IGN (linked above) has posted its review of the official Sony wireless keypad for the PlayStation 3, and seems to have a problem with its general design more than anything.
They note that the biggest issue is the top mounted nature of it, but essentially QWERTY keypads for game controllers don't really work that well and its probably best to pick up a microphone and talk.
To quote: But regardless of the poor touch support and ill-advised key design, the biggest issue I had with the Wireless Keypad is that Sony opted to design it as a top mounted add-on. I don't want to seem partial one way or another, but I definitely think Microsoft had it right when they made their keypad attachable between the handles of the Xbox 360 remote.
The keys seem much easier to view and access when they are located just below your thumbs on the thumbsticks. To be fair, the choice in top versus bottom attachment may have been out of Sony's hands. It's possible that Mi... More »
Today, we’re announcing the incredible new Carson Extreme Hotrod.
We’ll be back in the New Year with all the details on this powerhouse racer, but for now we’re keeping it under wraps.
We could tell you that it’s the fastest car in Paradise City – a stripped down, ultra low, overpowered straight line monster.
We could talk about its roots in American Rat Rod culture and it’s wildly exaggerated Hot Rod features, based on a ‘20s Roadster.
We could explain that we’ve rewired Burnout’s vehicle dynamics system, so it handles more intuitively and drifts more realistically than any other car.
We could reveal that it’s the first of a pack of 2 cars designed to re-imagine Burnout Boost. Which explains the blue exhaust flames.
We could do all that, but we don’t want to give away too much. For now, all you really need to know is that this car will give you the ride of your life and in early 2009 yo... More »
Video game consoles left running round-the-clock can send your annual electricity bill soaring. That's probably no surprise for most gamers. But the Natural Resources Defense Council, a New York-based conservation group, has conducted a study of gaming machine energy use to raise awareness among gamers and pressure manufacturers into making more energy-efficient machines.
The NRDC's study found that Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii machines in the U.S. use about as much electricity in a year as every home in San Diego combined. Much of the energy comes from machines that are left on, but not in use, the NRDC said.
Of the three consoles, Sony's PS3 was the biggest energy hog, followed by Microsoft's Xbox 360. Nintendo's Wii is by far the most energy efficient-and even uses less electricity than its predecessor, GameCube.
To quote: With more efficient devices and by utilizing existing power-saving features, consumers ... More »
Per IGN, Famitsu has revealed some new details about Square Enix's new multiplayer RPG 'Blood of Bahamut' today. The game is 40% complete, and the game's producer Eisuke Yokoyama previously worked on Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wing.
To quote: The game's Official site promised over 130 missions for the game without specifying anything about beast count.
In the interview, Yokoyama said to expect over 10 main beast types. With variations in place, there may be up to 150 types. The variations include different target areas for your attacks.
As suggested by the trailer (above), you'll also be facing off against smaller enemies. Those, Toriyama revealed, are small enemies that have been summoned by the beasts. You'll end up facing off against the smaller enemies while you fight the main beast, with no transition between the two fights. One thing you'll have to consider is how to stop the main beasts fr... More »
2K Boston Assistant Producer Keith Shetler shared the following via PS Blog today:
Hey there! What’s that you say? You love challenging gameplay... and failed underwater utopias?
Then prepare to experience the world of Rapture like never before with the BioShock PS3 Challenge Rooms Add-On Content pack available tomorrow, November 20, for $9.99 only on the PlayStation Network.
I’m Keith Shetler, Assistant Producer at 2K Boston, and I’m very excited to introduce two new play modes with this DLC pack: New Game Plus and Challenge Rooms. Both add new twists to the game millions already love!
New Game Plus allows you to start a new supercharged playthrough of BioShock. Ready for this? You begin the game with any weapons, abilities, and inventory that you collected during a previous playthrough. Always wish you could obliterate Dr. Steinman with your uber grenade launcher? Now you can!
- Convert Portable Network Graphics (.png) to C array in header file (.h), works with GRRLIB 3.0 and libwiisprite
- Convert Images (.gif, .bmp, .jpeg or .jpg) to header file (.h), works with GRRLIB 2.0 or less
- Convert XML (.xml) to C array in header file (.h)
- Convert GRRLIB 2.0 (or less) screenshot (.grr) to Portable Network Graphics (.png)
- Load Wii executables files (.dol) from a computer to a Wii with the Homebrew Channel, IP address must be entered in the Settings
- Compile Makefile to (.dol and .elf), you must have "make" available in your path
You just need to drop a file in the list box. If drag-and-drop is not working (Wine), you could simply right c... More »
There's general agreement that Sony stumbled out of the gate with the PlayStation 3. Months of intense hype were followed by a late launch (fully a year after the Xbox 360) and a staggering $600 price tag for the deluxe model.
Even worse, the PS3 didn't initially have any real must-have exclusive titles, and despite the power of its vaunted Cell processor, multiplatform games from third-party developers didn't look appreciably better than the respective titles on the Xbox 360.
Since then, the company's been modifying the PlayStation product line to better fit the competitive market landscape. As of August 2008, a new "bargain" PS3 is available with a larger, 80GB hard drive, and a "deluxe" model is due in November, doubling the capacity to 160GB.
Both, however, lack backward compatibility with PS2 games and do not come with flash card readers. If those features are a must, it might be best to pick up the 80GB "Metal Gear" bundle version on eBay w... More »
Looks like the New Xbox Experience dashboard update is experiencing some not-so-new Xbox woes. November 19: launch day for the NXE update. Not 24 hours after it went live, complaints
are already piling up.
Various forums online (such as the one linked above) have threads and threads of people reporting anything from connection freezes, slow downs, lock ups, broken TV connections, and so many other different numerical errors that, if all of them were strung together, could potentially measure all the way from Earth to the moon (and back).
There are even reports of brickage - yes, the famed red ring of death is back. Some say it's limited to modded consoles only (no surprise there) but other untainted units seem to be affected by the same problem too.
We've yet to hear any official response from Major Nelson or any of the Microsoft staff. Some say the slow downs are caused by the simple fact of surging traffic accessing XBL, but the oth... More »
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