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.

The Color Black: Deep Black title announced by 505 Games

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

deep_black_ps3_1.thumbnailNew game release details are something we always enjoy bringing you, and here is yet another example. 505 Games announced an agreement with Russian developer Biart Studio, to publish Deep Black on the PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox360 systems. Here are more details from the company press release coverage:

Deep Black lets players experience for the first time the thrills of a third-person action shooter in an underwater setting.

With the release set for Q1 2011, the unique setting of Deep Black combines action-packed battles with an immersive story line, of complex science-fiction mystery, espionage and bio-terror. Offering realistic physics in an underwater environment brings new “depths” to in-game challenges in Deep Black.

Players will take to the murky depths armed with a wrath of underwater equipment from specialized underwater jet packs with integrated harpoons, mini submersibles and other high tech equipment in pursuit of enemies. With the majority of the game play taking place below the water’s surface, action-adventure fans will need to master new skills to fight hostile enemies and infiltrate enemy bases.

Sounds pretty cool to us, we’ll update you as we hear more, as usual. January 2011 is pegged as the early rumored released date.

Progress Report: Need For Speed – Hot Pursuit

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

img_230402_nfshp_3Criterion Games’ Twitter page has definitely been buzzing since Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was officially unveiled at this year’s E3 Expo, and reports indicate the game is worth waiting for, to be sure.

The British company, who created the highly-successful Burnout series, is on track to restore the Need for Speed franchise to its former glory, and many fans are wanting to find out all they can before the game’s early November PS3 release. Over the last few days, the company’s Tweets have let eager gamers know what could be coming in the near future regarding the game, which is quite awesome.

Here’s a rundown of the some of quick details to be considered noteworthy:

  • Like Burnout Paradise, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will be an open-world game, just bigger and better! Chases will take place all over the game’s map, not on predetermined routes
  • There will be no options to tune or upgrade the game’s cars. Similarly, visual customisation will be very limited
  • Most if not all cars will be exotic by classification, though unfortunately Ferrari will not be appearing in the manufacturer line-up
  • Hot Pursuit will feature two individual campaigns of almost equal length, one for the police and one for the criminal
  • The custom soundtrack feature will be supported
  • Multiplayer modes will be online-only. There will be no split-screen mode
  • A cockpit viewpoint will not be available
We like many of the features so far (lack of a cockpit viewpoint and lack of upgrades kinda makes us sad a bit), but overall we can’t wait. Bring it on!

Gamestop Offer: $200 towards a new PS3 Slim, with old model trade-in

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

gamestop-signHave one of those older PS3 models with the chunky body? Well, Gamestop is here with one of the more interesting solutions/offers out there:

Thats right, Gamestop is offering customers $200 trade-in credit toward a new PS3 slim. The old console must be in working condition, and include both the A/V Cables and a working controller.

Not a bad deal at all, if you ask us…it will encourage more PS3 owners to ‘go slim’, but at the same time, owners with a launch model with backwards capability probably won’t bother with the offer at all. The offer also has a limited time period as well: it ends July 18th, so you’d better hurry if a slimmer model is something you’ve always dreamed of.

No word on whether these traded in models will be resold to other customers later on; our guess would be probably so, in one form or another. It’s a Gamestop thing.

No Extra Content: Assassin’s Creed will be as is, according to reports

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

assassins-creed-brotherhoodFrom what we’ve been reading and recent interviews concerning the project, we’re sorta not shocked, but a little sad to report that it doesn’t look like there is any post-release content in the pipeline for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, the first game to embrace online multiplayer in the series.

Despite the increasingly important role download addons play these days in adding fresh blood to an existing game, Ubisoft is confident there will be enough in Brotherhood out-of-the-box to keep the community interested for a long time. Odds are, it won’t be enough for very long, but we could be wrong.

In a recent interview with video game blog VG247, developer Mathieu Gagnon was quoted:

“There are absolutely no plans for DLC at this time. By ‘no plans,’ I mean I have no clue of the plans. If we have plans, I’m really not aware.”

No shock here. Probably an act of a company a little short on funds to save some cash, and play on an existing name that already has a fanbase. The game is scheduled to be released for the PS3 in early November or so, but we may have to admit: our enthusiasm for the game has diminished a bit.

The Wonderful World of Patches: Medal of Honor Beta

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Medal-of-Honor-2010-BannerSo 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.

Sonic 4 Preview: Episode 1

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

sonic4Sonic 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

Review: Alpha Protocol

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

AlphaProtocol_FINAL_logo_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.