Monday, September 24, 2007

IGN: PlayStation Eye vs Eye Toy Quality

Straight from IGN.

In practice, the PlayStation Eye works almost exactly the same as the EyeToy does with regards to its settings and whatnot that you'll find on the PS3. In the Accessory Settings under Camera Device Settings, you can view a preview window of what the camera sees and can change between either 50hz or 60hz display settings (to get rid of crawling lines on screens in the background). As of right now there are no options for capturing snapshots or videos directly to the system, but hopefully Sony will add at least rudimentary functionality for this with a future firmware update.

Whereas the EyeToy functions only as a camera, the PlayStation Eye has a built-in microphone to pick up your voice or whatever gross sound effects you wish to send your friends' way. Our voices seemed to get picked up and come through pretty clearly when testing this via a chat session, negating the need for wearing a headset while playing online. Of course, you'll then need to pipe voices through your TV when not wearing a headset, but the experience is much more comfortable.

Aside from its microphone, the PlayStation Eye bests the EyeToy in that it has two levels of zoom and utilizes an auto-focus feature so that you don't have to manually twist the lens in order to get a clear picture. While the two zoom levels is nice, the auto-focus makes setup a whole lot easier. As well, it resulted in a clear picture throughout its image, whereas some background stuff seen on the EyeToy may have come out blurry. For those of you with questionable posters on your wall, this might be a bad thing. The PlayStation Eye also refreshes its image noticeably faster than the EyeToy, matching the silky image of a video camera.

While all that is good news, the actual image quality isn't quite as good as we'd hoped. As you can see in some of the images below, the color levels of the EyeToy often looked more natural and it seems to deal with darkness better than the PlayStation Eye. The Eye's images often appeared to be greener than they should be, and there's a lot of graininess in dark scenes.

[Via IGN]

EGM November 2007 Scores & Rumors

The latest Electronic Gaming Monthly for November 2007 reveals some new information on the upcoming Saints Row 2 by Volition. We do not have that information at the moment, but will soon. Here are the reviews.

PLAYSTATION 3
NBA Live 08(PlayStation 3/Xbox 360): 6.5 (Bryan), 6.5 (Todd), 7.5 (Garnett)
NHL 2K8 (PlayStation 3/Xbox 360):4 (Bryan), 5 (Demian), 6 (G. Sewart)
FIFA 08(PlayStation 3/Xbox 360): 9 (Todd), 9 (John), 8 (Andrew P.)-Game of the Month (Tie)
Skate (PlayStation 3/Xbox 360): 9 (Nick), 8 (Jennifer), 6.5 (Todd)

PlayStation Portable
FF Tactics: The Lion War (PSP): 8.5 (Jeremy), 8.5 (Milky), 8 (Shoe)
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (PSP): 8 (A. Fitch), 8 (Brooks), 6.5 (Nick)
Castlevania: The dracula X Chronicles (PSP): 8 (Jeremy), 9 (Shane), 8 (Mark)
Star Wars Battlefront-Renegade Squadron(PSP)- 6 (Shoe), 7 (Skip), 6 (Michael)
Hot PXL (PSP)- 5.5 (Nick), 5.5 (Shane), 6 (Jennifer)
The issue has it's section of featurettes and what not, here is it summed up by a 1UP forum member.
PLAYSTATION 3
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction-Taking a step back to make a huge step forward.
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground - Better than skate.
Half Life 2: The Orange Box- Basically say it's perfect.
Folklore - Not a triple A title, but good.
NBA 2K8- Looking awesome.
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights - Pretty good with added content.

PlayStation Portable
Soul Nomad and the World Eaters - For hardcore strategists only.
And along with that, came of course, rumors, lets take a look.
GOTY Version of Bioshock on the Xbox 360 with stuff that was gonna be in the nixed PlayStation 3 version.
Thats just about it. Thanks EGMFan89!

[Via 1UP]

TGS 2007: Assassin's Creed New Trailer

Final Fantasy VII "We Hope to Meet Final Fantasy VII Again" Full Page

If you remember about a week or two back, we got some information from Forever-Fantasy about the Crisis Core book and how it stated "We Hope to Meet Final Fantasy VII Again!" on the page.

Now we have a full page scan along with the page next to it. On the page next to it, it says "And Next?", which goes on to say "We Hope to Meet Final Fantasy VII Again!". Could that mean it's Square Enix's "next" project?

Rumor: Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway is Cancelled

XboxFamily has just received confirmation from Ubisoft that Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway has been canceled. No reason was giving to the site at the time of the announcement. Once details are given, we will be sure to keep you informed.

Because no official announcement has been made, and there is no reason for cancellation, we are classifying this as a rumor.

[Via XboxFamily]

Dead Space: First Screenshots & Details Revealed

EA has fomally announced Dead Space, a brand new sci-fi survival horror that's being billed as a videogame imagining of Event Horizon and Alien. Check out the first 12 screens at the link below.

The game's lead character is introduced as Isaac Clarke, a space-station repair guy on a mission to repair the communiations system of a deep space mining ship. When he gets there he finds out the crew have all been murderised by aliens with a penchant for dismemberment and Clarke has no choice but to fight his way out.

"We are all such huge fans of the horror and sci-fi genres; we wanted to create the most terrifying game we could, and keep the player on the edge of his seat the entire time,” explains Executive Producer at EA Redwood Shores, Glen Schofield.

[Via GamesRadar]

TGS 2007: Metal Gear Solid 4 Take Down Shakey Cam Gameplay


Here is some more Metal Gear Solid 4 gameplay from TGS 2007 where Snake sneaks his way into battle.

[Via GameTrailers]

Penny Arcade: DUALSHOCK 3

Penny Arcade's latest comic strip shows some Kaz Hirai humor. If you ask me, I think it's pretty funny, and it does make a lot of sense. Give your thoughts.

[Via Penny Arcade]

Saints Row 2: First Details

Yes, we finally have the first details on the upcoming sequel to a great first game, Saints Row.

The events in this game are taking place years after the events in the first.

"The explosive conclusion to Saints Row has left the player wounded, betrayed and thirsty for revenge, and now it's time to take back the city that has forgotten him", says THQ.

It's making some huge promises about Saints Row 2 too, enthusing that the game's
"set to revolutionise player freedom and open world online gameplay" with an "expanded and fully transformed city and true open-world online multiplayer".

"Saints Row 2 will be playable online in two-player co-op through the entire single-player campaign or in the all new open-world competitive multiplayer mode never before seen in the genre", THQ's said further about multiplayer in the sequel.

On top of that, new vehicles, new locations and new customisation options - for the likes of gender, age, voice, crib and gang - are in the pipe.

"Saints Row 2 has a much darker and more sinister story that leads your character down a path of betrayal, revenge and redemption against the city that has left him for dead, although we've blended that with the same light-hearted humour from the original," Greg Donovan, lead producer, has whispered in our shell-like.

"Couple that with the most robust open-world feature set ever developed in the genre, and Saints Row 2 promises a gaming experience that will offer players the perfect balance of gripping narrative and compelling gameplay options."

[Via CVG]

TGS 2007: Naruto PS3 Project Cam Trailer


Here is the first footage of the Naruto PS3 Project from GameTrailers members. We know it's crappy quality, but we will upload the actual one when it's put up but for now, enjoy.

[Via GameTrailers]