Sony Talks Upgrading Your Hard-Drive: Do It!

In a PlayStation Tips segment over at the PlayStation.Blog, Jeff Rubenstein spoke about upgrading the PLAYSTATION 3 hard disk drive.

If your hard drive is filled with music or movies or demos, whether you have the 20GB, 40GB, 60GB, or 80GB versions, you might want more room for more content, no?

They even provide a link to a tutorial that teaches you how to do so. The top the PLAYSTATION 3 can reach with internal hard disk drives is a 2.5" 250GB HDD. It's weird they are telling us this. I remember hearing this voids your warranty.

[Via PlayStation.Blog]

Surfer Girl Talks 2008: Factor 5, 2D Grand Theft Autos, More

Surfer Girl updated her blog today with ten new pieces of information. This includes what Factor Five has been working on, the old 2D Grand Theft Auto games coming to us in downloadable form. Take a look at her list below. As usual, the PLAYSTATION related stuff is bolded.

1) Factor 5's next title, a downloadable affair out next year, will feature multiplayer.
2) Discs of Tron and Tron will see finally release next year on XBLA.
3) The Grasshopper DS remakes (The Silver Case, The Silver Case Ward 25, and Flower, Sun, and Rain) will see stateside release next year.
4) EA Tiburon's Wii-exclusive title is a new intellectual property that is one of the two or three new intellectual properties from Tiburon that will see release next year.
5) Some of the 2008 additions to the Xbox Originals lineup: Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding, Amped 2, Armed and Dangerous, Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space, Blood Wake, Brute Force, Conker: Live & Reloaded, Dead or Alive 3, Deathrow, Dino Crisis 3, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Fable bonus content, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, GunValkyrie, Halo 2, Jade Empire, Jet Set Radio Future, Mechassault, MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf, Metal Arms: Glitch in the System, Midtown Madness 3, Ninja Gaiden, Quantum Redshift, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Phantom Dust Rent-A-Hero No. 1, Sneakers, Shenmue II, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse", Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus, ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth, Tork: Prehistoric Punk, Voodoo Vince, Whacked!. Service expected to have over one hundred titles end of next year.
6) The two-dimensional Grand Theft Auto titles (with Mission Packs included) will grace console(s) next year in a downloadable form.
7) Watch out Mario Kart because Electronic Arts racing to the finish line next year with MySims: Racers for the Wii and DS.
8) Cryptic's Marvel project is dead, but they have two or three other MMOs that they are working on. One will peep its little head out next year.
9) Next fall's Wolfenstein takes place in some large, open hub city where you select missions and go about them. And there are side quests too! So it's like Saboteur, except with more shooting, less French people, and is not published by Electronic Arts.
10) Next year, Eidos hopes you want to survive a virtual recreation of an existent earthquake.

I don't know about you but I got a bit jealous at number five. The Xbox Originals service just launched and yet they are soon getting all those titles, while the PSone Classics service has been around for a year and we have nearly 20 titles. Hopefully, Sony will start picking up the pace.

[Via Surfer Girl]

The PLAYSTATION 3 Makes a Happy Christmas for a Child

Even though this kid doesn't have anything on the Nintendo 64 kid, he is still trying. The parents of this child played a little trick on him following up to his PLAYSTATION 3 gift. I guess we won't have to return that Lego Starwars as we once thought.

Get Unreal Tournament III Mods Easy: UT3Mod

If you've been modding your PLAYSTATION 3 with Unreal Tournament III mods (that haven't crashed your game) and want an easier way to do it, then we have a solution.

A new site opened called UT3Mod which allows you to easily transfer mods from your PLAYSTATION 3's internet browser over to a memory stick, never having to insert it in your computer (only once).

To do this, make a folder in the root of a memory stick, USB drive, or something the PLAYSTATION 3 can read titled "PS3\SAVEDATA\BLUS30086-MODIMPORT". From there, visit UT3Mod and download the mod of your choice, saving it to that directory. Boom, go in your game and import the mod.

[Via PLAYSTATION US]

Echochrome: Nine New Screenshots

Sony Computer Entertainment released some new screenshots of their upcoming downloadable puzzle game, Echochrome. This mind boggling puzzle game uses angles in order to find your way through the level. Echochrome will be available on the PLAYSTATION Network sometime 2008 it seems. Enjoy the screens!

Street Fighter IV: 2 New Gameplay Videos

Capcom & 1UP together released two new gameplay trailers of their upcoming fighter, Street Fighter IV. The newly released trailers show the Dragon Punch and Hadoken moves that the game is so famous for. Enjoy!

Even Ratchet & Clank Have Mishaps

Today has been low on news, odd considering it's a Friday. So to get you not so gloomy, Project Mod Gaming made a video showing the corky mishaps of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. It's a pretty funny watch, and there really isn't anything else to do right now, is there?

Japanese PLAYSTATION Store Gets More PSone Classics

It seems the Japanese PLAYSTATION Store is always getting the good stuff. Maybe thats because it always is. Today, the Japanese PLAYSTATION Store received a bunch more PSone Games today. Let's cry for the favorite, Resident Evil 2 (aka Biohazard 2 in Japan). The full list below.

- Biohazard 2
- Intelligent Qube
- PoPoLoCrois Monogatari II
- Crime Crackers 2
- Atelier Marie Plus
- Tantei Junguji Saburo Early Collection
- Magical Drop
- Baroque
- Robin Lloyd no Bouken

Well, if you have any Yen, I would recommends downloading that Resident Evil 2 right now, that is if you don't mind the Japanese language. Damn Japanese, so lucky.

[Via Kotaku]

Condemned 2: Bloodshot Delayed to March 2008

SEGA's latest release schedule, sent out today, shows that the release of Condemned 2: Bloodshot will come out a month later than originally expected. The title was originally supposed to be released in February 2008, but it's been pushed to a not so long wait of March 2008. No exact release date was mentioned. The delay is in effect for both the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

Sony Giving Away Free PLAYSTATION Network Tickets in Japan

The Japanese PLAYSTATION Network is running a contest this week to give away 100 free PLAYSTATION Network 5,000 Yen prepaid cards.

The contest will take place the first week of 2008. To enter, you just need to purchase something on the Japanese PLAYSTATION Store. Hopefully, a contest like this will arrive in the US to promote the upcoming PLAYSTATION Network cards.

[Via Gemaga]

First In-Game Street Fighter IV Trailer Revealed

The latest episode of the 1UP Show contains the first ever in-game footage of Capcom's upcoming and highly anticipated upcoming fighter, Street Fighter IV. The graphics are looking good, great job Capcom! Enjoy!

Unreal Tournament III Review

A couple of days before the holiday, I checked my mailbox to find a package from Midway containing Unreal Tournament III within' the FedEX packaging (which was soon torn to shreds). I popped it in, played it non-stop for a few hours, and now, my verdict.

Unreal Tournament III is the first title I've come by within a few months (besides Team Fortress 2) that I'm hooked on. Got five minutes before that wedding, I'd pop in Unreal Tournament III. The fast paced first person action that this title brings inside it's sleek casing is truly addicting.

The game comes packed with a campaign mode, multiplayer mode, and the ability to apply mods to your matches. Currently, there are around five mods released for the PLAYSTATION 3 version of the game, but a converter for PC to PS3 mods is coming according to an Epic Forums Moderator.

The campaign mode is nothing but an offline multiplayer mode with a story revolving around it. If for some reason, your online connection isn't functioning properly, this will keep you busy for the time being. Everything you'll see in the multiplayer mode are in this campaign mode. The story starts off with you training with your sister Jester to get the jist of things. That itself is a regular deathmatch. Thing about the campaign mode is that it would of been much better if they made it as a map that you follow through in one direction, and get to the end of the level. Something like Gears of War or Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Multiplayer mode is Unreal Tournament III's chocolatey center. The game modes included in the multiplayer are Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch (stars), Capture the Flag, Capture the Flag with Vehicles, Duel, and Warfare. This being my first Unreal Tournament game (I know I know, mock me if you will), the mode that was newest to me was Warfare.

In Warfare, currently my second favorite game mode, the objective is to destroy your enemy's core on their side of the map. To do that, you need to activate the prime node in the middle of the map, making the enemy's core vulnerable, but only till they regain control of the prime node. Each core has 100HP, first to get destroyed looses. I thought it was a unique new way to play with other people. Each match lasted long, and it's great when your looking for a match to take your time in.

Duel was another game type new to me. Duel is basically a one-on-one match with people waiting in line to play the winner. If you lose, you go to the end of the line. I played and stayed king for 2-3 matches, but then got owned. Even though I got owned, it was still a great gaming experience.

A new feature in a console version of an Unreal Tournament game is that the PLAYSTATION 3 version of Unreal Tournament III has the ability to import mods from your PC. Mods have to be customized for the PLAYSTATION 3 for obvious reasons, so far, Mark Rein has released only five mods, with four of them being maps, and one being a mutator. No worries, because as stated above, a converter is in the works for easy mod converting. That means, soon, any PC mod you see will be able to be converted to the PLAYSTATION 3.

The graphics of this game may be one of it's best features. Between the one-two second loading of game textures, you'll still enjoy the smoothness that is their underskin. If you thought Gears of War graphics were good, then you'll scream in excitement at this.

To conclude my review for this excellent game, I want to say that right after I'm finished writing this, I'm going to play Unreal Tournament III. So if you really want a great title like this, read the scoring below, and go get yourself a copy.

Presentation: 9.3
Unreal Tournament III has grapics that might not top the PLAYSTATION 3's abilities, but certainly displays them well.

Gameplay: 9.5
Unreal Tournament III''s gameplay is fast-paced blood shattering deathmatches and duels that will keep you addicted for days to even years, considering the expansion of mods that will be coming.

Graphics: 9.7
The game''s graphics feature nothing but magnificent looking 3D images in this new release in the franchise.

Audio: 8.5
The title's audio matches the type of gameplay, and seems well made.

Replayability: 9.5
Like I said, you won't be able to stop playing this title for a while. If this game is considered a drug, I'm an addict.

Final Verdict: 9.3 out of 10

Armored Core: For Answer: New Japanese Scans

The latest issue of some Japanese magazine (we are not sure which) contains ten pages of FromSoftware's upcoming Armored Core: For Answer. The game is set to release in Japan this March of 2008. Enjoy the scans.

Pre-Order HAZE & Get Free Drugs

If your really looking into getting Ubisoft's upcoming HAZE game, then you probably know all about it's story, which revolves around drugs. So if you order the game off the official Ubisoft site, you'll get your own drug-filled syringe. It's actually a pen though. Order below.

[Via Ubisoft]

Condemned 2: Bloodshot Packshot Revealed

SEGA UK has released the official packshot for it's upcoming horror action game, Condemned 2: Bloodshot.

The package fits the game perfectly. Blood stains on the door, eye looking through in a frightened view. All getting ready for someone to be condemned (googles it).

Enjoy the packshot!

The Club: Time Attack PSN Demo Gameplay

Here is a from the demo of The Club that was released on the European PLAYSTATION Store today. Your objective in this video is to get to the end of the stage before the timer expires or be prepared to face the deadly consequences.

PlayTV Pricing & Date Revealed?

Play, a United Kingdom online retailer, has the price for the upcoming IPTV PLAYSTATION 3 add-on, PlayTV, listed along with the date of it's release.

PlayTV's price is listed at £99.99 ($146.00 USD) with a UK release of March 28, 2008. Currently, nothing was mentioned about a US release date.

None of the details given are confirmed by Sony Computer Entertainment.

[Via Play UK Online Retailer] [Thanks Toto-Sama!]

Metal Gear Solid 4: Demo Probably Not Coming, Collector's Edition Possible

Today, on macho gaming forum NeoGAF, new information (sort of) surfaces about Konami's upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4.

Metal Gear Solid 4's Producer Ryan Payton warns us that we shouldn't get our hopes up for a demo to hit the PLAYSTATION Store.

"Considering how much we’ve changed since TGS/E for All, it would be a huge undertaking to create a new demo. Sorry guys."

To lighten the pain of not being able to test this potential system seller out, he speaks of the possibility of a collector's edition.

"On a brighter note, we’re working really hard to solidify plans for a limited edition SKU. Coordinating our ideas with Konami JP, US, and EU is a big challenge, considering the simultaneous worldwide launch, strict retail rules on packaging, etc."

Ryan's views on the game aren't to make it a killer app for the console, but to make it the best game it can be.

"Wish me luck in 2008 as I try to divert attention away from MGS4 being a killer app “weapon” against competitors in our industry, but rather focus on the game being a big step for the game industry as a whole. I hope MGS4 will prove to millions of people that games are to be celebrated, not spat on by politicians and mainstream media."

[Via Ripten]