Get it? I have puns. Anyway, InFamous, the PS3 exclusive open-world superhero game, has managed to fly under my radar the past few months. However, recent reviews are starting to pour in that claim this title is the real deal, and perhaps one of the reasons you should own a PS3 this year.
I didn’t really believe it until I started checking out the videos myself. It looks like the best parts of Crackdown, GTA and Spider-Man 2, with the latter game being made by the same developer. Check out the video!
Ok, considering that I’ve been wanting to play these games for the last few months, this news is just awesome. For you PS3 and PSP owners, a recent ESRB ratings search shows that Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil are coming to the PSN Store for download! Yes, the original honest-to-goodness PlayStation titles.
I’ve been on a bit of a classic gaming kick recently and since I learned the other month that I misplaced my MGS disc, this is definitely a welcome surprise. The original Metal Gear Solid is still to this day one of my top five favorite games of all time, and playing it on my PSP while I travel over the summer is definitely going to be a bonus.
Is anybody else excited about this? Have you ever lost or misplaced an old game that you really wanted to play again?
We all know what E3 means. It’s the time of year when we get sandwiched by video game news galore, and announcements from every corner of the gaming kingdom. Not only do we hear from the developers we enjoy, but also from the big 3 of the console wars: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Each year, they regale us with tales of things to come. So how truthful are they?
A writer over at Kotaku took the time to analyze last year’s E3 promises from each of the major console makers, in order to see who told more fibs and who did the biggest exaggerations. Surprisingly enough, it seems that all of them did a pretty good job at predicting the things to come. See for yourself:
So, how do you think they all did? And who had the best year? Personally, from the looks of it, it seems that Sony may have edged out the competition in terms of truth-telling, and they’ve even given us several great reasons to pick up their new console since then. Thoughts?
Team Ico, the awesome guys that brought us classic legendary titles like Shadow of the Colossus and Ico, have been hard at work on a new, super-secret project. Well, according to PlayStation LifeStyle, that PS3 project has just been revealed, codenamed “Trico”. While they have no source on the trailer below, it definitely has the look and feel of some of their past projects.
The footage shows a boy and a strange creature that seems to be a dog/rat/bird thing, and the two engage in co-operative platforming through awesome environments. I don’t know how I feel about the animal, but the footage definitely has a great feel to it. No word on whether this is real or not, but the music isn’t original and appears in the movie “Miller’s Crossing”.
Ah, Hideo Kojima. You’re a little rascal. You like to make crazy cut scenes, pretentious dialogue, awesome action and things that tease your loyal followers. Take this new announcement Web site from Hideo Kojima, for instance. It appeared sometime last week and has a mysterious countdown, a field, some lightning, and what appears to be the number “5″ (or the letter S) splashed across it.
However, it seems some Metal Gear Solid fans have done some digging around, and the source code for the site shows that the timer runs out on June 1, the day of the Microsoft E3 press event (Sony’s is on June 2). A Microsoft Metal Gear game, perchance? Also, looking at the meta keywords reveals the words “next” “metal gear” and “mgs”, though nothing that says “mgs5″.
So, what does this all mean? While Metal Gear Solid 4 was the last entry into the Solid Snake story, I wouldn’t put it past Kojima to keep the series going, only with a new and rebooted storyline with some different characters. What do you guys think?
If there’s something that I’ve learned about gamers, it’s that we like to torture ourselves. Seriously, it’s true. Whether it’s with a dungeon, a particularly hard boss, or maybe obtaining a certain achievement or level in a multiplayer game, we will beat our faces against the screen until we are a bloody mess in order to satisfy our goals. We’re masochists, really.
I think one of the more obvious symbols of this self-induced flaying would have to be the storied midnight launch. The midnight launch, the method of instant releases for both systems and games, brings a real life obstacle for a gamer to grind his way through. Something to set our hopes on and try to tackle. Though I’ve participated in many midnight launches in my day, none was so arduous as the quest to obtain my Playstation 2 back in 2000.
GameCop vs. LameCop is a feature where Anthony and I argue about video game issues, playing the role of either the GameCop or the LameCop as we do so. We switch roles each time. The GameCop has your best interests as gamers at heart, while the LameCop is just what he sounds like: a total loser.
This week, we tackle several issues including multiplayer in single player games, Nintendo’s lackluster GTA: Chinatown Wars sales and E3 predictions.
For those that are uninitiated, MAG, or Massive Action Game, is an FPS game coming for the PS3 that promises 256 player multiplayer matches. Massive, indeed, no? While I’ve been doubtful about pulling this off, Sony has come along to prove us all wrong with a new MAG trailer along with real-time footage of some of the big battles in question.
This is all very early, but what do you guys think? Can they pull this off?
No. Please, no. It appears that a Shadow of the Colossus movie is in the works. While many might find the idea of such a great and epic video game being put into a big screen format enticing, I find it simply repulsive, for a number of reasons.
Beyond the fact that the game is one of the most powerful studies of death I’ve ever seen, the people involved with this project don’t exactly scream cinema quality to me. Ready for this? The producer is also behind such great flicks as The Scorpion King. Heck, they even went top dollar and hired the writer for the new Chun-Li Street Fighter movie.
While part of me is sick to my stomach to even think about a bad film version of this, I can’t help but get angry at the people in the video game industry that keep cheapening their unique intellectual properties for a quick buck. I mean, really? This is the depth you’ll sink to for more money on your brand?
What do you guys think? Is this an epic fail or am I just being dumb? Go.
Could this be the last generation of consoles? Apparently, that’s what analyst Michael Pachter thinks, and it’s his job to come up with this kind of stuff, I guess.
Here’s what Pachter-Man had to say:
I think we’ve seen the last generation of consoles… [Third party publishers] are not going to support a PS4 or Xbox 720. The content is not going to change in any meaningful ways because the publishers can’t afford it.
He also believes that Nintendo might upgrade the Wii at some point, but that both MS and Sony are going to stand pat with what they’ve got. Personally, I think we’ll probably see at least one more round of consoles, but he might not be too far off the mark. What do you guys think? Is this the last console generation?
Over the weekend, I got sick as a dog. For real. Burritos and stomach viruses do not mix, and apparently I don’t go well with with those two, either. Anywho, my brother was in town visiting, and since our options were limited to anything I could do while plastered to a couch, we chose to partake in the glorious fight scenes of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
All complaints about the movie aside, the fight scenes are some of the coolest I’ve ever seen in any medium, but beyond that, the movie itself is total fanboy service in terms of the content it delivers. I mean, really, they revisit nearly every single major or minor character and even give you a glimpse at life after the events of the story. Hell, they have the main bad guy show up again.
This got me wondering- what other franchises or video games would you love to see get the Advent Children treatment that Final Fantasy VII got? If you could have a ridiculous fanboy-loving movie sequel to any game that allowed you to see what happened to your favorite characters, and even threw in pants-wettingly awesome action sequences, what would it be? Go!
Take-Two said in a press conference that sales of its mega-ultra-super-shiny juggernaut Grand Theft Auto IV (the one without the digital ding dong) were split about even between the 360 and PS3. They did not give any other specifics or release any actual numbers, but fanboys on both sides are freaking right out, while Wii fanboys wave a plastic remote in the air cause they just don’t care.
GTA IV sold 13 million copies worldwide so if they sold even down the middle on both systems, this means that more of the PS3′s installed base bought the game than the 360′s, which is odd and just a little surprising. The PS3 has sold 21.3 million worldwide and the Xbox 360 has sold 27.93 million worldwide. Maybe its due to the PS3′s demographic skewing older? Maybe people just preferred getting it on the PS3 because thats what the old GTAs were originally on? If this is accurate and Take-Two is not just having a laugh at us, it also means that Microsoft’s much vaunted exclusive DLC did not play much of a factor in people’s decision, which is even more odd. If I had a 360, I would have got it on that for the DLC. As a PS3 owner, I am still hoping it is simply a timed exclusive.
What did you buy the game on and if you have both systems, why? What do you make of this surprising news?
If you haven’t seen the God of War III trailer yet, it kind of owns. In a massive way. The game looks bigger, more violent and more epic than ever before. Unfortunately, all we really have is a 2 minute trailer that gives us any hint of what to expect. That’s why Gametrailers posted an in-depth and detailed look at the footage, complete with pop-up factoids. Fun times.
And the LittleBigPlanet levels continue to keep impressing. Here is the entire game of Contra remade in LittleBigPlanet, and it’s entirely too awesome. I’m going to have to download this later.
The Consumerist is reporting that a woman who identified herself as a lesbian on her gamertag profile was banned from Xbox Live. In order to prevent offensive actions or harassment, Microsoft bans certain words, regardless of how they are used. This policy makes a certain degree of sense, but wasn’t the case:
The woman, who only goes by “Teresa,” claims that she was harassed by other XBL users. “They followed me into the games and told all the players to turn me in because they didn’t want to see that crap or their kids to see that crap. As if xbox live is really appropriate for kids anyways!” She goes on to say that her account was suspended. When she brought the issue up to Microsoft, the response was that other users found it “offensive.”
Simply saying you are gay, which has no affect on anyone you are playing online with, causes this kind of hatred. I think its really sad and it makes me ashamed that gamers treat people like this. Microsoft told MTV they are reconsidering their policy towards offensive words, which is good news.
Xbox Live and PSN are full of people who shout “faget” and other racist and homophobic terms. Gamers get so offended when someone portrays them as mouth-breathing neanderthals or violent-loving sickos, but this kind of portrayal doesn’t seem to bother most. I think its really wrong when people play a GAME and can’t even enjoy it without hatred and vitriol spewed at them.
This is Anthony, getting off his soapbox, in a bad mood because Morrissey canceled his concert, which was Anthony’s birthday gift. We now return you to your regularly scheduled life.
Sometimes, Christmas comes early. Sometimes, your prayers are answered. And sometimes, the good guys win. Stop rubbing that rabbit’s foot as your luck finally turned. No, Uwe Boll didn’t lose his Director’s Guild membership, but Worstpreviews is reporting via Production Weekly that Brett Ratner, acclaimed (ahem) director behind the Rush Hour series and X-Men hater (judging from X-Men:The Last Stand, he clearly doesn’t like them) has left the upcoming God of War movie:
“Over at Universal it looks like Brett Ratner has shelved ‘God Of War,’ and is moving forward on ‘Trump Heist’ with Eddie Murphy and Chris Tucker.“
I don’t think Kratos himself could have withstood that disaster. Now that Ratner has left to further drop Eddie Murphy and Chris Tucker into the Realm of Irrelevance, who would you like to step in an take over? It’s a long shot, but Zack Snyder of 300 fame and the upcoming Watchmen would rock this world. Who’s your dream director?
You may or may not have seen the awesome God of War III trailer that hit this weekend. Well, if you haven’t hear it is, in all of its minion slaying, titan riding glory. The coolest part? Apparently, all of this stuff is using in-game assets. Now that’s hot.
Killzone 2 is coming out later this month, as many gamers are no doubt aware of. Reviews are already starting to pour in, most of them overwhelmingly positive, which is exciting for me, as I own a PS3. However, what is not as exciting to me is some of the rabid fanboyism that it is inspiring amongst the gaming populace, either for it or against it.
Case in point: recently, Edge magazine gave the game a 7/10, which is admittedly lower than it has been receiving so far. However, 7/10 is still above average for a game, but no, not many others saw it that way. In fact, Edge was blasted by PSX Extreme and numerous other publications (as well as Sony’s most devoted fanboys) for being elitists and just trying to grab attention by scoring the game lower. Um, maybe they just didn’t like it as much as you did?
To me, this really drives home the reason why a game like Grand Theft Auto IV will get almost all perfect scores with little to no dissension among the ranks. Hell, disagreeing with the norm gets you labeled as a pariah in the gaming journalism circles these days. It’s ridiculous. To me, it speaks of a greater issue with gaming publications and the way they buy into their own hype.
What do you guys think? Fair/foul by Edge magzine, or by the other sites that are giving them guff?
Flower is a PSN game that puts you in control of flower petals that float across colorful landscapes, all done via the PS3′s motion controls. While the concept is mega artsy fartsy, and the developers talk about it as such, it still looks like a damn innovative game, and we don’t get enough of those these days. It’s actually getting good reviews, too. I think this is a game that you can easily get for your significant other.
Pretentious mumbo jumbo aside, aren’t the visuals pretty great? It actually looks kind of fun to play, too.
So I imagine you guys are all aware of this little title called Killzone 2? Yeah, thought so. The 360 fanboys hate it already and the PS3 fanboys are ready to canonize it, so I thought I would take a look at it myself. Having read dozens of reviews of the game already, I had a good idea of what to expect and my main complaint was that the demo was really too short to make a firm judgment about anything. This preview will also answer some things I have seen pop up online regarding the demo and the game itself.
Anthony “I am okay with QTE, but this is just the worst. That game looked like it was designed in a boardroom already and now...” on Ryse: When Games Play Themselves 12 hours 9 minutes
Kyle “I’d hope that’s something exclusive to Easy mode, since I honestly tend to be slightly overwhelmed by a lot...” on Ryse: When Games Play Themselves 17 hours 5 minutes
Mitch “Ugh, this just seems gross. I mean, I’m fairly apathetic towards QTEs (when they’re done right,...” on Ryse: When Games Play Themselves 17 hours 25 minutes
Welcome to GamerSushi!
Ok, considering that I’ve been wanting to play these games for the last few months, this news is just awesome. For you PS3 and PSP owners, a recent 
We all know what E3 means. It’s the time of year when we get sandwiched by video game news galore, and announcements from every corner of the gaming kingdom. Not only do we hear from the developers we enjoy, but also from the big 3 of the console wars: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Each year, they regale us with tales of things to come. So how truthful are they?
Ah, Hideo Kojima. You’re a little rascal. You like to make crazy cut scenes, pretentious dialogue, awesome action and things that tease your loyal followers. Take this new 
If there’s something that I’ve learned about gamers, it’s that we like to torture ourselves. Seriously, it’s true. Whether it’s with a dungeon, a particularly hard boss, or maybe obtaining a certain achievement or level in a multiplayer game, we will beat our faces against the screen until we are a bloody mess in order to satisfy our goals. We’re masochists, really. 
GameCop vs. LameCop is a feature where Anthony and I argue about video game issues, playing the role of either the GameCop or the LameCop as we do so. We switch roles each time. The GameCop has your best interests as gamers at heart, while the LameCop is just what he sounds like: a total loser.
No. Please, no. It appears that a Shadow of the Colossus movie is in the works. While many might find the idea of such a great and epic video game being put into a big screen format enticing, I find it simply repulsive, for a number of reasons. 
Could this be the last generation of consoles? Apparently, that’s what analyst Michael Pachter thinks, and it’s his job to come up with this kind of stuff, I guess.
Over the weekend, I got sick as a dog. For real. Burritos and stomach viruses do not mix, and apparently I don’t go well with with those two, either. Anywho, my brother was in town visiting, and since our options were limited to anything I could do while plastered to a couch, we chose to partake in the glorious fight scenes of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
Sometimes, Christmas comes early. Sometimes, your prayers are answered. And sometimes, the good guys win. Stop rubbing that rabbit’s foot as your luck finally turned. No, Uwe Boll didn’t lose his Director’s Guild membership, but 
Killzone 2 is coming out later this month, as many gamers are no doubt aware of. Reviews are already starting to pour in, most of them overwhelmingly positive, which is exciting for me, as I own a PS3. However, what is not as exciting to me is some of the rabid fanboyism that it is inspiring amongst the gaming populace, either for it or against it. 
Anthony
Drell Assassin
Kyle
Mitch
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