PS3 Attitude

PS3 news, views and gossip from PS3 Attitude - a PS3 site with bite!

Tuesday, 4 December 2007

European PS3 releases for week beginning December 3rd

There's much to be happy about this week in Europe. Two major titles are headed our way, both of which feature in December's 'PS3 Attitude Big Three'.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune makes it's welcome debut this side of the Atlantic, having already been released in the US. This has to be one of the most incredible games available for the PS3 thus far and is bound to result in a new franchise that is set to run and run.

And SingStar finally becomes available. Whatever you think of party games, SingStar is one of those titles that everyone should have available in their library for those days (usually during Christmas) when you want to show off to all generations of relatives what fun having a PS3 can be.

Here's the full list:

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
SingStar
World Series of Poker - Battle for the Bracelets
Medal of Honor: Airborne

Whereas the World Series of Poker game is more for a niche market, Medal of Honor: Airborne is also worthy of a mention. Whilst it may get lost in a sea of FPS titles, the unique gameplay element that sees you parachuting into the battlefield will win some fans. You get to choose whether to land in a flanking position, on a rooftop for sniping duty or wherever takes your fancy. Whilst it might be a challenge, we wouldn't recommend landing right in the middle of enemy territory!

Click the links above to pre-order these and have them delivered to your door on launch day.

Labels: Big Three, FPS, news, Playstation 3, PS3, SingStar, Uncharted

Thursday, 29 November 2007

European PS Store updates for 29th November

"It's the most wonderful time, of the week"...

Once again the Store has been updated with a bunch of goodies. But it's not what is there that worries me this week - it's what is missing.

Whilst we expect PAIN will arrive on the US Store today, Europe only gets the trailer for PAIN. And in the US they received the first Guitar Hero III expansions a week after the game's release. We, on the other hand, get nothing.

What is good about this week's update is the addition of the new Resistance maps and two addition skin packs for Motorstorm vehicles.

Otherwise if you're a fan of PS1 titles or you don't subscribe to the PS3 Attitude YouTube channel, you might find something else in today's update that will amuse you...

Here's the list:

Destruction Derby - PS1 game (£3.49)
Kula World - PS1 game (£3.49)
Timeshift - demo (free)
"Crazy Samurai and Quick Foot" - Motorstorm add-on pack (£1.99)
"Bracknell/Axbridge" - Resistance: Fall of Man map pack (£2.99)
Sonic The Hedgehog - add-on packs (six in total; £1.99 each)
Uncharted "Making the Game" - video (free)
Blazing Angels 2 "Racing" - trailer (free)
PAIN - trailer (free)
WWE 2008 - trailer (free)
Assassin's Creed "Altair was here" - trailer (free)
Bee Movie - movie trailer (free)
PS3 "Blu-Ray" - advert (free)
PS3 "Gaming" - advert (free)
PS3 "Evolving Entertainment" - advert (free)
PS3 "Faster Processing" - advert (free)
PS3 adverts "Making of" documentary (free)

Labels: Assassin's Creed, Motorstorm, Playstation 3, PS Store, PS1, PS3, PSN, Resistance, Uncharted

Tuesday, 27 November 2007

December treats; PS3 Attitude's Big Three

Yes, it's that time of the month when we pick out the three titles you should be buying this coming month. Of course, it's that special time of year when we drink too much, eat too much and pretend we like everything our relatives bought for us...

So what better than earmarking a short list of three great titles you can pass to your nearest and dearest so they know what you really want this Christmas! As ever, we're focusing on UK and European release dates...

1. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Without a doubt this is one of the two absolute 'must have' titles for the PS3 this year in my opinion, the other being Ratchet & Clank from last month's Big Three. Sure there's loads of really great games out there now (CoD4, Motorstorm, Resistance, Folklore, Eye of Judgement, Guitar Hero III, Heavenly Sword, Assassin's Creed) but Uncharted and Ratchet are as close to gaming perfection as you'll find on our favourite platform.

Not only are the graphics literally revolutionary (I love the way your clothing changes when you walk in water or under a waterfall) but the gameplay is slick and varied. You have action, gunplay, platforming and puzzle solving all rolled into a great pulp-fiction inspired storyline with excellent characters that have so much detail they move and react fluidly at all times.

This really has to be your number one purchase for the holiday season.

2. SingStar

One of the seminal party games of the last decade, SingStar has had more than a cosmetic makeover for its first appearance on the PS3.

The interface and music are completely customisable through new songs (the SingStore) and new downloadable skins. You can build your own playlists and download the entire back catalogue of 3,000 PS2 SingStar favourites in addition to a continuing list of new material as the months progress.

And in a social network style, you can capture your best performances (with or without using the PS Eye) and upload them for all the world to see, as well as transferring them to your PSP for offline viewing and sharing.

It's the gift that keeps on giving!

3. Half-Life 2: The Orange Box

Much has been written about the woes of the PS3 version of The Orange Box of late. There is the obvious delay between the release of this version and the PC/X360 titles, and there are stories of framerate issues and bugs.

Let's be clear about the reality for a second. Unless you fully expect your games to never, ever drop below 30 fps for even a moment, you will be perfectly happy with The Orange Box on PS3. The issues have been blown out of all proportion.

So what do you get for your money? Five games - HL2, HL2: Episode 1, HL2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal. That's great value for money if you're an FPS fan, but the real pull is the non-FPS title - Portal.

Portal is a marvel of three-dimensional puzzle solving and, by all accounts, is the absolute star of the show. Addictive, compelling and mind-altering, Portal will have you fully occupied for hours on end. And then you can go shoot things. What more can you ask for?!

Click the links above to pre-order any of the titles.

As an aside, there's still a chance (despite reports to the contrary) that Haze will be released before Christmas. If it is, then it's worthy of your attention as the build I played was stunning - click to read more about my impressions of Haze.

Labels: Big Three, Haze, news, Playstation 3, PS3, SingStar, The Orange Box, Uncharted

Friday, 23 November 2007

European PS Store updates for November 23

Another week, another update. It's great that SCEE continues to update the store every week and if you don't have a US account, this is a great week for you.

Not only do you get the Uncharted and Blazing Angels 2 demos but there's a PS1 game and some additional content for both Folklore and Motorstorm. In addition there's a bunch of trailers and some wallpapers (at last).

If you do have a US account you've already seen or played pretty much everything here. And that's the big issue with the store in general. If we could get to the point of simultaneous worldwide release of major content and keep the peripheral stuff local then people would be much happier.

Anyhow - here's the list:

G-Police - PS1 game (£3.49)
Uncharted - demo (free)
Blazing Angels 2 - demo (free)
"Rascal & Governer" - Motorstorm add-on pack (£1.49)
"The Alchemist Pack" - Folklore add-on pack (£1.49)
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection - wallpapers (free)
Ratchet & Clank - trailer (free)
Motorstorm "Devil's Weekend" - trailer (free)
Uncharted "Lifelike Facial Animation" - trailer (free)
Uncharted "Hunting El Dorado" - trailer (free)
PSN Showcase - trailer (free)
Blazing Angels 2 - trailers (free)
Battlefield: Bad Company - trailer (free)
Beowulf: The Game - trailer (free)

Labels: Folklore, Motorstorm, news, Playstation 3, PS Store, PS3, PSN, Ratchet and Clank, Tekken, Uncharted

Friday, 9 November 2007

US PS Store update for 8th November

It was a big day in the US. After so many weeks of waiting, the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune demo finally hit the Store.

So everyone with a US account headed over to download the massive 1.2Gb file only to discover that if you were outside the US and Canada there was a little surprise waiting for you.

That doesn't take away from the awesome update given to the US Store. After two weeks of having better updates than the US, it seems the norm has been restored for the EU PSN.

Here's the full list of what is available:

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - demo (free; doesn't yet work outside of US and Canada - fix coming apparently)
College Hoops 2K8 - demo (free)
Motorstorm "Devil's Weekend" pack - add-on ($5.99)
Guitar Hero III "Velvet Revolver" pack - add-on($6.25)
Guitar Hero III "Foo Fighters" pack - add-on ($6.25)
Pink, Nature and Pixel - PS3 Themes (free)
Devil May Cry 4 Tokyo Game Show - trailer (free)
Motorstorm "Devil's Weekend" - trailer (free)
Ratchet and Clank launch - trailer (free)
WWE Smackdown vs RAW - trailer (free)
Burnout "Carson GT" - trailer (free)
Burnout "Manhatten" - trailer (free)
One Missed Call - movie trailer (free)
Sweeney Todd - movie trailer (free)
Hostel Part II - Blu-Ray movie trailer (free)
Call of Duty 4 - wallpapers (free)

Given we don't have Guitar Hero III in the UK yet, that doesn't bother me. It would have been nice to be playing the Uncharted demo but since Ratchet & Clank and Call of Duty 4 are released in the UK today, I think I'll be busy anyway.

In addition, the US got the Motorstorm v3.0 patch today as well. Launch Motorstorm's online mode to get it before you go downloading any of the add-ons.

What does still concern me is that content which clearly works everywhere, such as wallpapers, the new PS3 themes and trailers - for example - still arrive on separate stores at separate times (or sometimes not at all). I mean, what mad licensing issues have Sony created for themselves where they can't distribute a bunch of Call of Duty wallpapers worldwide?

If SCEE or SCEA are listening, would you care to explain?

Labels: Burnout Paradise, Guitar Hero, Motorstorm, news, Playstation 3, PS Store, PS3, PSN, Ratchet and Clank, themes, Uncharted

European PS Store updates for 8th November

Another week, another store update. Will it be 'EU > US' three weeks in a row? No. But still a reasonable update anyhow.

If you're wondering why the US won again, it'll be down to a certain adventure title that just got it's demo début in the States.

Not that I'm complaining about the EU update. Have a look for yourself:

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online - full game (£14.99)
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online Upgrade - full game upgrade (£3.49)
Cool Boarders - PS1 game (£3.49)
NFS: PROSTREET - demo (free)
Folklore "Bottom of the sea" pack - add-on (£1.49)
Motorstorm "Devil's Weekend" pack - add-on (£3.99)
Uncharted "Animation Overview" - trailer (free)
PSP Shapes Your World - trailer (free)

A pretty good result I'd say. Highlights for us are the Tekken 5 Online upgrade/game finally, another PS1 title and two great add-ons.

The Motorstorm Devil's Weekend pack includes a new track, nine new races and five new vehicles. The Folklore add-on further extends the game, adds new folks to capture and has a new look for Keats.

The PSP Shapes Your World video is the same brilliant stop-motion piece we featured back in July, but it's great to see it in hi-def.

Labels: Folklore, Motorstorm, news, Playstation 3, PS Store, PS3, PSN, PSP, Tekken, Uncharted

[UPDATE] Uncharted: Drake's Fortune demo region locked; latest news

You'll have heard by now that the demo for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on the US PS Store will only work in North America and Canada. If you've downloaded it for use on a PAL machine, for example, you may be faced with a black screen or a message asking you to insert a disk.

Was it deliberate? Was it a bug? Who knows. What's important is that PS3 owners in their droves headed over to the Official PlayStation Blog and voiced their concerns. Some of them even used ASCII pictures to illustrate their point!

No whilst the initial reaction from SCEA was 'sorry it has happened and you'll all get a localised version of the demo soon', they soon realised the furore that was building and - to be fair to them - have moved fast to change things around.

In a comment post at the PS blog, Sam Thompson says:

Hi guys and gals,

We hear you loud and clear. Wanted to chime in here and let you know that we have shared your frustration with the Naughty Dog team and we are going to see what we can do. I will be back tomorrow with an update, but in the meantime I hope you can be patient and bear with us. As you have learned through communicating with Evan and Amy on the blog, Naughty Dog is a studio that listens to gamers, so I hope to have good news for you soon.

So expect a new version of the demo, or maybe a patch for the existing one, soon. Will the patch come out before the demo is localised and released on our PS Store anyway? Again, who knows.

But since we're the voice of reason here at PS3 Attitude, we just wanted to ask everyone to chill out a little.

SCEA made a mistake. They realised it was a mistake. They're fixing the problem.

What? You never made a mistake in your lives, all you 'blue tongued' commenters? You're all perfect are you and you've never messed up once?

There's no problem with everyone heading over to the blog to say 'no fair Sony', but please could everyone keep it civil and explain in constructive terms why it was a bad idea, rather than just throwing your toys out of the pram. Remember that it could be worse - you could be paying a monthly subscription for all this!

[UPDATE]Christophe Balestra has added a post on the Official PlayStation Blog that apologises for the 'honest mistake'. The good news - the demo is now fixed. You will need to re-download it from the US store, but it should all be fine and dandy now.

Labels: news, opinion, Playstation 3, PS Store, PS3, PSN, Uncharted

Friday, 2 November 2007

US PS Store updates for November 1st

The US Store also saw it's usual update and given the US hasn't been granted any of the PS Eye titles yet (save EyeCreate of course), I feel this is the second week in a row where the EU update is actually better than the US one. Which is remarkable, given what we've had to go through to this point.

Here's the list of available goodness:

Timeshift - demo (free)
Need For Speed Pro Street - demo (free)
Twisted Metal 2 - PS1 game ($5.99)
The Godfather: Don's Edition - add-on content (various costs)
Uncharted "Massive Attack" - trailer (free; and awesome)
Burnout "Annihilator" - trailer (free)
Burnout "Hawker" - trailer (free)
Burnout "Roadster" - trailer (free)
Beowulf - trailer (free)
NF5 Pro Street - TV ad (free)
GT5 Prologue TGS - trailer (free)
PS Eye - trailer (free)
The Bucket List - movie trailer (free)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Anniversary - trailer (free)

Haven't had time to try the demos yet, but I have to say the Burnout and Uncharted trailers are stunning. Uncharted particularly looks outstanding in this trailer.

Labels: Burnout Paradise, GT5, news, Playstation 3, PS Store, PS3, PSN, Timeshift, Uncharted

European PS Store updates for November 1st

"Two weeks in a row" I hear you cry. "Two weeks in a row and the EU store gets some great content".

Keep this up SCEE and we'll let you have the puppy back. He's safe - don't worry - apart from that one hair we sent you.

Here's the full list of updates for the store:

Tori Emaki - PS Eye game (£1.99)
Mesmerize - PS Eye game (£1.99)
Feel Ski - full game (£4.99)
Juiced 2: HIN - demo (free)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 - demo (free)
Motorstorm Revenge Weekend - trailer (free)
PS Eye - trailer (free)
Lair "Call of the Beast" - trailer (free)
Uncharted "Introducing Naughty Dog" - trailer (free)
Uncharted "The Characters and Music" -trailer (free)
Uncharted - wallpaper (free)
Eye of Judgment "How to Play" - trailer (free)
Alien Vs Predator Requiem -movie trailer (free)
Hitman - movie trailer (free)

I have to say that both the PS Eye titles are strangely captivating. Along with Aqua Vita, they strike me as the kind of 'interactive art' that people have been talking about having in their homes for years. Put one on - get a book out - have a read to the sound of your virtual Japanese painting. Nice.

And Feel Ski is remarkably good fun, especially the online mode. A steal at less than a fiver, if you ask me. I bought two double espresso's in London yesterday and it cost me more than that.

Labels: Lair, Motorstorm, news, PES, Playstation 3, PS Eye, PS Store, PS3, PSN, Uncharted

Friday, 19 October 2007

US PS Store updates for 18th October

As per usual, the US store got an update that trumps our EU store. Here's the list of available items:

Calling All Cars! - Game (re-issued at a new price of $4.99 until October 25th)
Folklore - Demo
Juiced 2 - Demo
Devil May Cry 4 TGS - Video
Turok "Dino Luring" - Video
Uncharted "Tech Dive" - Video
Burnout Paradise "Street Wheels" - Video
Rail & Ties - Movie Trailer
Incubus Alive at Red Rocks - Blu-Ray Movie Trailer
Underworld - Blu-Ray Movie Trailer
Eye of Judgment - Wallpapers

Although I'm personally not too excited at Juiced 2, I'm sure a lot of you will enjoy the demo.

Since I gave yesterday's EU store a grade, let's do it again: I give the US update a B (going in the right direction).

Labels: Burnout Paradise, Devil May Cry, Folklore, news, Playstation 3, PS Eye, PS Store, PS3, PSN, Uncharted

Thursday, 18 October 2007

European PS Store updates for 18th October

It's that time of the week again - here's what's new at the EU PS Store:

CTR: Crash Team Racing - PS1 Game
Everybody's Golf 2 - PS1 Game
Syphon Filter 3 - PS1 Game
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam - Demo
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune; The Inspiration - Video
Alien Versus Predator - Blu-Ray Movie Trailer
Lair 'Good Dragon' - Wallpaper
Lair 'Bad Dragon' - Wallpaper

You can keep throwing Uncharted stuff at me - I'm lapping it up. It's certainly one of the games I'm most looking forward to. As far as the rest of the update is concerned, it's nice to see some PS1 games appear, but the rest of the Store is a little uninspiring.

And putting AvP on Blu-Ray isn't going to make that movie any better. Or even remotely good.

I'll give this week's update a C+ grade - 'Could do better'.

Labels: news, Playstation 3, PS Store, PS3, PSN, Uncharted

Tuesday, 9 October 2007

PS3 exclusive Uncharted: Drake's Fortune goes gold in two weeks

Over on the official PlayStation Blog they've announced that Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, certainly one of the most anticipated PS3 exclusives, is only two weeks away from going gold.

For those that don't already know, going gold is video game parlance for 'that's it, we're all done and the master disk is at the production factory'.

The QA team are working furiously in various locations to ensure they hit their deadlines, which is great news for a simultaneous worldwide release. So what do we know about this title already:

1. It's by Naughty Dog who gave us Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, so platforming credentials are all in place
2. You play Nathan Drake who believes he is a descendant of Sir Frances Drake, on the trail of the fabled treasure of El Dorado
3. We know the actual screens are not only as good as the 2006 'target render', in most cases they're better
4. Uncharted gives us rumble straight out of the box, so if you import a DualShock 3 from Japan in November, you'll get to feel the game without waiting for a downloadable patch
5. Nathan shows emotion throughout the game, so you can actually see the fear on his face when he is behind a wall that is being peppered with bullets
6. The game will run at both 720p and 1080i at 30 fps
7. Release date is expected to be late November/early December, with a demo available on the PSN just before release

All in all Uncharted: Drake's Fortune looks like another potential PS3 seller this Christmas along with a host of other AAA exclusives. Looks like everyone else's present money has already been spent - sorry family and friends!

You can pre-order this title from GAME right now.

Labels: news, Playstation 3, PS3, Uncharted

Friday, 24 August 2007

Sony are holding demos hostage

We know you have them Sony. We haven't received the ransom notes yet, but we've already heard that you have a number of demos tied up in a basement somewhere...

Please release the following captives as soon as possible:

Lair
Skate
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Wipeout HD

And we hear that you have just taken a demo of Killzone 2 captive as well.

Please Sony - when will this stop? We beg you to release these demos now or tell us your demands!

Labels: Killzone, Lair, news, Playstation 3, PS3, Ratchet and Clank, Skate, Uncharted, Wipeout