PS3 Attitude

Metal Gear Online continues to expand

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:13:00 +0000

We always knew Metal Gear Online (MGO) was going to get bigger over time, but we weren't expecting new game modes to appear quite so soon.

Our friends over at Ripten have discovered a new mode has gone live.

A new Metal Gear Online mode has made its way onto the game’s servers. Taking inspiration from the existing “Sneaking Mode”, which sees Snake use Octocamo to collect Dog-Tags from warring teams, this mode is a battle of two teams with different gear.

The mode consists of a Sneaking Team and a “Normal” Team going head to head. Like Snake, the Sneaking Team is stealth-equipped (thus virtually invisible) and to win must either eliminate all enemies or return KEROTAN or GA-KO to their goal. The defending team must defeat the sneaking team or keep KEROTAN or GA-KO safe to win.

Read the rest over at Ripten...

July Japes - PS3 Attitude Big Three

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:44:00 +0000

Sometimes I wish we hadn't called this feature the Big Three.

Every now and then, a month comes along that is so devoid of new games, finding three good titles to spend your hard-earned cash on is a difficult task. Thankfully, this month we can bolster the sadly lacking roster with the first ever hardware entry and first ever PSN entry into the Big Three.

In other words, we can't really recommend you spend money on either Ferrari Challenge or Wall-E.

So here's the rundown on what the Big Three for July. Remember, this is based on UK and European titles that will launch in July only...

1. Buzz! Quiz TV [pre-order with buzzers] [pre-order game only]

I'll admit - I love Buzz! games on the PS2. Of all the different party games available for the PS3's little brother, this is the one that we keep on playing even to this day.

And the PS3 version is like the original, only on steroids.

Firstly, I'll be upgrading to the new wireless buzzers. No more octopus wires strewn across the living room! Yay! Of course, you can use the old ones in the first two ports of your PS3 (assuming you have more than two ports) without issue.

Secondly, they have kept all the games we love and added in some new ones too. Cool!

Thirdly, there's more questions than ever before, and this time the lowest scoring player gets to choose what category comes next, which helps balance the gameplay and keep the questions fair for all players.

Now for the extra plus points. How about taking on families and groups from all over the world online? Or setting your own questions and challenging players across the globe on the subjects you know best? Yep - all of this and more are in the new, improved Buzz!

In fact, you can even head on over to the Buzz website and begin setting your own questions now, even before the game has launched.

Let's face it - if you don't love Buzz! Quiz TV, you don't love fun.

2. DualShock 3 controller [pre-order]

This will be the shortest ever Big Three review ever.

Go and buy this. Now. You'll love it.

I've had a DS3 for a while now, and I have to tell you it is more assured than the SixAxis, feels better to play with, has a longer battery life and - of course - it vibrates.

This is a no-brainer. Click and buy. 'Nuff said.

3. Bionic Commando: Rearmed

Assuming this doesn't get put back again, BC: R should hit the PS Store during July.

A re-imagining of the original Bionic Commando (that we all know and love - and if you don't there's always Wikipedia), the guys at Capcom have finally hit PSN gold with this game after the terrible Rocketmen.

The graphics are still 2D, but with a next-gen feel that pops right out of the screen. Everything has a sheen of gloss that shows real care and attention have been lovingly poured into the game.

BC aficionados will revel in the levels they know so well, whilst new weapons and features make the game a new challenge for even the most ardent fan. Newbies on the other hand will realise just how great 2D platformers can be.

The other reason to get Bionic Commando: Rearmed? The price. We believe it will ship for only $9.99 (between £4.95 and £6.95 after Brits-pay-more tax), which is frankly ridiculous value.

Memorable? The Bourne Conspiracy review

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:29:00 +0000

I'm drinking a lot more tea than I used to.

Partly, this is due to the fact that more and more games require me to wait for ten minutes before I can begin playing them. The Bourne Conspiracy is one of those games.

During the ten minute initial install, you are not treated to any entertaining anecdotes, messages or smoking characters, so the only thing left to do is put the kettle on, and wait.

Of course, initial HD installs have become a standard on the PS3 because the HD is a fast way of accessing data compared to the speed of the Blu-ray disc. Games like Haze make great use of this fact with zero loading times throughout the entire campaign - creating a seamless experience for the player.

This means that when we endure the ten minute install, we are now expecting a payoff. Load times need to disappear at the very least. But let's focus on the game for a while before we come back to this point...

A third-person adventure/shooter game, The Bourne Conspiracy follows the story of Jason Bourne, a special agent that has lost his memory and is fighting to regain it. The game follows the Bourne books and movies in places, whilst still being an original telling of the story.

As you play through The Bourne Conspiracy - or TBC as we'll call it from now on to save precious key presses - you feel a number of different emotions. Elation. Surprise. Satisfaction. Frustration.

TBC does have some great ideas. As you play through the early levels, you are treated to a whole slew of set pieces. When you hear the 'cinematic sound effect', you know it is time to focus on the bottom of the screen to see which button you need to press in order to progress. Going through the game, these cinematic elements become more complicated and require quick reactions if you want to continue without restarting from the last checkpoint.

Whilst a lot of gamers don't like these 'Simon Says' elements, such as the many that littered Heavenly Sword or any God of War game, they do add variety to the gameplay. In TBC, the successful completion of these sequences results in a Hollywood-style payoff, some of which will make you say 'Wow' out loud - especially if you complete them first time.

Of course, everyone is out to get you in TBC. You have two ways to remove enemies from your path. Shoot, or fight.

Shooting is made easier through the addition of a first-person view, and headshots do exactly what you would expect them to. As per usual in games, the levels are embellished with exploding barrels and other incendiaries to help defeat troops and other, larger foes.

Finding useful objects and enemy positions is made easy with the Bourne Instinct, an option that shows where key locations, weapons and helpful additions exist. In the normal and hard modes using your Instinct costs some of your adrenaline - but more on that in a moment.

Fighting is initiated in one of two ways. Either you will be forced into a fight due to a pre-determined enemy appearing from around a corner, or as a boss, or you can run up to a shooting enemy to engage them in a bout of fisticuffs.

All the fighting is handled using three buttons. One blocks, the other two offer a quick or hard blow. Press for a punch, hold for a kick.

But this is no Tekken. Button-bashers won't find a lot of joy within TBC. The key to winning is pressing the right button at the right time, and blocking - lots of blocking. In the early levels, the fighting is over almost before it begins. Later on, you really have to hone your skills and timing if you want to progress.

In addition to these three buttons, you have one extra trick up your sleeve. When you have filled up your adrenaline bar, you can execute a finishing move that takes the enemy down instantly. Bourne will use whatever is close to him to achieve this. You literally can smash an enemy into everything and the kitchen sink!

The adrenaline bar has three levels. Fill up all three and you can engage and take down three enemies at the same time. Doing this initiates the cinematic element once more, and you are required to hit the right button at the right time to complete the triple takedown.

Other adrenaline-fueled options include the running takedown, which allows you to remove an enemy without stopping (useful when running away), and the shooting takedown, which give you the ability to sharp-shoot up to three enemies at once in quick succession.

On the plus side then, TBC delivers with varied gameplay options, great cinematic moments and a good storyline.

But as with Bourne's fractured memory, not everything in the game is right.

Some people will be upset at the lack of a multiplayer element. In a world where promising titles are being canned due to the lack of online play (yes Eight Days, we're looking at you), this may be one of the last PS3 titles that is single-player only.

There are several times throughout the game where it will pause, even in the thick of the action, to load the next checkpoint. Given that I already had an extra cup of tea whilst waiting for the initial install, it was a disappointment to see loading screens in-game.

The other issue with TBC is the difficulty level. After a few hours, the fight difficulty ramps up so fast that it becomes way too hard to progress without dozens of restarts. Fights become even harder as enemies start to pull out un-blockable knives.

This is the one area where TBC doesn't make sense. If I'm fighting a boss and they pull out a knife, why would I bother fighting them hand-to-hand any longer. Surely, I'd do an Indiana Jones and just shoot them with my gun!

The controls in TBC, whilst intuitive, don't lend themselves well to this level of difficulty. In a game such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma, at least you know you can combat the toughness of the game with well-timed combos and actions. The cinematic elements in TBC are fun, but because they pause the regular gameplay whilst they are played out, you occasionally find yourself initiating a combo before the game will register your button-press.

In fact, you don't even get to the driving element of the game until you've beaten two consecutive bosses, which is a shame as this is another fun addition to the TBC experience.

Driving sees you take control of a vehicle, racing through narrow streets and taking part in Stuntman-like sequences and movie-style set-pieces. It does seem a little 'bolted on', but it is well done and breaks up the gameplay.

But the real problem with TBC, the one that removes the enjoyment in the fighting and cinematic elements, is the camera. All too often the camera gets too close or repositions above Bourne so that you either disappear entirely or you have to coordinate your move in 'plan view'.

When the going gets tough, you really need to be able to see what is happening - Bourne's impromptu invisibility act really hampers your progress in places.

TBC reminds me a lot of Stranglehold. It has enough unique elements to make it fun and interesting for a while, but some poor design choices (the camera especially) stop it from being a really great title. The sheer difficulty also detracts from what is clearly a title that has had a lot of loving care and attention pure on it from the team at High Moon Studios. If they continue developing titles like this in the future, and sharpen up the gameplay along the way, they are going to produce something pretty special for the PS3 before long.

Gripes aside, TBC is good fun and the differing gameplay elements do stop it from being as overly repetitive as Stranglehold was. We particularly remember the reaction of the gamers at Play.com Live when they saw TBC for the first time, and it was certainly one of surprise at how good the game had turned out. You couldn't drag some people away from the demo...

Some people may be put off by the stop-start nature of the cinematic sections, but they do give the game it's unique Identity. It someone put us on the spot and gave us an Ultimatum, we would concur that whilst TBC isn't slated for gaming Supremacy, it is certainly a title you'll want to play through at least once (Ed: see what we did there?).

2.4 firmware removed, for now

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:06:00 +0000

Sony have taken the 2.4 update off their servers for now.

Due to the high demand for the update, many people had issues downloading the firmware when it launched yesterday.

Following the deluge of activity, a few users who did manage to update their PS3s had other issues.

Some complained the PS3 was freezing. Others have had issues within certain game titles.

Sony have told us that these problems are only being experienced by a few, but that in the meantime they have pulled the firmware from circulation whilst things are fixed.

We don't think it will be long before 2.4 is back and available again - just in time for everyone to break the download servers a second time!

Firmware 2.40 hidden features summary

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:53:00 +0000

So, firmware 2.40 is with us already. In addition to the much publicised in-game XMB and Trophy features, what else is included in the package? The following lists some of the official, and unmentioned, updates in 2.40.

2.40 comes with a new version of the PS Store that caches and loads thumbnails quicker, meaning you don't have to hang around for so long waiting for the latest updates to appear.
Just like the recent PSP update, you can now search Google directly from the XMB.
You can now have a clock on screen (finally) showing the date and time.
You can now turn the PS3 off from the XMB, instead of having to press the PS button.
As well as the new mini-controller for music, the PS3 can now play files encoded in MP3 Surround format.
Video playback from the hard drive is improved with Frame and Block noise reduction options. In addition, you can now upscale content from the hard drive, and Blu-ray upscaling has been added.
You can change the way photos are sorted when grouped by 'time'.

So - a lot to enjoy. If you find another feature, let us know in the comments.

Firmware 2.40 now available

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:21:00 +0000

In case you hadn't already heard from the droves of websites writing exactly this news, Firmware 2.40 is now available for download.

With support for in-game XMB, the new Trophy system and a whole host of other, more subtle changes, this is probably the biggest firmware update ever.

We can now all get ready for the inevitable 'here's what is also in 2.40 but Sony didn't document' news!

Sunday is our birthday

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:37:00 +0000

Just a quick reminder.

Sunday 6th July is the first anniversary of PS3 Attitude.

Starting on Sunday, we'll celebrate one year of daily news, interviews and reviews with some special articles and a few announcements.

So make sure you've subscribed to our email summary and our RSS feed using the buttons in the left sidebar.

Firmware 2.4 this Wednesday, 2nd July

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:35:00 +0000

Official confirmation has arrived; Firmware 2.4 will hit your PS3 this Wednesday - 2nd July.

The new firmware brings those items we've all been asking for, such as In-game XMB and Custom soundtracks.

What I'm most excited about though is the new Trophy system. SCEE have confirmed the following titles will be amongst the first to support the new Trophies:

Super Stardust HD
BUZZ! Quiz TV
LittleBigPlanet
MotorStorm Pacific Rift
NBA 09 - PS3
PAIN
PixelJunk Eden
Resistance 2
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation
Warhawk

Super Stardust HD, PAIN and Warhawk will gain Trophy support via a game update. SSHD will be the first title to provide Trophy support, so we assume that the updates for PAIN and Warhawk will follow shortly after the firmware update, whereas the SSHD update may be available on the 2nd.

So, to get you warmed up for Trophy support, here's the second part of Eric Lempel's 2.4 walkthrough.

DualShock 3 finally arrives in Europe

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:48:00 +0000

It's been a long time coming, but the Dual Shock 3 is arriving in Europe this week.

SCEE have announced the official release date as 4th July, which is only four days away.

The UK is price is confirmed at £39.99.

As a long-time Dual Shock 3 user, I can tell you I prefer it for every game I play, regardless of whether the title supports vibration or not. It has a slightly heavier but more assured feel to it, and the battery life seems better than any of my original SixAxis controllers.

First official 2.4 video released

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:58:00 +0000

Eric Lempel has been busy again, this time delivering the first official Firmware 2.4 video for our viewing pleasure.

Another video is due to arrive soon that will explain more about the new Trophy system, but for now, feast your eyes on what 2.4 has to offer...

Call of Duty: World at War is looking rather nice

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Do you want to see seven new screens from Call of Duty: World at War?

You're in luck, as that's exactly what we have to offer for your viewing pleasure!

Suffice to say, it is looking very nice indeed. Click the gallery to view all seven screenshots now.

Call of Duty - World at War

The Bourne Conspiracy - launch trailer

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:12:00 +0000

Today sees the launch of The Bourne Conspiracy in the UK and Europe, so here is the launch trailer for your delectation.

European PS Store update for 26th June

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:05:00 +0000

So, you downloaded the MGS Database from the US or Japanese stores and then realised it doesn't recognise your PAL game save data, huh?

Fear no more, as the EU version of the database wings its merry way onto our PS3s in today's update.

We also get the Commando 3 demo, a free WoW track for GH III, a new character for PAIN and Pursuit Force for the PSP.

There's a whole lot more PAIN content coming over the next few weeks, with new areas to smash through and additional characters, so 'Nigel' is just the beginning.

Here's the full list:

Games

Metal Gear Solid Database (free)
Pursuit Force - full PSP game (£14.99)

Demos (all free)

Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3

Add-ons

Guitar Hero III - World of Warcraft track pack (free)
PAIN - Nigel character pack (£0.69)

Videos (all free)

Call of Duty: World at War trailer
Prince of Persia trailer
PAIN Characters trailer
Prince Caspian movie trailer

PS3 set to deliver worldwide daily news

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:36:00 +0000

During the Sony Strategic Meeting in Tokyo today, Sony announced a service that will allow PS3 owners to view daily world news interactively.

The system, billed under their Life with PlayStation brand, allows you to zoom around a virtual globe (not unlike the one in the Folding@Home application) and gain world news from various cities. The service will allow later on for geo-tagged pictures to be viewed on the globe, and is part of a whole slew of non-game services Sony are planning for the future.

The idea is a simple one. Since many people switch on their TVs in the morning to get news of what is going on, Sony want you to switch on your PS3 as well and use that to deliver the information you require, whilst playing music in the background and linking into other services to be announced in the future.

Since this new Life with PlayStation brand has been announced in a Strategic Meeting that concentrated on services that will be launched before March 2009, I think we can assume these new features will appear in the following eight months.

Latest Sony presentation reveals Video Store, new PSP features

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:54:00 +0000

As a public company, Sony have to provide a lot of information on their corporate websites.

One such presentation was made available today, and it included a great deal of useful information on the future of the PlayStation brand.

So what are the key items that have made us sit up and listen?

The long-awaited PlayStation Video Store is shown in the slides and we believe it is due to arrive in the Summer.
The PS3 and PSP combined have sold over 50 million units.
Around 86 peta bytes of data have been downloaded from the PSN.
The PSP will gain it's own native version of the PS Store.

There is a suggestion that the PSP will be able to play PS3 titles using Remote Play, but since Lair is the example they use it could just be that one game that allows this functionality!

inFamous and PROTOTYPE go head to head

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:37:00 +0000

inFamous and PROTOTYPE - two titles headed for your PS3 in 2009, and both are looking scarily similar to each other.

Let's take a look at the similarities and the potential differences in both games.

We'll get the silly one out of the way first. Both titles have capitalisation in the wrong places within their titles. inFamous is stressing the F indicating that the choices you make in the game will cause either fame or infamy. PROTOTYPE is going all out and is simply shouting in your face. Because we don't like being shouted at, inFamous wins this round.

inFamous - 1
PROTOTYPE - 0

inFamous and PROTOYPE both have sandbox environments where you can choose how to progress. inFamous pitches your options as 'will you be friend or foe to the city', whereas PROTOTYPE allows you to choose between 'deception or destruction' as you move through the story. Of the two premises, we prefer PROTOTYPE - just put as down as the 'non-helpful' kind.

inFamous - 1
PROTOTYPE - 1

Both games offer a main character that has special abilities/powers. However, PROTOTYPE is promising a huge numb of abilities that can be mixed to create thousands of possibilities, whereas inFamous seems to have a more limited, yet still effective, 'power palette'. PROTOTYPE comes out as the winner in this category too.

inFamous - 1
PROTOTYPE - 2

What other similarities exist? Both games have a 'parkour-style' free-running element to them. Both are third person. Both a set in cities that resemble New York (PROTOTYPE is set in New York itself, whereas inFamous is in the fictional Empire City). Both are being compared to the likes of Crackdown and GTA. Both come from great developers, inFamous being created by Sucker Punch and PROTOTYPE by Radical Entertainment. There's nothing to choose between them at his point, so they both get a point.

inFamous - 2
PROTOTYPE - 3

The only differences between the two thus far are that inFamous is a PS3 exclusive, whereas PROTOTYPE will be on the Xbox 360 and PC also. And whilst PROTOTYPE says the release date is Q3 2008 on their website, our Q&A with Tim Bennison of Radical revealed it would be a 2009 release. With inFamous delayed until 2009 in PAL regions (it was promised in 2008 at E3 last year), this puts the two titles directly against each other.

We've scored PROTOTYPE slightly higher in this early look at the two games, and as we get closer to launch the details may offer us all a better understanding of the choice at hand.

But come 2009, the real difference may just be in the marketing budgets Vivendi and SCEE want to throw at these two titles.

Dead Space will cost you an arm and a leg

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:03:00 +0000

Dead Space is one of those games that has always looked intriguing/scary, but this latest trailer explaining the process of 'strategic dismemberment' increases the interest/fright level further.

As the softly spoken voiceover explains, unlike other shooters you can't just hit these enemies in the head to put them down. Nope. In fact, shooting them will just change their approach to you and probably upset them even further.

So what do you do? You tear them apart - limb by limb.

Watch the video below for the kind of advice your mother didn't give you...

Call of Duty; news wrap-up [UPDATE]

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:55:00 +0000

There has been more CoD thrown around today than you'll find at Billingsgate Market, so we thought we'd give you a quick wrap-up to help you get all the tasty news morsels in one bite.

Firstly, Call of Duty 5 developers Treyarch say they want to make the best game ever. Call of Duty: World at War is being managed by Treyarch this time around after the phenom that was Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Call of Duty: World at War goes back to a WWII environment, much to the annoyance of many gamers, but Richard Farrelly (Treyarch's creative boss) is pitching the game high.

“We knew we had to approach the WWII genre different as it was getting a little stretch.”

“We had to hit the reset as to what people would expect from it. We took a lot of tips from the success of Modern Warfare, in terms of how they presented the game, the pacing, the different approach for the music and the way the characters speak in the game… right down to the level of maturity of the content. Which really sets a different tone for any WWII game.”

He added: “We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. But a two year cycle now enables us to test the game and make sure what goes in the game is real quality. We want to make the best game ever made.” - Robert Farrelly, Treyarch.

Whilst this news hit the streets, Mr. Farrelly teamed up with his colleague Noah Heller to inform Develop Magazine that the engine Infinity Ward developed for Call of Duty 4 is better than the Unreal engine for developers, leading to speculation that IW may licence the technology for other companies to use outside of the CoD camp.

"I’ve worked on plenty of engines in my career, including Unreal. And I’d say the big difference with this engine is how close it allows designers to get their vision into the game. You’ll be startled to see how close the concept art is to what was replicated in the game. If an artist wants to make a bottle in the game, he designs it and hits a button and a minute and a half later it is in the game." - Noah Heller, Treyarch

In addition to the various Treyarch soundbites, we also heard today from Activision that CoD: WaW (as it will be no doubt shortened to by everyone) will feature two-player split-screen co-op play modes, which will allow allows players to rank up and unlock perks in competitive multiplayer by completing challenges and earning experience points.

[UPDATE] Activision have now revealed this will be four-player split-screen co-op, both offline and online - which is frankly even better!

As if all this news of the fifth CoD game wasn't enough, finally we were told by TalkPlaystation today that Call of Duty 6 - which will be back in the hands of Infinity Ward - could be a sci-fi shooter, propelling us far into the future of warfare. The news of this radical departure has since been removed from the TalkPlaystation website - read into that what you will. I guess we'll find out in 2009 when the CoD marketing machine winds up for the sixth installment.

Fear not Europe; MGS Database is coming

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:35:00 +0000

The MGS Database that hit US and Japanese shores last Thursday will arrive in Europe this Thursday, 26th June.

Those of you that have downloaded the MGS Database from the US or Japanese Stores will have not doubt discovered that the add-on won't detect your PAL game save. Consequently, those of us that have completed Metal Gear Solid 4 can't access the MGS4 data in the database. This feature is included to protect new players from spoilers during their first playthrough.

So, if you did grab the Database already, delete it and get the European version on Thursday in order to enjoy the spoils of war.

"Metal Gear Solid 4 Database is a stunning – and completely free – companion to the series, and will answer any question pertaining to Hideo Kojima’s games and characters." - Konami

Sweetflag competition

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Our good friends over at Sweetflag are celebrating their one-year anniversary by giving away copies of either Euro 2008 for the PS3 or Boom Blox for the Wii.

Head over to their site to find out how to enter, and go win yourself the best football game on the PlayStation 3 platform (or you could plump for Boom Blox if you like...)

Congratulations to Sweetflag for reaching their first year. We can think of another site that might be close to the one-year milestone soon... hmmmm, I wonder who we're talking about?!

100 million PS3 owners this generation

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:07:00 +0000

David Reeves, President of SCEE, has been outlining the direction of the PlayStation 3 in an keynote at the DevStation developer conference in London.

Reeves' prediction is that in this generation of consoles, the PS3 will ship 100 million units. As PS3 Attitude have said countless times, we think this is a completely achievable number.

The PS2, for example, shipped 117+ million units. With the PS3 having outsold the PS2 at the same point in time after release, it is not beyond reason to suggest that the PS3 could actually outsell it's predecessor.

“We see the future in the video games industry, certainly in terms of software sales, as continuing to grow – new markets, new demographics, and new games appealing to new sectors of the industry. And the key to the future is the PlayStation Network. Games put straight onto the PSN are the big opportunity.” - David Reeves, SCEE

During the conference, Reeves also spoke about non-games, Sony's rivals, the continued success of the PS2 and the PSP. You can read the entire piece at MCV.

European PS Store update for 19th June

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:05:00 +0000

Despite some talk that the European PS Store updates were going to slow down, this seems like another credible update. Two demos, a slew of add-ons and the usual videos and themes.

Of course, you may have already played the two demos from the US Store, so for those of you that did, I'm afraid you'll be wondering whether the add-ons are more up your street. And it's likely that if you enjoy playing Warhawk, you won't need the Booster Combo pack either.

But still, it's a reasonable update. Here's the full list:

Demos (all free)

Civilization Revolution
Dark Sector

Add-ons

Warhawk - Booster Combo Pack (Operation Omega Dawn and Operation Broken Mirror) (£4.99)
Guitar Hero III - Coldplay track pack (£3.99)
Everybody's Golf: World Tour - Oceania Resort Course (£2.99)
High Stakes Poker add-on (free)

Videos (all free)

GT Academy Launch Film
Battlefield: Bad Company trailers (x3)
Movement - Old Man trailer
Movement - Preview trailer

Wallpapers and themes (all free)

High Velocity Bowling - Postcard theme
High Velocity Bowling - Bowl theme
High Velocity Bowling - Strike theme
Pain - Nigel theme

PROTOTYPE; Q&A reveals side-missions, devastation

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:39:00 +0000

PROTOTYPE is a forthcoming title where you play as Alex Mercer - a genetically mutated shape-shifter with no memory of his past - who travels through New York trying to regain his memory and find out what has happened to him.

The citizens of NY have been mutated with a virus, and the military have been sent in to deal with the situation. A true 'sandbox' game, Alex must fight both of these opposing factions in his quest for the truth.

We managed to get some time to ask Tim Bennison, Executive Producer at Radical Entertainment, to fill us in on some of the unique game elements in PROTOTYPE.

[PS3A] With PROTOTYPE being a 'sandbox' game, will you have lots of extra little side-missions and tasks you can choose to complete, or ignore, such as have been seen in other games of this type?

[TB] PROTOTYPE will deliver a wide spectrum of gameplay experiences throughout the story/missions. Because Alex Mercer can use his shape-shifting powers at any moment, players will be able to choose how they wish to complete a mission. There are also side missions we call the Web of Intrigue that accompany the key storyline missions, though we’ll be releasing more info on these in the future.

[PS3A] We've heard a little bit about the 'disguise or destroy' concept in this game. What do you mean by that and how does it work?

[TB] Alex can use his shape-shifting powers at any moment throughout the game, so the concept of 'Deceive or Destroy' is absolutely essential to our design process for each mission. Essentially players get to mix-n-match how to play a mission by deciding whether to unleash hell via Alex’s ability to turn his body into deadly weapons, or try and use deception and shape-shift into a civilian or military form and sneak into a scenario.

[PS3A] Just how flexible are Alex's superhuman capabilities? What can gamers expect to see in terms of abilities?

[TB] At any point, in any mission in PROTOTYPE, we want players to feel completely free when engaging enemies and situations. Alex Mercer can shape-shift his body into many different deadly weapons. He has offensive abilities like the claws, blade arm and whipfist; defensive abilities like the shield and armored skin, and some sensory abilities that allow him to see things the normal human eye can’t. And then there’s the part where Alex can consume and become anyone in NY, where he gains their knowledge, appearance, memories and abilities instantly.

The attack and defensive shape-shifting abilities add layers of choice to players. And we’ve really beefed up the concept of traditional power progression. The goal is to make players feel extremely powerful from the start of the game, whilst correctly balancing the enemy threat so that you’re always on edge. The devastation that any one of these powers can cause is pretty spectacular, this is not a Tekken-like one-on-one fight, this is one man taking out 20 elite soldiers with a single killer move.

We have quite a few other powers up our sleeve that haven’t been mentioned yet. We have an array of sensory powers for example, that make the PROTOTYPE a hunter on the par of the Earth’s most dangerous predators.

[PS3A] As well as Alex's abilities, what weapons, vehicles and other items can we expect to see available for use in the game?

[TB] One of our favorite internal memes is that we want Alex to kick butt in a hundred different ways that no one has ever seen before. Alex has the ability to consume and become anyone in New York City, plus Alex can shape-shift his arms into lethal blades, whip fists, ground spikes and claws among others. Some of the defense powers will include forming large arm-shields and a powered, armored form that lets Alex literally smash through vans and large vehicles unhindered.

If that wasn’t enough, we know gamers want to be able to run-n-gun, so yes, I’m glad to say that we’re also offering the use of traditional weapons in PROTOTYPE. We’re really trying to show off what we feel is next-gen gameplay and next-gen ‘choice’ of gameplay. It's pretty fun just ripping a missile-launcher out of a Blackwatch soldier's arms and taking down their own Apache gunships with it.

[PS3A] Back in December you showed a build that was around 20% complete, according to some reports. How far down the line are you now, and when can we expect to see the game released?

[TB] PROTOTYPE is looking better by the day. Our goal is to create a different kind of open-world/action experience. We’re going to polish it and release it when it’s ready in 2009.

[PS3A] How long did it take to create New York City in PROTOTYPE, and to what lengths did you go to to make it accurate?

[TB] One of our guiding principles in making PROTOTYPE is that everything should revolve around the concept of ‘reality plus one fantastic element’.

Having a very topical, believable environment lets us make the fantastic action become so much more stunning because you can contrast it against something you understand and recognise. We took 22,000 photographs of New York City and many hours of 7.1 surround sound-compatible recordings, so the first point to make is we're really keen to do New York City 'right'. Previous games have shown New York City and when you enter their version of Time Square, it has no more than 20 people walking around. That’s definitely NOT New York and so we're really happy with the sheer density, intensity and bustling nature of our game world.

We're talking hundreds of cars, thousands of pedestrians – so when things start to explode you really get the impression the world is caving in around you. Importantly though, we're not trying to recreate a slavish replica of NYC like you might find on Google maps. If you're going to include say, an alleyway, then you'd better have something fun to do in that alleyway. Hence we're going for a slightly modified vision of the city that builds in more action-per-square-foot than all of our previous efforts.

[PS3A]What is the best thing about being a game developer in Vancouver?

[TB] There are dozens of game development companies here so the pool of talent is very deep. We live in a great city, and it’s easy to find a lot of great things to do. But we ignore all that stuff until after we ship our game, of course.

Our thanks to Tim and the team at Radical for sparing us the time. Keep checking back for more on PROTOTYPE as the year progresses.

Firmware 2.36 live; 2.4 on the way

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:03:00 +0000

Widely know as 'the firmware release before the important one', version 2.36 only adds some strengthened stability when playing some PlayStation format titles.

So, nothing to write home about yet.

But now that Sony themselves have confirmed that 2.40 does include in-game XMB, as well as a host of other desirable features such as the new Trophy system, this small stepping stone does at least give us a glimmer of hope that the more important firmware upgrade is going to be with us soon.

D+PAD issue 8 now available

noreply@blogger.com (DolphGB) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:28:00 +0000

The quite brilliant D+PAD magazine, which is as interactive as Qore but without the $3 price tag and limited US availability, is now available for download.

It does, of course, feature an MGS4 review as well as details of Prince of Persia and Buzz! Quiz TV.

Go grab the latest issue of D+PAD now.