onAXIS: 10/05/07

Friday, October 5, 2007

Project Origin: Demo Walkthrough HD

Are you ready for the sequel to F.E.A.R.? Ready for 17 minutes of video footage of Project Origin? Well, if your not, too bad, because it's right here.

[Via IGN]

IGN: Kane & Lynch Multiplayer Hands-On

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men's new multiplayer mode is dubbed "Fragile Alliance". The blend of co-op and head-to-head multiplayer action makes team killing part of the strategy. IGN's hands-on with Fragile Alliance details the bank robbing, loot gathering, double crossing gameplay very well.

Tou're going to need to grab as much cash as you can and make it out alive.When all is said and done, the total loot is distributed evenly. However, the fewer players you have alive at the end, the more spoils the survivors net.

[Via IGN]

Turok: Official Boxart Revealed?

Thanks to a tip from GameTrailers forum members, I noticed that the GameSpot page for Turok featured a boxart, and that is the one above.

No word yet if this boxart is official, but GameSpot never usually displays fake ones like they are online retailers.

[View: Turok @ GameSpot]

GameSpot Reviews Folklore a 7 out of 10

GameSpot's review for Folklore is in, and it has another 7.0 out of 10. The reviews for this game are very odd, because we got a 9 out of 10 from IGN and two 7 out of 10's so far. Here are the good and bads.

The Good
Intriguing, complex murder mystery
It's fun to suck the souls out of your enemies
Varied enemy design requires use of all the different folk attacks at your disposal
Good use of Sixaxis functionality.
The Bad
Linear, confined areas are separated by frequent loading screens
Comic-inspired cutscenes are lifeless
Playing the same areas as two different characters gets repetitive.

Read the full review at the link below.

[Read: Folklore Review]

1080p: 24 PLAYSTATION 3 vs. 2 Xbox 360

MakeYouGoHmm wrote an article on how many native 1080p games that the PlayStation 3 has compared to the Xbox 360. View the two lists below:

PLAYSTATION 3 - 1080p
All Pro Football 2K7
Blast Factor
Calling All Cars
College Hoops 2K7
The Darkness
Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer
flOw
Full Auto 2 Battlines
Harry Potter
High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition
LocoRoco Cocoreccho!
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
MLB The Show
NBA ‘07
NBA Street Homecourt
NBA 2K7
Ninja Gaiden
Pirates of the Carribean
Pixeljunk Racers
Piyotama
Super Stardust HD
Transformers The Movie
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
Virtua Tennis 3
Xbox 360 - 1080p
NBA Street Homecourt
Virtua Tennis 3

Looks like the PlayStation 3 has the Xbox 360 beat at 1080p games, but that does not excuse them for a feature lacking PlayStation Network.

[Via MakeYouGoHmm]

Crysis: May Come to PLAYSTATION 3 & Xbox 360

"Console gamers hopes of playing Crysis on PS3 or Xbox 360 may rest on the success of the PC version of the title" says Crytek boss Cevat Yerli.

While Yerli told Game Informer “there is no development on consoles” for the time being, he did say that if the game was well received on PC it would boost the possibility of the shooter appearing in console form.

“What happens next we haven’t decided yet, because first we want to see how the game is received, publicly and critically… We believe it will be received at least as strong as Far Cry. I hope personally a 5% average increase… That would give us an argument to [say], ‘OK, let’s see how we can bring Crysis to consoles’. The engine right now is running on consoles so there’s no reason why we couldn’t.”

While Yerli noted that console shooters were still half a decade behind PC shooters, he spoke of ways in which Crysis could successfully be translated to next-gen systems.

“In order to make Crysis’s gameplay [on console] you would have to make a derivative Crysis and optimize it for the Xbox 360 and PS3. In fact, if we do it, we’ll optimize it for each platform… If we would bring it to console we would keep the sophistication. … We would not dumb down the experience.

“The AI and our gameplay dynamic is our heart. We can’t change that. If you change that, you lose Crysis… You have to work it on the UI level, on the level design level, but do not change the heart. If the game is too difficult, make sure the UI can compensate for it. Or if the AI is too difficult make sure the level design offers more leeway and covers for the player. But the core gameplay is intensive, smart and still challenging.”

The highly anticipated FPS will be released for PC on November 16.

[Via Next-Gen.Biz]

X-Play's Morgan Webb Hands on With LittleBigPlanet

X-Plays' Morgan Webb gets a hands on with LittleBigPlanet and its creator, and all looks positive and well in this little world. Enjoy.

[Via GameTrailers]

Uncharted: Drake's Shootouts

Naughty Dog's upcoming game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is looking better and better by the video. We are really psyched for it's release and hope we will get to do a review on what looks to be a masterpiece. Enjoy the videos.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

The Orange Box: On the TV

Are you preparing for Valve's upcoming Orange Box? Well, we are. View the commercial to get more exicted.

The highly stylized ad offers all of EA's TV expertise (who is publishing the compilation on disc) and Valve was more than happy to give us a copy of the ad upon request. Remember, the 10% off deal for the game ends early next week. Rather than talk, here's the TV ad.

[Via GameDaily]

Grand Theft Auto 7 Not a PlayStation 3 Exclusive?

If you seen our post a few down on how Grand Theft Auto 7 will be a PlayStation 3 exclusive, you'll know the situation. 1P Start explains why this is most likely false. They

First off, if you want to get technical, Grand Theft Auto 4 is already the 9th game in the long-running franchise (Not counting the GTA London games):

Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto 2

Grand Theft Auto 3

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto Advance

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

And now, we have GTA IV. Secondly, the first part of that quote. When I read it, it sounded very familiar. Like I’ve heard it before. So, I went to my good friend, a Mr. Griswold Oogle, and had him look into it for me. You know what they found?
We have had incredible success with the GTA franchise and are happy to continue to offer those titles on our platforms, and even more excited about what’s to come from the current and future relationship between our companies. Rockstar really wanted to make a game that you can truly only do on PS3, harnessing the power of CELL and Blu-ray disc and this deal lets them do just that.. This is really a win-win situation for both companies.As Jack mentioned in the interview with Geoff, this franchise is not LA Noire, but something all new.
Pay special attention to the text in the bold… look familiar? It should: It’s the same damn text, taken from a PlayStation blog post that was made on July 27th by Michael Shorrock, talking about how Sony locked up the rights to a NEW franchise from Rockstar. Outside of mentioning that Rockstar MADE the actual game, there is no mention of the GTA franchise anywhere in that post.
Thirdly, and finally, while I have yet to receive my copy of OXM, no one I’ve talked to has said that there was any mention a Sony buyout of the GTA franchise in the pages of the November issue, which I guess is running late.

So, boys and girls, until I see some definitive proof (aka I either see the magazine article with my own eyes, or Sony comes out and says “yup”)… I call shenanigans. Balderdash. Plain ol’ bullshit. Quite frankly, this rumor… 99.8% not true.

After reading all of that, you know what? I agree with them. There is a chance it may be exclusive, but this so called rumor doesn't necessarily mean that.

[Via 1P Start]

Conan Demo Coming to PlayStation Store Next Week

THQ has announced that it will be releasing a playable demo of Conan for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next week.

Xbox 360 owners will be able to download the title from October 8, with PlayStation 3 users gaining access to the demo via the PlayStation Store three days later on October 11, on their weekly update.

[Via PSU]

Loot Ninja: Installing Games/Demos

Loot Ninja has made a very accurate post on their site about installing PlayStation 3 game demos:

"Why is it that after every game or demo download from the PlayStation Store, you have to sit and install the file? I know it gets taken care of if you don’t download in the background, but who does that anymore? Queuing up downloads is a must, especially when there are lots of things you want.

So why after spending a long time downloading something do I have to spend 10 more minutes staring at the screen as the game slowly installs? You’re handcuffed while this going on, as you can’t do anything else on the console (and can’t cancel the process if you feel the need). Can’t Sony work this into the background downloading? I sincerely hope this is a feature that gets implemented in a future firmware update.

[Update] I’m not referring to installing Game Data when you first load a retail game disc. I’m talking about downloading titles from the PlayStation Store."

I completely agree, why should you have to install the demo. I remember installing the Folklore demo and it took around 6 minutes.

[Via Loot Ninja]

PlayStation 3 Price-Drop Confirmed, 40GB Pack Revealed

From October 10th the existing PS3 Starter Pack will be replaced by a 60GB Value Pack, boasting a fully-functioning PS3 with one SIXAXIS controller and two first party titles for £349 – a price drop of around £75.

New to the market on the same day will be the 40GB model. It will retail at £299 - the same price Xbox 360 Elite – but features only two USB 2.0 ports and no longer includes the multi memory card port. It will also lack backwards compatibility with PS2 games.

The introduction of the new PS3 is explained in Sony’s statement as a result of ‘user feedback from thousands of existing PS3 owners as well as research into future PS3 owners.’

It adds that the backwards compatibility was dropped because there is a ‘reduced emphasis placed on this feature amongst later purchasers of PS3.’

“As we approach our very first PlayStation 3 Christmas, it is satisfying to be able to offer UK consumers the choice of two PlayStation 3 packages both now representing remarkable value,” said SCE UK managing director Ray Maguire.

“We have a brand new 40GB machine that represents an excellent entry point into the world of High Definition games and movies, and we have the fully-featured 60GB machine being offered with two next generation gaming experiences at a highly competitive price.”

President of SCEE David Reeves added: “The introduction of the new PS3 has been the result of extensive research into the entertainment needs and preferences of the next generation of PS3 owners.”

“It has allowed us to deliver an extremely advanced, yet highly affordable High Definition entertainment system, configured to the needs of the next generation of PS3 owners. PS3 has always been the device of choice for the discerning gamer and entertainment seeker, and the new PS3 is more than ever the perfect High Definition entertainment system.”

[Via MCV]

Sony Secures Exclusive for Grand Theft Auto 7?

According to the November 2007 issue # 76 of the Official Xbox Magazine Sony has secured the next Grand Theft Auto, which would be number 7 in the series, to be a true exclusive to the Playstation 3.

"Rockstar really wanted to make a game that you can truly only do on PS3, harnessing the power of the Cell and Blu-ray disc and this deal lets them do just that" as said by Sony's Michael Shorrock in a statement to the press. " We handed Rockstar a signed blank check because we were short sighted enough to let Grand Theft Auto's exclusivity get away from us. Oops!"

Sounds cool if its true, I would like to see what they can really do without DVD discs holding them back.

[Via HDGame News]