June 28th, 2010
So you thought the PC was the only place you had to deal with buggy betas and patches? Well think again my friends; its time for the briefly-awaited patch for Medal of Honor, the beta that was released to select PS3 gamers recently.
The patch is fairly big and meant to deal with a variety of bugs and problems, including (according to PSU.com):
* Improved performance in crowded environments
* Improved matchmaking configurations
* Various in-game crashes, including a bug around scoreboard access
* Improved join-friend functionality
We like the fixes, but many are reporting even more issues with the game, including medic issues and respawn pauses after death. Here’s to hoping these get fixed as well before the game is released. We can’t say we’re thrilled about the test-patch-test-thing coming to consoles, but we suppose its better than just a buggy game getting released, with no patches possible.
Tags: medal of honor, ps3
Posted in In Development, News | Comments Off
June 27th, 2010
Sonic has been a frequent first console experience for many a gamer, and now Sonic is aiming to ‘jump’ (pun intended) into the new millenium with Sonic 4: Episode 1. There’s now an official preview video posted up for all to see.
It also appears that, unlike the original game, it’s not all going straight ahead as fast as you can. It’s still important to go fast, but in Sonic 4 you can’t just run straightforward to conquer the level. This time you’ll need to jump, use homing attacks and speed dash frequently – and that’s not all there is to it. You’ll also find yourself swinging from vine to vine, running through various loops, and bouncing from bumper to bumper, among other activities.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is scheduled to release on the PS3 Network sometime late Fall or so. No price has been set yet, but we’ll keep you updated as to the status. Want to watch the video? Its right here: Link
Tags: ps3, sonic 4
Posted in Coming Soon, In Development | Comments Off
June 27th, 2010
This is an interesting game with some solid-sounding features released for the PS3 a bit ago from Obsidian Entertainment. Finally, it’s been reviewed by a popular PS3 blog, and the overall opinion: a big disappointment. Bugginess isn’t just for PCs, in case you didn’t know.
Here’s some highlights:
To put it simply, Alpha Protocol is a buggy mess. Every technical issue known to man Alpha Protocol has. This is a shame because the core aspects and ideas are good, however the execution is terrible. Trophy’s refusing to unlock, horrific framerate drops, freezing, screen-tearing, and texture pop-in are many of the issues that plague Alpha Protocol. If you can name it; Alpha Protocol has it. It’s very difficult to enjoy the experience when these types of issues exist, and given the amount of delays, I’m surprised how many issues plague the game. In other games these types of issues are usually tolerable in small doses; however, so many issues exist in Alpha Protocol and in such frequency that it’s almost infuriating. Framerate issues severely hamper the combat and stealth sections. The framerate can drop so much that it affects the players aim and with such an emphasis on combat this is unacceptable. If Alpha Protocol’s framerate was locked at 30 frames a second it would be a significantly better experience. As it is, players will be treated to one of the biggest technical messes this generation.
Well, that’s a shame indeed. It’s rare on any console game that the overall game is really buggy or outright a mess, but that seems to be the case here. It appears the ‘Alpha’ in the name was a very apt description.
The review also indicates that the story and customization is very good, but with the above being said, this might be one to avoid for now.
Tags: Alpha Protocol, ps3
Posted in Review | Comments Off
June 22nd, 2010
Killzone 2 is considered one of the best first person shooters of any generation, so it follows that many were eager to get their grubby hands on the very ambitious sounding sequel. Many of the reports from E3 filtering in indicate that Guerilla Games is working very hard to silence the few critics the original game had.
Here’s a hands-on review from a blog site (written by Robert Strick) regarding the time they spent with it at E3 2010:
The first and most notable difference is how Killzone 3 plays. Gone are the heavy movement, dead weight, and input lag from Killzone 2. The reticule snaps precisely while still managing to keep a sense of momentum. This change is welcome and helps Killzone 3 play much better than its predecessor. One of my biggest complaints with Killzone 2 was the inability to crouch, aim, and reload smoothly. GG have squashed those issues allowing the player to do these actions simultaneously without any issues. It’s these types of refinements that will help keep Killzone 3 on top of the multiplayer charts for years to come.
What about the graphics? It’s no secret that Killzone 2 was one of the graphical powerhouses of this generation and Killzone 3 follows that trend. Despite the game being in pre-alpha, it already looks fantastic. The amount of detail and visual effects are stunning and there’s much more action on screen than there was in Killzone 2.
PS3 users have much to look forward to in early 2011 when the game will be released. It’ll be one we cover when it comes out, no doubt about that.
Tags: Killzone 3, ps3
Posted in In Development, News | Comments Off
June 19th, 2010
A source of great frustration for many new PS3 users has been the lack of an HDMI cable inside the package (even though they aren’t that expensive anymore), but for newbie users its been the stoppage of a great deal of fun. Now Sony has addressed the issue, according to a source:
One thing about the PlayStation 3 that has always frustrated users is the lack of an HDMI cable included in the retail box. But finally, after only about three years of complaints, Sony has finally listened to us. Sony made no formal announcement, but it was instead spotted on Amazon.com in a new LittleBigPlanet Game of the Year Edition Bundle that says an HDMI cable would come included. The bundle is on sale now, so if you’re in the market for an HD-ready console Sony’s got you covered.
We like the change, and the fact that anyone can grab this pack and an HDMI-ready HDTV and be ready to rock and roll.
Tags: HDMI, ps3
Posted in Review | Comments Off
June 10th, 2010
It seems the awaited sequel to the popular Max Payne franchise has once again hit a snag and been delayed, this time for quite awhile. Here’s the scoop, according to a source at a popular blog site:
In December last year we reported that the release date for Max Payne 3 had been pushed back from mid 2010 to late 2010, as per Take-Two Interactive’s fiscal results report for Q4 2009. This morning we took a cursory glance at their report for Q2 2010 only to learn that the game’s launch has been deferred again, this time until fiscal year 2011.
Though MP3’s production appears to be suffering the effects of Bullet-Time, release forecasts for L.A. Noire, Mafia II, Civilization V, NBA 2K11, NHL 2K11 and New Carnival Games stand firm. We’re just guessing, but our suspicion is that the temporally-immune detective’s third outing has been delayed to ensure these titles are released on time and bug-free.
Our guess is it’ll come out for the PS3 around early December or so, based on Take 2’s fiscal situation, but its anyone’s guess at this point. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear more.
Tags: Max Payne 3, ps3
Posted in Industry, News | Comments Off
June 7th, 2010
Love your fighting games fantasy style? PSN/PS3 might have just the ticket for you later this year.
Dark Awake, created by Korean developer Eolith, is a 2D sprite-based fighter that is said to be Taito’s 2004 Chaos Breaker game operating under its pre-release title. It is believed that developer Recom acquired rights to the game, so the name was changed to accomodate its new home.
Including a 22-strong cast consisting of various trolls, barbarians and dwarves guaranteed tough enough to strike fear into the hearts of any joystick warrior, a number of offline and online game types and full Trophy support, this one sounds pretty intense, if early reports are to be believed. There’s a shortage of classic fighting games for the PS3 platform, so we like this one.
Dark Awake will arrive on the Japanese PSN in a few months or so, and it will be priced at ¥2000 or so. According to rumors, the US and European releases schedules are still to be confirmed, but we’re thinking early Winter.
Tags: Dark Awake, ps3, PSN
Posted in Coming Soon, News | Comments Off
June 7th, 2010
Aussie blog site games.on.net recently interviewed Dan Bunting and Mark Lamia, Senior Producer and Studio Head at Treyarch respectively, to speak about Call of Duty: Black Ops, and they had some light bragging and thoughts for the PS3 fans to mull over for their upcoming FPS opus.
It’s clear from the videos leaked that the developer is aiming quite high with this year’s installment of the hugely popular FPS series, vowing to create “the best game [they] can possibly make”, which is truly saying something given the previous history of the series.
The title will include a big action-adventure component, an online multiplayer – of course - and a specially-crafted cooperative mode and of course, the great scoped crossbow we’ve already seen that people are drooling over. All of that sounds pretty amazing.
Tech aspects are also upgraded and include better animation and better overall graphics quality as well with their ‘texture streaming’ thing incorporated into the game as well. We’re definitely looking forward to this one coming out.
Tags: call of duty, FPS, ps3
Posted in Coming Soon, In Development | Comments Off
June 4th, 2010
Sequels can be good and bad, and even the PS3 is no exception. It appears another sequel to a popular
According to Scrawlfx.com, “the latest issue of Portugal’s PlayStation: The Official Magazine is teasing the reveal of inFAMOUS 2 in their next issue.” While this isn’t confirmed, it’s certainly likely given the picture appearing at the end of the magazine.
Like Sal at Scrawlfx.com, we share his concern that E3 may become over-saturated with sequels. Sony looks to have an large amount of titles in various development stages, many of them some form of follow-up or sequel, which isn’t always the best trend for a platform. It depends on the quality, which we’ll see down the road.
What do you think, folks? Are you eager to continue Cole’s adventure, started in the first one? Or did you get enough with the first game?
Tags: inFAMOUS, ps3
Posted in In Development, Industry, Rumours | Comments Off
June 4th, 2010
ZEN Studios released their groundbreaking Planet MiniGolf and its now available on PlayStation Network for $9.99 / 7.99 EURO. ZEN has applied its acclaimed ball physics seen in their pinball titles to Planet MiniGolf, bringing the ultimate mini-golf experience to PlayStation and the PS3. It’ll be interesting to see how things turn out for this experiment.
Here’s an excerpt of the feature list from their website:
• A deep and engaging single player campaign that takes players through fantastically designed courses with over 140 different holes
• Worldwide Tournament Play – Set up personal tournaments with a group of friends or go online up against gamers from around the world!
• Golf Course Editor – Build, manage and share golf courses…make them crazy, challenging and wacky and then upload to share them online!
• Multi-national Game – Countries in the world are represented on the global leader boards – earn high scores for international bragging rights!
We especially like the ability to build and share resources with other players; it takes the console format at large to a whole new level. This is definitely something to keep an eye on in the future.
Tags: Planet Minigolf, ps3
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