Name: Jon

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PlayStation Move Announced

March 11th, 2010




The PlayStation 3 motion controller was officially dubbed “PlayStation Move” at today’s Game Developer’s Conference. The new motion controller will be made available this fall and will be bundled in three different ways: with a console and PlayStation Eye, with just PlayStation Eye and by itself. The bundle that comes with PlayStation Eye will be available for under $100, and there will be many different games for different audiences available at launch.


PlayStation move is true 1:1 motion tracking, and can be used dually for games requiring the use of things like a Sword and Shield. Fighting games can also be played with two Move controllers so you can fight with both hands. The PlayStation Eye will also track your movement, as it always has, and work together with PlayStation Move to provide an engrossing motion experience.

Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, reiterated today at GDC that PlayStation Move will “enhance” your current PS3 gaming experience, and does not have to “replace it completely.” There will be family games, party games and hardcore games that will make use of the new controller, however the games you have come to love that do not make use of motion control will be available with an option for both PlayStation Move (in most cases) or just DualShock 3.

Expect PlayStation Move to hit this Fall.

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Portal 2 Announced

March 5th, 2010




If you’re an avid Game Informer reader, you’re in for a treat with next month’s issue. Valve has confirmed that Portal 2 is in development, and scheduled for release this year. The game has been teased in the last week or so via some clever Morse code hints and a brand new ending to the first Portal game. While there are not many details as of yet, Game Informer will have a 12-page cover story on Portal 2 including game mechanics, new twists and some of the story.

No word yet if Valve is considering PS3 development, but you can bet on Portal 2 gracing your computer and Xbox 360 sometime later this year.



For the full story at Game Informer, click here.

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SOCOM 4 Unveiled

March 4th, 2010







SOCOM 4 has just been unveiled on the PlayStation Blog by Sr. Community Manager at Zipper Interactive, Jeremy Dunham. SOCOM has always been a PlayStation powerhouse in the past, many regarding SOCOM 3 on the PlayStation 2 as one of the best online titles of the last generation.

For more information on the game and some screens, head over to the PlayStation Blog or IGN.com, who got a chance to see the game first hand.

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New Call of Duty Title Announced

March 2nd, 2010




A brand new Call of Duty title was announced today for release in 2011, being developed by a newly formed studio, Sledgehammer Games. This is NOT the Call of Duty game being released this year by Treyarch, and is NOT being developed by Modern Warfare studio Infinity Ward. Confused yet?

Sledgehammer Games is a new studio formed by former Visceral Games executives Glen A. Schofield and Michael Condrey.

Activision has stated that the Call of Duty franchise is a yearly thing now, and with three of it’s studios working on separate titles, they aren’t kidding around.

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Sony Acquires Media Molecule

March 2nd, 2010




It looks like Media Molecule, developer of the widely successful LittleBigPlanet, will now join the ranks of Sony’s Worldwide Studios network of first party developers such as Naughty Dog (Uncharted 2) and Sony Santa Monica Studios (God of War III). Based in Surrey, England, the developer found success in it’s groundbreaking title LittleBigPlanet, where users are able to create their own levels and share them with friends.

While on the subject of LittleBigPlanet, the game has recently hit a milestone with 2 million user-created levels. Go Sackboy!

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Sony Trademarks “PlayStation Arc”

March 2nd, 2010




Rumors have been going around for a while now about just what the new PlayStation motion controller will be called, the one we saw unveiled at last year’s E3. Two names that have been circulating for some time are “Gem” and “Arc.” Well, it looks like we may have some more evidence of the latter to bring to the table.

Siliconera reports that Sony has filed a trademark for the name “PlayStation Arc” in Japan. Could this be our new motion controller?

Whatever it is, expect Sony’s new motion controller to debut sometime this fall.



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Heavy Rain Review

March 2nd, 2010

Heavy Rain isn’t just a game, it’s an Interactive Drama. This game is not for everyone, and developer Quantic Dream took a huge risk in designing it the way it is. You will get frustrated, you will possibly get angry and you will feel rushed at certain points in the tale. I often found myself cursing out the game for presenting me with an option I did not want, or accidentally not getting a reaction command down resulting in the death of a character.

In other words; this game is amazing. The fact that it can engross it’s player in such a world where your decisions affect the lives of your characters, and do so in a very story-driven and complex way is a feat in itself. Oh, the story. Don’t get me started. Too often these days, Video Games suffer from lackluster storytelling, and focus solely on the gameplay. That’s all well and good for some, but for others like myself, Gaming is an important form of entertainment. As such, I want my experience to not only offer some great gameplay, but a damn good story as well.



In Heavy Rain, you start out as an ordinary guy with a family. Two sons, a wife, and a wonderful house. You’re an architect. You hold your family above all else and they love you for it. The game does start out slow, but Quantic Dream did this to establish the backdrop for the rest of the tale. It is gradual but necissary. The events that unfold in the first parts of Chapter One lay the groundwork for the entire game. Long story short, your ultimate goal is to save one of your sons and find the Origami Killer.



There are many different playable characters, each with their own story and trail they are following to find the killer. The control scheme in this game is different; in fact, I don’t think it’s ever been done before. Though complex at first, you get the hang of it easy and realize the biggest part of the game are the Reaction Commands. You will do your fighting, driving, and running for your life all in these quick Reaction Commands. It can get frustrating, but that’s the beauty in it. If you got into a fist fight in real life, you have split-second decisions you have to make. The control scheme in this game conveys that sense of urgency, as the fight you’re in will not stop for you to wait and figure out what to do next.

While I did notice some grahpical errors here and there, it was nothing devastating or long-lasting. The graphics, overall, are great for a videogame. The facial expressions alone tell you that Quantic Dream spent lots of time and effort getting every detail just right. The game not only plays out like a movie, it actually looks like one, too. Some objects in Heavy Rain’s world are low-res, and can look a little out of place next to everything else. This doesn’t hinder the experience at all, in fact, it reminds me of those old cartoons where you knew an object was going to be moved just by the way it looked.



The game can play out very differently depending on what reaction commands you hit or miss, what decisions you make and who gets killed along the way. Your characters can die depending on what you do, and there are multiple endings. All in all, Heavy Rain is an unforgettable experience, one that should not be passed up by any PS3 owner looking for a game with a great story, and damn good visuals.

Pros:
– Great Story
– New Interactive Controls
– Your actions affect the Story
– Great Visuals
– Great Music

Cons:
– Some Graphical Issues
– Definitely not for everyone

 

Final Verdict:

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FINAL FANTASY XIV Beta Details

March 1st, 2010




Every year, Square-Enix holds an event for Final Fantasy XI fans called “VanaFest.” This time, however, they had more than just live music and information on upcoming Final Fantasy XI updates.

While details have been scarce since it’s announcement, it seems that we can finally get an idea of just when to expect a Final Fantasy XIV Beta event. Square-Enix announced yesterday that on March 1st (that’s today), they will begin contacting select participants who have signed up for the FFXIV Beta Test. Users selected will gain access to a secret Beta website, and will either be selected for the Alpha or Beta test phases.

While they did  not give an official date for when these test phases will begin, the “secret” website in question will be launched on March 11th.

Regarding Final Fantasy XI, Square-Enix has announced that they will gradually increase the level cap to 99 and lots of new content is on the way, including the summons Odin and Alexander.

If you haven’t signed up for the Final Fantasy XIV Beta yet and are interested, head over to FinalFantasyXIV.com.



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PSN Status Update

March 1st, 2010

UPDATE: The issue is now resolved, so get back to gaming! Sony has confirmed that the leap year confused older PlayStation 3′s internal clocks, thus causing all of our problems. That’s for the quick fix, Sony. Good job!

ORIGINAL STORY: The PlayStation Network has been experiencing some difficulty since last night, and Sony is hard at work on a fix for the problem. According to the official PlayStation Blog, the problem is being caused by an internal clock issue in the older PS3 models (not the newly redesigned Slim models), essentially resetting the date on the consoles to 1/1/2000. It’s our very own Y2K Bug! Now, if it was just resetting dates this wouldn’t be much of an issue, however as a result of this “bug,” some games are not playable and you cannot connect to PSN.

Fret not dear PS3 owners, Sony is hard at work on a fix and it should all be resolved sometime today.

Until it is fixed, however, Sony recommends that if you do own an older PlayStation 3, do not turn it on for the time being. Doing so could result in the loss of data, including save files and Trophy information.

For more updates on the issue, visit the PlayStation Blog.



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Call of Duty 7 set in Vietnam

February 22nd, 2010




We’ve known for quite some time that the next title in Activision’s Call of Duty franchise, dubbed ‘Call of Duty 7′ has been in development by Treyarch and should be coming out sometime this year. While rumors have been circulating about the game’s setting, it seems that a Hollywood casting call may shed some light on just where Call of Duty 7 will take place. That’s right folks, you guessed it: Vietnam.

The ad states that Activision is seeking motion capture and voice-over work for a character named Frank Barnes in a “Call of Duty-related videogame.’ Frank Barnes is desribed as a hardened verteran of WWII part of an elite Vietnam unit: the Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (SOG).

Activision has confirmed the release of Call of Duty 7 sometime in the later half of this year, but admits that they don’t expect it to sell as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. They have not yet confirmed the setting of the game, although you can pretty much take the casting call as hard evidence.

Treyarch developed Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty: World at War, and is not the same studio who brought us Modern Warfare 1 and 2: Infinity Ward.




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