beta.kotaku.com/#!redesign/forum

or how to piss off your entire readership in one total layout change.

and on that note: Unofficial TV :gaming videos are now running in the sidebar, clicking on a thumbnail will open the video in a new floating window.

Skyrim: Now i Remember


To most mere mortals the name of Skyrim will not mean much, but to me, hearing that that was the name of the new Elder Scrolls brought with it a pang of guilt and fear.. my mind flashed back to a couple of days after i split up with my partner of the time, that dark sunday afternoon when i loaded up her save game and i cackled with mischievious intent as i took control of her character and headed north, to that massive mountain just east of Westrun.
the journey was long and hard and together we faced many many trials over the next two days. finally the skys started to darken and the wind whipped the snow around her scantally clad body, i left nearly all of her equipment back outside a tavern over a day back. we climbed higher than i'd ever been before in this land, i used all the potions and food and 'lost' her remaining weapons, finally, battered, bruised and with few HP left i made it to the top and gazed in awe at the solid looking keep i had found, i tried the main defensive gate.. 'needs key to open'
dejected and exhausted and with no where near enough supplies to ever make it back to the lush green lands many many days below i slumped her against the wall, snow slowly building up around her purpling feet to await her fate.
so if you do venture in those lands and find her dead frozen body feel free to loot her last remaing gold coins and toss her corpse off a cliff...

Friday 4 February 2011

Killzone 3 multiplayer Open Beta - try before you buy

I had a riot with the KZ3 private beta, and now the public one is available in the Store for all to try - I suggest you all take it for a spin, especially if you are undecided on the purchase.

Differences between the private and open betas:
  • the framerate is up a touch, those hectic closeup moments feel more solid and fair
  • Only one map! Still, enough to get the flavour and have a lot of fun
  • Menus have been overhauled to a tasty red CRT look on black - I approve
  • The Helghast command voice is Ray Winstone - this rocks!
  • As one map, you don't get to try the Jetpacks or Exoskeletons as they are map specific
  • A really nasty bug appears, I kept falling into water for a suicide - despite being nowhere near water. Maybe it was just that session, but I don't want crap like that on the gold release.
I'm excited now, clan U3S is set up and waiting you you to join... message PSN MrJimmy if you want in...

Wednesday 2 February 2011

When Rockstar made FUN Games.


In a bargain game hunt yesterday i picked up WET (PS3), Driver 76 (PSP), Red Faction and State of Emergency (PS2) all for a few pence short of 10 squids for the lot. I'd forgotten just how bat shit crazy fun SoE was, it's like the precursor to Dead Rising, but dare i say, i enjoyed it more than Dead Rising 2 on the PS3, it's just so much more violent. love the voiceover too. Deep down i hope R* go back to their roots and make the next Grand Theft Auto with more of this in, and veer away from the more serious tone the company has been making of late. It's that or i'm all about Saints Row 3 when it comes out ;)