Posted on 01 July 2008 by TheFluffyFist
After seemingly getting lost on the way, and adding a few pounds too, the rumbletastic DualShock 3 controller arrives in Europe on the 4th July 08.
You can pick one up online for around £33 (Gameplay or Play.com). Also there’s a list of DualShock compatible PS3 games as a handy reference. Ooooh, Wipeout HD is on the list. Want!!!!
Popularity: 5% [?]
Posted on 30 June 2008 by TheFluffyFist
Sony have revealed that the latest PS3 firmware update (2.4) will be released into the wild on the 2nd July 08. This firmware allows in-game access to the XMB (XrossMediaBar) as well as trophies. Sony have made other tweaks too like upping the max number of people you can have in your PSN friends list to 100 and adding google search to the XMB.
Video showing the in-game XMB:
Video showing the new trophy system in action:
Super Stardust HD will be the first game to offer trophy support, with Quiz TV following on the 4th July 08. The following games will also offer trophy support:
A half-decent firmware update then. Nice one Sony. Keep it up!
Update 3rd Jul 08: Mmm, the firmware was available for a bit until it started bricking PS3s so Sony yanked it. No word on when it will become available again. Boo.
Update 8th Jul 08: Sony have fixed the problem and released firmware 2.41. The bricking problem arose when “certain system administrative data were contained on the HDD” according to Sony. Spooky!
Popularity: 5% [?]
Posted on 14 March 2008 by TheFluffyFist
As Weefz has previously reported, the Play.com LIVE! show starts tomorrow from 10am at Wembley Stadium. Weefz (sporting her new blonde look) and I will be there, so feel free to say hi. Heck, I’m going and its the final weekend of the RBS Six Nations Championship and I love rugby.
Essential show information:
Also if you order tickets at this late stage, then Play.com say:
COLLECT YOUR TICKET AT WEMBLEY STADIUM: Please bring a print out of your order confirmation and the credit/debit card for proof of purchase to the Play.com Live information desk at the show for entry. For lost tickets please call Customer Support at 0845 270 1669.
Now some more show information. According to ThreeSpeech (semi-official Sony blog) the following games will be on show:
It’s a real shame that we can’t get to play LittleBigPlanet or Killzone 2. Ho hum. As long as I can play Ghostbusters I’ll be happy. Also ButtonBandits are reporting that there is no boothbabe ban, if you needed any more incentive!
See you all at the show.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Posted on 06 March 2008 by TheFluffyFist
Sony Japan has released the PS3 and PSP demos of Echochrome. At the moment theese demos are only available in Japan. However, if you’d like to play them now you can by following these instructions:
For the PS3 version:
The text is in Japanese but the dialogue is in English. I had no problems playing the game, but then again there aren’t many controls!
For the PSP version:
The PSP demo requires firmware 3.90 and above, so don’t bother trying unless you have this firmware version. Oh, and the triangle button pauses the game and the X button speeds up your character.
You can see a trailer for Echochrome here.
Echochrome is released in Japan on 19th March 2008 on PS3 and PSP. UK release in Q2 2008.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Posted on 04 March 2008 by TheFluffyFist
3+ (PEGI)
Futuristic racing game, with lots of lovely weapons.
Yes.
Yep, every penny.
Like anything in life, practice makes perfect. So given that Wipeout Pulse is the 8th incarnation of the futuristic racing series does the same analogy hold true? I’m pleased to say it does. Everything that was good about Wipeout Pure has been built upon in Pulse with the following additions:
Yep, on-line racing is there for the first time. Now I get my butt kicked on-line as well as off line and I can see just how slow my times are via the wipeout-game.com site Yay, I think. It is a welcome, if slightly overdue addition to the series.
The adjustable AI (easy, normal and hard) opens up a lot more of the game to most people. In the previous games, increasing the difficulty by increasing the speed resulted in few people actually completing all the tournaments. Now, at least, the Wipeout tourist setting (aka easy) allows you to experience the whole game. However, it doesn’t prepare you for the harsh reality of on-line racing though. For that set the difficulty to hard. Well, technically you need an evil setting (aka human) to be fully prepared.
It’s not all sugar and spice and all things nice in Pulse. To my mind the balance of time trials to races during tournaments is a bit off. There are simply too many time trials and not enough races. I like races, time trials are just boring. Also enough with the Zone races. I know this was quite a cool addition to Pure but Studio Liverpool had gone a bit OTT with the number of Zone races you have to complete. Tons of them, again with the boring.
It seems Sony have decided to start squeezing every last drop of coin out of Wipeout. How? Well, the previously free downloadable content for Pure now costs money in Pulse. These expansion packs vary in price from £1.99 to £3.49 (4 have been announced - Mirage and Icaras are available now). It’s another case of micro transaction infestation.
Finally, it’s a Wipeout game without any CoLD SToRAGE music. Bad, bad, bad. At least I can now create a customised soundtrack (something also available in Wipeout HD) with lots of my own CoLD SToRAGE tracks, so it’s not all lost in a savage pit of mire.
In summary: The best Wipeout game so far on any system.
Wipeout Pulse is available now on PSP
Popularity: 14% [?]
Posted on 11 February 2008 by TheFluffyFist
Popularity: 7% [?]
Posted on 30 January 2008 by TheFluffyFist
Hot on the heals of Sony Japan’s Patapon comes this deceptively simple, but quite challenging puzzle game. As you can see from the video it involves moving the camera around so that your character can get from one and of the level/picture to the other. Simple. However, it looks as though there could be some very fiendish levels to solve in the final game, judging by the quick montage at the end of the video.
Anyway, enough waffle. On with the video:
Echochrome is released in Japan on 19th March 2008 on PS3 and PSP. No word on a UK release date yet.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Posted on 27 January 2008 by TheFluffyFist
Coming next month to the PSP is this lovely looking game from Sony Japan. It’s a rhythm-based 2D platform/action game. Yep, I think it’s going to be the first rhythm based game on the PSP. According to Sony:
In the game, players are tasked with leading the colorful Patapons, a brave and noble tribe, through a series of epic battles against opposing armies and gigantic monsters. In a distinct gameplay twist, action and rhythm are intertwined as players utilize drumbeats to march, attack, and defend, ultimately leading the Patapon tribe to victory
Sounds all rather noble doesn’t it? All you have to do is bash 4 buttons rhythmically. Pata pata pata pon! The French graphics artist Rolito is responsible for the game’s strikingly good looks. The game also boasts over 30 different missions and more than 100 different weapons and items, so it should last a while as far as gameplay is concerned.
Patapon is released on the PSP on the 22nd Feb 2008.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Posted on 22 November 2005 by Weefz
Full story here on Gamesindustry.biz:
“Sony has stated that the adverts will appear static on bill-board within the game universe, as opposed to animated, 3D adverts. They will not affect the game’s performance in any way, and will still be complemented by fictional adverts for Matrix themed products.”
Just another step towards product placement being commonplace in games. Personally, I find it annoying but as long as it fits into the story and isn’t as blatant as in the film Minority Report*, then I don’t mind - as long as it means that the price of a game will drop, seeing as the developers and publishers have a new source of income.
*I like the way the author of that Minority Report article stays true to his theme with a page-long ad slapped in the middle of his writing ;)
Popularity: 2% [?]
