Category: GamerSushi News

LA Noire Gets a Gritty Trailer and an Equally Gritty Release Date

For a game that was stuck in development hell for years, Team Bondi’s upcoming 1940’s crime thriller LA Noire has certainly shot out of the gate in the past few months, stunning us with its detailed character animation and the technology that powers it. Despite the fact that it’s been flitting on and off the radar screen for a while, we now have a hard target set for the release date: May 17 (May 20 in Europe), to be exact. To celebrate, LA Noire publisher Rockstar has posted an all-new in-engine trailer for us to drool over:

Like Red Dead Redemption, I’m kind of going into this game blind, but that payed off for RDR as it was my favorite game of last year. I have no idea what the gameplay is like, who the characters are or what the plot is besides the fact that you’re tracking a serial killer, but since I’m an information sponge I might end up enjoying it more not knowing ever facet of the game. Anyone else got this on their must-buy list?

Portal 2 Has User Created Levels on All Platforms

Portal 2

The good news just keeps on rolling in from our good friends at Valve. As a console gamer, one of the things I envy PC gamers is the mods they get to play with. Well, Valve has a nice surprise in store for us because Portal 2 will, according to Chet Faliszek, have user levels available to play on all platforms. However, the actual tools to create the mods will be exclusive to the PC, which makes perfect sense.

Personally, this is pretty exciting news and hopefully the first step in a new gaming paradigm, where PC, 360 and PS3 gamers all can benefit from the creativity of their fellow gamers. I’m amazed by what I see people do on something like LittleBigPlanet and the chance to have some insane puzzles in Portal 2 from the addled minds of the masses makes me tingle in all the right spots.

What say you? Are you glad that Valve is pushing the industry in this direction? Would you want to see the mod tools brought over to the consoles in the future? Comments, plz!

Source: NowGamer

Little Big Planet 2 Meets Real Life

If the gameplay of LittleBigPlanet 2 does not put an immediate smile on your face, you might have no soul. OK, that’s a bit harsh, but still, the game is great and I love the creativity that both Media Molecule and the community at large have poured into it. I spent much of Friday night playing through the game co-op with Jeff, and then we spent an hour or so just sampling multiplayer levels that others had created.

But what does LBP2 in real life look like? The guys over at the Show About Games Show at the Escapist have taken their stab at it, and the results are just as charming (a word I will overuse when discussing this game) as the title itself.

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors and 1 Flash Demo

999

This is just another quick post where I will recount the wonderful time I’ve had playing the Nintendo DS mystery/thriller game: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, or 999 for short. There’s not much else to say about the visual horror novel other than what I’ve already said, except for the fact that if I had the chance to play this last year when it came out, it probably would have been in my top 5 easily.

Anyway, I know that not everyone has a Nintendo DS, but that doesn’t mean you can’t experience at least a little of this little-known game for yourselves. You see, publisher Aksys Games is currently sporting a playable flash demo of 999 on their official website. It takes you through a little bit of the beginning of the game. Do yourself a favor and check it out if you love mysteries and awesome DS games.

Thoughts? Go!

Source – Aksys Games

Rumor: Metal Gear Solid Trilogy Gets the HD Treatment

Metal Gear Solid 2

Following a recent (and awesome) trend of re-working classic games to be displayed in high-definition — the purest and most joy-bringing of all definitions — it seems that Solid Snake could soon grace our HDTV’s. That’s right, Kojima-ites: rumors have surfaced from the UK’s Official PlayStation Magazine that an HD version of the Metal Gear Solid series is on its way to the PS3.

As this post is so tagged, this is most certainly a rumor in the truest sense. I am busy trying to contain my joy at the thought of playing MGS 1 and MGS 3 in full HD splendor, particularly the latter of the two, as it’s been years since I’ve experienced it. There’s no release window or price attached to these whispers, but hopefully this turns out to be true, and we’ll start seeing some more information shortly. And more importantly: will it have crab battles?

I feel I am owed a congratulations for getting through this entire post without a proper “squee” of delight. Who else is hoping this news is true?

Source – CVG

Sony Claims PSP2 as Powerful as PS3

PSP2 ConceptWith all the hype about Nintendo’s new 3DS – due out on the market March 27th  (Feb 26 for those in the land of the rising sun) – it would be hard to look at any other handheld consoles, especially with Nintendo’s success.  But recently an article appeared in MCV Magazine quoting Sony as saying that their new handheld, the PSP2, is “as powerful as the PlayStation 3”.

With the world of 3D gaming barely breaking upon us and the thoughts of the next generation consoles far in the future, a portable gaming system with the power of a console may be a big deal. While many eagerly await the 3DS and its glasses-less 3D style of gaming, Sony is apparently taking a different approach: power.  While the PSP hasn’t been a very strong competitor in the handheld market and with other devices such as the iPhone bursting into the scene, the PSP2 may be a serious competitor.

As a PlayStation 3 owner, I know what the system is capable of and this could be a huge move for Sony. If I can get the same quality as my PS3 on a handheld, it could change how and where I play games. So what do you guys think? Are you going to pick up a PSP2 if it runs with the power of a PS3? Or will you stick to your ways and maybe go the route of the iPhone or Nintendo’s 3DS? What are your thoughts on this news?

Source – MCV

Infinity Ward Gets Help With Modern Warfare 3

call of duty modern warfare 3

We all know two things are certain every year: A Call of Duty game will come out in November and it will be the biggest game of the year. Well, you can rest easy because it looks like all is right with the world, as the L.A. Times is reporting that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be released this November, as expected. Please be aware this isn’t confirmed by Activision yet.

What’s interesting about this is that the article states that Sledgehammer is working closely with Infinity Ward to get the title ready and Raven Software is helping out with the online multiplayer aspect. If true, this would destroy all the predictions that were made about Sledgehammer and Raven working on a separate Call of Duty title. I am rather glad to hear this, actually. I want Modern Warfare 3 before any other kind of Call of Duty series starts up.

What do you think? Would Activision go to such lengths to protect their cash cow? I think so. Are you excited about this or has the backlash still tainted you? Speak!

Source: L.A. Times

Should Games Have More Irreversible Consequences?

Half Life 2

I am a notorious reset-er when it comes to facing the repercussions of my actions in games. This is most prevalent in sports titles, where I reload a save if I think I’m going to lose an important game in my season. This trait of mine also rears its nasty head in RPGs that require big, game-altering choices. While I don’t always reset the game, I’m prone to create several save files, all of which happen at big points in the story, so I can revisit them if I don’t like the outcome. I think I reloaded the Landsmeet in Dragon Age 3 or 4 times, just to choose the one I liked best.

One game where I tried to avoid this sickly habit was Heavy Rain. As the story featured several main characters, you could actually die right in the middle of the game and have the narrative continue, just from someone else’s eyes. Knowing that you could lose somebody you cared about at any moment made some of the mind-bending quick time events that much more intense. As a result, the experience of Heavy Rain was a long-lasting and fondly remembered one for me.

A recent article over at PopMatters about Irreversible Consequences in gaming really got me wondering if this is something that developers should try to achieve more often. Continue reading Should Games Have More Irreversible Consequences?

Nintendo 3DS Price and Launch Date Roundup

Nintendo 3DS launch date and priceThe handheld console that captured the hearts and minds of hardcore gamers last E3 is finally coming to North America and Europe. The Nintendo 3DS, the next iteration of the device that won’t stop selling, is hitting stores on March 27 and will run a whopping $249.99. For the starting price, you get quite a few extra goodies which are: a 2GB SD card, a charging cradle and six Augmented Reality cards. If you’re unclear on what an Augmented Reality (shortened to AR) card is, it’s a little expansion that plugs into your 3DS and overlays images on pictures captured through your 3DS’s camera, sort of like that Star Wars iPhone game we posted about a while back.

Besides a bunch of additional dongles, the 3DS also comes packaged with quite a bit of software out of the box. The aforementioned camera is used quite a bit with these features, like the AR games and Face Raiders, which consists of taking pictures of your friend’s faces and then shooting at them. Also included is the Mii Maker which uses the 3DS’s camera to construct your Mii, and the StreetPass Mii Plaza where you can meet other Miis (I’m going to be calling this the Miit Market). Also included is the ability to transfer purchased DSiWare games from 3DS to 3DS or from a DSi to a 3DS. This being Nintendo, there is a certain limit to what can be transfered, but that hasn’t been announced yet. There are additional services that will be implemented in the 3DS in the coming months like the Internet browser and the ability to watch 3D movies.

As we’ve said many times, the thing that moves consoles are games and the 3DS has no shortage of those, with an expected 30 titles to be available between its launch date and the next E3. Sadly, Ocarina of Time, Kid Icarus and Metal Gear Solid are not specified in that list, but hit the jump to find out what the games are set to coincide with the release date: Continue reading Nintendo 3DS Price and Launch Date Roundup

GamerSushi Asks: When Are You Finished with a Game?

Little Big Planet

December and January have been spectacular for me in terms of clearing out my gaming backlog. I’ve commented on it in posts before, but there’s something really satisfying about playing games and knocking more of them off the list, finally getting to experience games I’ve been dying to play.

Whenever I tackle gaming backlogs, I tend to shoot for low-hanging fruit first, unless there is some stellar title that I am just dying to play. This means I normally go for games that I hear are shorter (or easier) and won’t delay me as I try to move through the rest of the list. Playing through these is rather simple, since there’s a clear beginning and end to the experience. I tend to run into problems, though, when I get to games like the three I’m dealing with right now: NBA 2K11, Gran Turismo 5 and Little Big Planet 2.

As two of them are expanding sports titles with deep pools of gameplay and one is a charming (and really awesome) sandbox extravaganza, it’s going to be hard to determine when I’ve hit the “end” of those titles for me. I’m fairly certain I’ve had my fill of NBA 2K11, even though there are plenty of things in the game I’ve yet to sample, but I’m not sure.

So what do you guys think? How do you normally tackle these large games that never end? When do you finally set them aside for another game? Do you do it when you’ve sampled everything? When you’re tired of the game? Go!

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Announced

Final Fantasy XIII-2

JRPG fans unite! Hello? Is this thing on? Well, anyways, those of you who enjoyed the latest installment of Square Enix’s flagship franchise, Final Fantasy XIII (and I know there are some of you out there) can rejoice because more of Lightning and company is on the way. Square Enix has officially announced Final Fantasy XIII-2 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The game will be out in Japan before the end of the year and in the U.S. and other regions next winter.

Despite the Internet ravings, FF XIII sold pretty well and garnered mostly positive reviews. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit and though I was divorced from the story, the ending was still rather touching, so I am anxious to find out what happens next. And more of Lightning is never a bad thing.

What say you? Is this a chance to make some quick cash for Square Enix or are you actually curious to see where the story goes? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Playstation Blog

Valve Confirms Cross Platform Support for Playstation 3 and PC Versions of Portal 2

Portal 2 PS3

This is the kind of news I’ve been waiting for. Since the announcement of Steam Cloud for the PS3 version of Portal 2, we’ve been speculating at length about what that could mean for PS3 users who purchase Valve’s next game in April. Would it mean a version of the game that covered PC and PS3? Would it mean cross platform support?

In a way, it means both. Valve has confirmed today that gamers that purchase the PS3 version of Portal 2 will not only get access to it on Sony’s everything machine – they will also receive a free copy to download through Steam on PC/Mac. This also means that both versions will support cross platform play between the two, as well as cross platform chat.

Here’s what Valve head cheese Gabe Newell has to say about it:

We made a promise to gamers at E3 that Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3 would be the best console version of the product… Working together with Sony we have identified a set of features we believe are very compelling to gamers. We hope to expand upon the foundation being laid in Portal 2 with more Steam features and functionality in DLC and future content releases.

I’ve been hoping for something like this from Valve for a long time, and I certainly would have enjoyed having this for Left 4 Dead back in the day. To me, it makes no sense to have to buy multiple versions of a game, especially when movie studios are packaging Blu-ray, DVD and digital copies of products together. As this doesn’t seem to include the 360 edition, this pretty much cements which version of the game I’m buying – PS3.

Source – VG247

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 15: Slunk!

It’s the first podcast of the new year! The year isn’t all that new anymore, but we finally got off our butts and chatted about video games. In this edition, we were careful to avoid recapping 2010 (again) and looking forward too far into 2011 (again), and instead just talked about what we’re playing and some stuff that’s been rattling around our mostly empty brains.

In order to achieve that ultimate state of full disclosure, I must say that we actually recorded this the week before last with the intention of releasing it last week, but stuff happens and we didn’t get to it. So, it’s new to you, and should get us back on our regularly scheduled podcast programming. I know you’ve just been dying to hear our nasally voices.

For some reason, I was either hyper or bored, and by the end of the podcast I was in a bit of a rare form. It’s the form that Daniel and Nick know best from when I goofed around on the set of WZ or in the making of Leet World. Since I haven’t listened to it just yet, I’m not sure if it’s been immortalized in podcast form. If it is, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Anywho, hope you guys enjoy, and be sure to rate the podcast on iTunes! Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 15: Slunk!

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Says Xbox Isn’t Just for Games

xbox 360 isn't a gaming machineWe’ve been grumbling and moaning around here since E3 of last year about the Xbox 360 and Microsoft’s seemingly all-in strategy with Kinect, but I think that we took solace in the fact that the 360 would remain a bastion for the hardcore in some respects even after Kinect sold 8 million copies this past holiday season. Our hopes may be in vain, however, as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently spelled out the company’s long term plan in an interview with USA Today, citing how the Xbox 360 isn’t only made for playing the video games.

“Xbox isn’t a gaming console. Xbox is a family entertainment center. It’s a place to socialize. It’s a place to watch TV. We have Hulu coming. It’s the only system where you are the controller. Your voice, your gestures, your body.”

Mr. Ballmer goes on to say that while the Xbox has the 15 year old boy demographic nailed down, they’re searching for ways to expand beyond that, into the 15 year old girl and the middle aged market. Things like Kinect will go a long way towards that end, especially after the aforementioned sales bonanza which outstripped Microsoft’s own internal estimations. Sounds like the Xbox only does everything, right?
Continue reading Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Says Xbox Isn’t Just for Games

Today’s WTF: Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2

Oh, marketing departments, the bane of sophisticated gamers everywhere. It’s easier to make your product appeal to the lowest common denominator these days, but sometimes I have to wonder how these ad campaigns get pushed through. Take this recent bout of advertising for Dead Space 2 which features 200 mothers watching, and being horrified by, EA’s upcoming sci-fi thriller. Now, as a child of the 90s, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this type of advertising stunt before, probably for Soldier of Fortune or something. I’m sure that my mom would hate Dead Space 2, but would I make her watch it and upload my own reaction video to win a custom PS3? Probably. Here’s the shameful behind the scenes video.

So, any opinions on EA’s attempt to bring Dead Space 2 down to the level of common grade schlock? Any thoughts on months and months of hard work invalidated in order to appeal to 12 year olds?

Epic Mickey Sells 1.3 Million Copies

Epic Mickey

The Wii is considered Casual Central by most hardcore gamers and industry insiders. With the exception of whatever games that Nintendo publishes, most hardcore games languish and die on the Wii, while plenty of sub-par shovelware flourishes, much to our chagrin. Before its release, I had pegged Epic Mickey as a game that would be the metaphorical canary in a coal mine regarding the ability of the Wii to have success with non-Nintendo hardcore games.

The result, to my great surprise, is that the canary lived. According to the L.A. Times, who unlike us, has access to NPD data still, Warren Spector’s camera-challenged adventure/platformer sold 1.3 million units. Frankly, I’m stunned and a little bit annoyed. Epic Mickey got mixed reviews, though with a 72 Metacritic score, they are mostly positive. Having reviewed it for GamerSushi and finding it to be severely lacking, I am frustrated that a game that, in my opinion, doesn’t deserve this kind of success finds it on the Wii, while other, more deserving games fail.

What do you think about this? Are you surprised at all? Does this validate the Wii’s hardcore credentials for you or is the jury still out?
Verdict?

Source: L.A. Times

Today’s WTF: Pac-Man: The Reality Show

Pac Man TV show

Yes, this is real. No, I am not laughing. OK, maybe a little.

I’ll bet when you think of Pac-Man chasing some ghosts around a little light maze full of strange pellets, you never thought that someone would try to turn that already ridiculous concept into an even more ridiculous reality TV show. According to Deadline, Merv Griffin Entertainment is trying to do just that. They are teaming up with Namco to produce this no doubt amazing TV revolution.

Says Roy Bank, Merv Griffin’s TV president:

The idea we have is to take what Pac-Man is and bring it to life, to bring what is essentially the world’s biggest game of tag to television.

I see no idea how this could possibly be anything other but awesome. What say you?

Source – Deadline

GamerSushi Asks: Ideal Collector’s Editions?

Super Mario 25th Anniversary

Nintendo won over the fanboys with their 25th Anniversary Edition of Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii. Well, not all of them. As seen in this 1UP article, Nintendo screwed up royally by porting the games over with a bare minimum of extra content. Don’t get me wrong: the CD and booklet were pretty cool, but one track from each Mario game, usually the track of the first level? Not exactly what I thought I was getting.

Which leads me to wonder, as the article does, of what publishers could throw in to special editions of games to make them more worthwhile. The fabled Developer’s Commentary is always a favorite that people clamor for, but is oddly rare. Lost levels, playable ones even, would be kind of cool.

What would you like to see in collector’s editions? Do you think Nintendo missed a great opportunity here or are you happy with what they provided? Speak now!

Source: 1UP

Why I’m Disenchanted with Gaming Sites

John MarstonIn some deep corner of my mind, I’ve got a couple of dream jobs, things I would like to do at some point in my life and that would not crush my soul daily. The ultimate dream job for me would be an author, preferably science fiction or fantasy. Seriously, I could write cheesy fantasy books for a meager wage and be a happy man. That’s more of a long term goal, though.

A slightly more realistic (but still far-fetched) and more short-term dream of mine would be to work for a gaming site, one with some actual financial clout behind it, instead of just a handful of dudes that made about zero dollars producing some Web shows for two years. But while many portray the Intertubes as a wild west where cowboys can get famous and make a name for themselves, there are just as many no-name bandits running around as well, trying to eek out some kind of online existence.
Continue reading Why I’m Disenchanted with Gaming Sites

Defining Good Choices in Gaming

Mass Effect 2

It’s been said often, but Bioware is the developer that gets the most praise when it comes to infusing a game with player-made choices (and more recently, Quantic Dream). However – is choice always the best route that a developer can take? Could choice restrict or limit game design? Could choice make a game less interesting?

That’s the question that Robert Green at Gamasutra poses this week. Green discusses the choices in games that have mattered most to him, and the ones that really fell flat. He makes some spot-on points about good and bad choices just for the sake of having them, and how they don’t really add much to a game. Green also waxes eloquently about how putting players into a class or upgrade box before giving them all the information they need is limiting for the player as well.

I totally agree with the assertion that players need more information before choosing classes and certain upgrade paths. The skills you have at the end of the game can make or break its enjoyment, and I hate not knowing what becomes more important later on. I’ve spent dozens of upgrade points leveling up completely useless things before in games, and it’s fairly irritating. I also agree with the idea that hard choices are better than simple morality choices.

What do you guys think about how choices are being used in games? What choices have felt too simplistic or not impacting? Which choices have really stuck with you?

Source – Gamasutra