Title Update fixes



1. Graphical Glitches: Minor stuff, like Valkyrie feet sinking into the ground and floating bodies. Smoothing out the cutscene animations would be nice but I realize that may be too large of an undertaking.



2. God-Awful Menu SFX and Sound Loops: the Equipment and Stats menu screens make my ears bleed. 'Nuff said.



3. Sound Options: This omission puzzles me to no end.



4. Advanced Online Matchmaking: Let me search for games based on other players' levels and include a message for the type of game that I am hosting, such as doing a level run or playing to get an Achievement.



5. Coat of Polish: This is harder to put my finger on. Menu navigation needs to move faster. I also really wish there were notifications for completing rune quests and finding the last piece of an armour set. Show me the most recent batch of loot that I've picked up in the Equipment screen, sorted from most powerful on down. Little things like this...


And on the DLC side of things:


6. Expand the Number of Players in Co-op: If not 4, then at least experiment with 3. Even playing 2-player, I've noticed that the action can reach intense levels and kill poaching can be a small issue. With 4 amped-up Level 50s sliding around, I'm sure that would present some design issues... readily fixed by scaling up the difficulty of enemies but, how would the frame rates and net code be affected? With Denis Dyak slyly hinting at the possibility of increased co-op fun, it's likey not as big a design problem as some make it out to be. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



7. New Enemy Types: A new critter doesn't even have to be that unique. Do a nastier variation of the trolls or driders or goblins. Do a minor palette swap but give them a cool new ability to combat.



8. Bonus Challenge Areas OR a New Stage to Beat: I would love to continue Baldur's adventures just a little bit longer before warping back to the Hall of Heroes and having to do it all over again. A fifth bonus act doesn't have to be that fleshed out or large... just make it memorable and fulfilling for players to fight through.

• Everyday Shooter [PSP]
  
• Heavy Rain [PS3]

• Pipemania [PSP]
• Pure [PS3]
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed [PS3]
• Yggdra Union [PSP]

• Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty [PS3]

Continue reading PS Fanboy Week in Review: 8/18 - 8/24

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Sony unexpectedly unveiled a new version of its PSP handheld and a free music video streaming service today at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany.

Another new revision of the PS3 console was also announced with a 160GB hard drive, and Sony showed a new virtual pet game that uses the PlayStation Eye camera as well as upcoming exclusive Heavy Rain.

The new iteration of the PSP will be known as the PSP 3000 and sold alongside the existing "Slim and Lite" model. It has the same dimensions and features except for a built-in microphone and an enhanced LCD which offers increased colour reproduction, higher contrast and reduced glare via anti-reflection technology, making it more suitable for outside play.

The new unit will be launched on October 15 in Australia and bundled with a game.

Two weeks later on October 31, a new 160GB version of the PlayStation 3 console will be available for a limited time. In Europe it will cost 449 Euros (a 50 Euro premium on the 80GB version) but will include 70 Euros of downloadable content. Australian pricing has not yet been revealed.

Another piece of hardware will be available before the end of the year - a wireless keypad that snaps onto a Dual Shock or Sixaxis controller just like the Xbox 360's handy Chatpad. It should prove a boon for multiplayer LittleBigPlanet sessions as well as the upcoming PlayStation Home service.

The free VidZone music streaming service will be available to Australians early next year and is separate to Sony's video download service, which recently launched in the US and is scheduled for Australia and Europe in the third quarter of 2009.

Sony research has found that music playback is the most used feature of the PlayStation 3 after gaming, and VidZone will allow users to choose from thousands of music videos and create custom playlists for parties. The service will feature artists from a variety of record labels (not just Sony content) and will feature advertising.

Songs can be be freely accessed on PSP via the handheld's Remote Play Wi-Fi feature or downloaded to your mobile phone (either as video files or simply music tracks) "for a small fee".

A new massively multiplayer online game in development by Sony Online Entertainment was also unveiled. Free Realms is a fantasy title aimed at a much younger audience than traditional MMOGs.

Sony recently changed its business structure, bringing Sony Online Entertainment under the Sony Computer Entertainment umbrella, and both upcoming PS3 and PC versions of titles like The Agency and DC Universe Online will now be distributed by SCE.

LittleBigPlanet was confirmed for Australian release on October 29. The game is currently in beta testing and users are continually surprising developers Media Molecule with the scope and variety of their creations.

Sony is hoping for a similarly broad audience for the latest project from the London Studio, which created EyeToy and SingStar. Due next year, EyePet: Your Virtual Pet lets users interact with a three-dimensional pet via the PlayStation Eye camera, such as speaking to the critter or stroking it.

EyePet also uses technology shown to Screen Play earlier in the year, with users able to draw toys for their pet to play with and then watch them come to life in three dimensions. In the video demonstration shown, a user drew a car on a piece of paper, held it up to the camera to "scan", then seconds later the car transformed into 3D and was able to be driven around the screen.

Another PlayStation 3 exclusive due next year is Heavy Rain, in development by French studio Quantic Dream, creators of Fahrenheit and The Nomad Soul.

Writer and director David Cage believes people want more mature and emotional games that tell more sophisticated and complex stories.

He says Heavy Rain lets players be both actor and director at the same time, presenting them with moral choices that have significant consequences. He says the game is accessible yet offers a very different experience to other titles.

The audience was assured that everything in a video shown was in realtime, and the astonishing character animation suggests the uncanny valley might have been successfully crossed.

But little was revealed of the actual gameplay mechanics except that it seems Fahrenheit-style Quick-Time-Events are being used, such as in a scene where the protagonist is attacked by a knife-wielding bandit and regular button presses were demanded to avoid his swipes. Screen Play will know more after a session with the game tomorrow.

Sony also had pleasing news for long-time SingStar owners. Users of the PS3 versions of the game will soon be able to finally access tracks from their PS2 discs thanks to an upcoming firmware update.

SingStar Volume 3 is in development for PS3, and will include cheesy, crowd-pleasing artists like Michael Jackson and Barry Manilow. Queen song packs featuring five tracks each will also be available from the SingStore in September.

Music games certainly dominated day one of this year's Games Convention.

Both Konami and Activision dedicated plenty of time in their press conferences to Rock Revolution and Guitar Hero World Tour respectively. The latter's astonishingly deep music creation tool was demonstrated in detail, and looks to provide amazing flexibility for recording and sharing your own music.

Activision also revealed that the Wii version of World Tour will let players use their Mii characters and play drums using their Remote and Nunchuk in a special Freestyle mode.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 stand at Games Convention is also dominated by a huge rock stage and many glass booths dedicated to Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour. The company is obviously keen to highlight their strength in the burgeoning music game genre.

Earlier in the week, Sony pleasingly revealed on the official US PlayStation blog that it would ensure that expensive peripherals for music games, which are growing enormously in popularity and helping to widen the audience for interactive entertainment, would be fully compatible on the PlayStation 3 platform.

Michael Shorrock, Director of Third-Party Relations at SCEA, says drum sets and guitar peripherals from Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution (along with the SingStar microphone) will be compatible across the various titles.

Sony is also working on making currently available Rock Band and Guitar Hero peripherals compatible with each other.

"For the past several months, we have been working closely with Neversoft and Activision, Harmonix and Konami to ensure that PlayStation 3 guitars and drum sets will all feature a basic level of gameplay compatibility," wrote Mr Shorrock on the PlayStation blog.

"For the most part, this means that the titles with musical peripherals will work with the other's software. Of course each of these great games have their own specific cool features that may not be compatible with the other controllers, but this is our first big step in bringing a level of compatibility to music games that is sure to benefit PlayStation 3 consumers."

Chris Paladino from Microsoft then used the Gamerscore Blog to confirm the same was true of the Xbox 360 versions.

"For the record, we also do that, so consider this an official announcement," he wrote. "All the instruments from Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, and Rock Revolution will be cross-compatible."

And at today's press conference, Activision also confirmed that peripherals for World Tour would be compatible with other music games regardless of the platform.

Electronic Arts held the first press conference of the day in Leipzig and made the long-awaited announcement that the EA Sports label will finally be producing a tennis simulation.

Tennis 2009 will feature all the Grand Slams, including (exclusively) Wimbledon, and both current and past tennis champions. The Wii version will use the Motion-Plus peripheral.

FIFA 2009 was also demonstrated, and features a free "Live Season" subscription for the 2008-2009 football season which updates player data weekly according to their performance across six of the world's biggest leagues. PS3 and Xbox 360 owners will also be able to enjoy 10-on-10 online multiplayer matches.

A February 20 release date for The Sims 3 was revealed, along with the surprising announcement that it will be available as a digital download as well as on disc.

Konami used their press conference to unveil a new action adventure called Lords of Shadow, which will be released for PS3 and 360 in early 2010. Described as a "dark fairytale", its hero wields a retractable chain.

This year's Games Convention is the biggest yet held in the event's seven-year history. More than 500 exhibitors are occupying an area the size of 16 football pitches (115,000 square metres). Over 250 products are being shown for the first time in the world, and events include last night's outdoor "Video Games Live" classical music concert.

There has also been more press interest on the show from around the world this year, with over 3000 journalists attending from 50 countries.

Organisers are expecting around 200,000 visitors to attend the expo, which closes Sunday.

Many attendees are camping nearby and enjoying a huge open-air festival which offers the chance to chill-out after a long day at the show enjoying bands and local DJs or sports competitions.

Screen Play will have much more news from Leipzig tomorrow and next week.

Jason Hill is attending the Games Convention in Leipzig as a guest of Sony Computer Entertainment.

Here’s a bit more on the Dark Legend version coming for the Wii:

Dark Legend will feature an original tongue-in-cheek storyline penned by award-winning games author Rhianna Pratchett, and is set to include a host of old and new franchise-favorite characters, including Halflings, trolls, elves and dwarves, as well as new wicked witches, gingerbread men, and Lil’ Red Riding Hood, “the seeming sweet girl with a very personal lupine secret.”

The Overlord franchise sparked to life on Xbox 360 in 2007 and immediately drew comparisons to Nintendo’s own Pikmin because the main character, although very different from Captain Olimar, controlled his squad of minions around the world very similarly to the way Olimar did the Pikmin. Players used the second analog stick to move the Minions about like a wave.

Of course, Overlord Dark Legend will make full use of the Wii remote to further enhance the experience. According to Codemasters, the Wii remote enables “unprecedented control over the minions.” Using the controller, gamers can pluck a minion from the horde, hold him by the neck and shake him around, “throttled to imbue him with some Overlordly power and turn him into a manic minion missile.” Now charged with an explosive body, the in devilish critter can be guided into enemies with “hilarious, if rather fatal, consequences.”

There’s much more talk over at the IGN link so check it out if you’re interested.

My last iPhone review blitzkrieg left my phone-hand tired and my mental facilities numb. I became aware that the iPhone has the propensity to have both bright, vibrant and decently fun games. I was also shown just how cheap and flimsy they can be as well. Recently, I’ve had a chance to test a sampling of publisher Project X’s offerings. Overall, I am fairly disappointed.

I should have known that I would be displeased with the titles. When I plugged my iPhone into iTunes after downloading the games, my iPhone stopped working. It froze and refused to accept the goodies that Project X bestowed upon me. After several hard resets and three memory clears I was finally able to play. The problem is, the games I went through all the memory wiping work for were Critter Crunch, Pinball RC, Reel Deal Slots, and Reel Deal Texas Hold’em.

Hit the break for all of the reviews.

Only real men wear pink, and only real gamers wear geeked out accessories. That’s right, if you are a male and consider yourself hardcore but you aren’t wearing your gaming heart on your sleeve, get the hell out. Or you could just refer to this handy guide about some awesome video game-themed cufflinks. Either way works.

While the Wii is traditionally known as the casual gamer’s console, being dedicated enough to wear sterling silver cufflinks in the form of a wiimote and nunchuk qualifies you as suitably hardcore. The only way you could be more hardcore is if you tattooed Mario on your ass. Thinking about it though, I’m not sure which is hotter. I may have to go with the ass, only because it comes with balls.

Nothing says, “I’m a classy old school gamer” quite like these hand-sculpted wire and aluminum Pac-Man cufflinks. Plus you automatically get the multitude of delightful sexual innuendos that Pac-Man has been bringing us since the ’80s. Don’t tell me you can’t hear those pellets screaming “Eat me!” and Pac-Man happily obliging. Oops, that wipes out the whole classy part, doesn’t it? Oh well, at least you still have old school.

Anybody caught wearing these adorable polymer clay cufflinks modeled after our favorite Xbox 360 controller is sure to unlock an achievement for being irresistibly hot. That person would probably have an increased likelihood of scoring some bedroom achievements as well. That’s right, take note. A man that’s not afraid to show his geeky side is a mighty attractive thing.

Showing off the fact that the PlayStation is your console of choice with these miniature controller cufflinks says two things, one that you have a buttload of money and two that you can watch Blu-ray movies whenever your little heart desires. Yup, that HD DVD Player can kiss your ass. So you’re rich, intelligent, and a gamer? I’ll take two please. Actually, make that three. Now that I think about it, maybe four would be good. Ah hell, just make it a baker’s dozen.

Nope, I can’t get enough of the Pac-Man cufflinks. Or maybe it’s the sex jokes I am addicted to. Either way, that little ball shaped critter sure does love to gobble up cherries, doesn’t he? Don’t worry though, his female counterpart can swallow those ghosts whole. Why else did you think they make such a perfect couple? Om nom nom nom.

Despite the fact that this entertaining video came out over two years ago, I was not even remotely familiar with it until this morning. Now we are intimate friends however as I have already watched it several times over. Titled “Hamster Stuck in a Video Game“, it’s exactly what it sounds like and so much more. Beyond being unbelievably adorable, it is also quite hilarious. The video runs slightly longer but the hot hamster action only lasts for two and a half minutes so watch it in its entirety. I’ll risk a minor spoiler by telling you that the video concludes with the hamster teleporting to a mysterious place. I’m pretty sure I know where the furry little critter is going though. Straight into Richard Gere’s ass.

Source [Digg]

Splatterhouse 2, Wild West Guns and Sonic the Hedgehog; what a combination of games for this week’s Wii-kly update.

Splatterhouse 2 is a romp through a haunted house with weapons of chunky destruction. Since most of your enemies are already dead anyway, it’s all good. You and a partner can compete to see who’s the fastest draw in Wild West Gun. Just don’t shoot the pesky innocent by standers that always manage to get in the way.

Sonic the Hedgehog brings back fond memories of playing with friends and bubbly beverages on New Years Eve into the morning light. This however is not that Sonic. It a new and improved edition of the classic Sega exclusive featuring new stages, bosses, some different zones and a level map. Those elusive Chaos Emeralds are now hidden in certain stages outside the traditional “special stages.” Check out the title that hooked gamers on the fastest critter since Speedy Gonzalez.

Complete descriptions for all three games follow the break.

WiiWare

Wild West Guns (Gameloft, 1-2 players, Rated T for Teen—Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Draw your revolver to see if you’re the fastest gun in the West. Adjust your speed and precision as targets or enemies appear in front of you. Point and shoot to earn more points. You can aim at anything, so be sure to explore the environment for elements that will earn you more shooting points. Identify your enemies among the characters you encounter, but don’t shoot at innocent citizens. Take part in an Old West-style train attack, or challenge your skills in a variety of increasingly difficult shooting challenges in other beautiful, classic and lively Western environments. As you progress through challenges, you’ll earn medals and rewards, making for nonstop, addictive action. Play in a two-player multiplayer mode where you and your partner can combine points, or play against each other to
find out who’s the fastest gun in the West.

Virtual Console

Sonic The Hedgehog™ (Sega Master System, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Based on the original Sega Genesis version, Sonic The Hedgehog was re-created as the first Sonic game for the Sega Master System. Not just a straight port, this version includes new stages, bosses, some different zones and a level map. The most noticeable difference, however, is that the Chaos Emeralds have to be found within certain stages other than the Special Stages. Dash through six Zones (including special zones that were only available for the Sega Master System version) and face Dr. Eggman (a.k.a. Dr. Robotnik) at the end of every Zone.

SPLATTERHOUSE™ 2 (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated M for Mature—Blood and Gore, Violence, 800 Wii Points): SPLATTERHOUSE 2 is the sequel to SPLATTERHOUSE, released only on the Sega Genesis. A few months after escaping from the first mansion in SPLATTERHOUSE, the main character, Rick, once again encounters the Terror Mask and must use its powers to rescue his beloved Jennifer. Rick will need to punch, slash, smash and even chainsaw his way through a haunted mansion against unspeakable horrors and terrifying bosses to make it out alive.

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