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 »
Two years after the initial release of Resistance: Fall of Man Insomniac Games brings us the second installment of Resistance.
The game has been hyped as being bigger and better in every way. Now that the game is finally out, does it stand up to the hype machine or leave players aching for just a little bit more?
Resistance 2 picks up right where the first game left off. Nathan Hale is rescued and brought back to the states where the Chimera has refocused their attacks in huge numbers. In a sense HUGE is the word to describe Resistance 2.
Everything about it is huge. From the bosses, to the levels, to the multiplayer etc. Everything really is that much bigger, but not necessarily better. For starters the story is simply not all that good. While the first game had a narrator filling in the gaps between levels.
Resistance 2 relies solely on short cut scenes. They are animated well and make for good eye candy, but in the end they jus... More »
The more complex consoles become, the more weirdy-beardy secret functions are squirreled away inside of them, and Nintendo's latest is no exception.
While most of the Wii's Easter Eggs are specific to certain games - there's a whole trove of 'em in Wii Sports alone - here's seven of the best for the console itself.
1. Email a chum's Wii
You'll need to have a record of those damnably unmemorable friend codes for anyone you want to mail, but once you do it's simple: just drop a message to w[friendcode]@wii.com. For instance, w1234567891011@wii.com.
2. Add a smooth, constant blue glow to your Wii
The blue lighting around the disc slot normally only glows when the Wii's got some sort of announcement for you, and disappears once you've read it. However, you can lend your lounge a sci-fi feel by making that tastefull glow permanent. Just email your own Wii - using the system in the tip above - but never read the ... More »
Just over a week ago, we reported on the BioShock Demo's Texture issues.
Today, 2K Elizabeth (2K Community Manager) has reported that the 2K Development Team is working on a patch for BioShock on the PS3 which should fix all of the visual problems.
For now, she confirmed that two fixes are included relating to the Big Daddy Bouncer and Elite Bouncer Textures Appeared Pixelated and White Bars.
To quote: Hey guys,
I have good news from the dev team about a patch for BioShock PS3! They have been working on a patch to address the concerns some of you on the forum have talked about. As work is in progress I do not have a definite date for when this patch will be released as it needs to be tested and clear certification with Sony before it is scheduled and released. I do know this will not be until after the game’s launch,... More »
Ever since the introduction of the PlayStation Network, I have been complaining about the PSP's inability to support its use. Well it looks like Sony is finally going to make me eat crow, as they announced full PSN integration into the newest PSP firmware update.
Details on PSP firmware 5.0 had been lacking, but Joystiq was able to get hands-on time with the newest update while attending the Tokyo Game Show:
"PSP firmware 5.0 ushers in the PS Store for PSP. With the exception of a separate video storefront, it is functionally identical to the PS3's PS store, including the option to enter PSN Card numbers and voucher codes from within. The final content categories are still being finalized, but the build we tried featured sections for downloadable games, UMD Legacy games, themes, video, and music. SCEA isn't saying whether it plans to offer digital releases all... More »
Per Alan McDermott (Audio Lead, Evolution Studios) via PS Blog today:
Since Day 1, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to put a soundtrack together that would have the right vibe for a festival of racing like MotorStorm. You see, Music is one of those things that no one is ever “wrong” about. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone knows best, but no one is ever wrong!
After countless discussions with various people involved in creating the Festival Infrastructure around the MotorStorm racing events, my challenge was set: I needed to put together a lineup that not only fit with a racing game, but one which could feasibly be the Festival line up to end all Festival line ups.
It had to be Anarchic, Aggressive and Raucous. That was the easy part. The tough part was making sure that the soundtrack became as much a signature of MotorStorm as the racing itself was.
Recently several gamers have been left confused and upset by textures in the BioShock demo for PS3 which looked relatively sub-par.
2K Elizabeth, a 2K Community Manager has commented on the matter by stating that there is an instance where the demo's texture doesn't look too good at all, but this is just an exception and the full game does look amazing on the PS3.
To quote: Hey guys,
First, I want to thank you for the acute attention to detail and the Spartan level of expectation our most devoted BioShock fans hold us to, and how excited you are and attentive to the BioShock PS3 demo. When we saw a post asking about issues found in the demo, we jumped on it immediately. And you know what, you're right.
The texture in the PS3 demo of the downed Big Daddy does not match our level of quality either. This slipped by. We admit it.
However, I want to assure you that this is an exception, and not a rule, and while I r... More »
By now you have likely heard that the highly anticipated Gears of War 2 will not be making its way to your PC. Assuming that you wanted to play it there in the first place, the news may have come as a disappointment to you.
Personally, I don’t play very many games on my PC, with the exception of an obscure MMO called World of Warcraft that you may or may not have heard of. Regardless, according to the PC Gaming Alliance, which I had the opportunity to speak to at the past GDC, the PC gaming population is alive and growing.
Epic Games VP, Mark Rein, is a member of this alliance which also includes representatives from NVIDIA, Dell, Intel, Gateway, and others.
That said, I decided to reach out to Mark and ask him personally about his company’s decision to not release Gears 2 on the PC. Specifically, I reiterated the statements made in a recent interview, by his lead designer (CliffyB if you live under a rock), where he had cited piracy c... More »
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