Announced during Sony’s presentation at E3 today was the incoming Playstation Plus subscription service. With the continued success of Xbox Live, plans from Activision to implement a subscription model within the Call of Duty franchise, and this latest announcement from Sony, the subscription model is quickly becoming ubiquitous within the game industry. Sony’s announcement was no surprise, having been the stuff of rumour for months, and a total inevitability, considering certain realities. If you imagine a great, serpentine creature twisting, wringing it’s hands and salivating uncontrollably, you probably have a fair understanding of how Sony has observed Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold service for the past several years, and know that this day always existed somewhere in the imminent future.
June 15, 2010
The Brave New World of PlayStation Plus
June 14, 2010
Dead Space 2: Electric Boogaloo
Footage from EA’s press conference is presently being dispersed throughout the internets, and one of the items to filter out is the impending Dead Space 2. What’s obvious is that Visceral would actually like you to use some of your weapons this time around; whereas in the original game your plasma cutter was the only weapon you ever needed—and often the most efficient, too boot—this footage emphasizes the efficacy of some of your other options. The largely combat-ineffective kinesis module from the first game has been revamped; we can see the player sever a bladed enemy limb with the plasma cutter, snatch it up with kinesis and launch it back for an instant kill, quickly and efficiently.
The demo begins with Isaac in a decorative church, a far cry from the strictly function halls and chambers of the Ishimura, and goes on to feature a fantastic view of the Sprawl, the massive space-based city in which the game takes place. If you had your fill of cramped corridors in the original, Dead Space 2 looks to offer superior variety with the same exceptional design. See for yourself after the break.
June 12, 2010
Review – Lost Planet 2
Whether you’re a fan from Lost Planet: Extreme Condition or a new player drawn in by videos of clashing mechs and monsters, response to Lost Planet 2 probably has left you hesitant to render any sort of purchasing decision. I am here to offer you some relief: I can tell you that the calculation can be refined to one variable. That is, precisely how much suffering are you prepared to endure for tremendous action?
June 11, 2010
What is Malicious?
A fair enough question to ask, but all we know so far is that it’s a downloadable PS3 title from Alvion. A Japanese teaser site offers some screenshots, which you can catch after the break.
This news is joined by today’s other Japanese teaser site, from Sony, which the finest minds the Net has to offer wager is another installment of Patapon.
I’m gonna suggest that all this teasing is what’s most malicious at the moment.
June 9, 2010
Your PS3 Can Do This, Tomorrow
Sony’s made it official over at the PlayStation Blog – the HD stereoscopic 3D PS3 revolution begins for North America tomorrow. They also want you to know that the console has always been equipped and ready for this event, which makes me feel that there may be an overdose of who did 3D first chest banging in our future.
Anyone lucky enough to own a PS3 and a 3D television (where do you get your money and can I borrow some?) can check out the following games and demos tomorrow – WipEout HD (full game) – Super Stardust HD (full game) – MotorStorm Pacific Rift (demo) – PAIN (Downtown area and tutorial along with three modes, including two new modes created specifically with stereoscopic 3D in mind, Alien Toss and Ice Breaker).
I’ve heard that Wipeout HD doesn’t include the Fury Pack DLC in 3D. I’ve also heard that if you already own the full games in this list that you can upgrade them for free, which is good, because you’re probably going to be paying off your home electronics bill for quite awhile.
May 24, 2010
Review – Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
It’s difficult to say whether the release of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a response to middling reaction to 2008’s Prince of Persia, or to the imminent release of the film—the truth probably exists somewhere in between. The 2008 series entry was a confused affair; more fun to watch than it was to play, the game featured a unique art style, an intriguing universe and a couple of fun characters, but little actual game. Playing like one massive, unfolding quicktime event , little challenge was offered except to those rabid completionists looking to reach every dubiously placed orb.
The Forgotten Sands fixes many of its predecessor’s mistakes, though I wonder if it was by conscious decision, or merely adherence to the conventions of the previous Sands of Time trilogy. Fans of that trilogy will find the game extremely familiar; all the old trappings are there: the Prince once again finds himself fighting an army of sand creatures, scaling questionably constructed palaces, evading ubiquitous traps, and saving himself from embarrassing falls with the power to reverse time. As someone who loved the Sands of Time games, it was immediately satisfying to sit down with these old conventions and play what, to my mind, constituted the first “real” Prince of Persia game since 2005’s Two Thrones.
May 13, 2010
Review – 3D Dot Game Heroes
The Kingdom of Dotnia was once a tourist magnet, a place where visitors flocked to following the heroics of one brave and mythical figure who overcame evil in the classical tradition society is structured by. Unfortunately for Dotnia, the tourism industry began to suffer as people became less interested in 2D heroics, forcing the King to issue a decree that would push the Kingdom into the 3D frontier.
That decision provides the space for 3D Dot Game Heroes to unleash its block based world of nostalgia on gamers, but also severely depresses the hell out of me.
Rather than a 2D game that attempts to bring audiences back to a realm abandoned by the industry more than gamers, 3D Dot Game Heroes replicates one of the most cherished 2D legends in 3D. It’s one of those ideas you’d have in the shower and chuckle about for awhile after – and then as you realized there was little else to bring to the table you’d probably drop the idea.
Bits of Dragon Warrior drip in at times, but traveling across the overworld of Dotnia to locate dungeons, defeat the boss monsters, and collect the orbs needed to prevent evil from returning is the order of the day for this blocky link to the past.