by Ravi Sinha
The Games Conference 2008 at Leipzig will be an event to remember… and in true expo disappointment fashion, one to loathe. For every hopeful announcement, there were at least one or two others that went morality hunting.
At least one of the Sony-oriented announcements, concerning the release of several of AAA titles for their console, was undeterred. Hence, in the coming months we can confidently look forward to LittleBigPlanet, Bioshock and Fallout 3 on the PS3 this October. In corelation with the above “evil must balance good” disclosure, Sony underlined quite a few awkward points that we’ve magnified for your benefit. Sony at least put in a decent effort — Microsoft didn’t seem bothered, and Nintendo was just too good to show up this year. Also: Conflicting reports of Mirror’s Edge being a timed exclusive for the PS3.
Click here to continue reading ‘Disappointments of Leipzig GC 2008′
by Kuriakose Saju
When they first appeared on the scene nearly six years ago, the duo were considered “one of the best games to be seen since consoles became polygonal.” It was the age of the PS2 and this particular shooter/ platformer deprived me of many hours of possible boredom. I remember guiding Ratchet and his robot companion Clank through world after world as they battled Captain Qwark and Chairman Drek of the Blarg race. And ultimately was rewarded with the beautiful sight of the two walking off together, as good friends should, after saving the galaxy from near destruction.
Over the past six years, the franchise became hugely successful with another seven titles being released and the eight one due to hit the stands on August 21st. And while Ratchet and Clank were busy raking in the virtual moolah, I went my own way, got a degree and got a job, keeping my way of life separate from theirs.
Of course, some jobs are better than others and at my latest job, one of the perks I get to enjoy are sampling the latest titles in the market (Jealous, ain’t ya?). Which is how I came in contact with my old friends, pleasantly surprised to find just Clank on a solo run as a secret agent. I say pleasantly surprised because I had my reservations about splitting up the duo. And after two days on my handheld, I found Secret Agent Clank to be one of the most engaging games on the PSP today! Also, given that the third P in PSP stands for “Portable”, playing while at the office becomes a whole lot easier. Click here to continue reading ‘Secret Agent Clank’
Despite the lack of regular releases on the PSP, even with heavyweights like Crisis Core and Secret Agent Clank being available and The 3rd Birthday, Kingdom Heart: Birth by Sleep and Final Fantasy Agito XIII still several months off, sales for the handheld have been steady. Good news for Sony: Not only did the PSP outsell the XBox 360 this past July, but Capcom has reaffirmed its stand for continued development on the platform.
“We’re still making new PSP games,” said developer and VP Christian Svensson in response to fan’s questions on the Capcom-Unity blog. “We may be the most successful PSP publisher in the world with Monster Hunter Portable 2nd and 2ndG. It’d be a difficult decision to defend stopping development when we have such success on the platform,” he added.
Even though UK sales reports have been less than encouraging, Japan still shows stellar sales with the platform outselling most, if not all the other consoles, each week. This is attributed to the current success, Sega’s Phantasy Star Portable. Looks like there’s still hope for Sony’s handheld. Now, what other blockbuster releases does Capcom exactly have planned for the platform? Er…
When Sony released the portable screen attachment for their first Playstation, fans immediately lapped it up. For once, there was a real 3D gaming solution on the go (of course, the PSX’s new, slimmer clam-shaped design wasn’t too shabby either).
Naturally, with the PSP and the DS you’d think that we’re coming even closer to having home console quality titles in her hands. Then, some dude on the Net (referred to as ‘Pirate’ on PS3hax.net) goes ahead and builds this monster. Yes, that is an actual working PS3 in laptop form. It has a 17 inch LCD screen, built-in speakers and headphone jack, custom cooling, and weighs about 15 pounds, less than twice as much as the original XBox (how’s that for broken toes once dropped?). Click here to continue reading ‘PS3 Portable: One Side, PSP’
by ess-cee
Think Patapon, and the immediate mental jump is to LocoRoco - the visual style, the adorably cute characters and the gleeful singing and shouting as the tumble about happily… Beyond that though, Patapon is nothing like LocoRoco, though that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Patapon is really a lot of different genres meshed into one, and for the most part this works. A Rhythm-Action-RTS is a new Idea, and it’s perhaps expected that there would be a few issues in this quirky game. Still, what it does deliver is fun too, and worth looking at, at least.
You’re playing God (every gamer’s favourite pastime) for the Patapon warriors who’ve got to fight through a lot of enemies and find the end of the world. Click here to continue reading ‘Patapon: Drum and play God’
