Story: 9.0Thats an excellent score, although I thought the game looks like one of the best designed PLAYSTATION 3 titles. Well, everyone has their opinion, no?
Design: 8.0
Gameplay: 9.2
Presentation: 9.7
Overall: 8.9
On November 24, 2007, otherwise known as Black Friday, Wal-Mart will be having a special sale on the PLAYSTATION 3 80GB console.
Upon the purchase of a PLAYSTATION 3 80GB console for $499.99, you get 10 free Blu-Ray disc movies free. Only thing is that the movies must be $30 or under. Come to think of it, I haven't seen a Blu-Ray movie over $30.
To top that off, you still get your 5 free Blu-Ray disc movies with the mail in offer from Blu-Ray Savings.
[Via Blu-Ray Forums]
Yes, that is correct, today marks the celebration of Megaman/Rockman's 20th birthday. Today at the Ikebukuro Floor City Hall in Japan, a huge celebration was held.
Megaman creator, Keiji Inafune was at the event as well as many Capcom employees. Inafune took the place as Rockman as he was not able to attend in person and blew out the candles on the cake for him.
View pictures of the event at the link below.
[Via: Rockman 20th Anniversary Pictures]
As our new site will be opening in about a week, I thought I'd do my last PLAYSTATION Network article today. Prepare to read on, this may just be the most controversial article you will ever read (sarcasm).
I'm not going to be fancy on this, the only image you will see in this article is the one on the left there. This article will also be featured as one of the first posts on the new site. I'm going to make this readable and break it down into categories. These features are needed outside Home. PLAYSTATION Home is a great feature for the PLAYSTATION 3 that I will certainly enjoy using, but we need to be able to do them in XMB's 2D as well as Home's 3D.
The PLAYSTATION Network has been alive a year already. Let's start.
In-Game XMB
Let's face it, this is the one thing that all PLAYSTATION 3 owners have been dreaming of since the console was released. It was something that was supposed to be in the system in the first place, as it was shown in all the prototype videos.
With In-Game XMB, as Insomniac's Evan Well says, many of the Live features that give it an advantage over the PLAYSTATION Network would fade away. In-Game XMB would allow the playing of custom soundtracks, accessing friends lists, game invites, messages.
So much innovation could be applied to the In-Game XMB. You could go under Photo and click on Take Snapshot, or go under Video and click Record Video, then save it to your console and share them through the PC and the PLAYSTATION 3. You could check the status of your current downloads, change resolution settings. In-Game XMB would allow unlimited possibilities for the console.
Game Invitations
No online gaming network is a network without cross-game invites. Wouldn't you like to be playing some Resistance, when you receive a game invite from your friend Joe asking if you want to play Warhawk? You agree, Resistance automatically ejects, a screen pops up saying insert Warhawk, you insert it, and your automatically inside the room he invited you to.
Gamer Profiles
Achievements/Entitlements
Achievements are some reasons that people buy multiplatform games for the Xbox 360 rather than the PLAYSTATION 3, because they want to rise their score to prove that they are the best. The PLAYSTATION 3 was originally said to have some sort of achievements called Entitlements, but then the idea was dumped. Bring back the Entitlements and watch the sales of multiplatform games rise.
Clans
Clans are another thing needed in the PLAYSTATION Network, as an option from the PLAYSTATION Network menu. With Clans, matches can be organized, and you can enter your clans in tournaments, timed matches, so you know nobody else will join. You can have a clan symbol, and represent your clan through your profile in games.
Profile Version 2.0/Gamertags
Gamertags, such as displayable gamer profiles through games and through the PC are also needed. We want to show people who we are, what we play, and if we are good at it. Thats how you know who to recruit for Tournament teams, and your Clan.
Instead of seeing a custom profile made by the developer in game, how about showing the same custom gamer profile you make on the PLAYSTATION Network? I'm not just talking about our language and about me. We want to be able to show our signature line, our games played, our entitlement score, all of that.
It would also be nice to be able to see the picture and profile of the users under Player's Met, and not just their name.
Also, let us set our own PLAYSTATION Network avatar, or add a batch of new avatars every week based on the newest released games and even Sony movies and sponsors.
Time To Notify
DeadPixels on the GT Forums came up with an idea as well, that being using the information board for something well, useful. That needs to be implemented as well to complete the features above. Perhaps customizable with themes.
Private Chat
With the in-game XMB/dashboard, private chat cross games would be nice too. In order to avoid the annoyance of 10 year old Resistance players.
News Ticker
They just released that news ticker and haven't updated it once since it was released. Update it, make it so you can click on the news, and then it will take up the screen, showing images and such with the news. Possibly a link to a demo related to the news as well from the new PLAYSTATION Store.
XMB In General
We need those PLAYSTATION Network features above added under PLAYSTATION Network, such as Entitlements, IM, and under Friends, Game Invites.
Also, the ability to change the icon for the PLAYSTATION Network section in the XMB for themes would also be nice, as it makes most themes look ugly.
XMB Second Opinion
These are just my thoughts here, for this part of the article. I personally thing the XMB is a bit last generation. It's been featured in the PSP, the PSX, and Sony TV's. Shouldn't we get some new nicely designed interface for the next-generation console? Xbox 360's Blade design is very nice, why not make an interface similar, but not the same? Meaning, something brand new.
PLAYSTATION Network Promotions
Promote the network, have events featuring celebrity gamers, free downloads for the day (like an old arcade game such as Calling All Cars!), official tournaments, and such.
PLAYSTATION Store
Here is the biggest issue next to no in-game XMB, the PLAYSTATION Store. Let's start because there is a lot to cover.
The Design
As of now, the PLAYSTATION Store is one ugly mess. First off, it's a webpage that updates once a week. The webpage interface is simply annoying and is a major turn-off. What Sony needs to do is replace it in an update with a program, like how Folding@Home is a program. You click the program, the XMB fades away, and the store opens.
Now, this new store should be able to categorize content by type (Game, Trailer, Add-Ons, Demos), name (A, B, C, D), genre (Action, Arcade, Adventure, etc.), or featured/newest. Along with that, we need title searches as well.
Constant Flow of Updates
Next along the line, these Thursday updates are not going so well. We get around 4-5 videos a week, and 1-2 demos. If Sony gets it's act together and starts getting a few more demos, and puts more videos and add-on content, that would be great. Don't do this all on Thursday, give us 3-4 videos on Monday, Tuesday give us a demo, Wednesday give us like 2 videos and a map pack, you get the drift, right? Otherwise, the store is a wasteland on days besides Thursday.
Game Demos
Now with demos, have you realized your competitor gets a major amount of demos compared to the PLAYSTATION Network, and usually either before us. Whenever we get it before them, it's about maybe 2 hours before them, and they get it as well. You need to pursue 3rd party developers.
Downloadable Games
Next, we have the downloadable titles on the PLAYSTATION Store. It's great to see new downloadable titles, but we would like to test run the titles right? You need to provide a demo for every arcade title that you release.
You know, Retro is good. Sony once said that they want to produce more original titles than offering retro. Well, those original titles take quite some time, and some Sonic 3 & Knuckles or Ys I & II would hold us off till we got them. Retro may be old, but enhanced retro makes it new.
You should try and get at least one game on the store a week.
PSone Classics
As for the PSone Classics, this was supposed to be a special thing that would allow us to reminisce the old days. So far we only have around 16 PSone titles since December 2006. Every week, give us at least three-fjve new PSone titles, that will build up over time. Need help on what to give us? Here are some hints:
- 007: The World Is Not EnoughThis is just the tip of the iceberg. Get in contact with those third party developers and get those games on the network. And if you can, why not enhance them by adding online play, and leaderboards. Thats not completely necessary though.
- Crash Bandicoot 2
- Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
- Digimon World
- Digimon World 2
- Digimon World 3
- Dragonball GT: Final Bout
- Gran Turismo 2
- Final Fantasy VII
- Final Fantasy VIII
- Final Fantasy IX
- Final Fantasy Tactics
- Medal of Honor
- Metal Gear Solid
- PaRappa The Rapper
- Resident Evil
- Resident Evil 2
- Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
- Silent Hill
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
- Vagrant Story
- Warhawk (PSone)
- Wipeout XL
What was once the PLAYSTATION Network Portal is now IGN's PLAYSTATION Network Central. Yes, IGN has finally launched their PLAYSTATION Network site. It tells what you can download at the PLAYSTATION Store, how the online gaming works, and there is even a community to tell what you want to see on the PLAYSTATION Network. Visit it below.
[Visit: PSN Central]
In this months issue of EGM’s Rumor Mill, Quarterman reports that Konami is developing another Metal Gear game for the PSP. And it isn’t going to be a spin off such as we’ve seen from Portable Ops. The new title is said to “Hearken back to the early days”.
Is it a Metal Gear Solid remake for the PSP? Only time will tell.
[Via Ripten]
This week could be one of the best weeks for PLAYSTATION 3 releases yet. Three anticipated titles followed by some almost anticipated. We have Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, which is officially out tomorrow. It's been at GameStop for about a week though. There's Time Crisis 4, and.... just take a look for yourself.
US PLAYSTATION 3 ReleasesSo, what will you be picking up? Uncharted? Time Crisis 4? Soldier of Fortune? It's a good week, you have all the time in the world to think of your choice.
- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
- Rock Band
- Time Crisis 4 - (with Guncon)
- College Hoops 2K8
- Medal of Honor: Airborne
- Soldier of Fortune: Payback
- Timeshift
EU PLAYSTATION 3 Releases
- Need for Speed Prostreet
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
- Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
- NBA 2K8
- Beowulf
Asian PLAYSTATION 3 Releases
- Time Crisis 4 (with Guncon)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Ratatouille
- Winning Eleven 2008
If you watched Bravo today, GamerTV reviewed Naughty Dog's "tomorrow release", Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Their score? A perfect 5/5. They stated the pros and cons as well.
ProsIf your looking to pick up your copy, it's available at your local GameStop now.
- AI is great with enemies constantly trying to flank you making no cover safe.
- Vast, detailed environments
- Cutscenes are kept to a minimum with interactive cutscenes
- The Killer franchise the Ps3 deserves
- Engaging story full of twists
- Superb animations
- Rewards, cheats and unlockables
Cons
- Sixaxis implentation poor at times (Adjusting Grenade tajectory)
- Little Replay value (Only for rewards)
- The Biggest con of this game is the play time. Average Play time on Normal mode clocks in at 9 hours.
If you guys are looking to go pick up some of those PLAYSTATION 2 games that you missed, than this Friday at KB Toys is the place to do it.
Their Black Friday offering is a buy one get one free if the game is $9.98. Sadly, the limit per customer is 4 free games.
[Via BF Ads]
Wow, talk about early pre-orders. Even though the new Ghostbusters video game was just announced the other day, GameStop is so excited that they are already taking pre-orders for the title.
If you order now, you'll get free overnight shipping. Just go to the page below, select your console version, and order.
[Buy: Ghostbusters]
