Upcoming Title Preview: FIFA 2011

Friday, August 20th, 2010

FIFA_2010The PS3 is known for some very cool sports sims with amazing graphics, and the upcoming soccer (or ‘football’, as its know across the pond) title from EA FIFA 2011 is no exception certainly. We’ve heard thru the grapevine (the grapevine in this case being several well known PS3 blogs) that FIFA11 will arrive on the PS3 on October 1st, 2010, give or take.

Seeing some of the screenshots for the game, we’re super jazzed about its release. The World Cup should have whetted your appetite for what’s often called ‘the beautiful game’ around the world.

Take a look at this: Link

More news and possibly a review coming down the line in the near future for this one.

A History: The Playstation and its evolution

Monday, August 16th, 2010

PlayStation_1_2_and_3PS3 Vault has a fascinating history of the PS and how its evolved with the tastes and trends of gaming. It’s actually a nice, well-written bio of the platform and its various forms, from its humble beginnings in 1994 to its current form as the boundary-pushing PS3.

An excerpt:

When you consider Sony’s current hold on the gaming market, you would be forgiven for thinking they have been in the console game since day one. However, despite their success over the past two decades, Sony were considerably late arrivals in the console market, but it took the electronic giants little time to play catch up when their first generation console arrived across the globe in 1994. With SEGA and Nintendo leading the gaming market in the late 80s and early 90s, Sony entered into fierce competition, when they announced the development of their own console system – named The PlayStation (or PS One as it’s more commonly known today).

Feel free to read this over and gape in amazement: Link

Release Details: Gran Turismo 5 Collectors Edition Info

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

GT5-special-1jpgToday on the PlayStation 3 EU Blog, Penrose Tackie – European Brand Manager for PlayStation EU has given many juicy details about the upcoming epic GT5 racing game for the PS3, and here’s the skinny:

“I am absolutely delighted to be able bring what will hopefully be very exciting news to those patiently (or impatiently) waiting for more information on Gran Turismo 5. During E3, our American colleagues unveiled their rather tasty looking Collector’s Edition. Today I can now confirm the special editions of Gran Turismo that will be heading Europe’s way later this year.

First up, we have a very special version of the game; one that, with its artfully sculpted exterior, glossy black finish and meticulously designed premium content, exemplifies everything the Gran Turismo brand has always stood for – beauty and precision.”

Pictured is the Collectors Edition, which won’t be cheap (€179.99 EU price), but will come with loads of exclusive goodies, including:
  • Metal sculpted box finished in SLS AMG Obsidian Black
  • Exclusive GT branded SLS AMG 1:43 model car
  • GT leather wallet containing Signature Edition competition entry card
  • Branded USB key with Polyphony/Mercedes-Benz trailer
  • GT branded metal key fob
  • Signature Edition coffee table book featuring the beautiful cars and locations of Gran Turismo 5
  • 200 page Apex drivers magazine with hints on driving technique, car tuning, future technologies and more

Trailer: Mafia II

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Mafia-II-1Yes, its coming, and yes it will be pretty impressive, from E3 previews and reports filtering in through various blogs and sources. Now can safely bring you a full-on trailer of the game in all its glory (barring any last minute changes and additions, which anyone who follows games or has worked in the industry knows is pretty much standard operating procedure) via GameTrailers.

Here’s the link to the trailer, in various formats: Link

Check it out and we’ll soon be bringing you more of an in-depth preview of the PS3 version when we get a chance.

Coming Soon: Explodemon explodes on the PS3

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

explodemon-PS3.thumbnailPS3 owners will be treated to the release of Explodemon!, which will be hitting PlayStation Network with a bang this early Q4, and it’ll be interesting to see how it performs.

More about via their website:

Explodemon! is a 2.5D platform action game brought kicking and screaming into the HD era. Influenced by classic Japanese games from the golden era of the SNES, players use Explodemon’s self-destructive nature to combat enemies and fly through the air, all the while solving a huge variety of physics-based puzzles (and, naturally, causing incalculable collateral damage).

When the peaceful planet of Nibia is attacked by the malicious Vortex forces, the fate of the star system is thrust into the one pair of hands it shouldn’t be: the malfunctioning Guardian robot Explodemon. His comic quest to repel the onslaught and restore peace will take him across three distinct planets over twelve levels, with new abilities and gameplay mechanics introduced throughout.

We like the description: sort of a Japanese platformer combined with elements of Myst and a dash of Final Fantasy. We’ll update as this story warrants.

Seasons (and Features) Change: inFamous 2 once again changing

Monday, July 26th, 2010

infamous2According to IGN, our beloved protagonist Cole McGrath will be under-going another character transformation, and game feature/art will be changing and being added to (once again), and quite late in the production process. The tale of this game being made has already been a roller-coaster ride in the best and worst sense of the word, as the direction seems sorta wandering as it is now. But hey, some of the best games get made on the seat of the producers pants, we figure.

The PS3 version (according to Gaming Everything blog) will have the following game changes:

  • Comic cut-scenes from the first game are returning
  • New cut-scene was shown at Comic-Con
  • inFamous 2 being made faster because a number of tools from the first game have already been developed
  • inFamous 3 not ruled out, but the team says they are still working on the second game
  • Not set in stone whether or not saves will carry over
  • City in inFamous 2 chosen because they wanted players to recognize the setting easily, and Empire City was mostly destroyed
  • Ideas for powers in the first game that weren’t used haven’t really come into play for the sequel
  • Fan feedback have influenced inFamous 2, including people’s opinions of Cole and his voice
  • Should be able to move about the city more quickly with new abilities
  • On multiplayer: No announcement today, but fans were told to “stay tuned”

Interesting decisions all the way around, we think. We’ll see how it turns out.

Update: Mafia II demo coming to PS3 August 10th

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

Mafia_2_PS3.thumbnailIt seems that 2K Games has announced that its upcoming big-time action crime game, Mafia II, will have a demo you can download available worldwide on August 10 for the PS3, among other platforms. Here’s is the company’s promo announcement for your reading pleasure:

Set in the fully realized and immersive 1940’s and 1950’s American urban cityscape of Empire Bay, soon all gamers will be able to experience the meticulously crafted atmosphere, intense shooting and driving gameplay, and character narrative in Mafia II that is set to be released on August 24 in North America, August 26 in Australia and August 27 around the world.

The Mafia II demo invites gamers to dive into the “Buzzsaw” level, where Vito and his buddies, Joe and Henry, are sent to take out a mobster known as “The Fat Man”. While the epic game spans two decades, the Buzzsaw demo takes place during the summer of the ‘50s – a time considered the “Birth of Cool”, and with it, rock ‘n’ roll, hot rods, and rebellious attitudes. The demo showcases the type of vibrant edge-of-your-seat action, as well as a slice of the expansive city of Empire Bay in the colorful era.

We are certainly looking forward to seeing how this plays and looks.

News: Castlevania – Lords of Shadow to release this year

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

castlevania_lords_of_the_shadow_ps3boxIt seems the news of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for the PS3 being pushed back to 2011 wasn’t accurate, as a recent announcement has it pegged as late this year, and the box art and early details have been released for public ogling.

The folks over at Konami were kind enough to finally announce a release window for the highly anticipated title Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. When will it release? A specific release date has not been announced, however we can expect this title to released sometime in mid-October or so.

Here’s the (preliminary) box art for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow as the pic accompanying this article. It’s pretty spiffy and the early word on the game is that it will introduce lots of new elements to the gameplay, and some truly breathtaking graphics being on display as well.

First Comment: Assassin’s Creed 3 Details

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

assassins-creed-2-flight-5-590x442Many have been waiting anxiously for more details (official ones anyway) regarding AC3 for the PS3, and now we finally have word about its direction and general details about where the project is headed:

Production Manager Jean-Francois Boivin spoke for the first time about Assassin’s Creed 3, confirming that it will feature a new setting and a new protagonist.

Unlike Ubi’s approaching Assassin’s Creed entry Brotherhood, the fourth title in the series will wave farewell to Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Renaissance Italy: “Assassin’s Creed 3: new setting, new hero. That’s the way it works. We know what we’re doing; we’ve had a plan for a long time about where this license is going to go.”

The project has had some controversy and turmoil (the departure of Creative Director Patrice Desilets a month ago for example) but is now on track for a early 2012 release, according to reports and rumors. We’ll update you of course, if this changes.

Whitewashed: White PS3 rumored to be arriving in US, already coming to Japan

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

white-ps3Haven’t you ever wondered if classic black is the only color option available for the PS3? Up until now, there wasn’t another choice (without the use of spray paint that is).

Well now you can buy a white PS3 model in Japan, and possibly the United States and Europe very soon.

Not only is Sony bringing a new “classic white” color to the marketplace, they are also bringing two new hard drive builds: 160GB and 320GB models. They say that these will be replacing there older 120GB and 250GB ones at some point.

The new units will be going for about ¥29,980 or $350 USD for the 160GB, and ¥34,980 yen or $400 USD for the 320GB. According to reports, these will be arriving July 29. It’s not yet clear if we will definitely be getting these in North America and Europe, but a Sony spokesperson has made this statement publicly (which means very little, we realize):

“We will consider every possibility based on the market demands, but have nothing to announce at this point in time.”

Hopefully Sony considers us deserving folks in the US for the new slick color scheme.