B3yond the Report 03.24.09

Posted by Derek Robbins on 03.24.2009

Bioshock 2 information unveiled, Valkyria Chronicles getting DLC and Sony pimping their 2009 lineup. All of that and more this week on B3yond the Report!

Hello and Welcome to B3yond the Report. This is your host with the most Derek Robbins, well, let's kick this thing off shall we?



B3yond the News of the Week

Valkyria Chronicles DLC still North America bound

Valkyria Chronicles, perhaps the best exclusive the PS3 saw last year, will be receiving DLC in North America this Spring. This is despite the fact that Valkyria Chronicles sales have been pretty bad in this region. There were reports in December that sales for the game only reached up to 30,000, which is not at all good. The DLC had already been released in Japan (for a while, it should be noted) and you would have to assume that had the game been more popular over here, it would already be available for our perusal. Still though, I am very pleased that Sega is releasing the DLC here despite the sales for the title. So, let's see what we'll be getting eh? These are in three different packs.

• Hard EX Mode - fight your way once more through the entire Imperial army, where the enemies are more lethal and your main tank Edelweiss is unavailable. You'll have to be more strategic in order to overcome your opponents.
• Edy's Mission "Enter the Edy Detachment" - six members have been separated from Squad 7 and on their journey to reunite with the squad, they stumble upon a tiny village under attack by the Imperial Army. Play as Edy and command your outnumbered team to defend the small village from annihilation.
• Selvaria's Mission "Behind Her Blue Flame" - this mission takes place right after the outbreak of Gallian battle lines and you play as Johann, a young and meek engineer, assigned to Selvaria's troop. See the action as it unfolds behind enemy lines and see the war play out through the eyes of the enemy.

Well, for starters, the Hard EX Mode sounds very interesting. I like that I can now play the game on a harder difficulty. You see, in the original game, you had the option to play the skirmish battles on a more difficult setting, but now you can do it with story missions. Doing it without the Edelweiss may be pretty tricky for one particular mission – namely the one where you have to stop the giant tank in the desert – but I will definitely welcome the new challenge. I wonder if the S-rank will come with Hard-EX mode? I may be wrong, but I believe the Japanese version of the game included an S-rank, which would be a nice little inclusion for perfectionists who aren't satisfied with their A-ranks.

I'm pretty sure the "missions" they offer are more than just a single map. Instead, they offer you a whole different story. Edy's mission is probably skippable if you're not too intent on paying money for DLC. Edy wasn't a storyline character in the game, instead she's just a popular troop that you can choose. I'm lead to believe that the DLC was only made available due to her popularity. I don't know a whole lot about this storyline, but I'd expect it to be light and goofy as opposed to the rest of Valkyria Chronicles. Nothing wrong with that. Hell, I'll be getting this pack.

The last pack is a very interesting one. It allows you to see the battle from a different side and perhaps you will be able to gain new perspectives from all of this. I had read something that implies that Selvaria is playable too thanks to this, which is nice. One would have to assume she would take a commander role similar to the Edelweiss. Though, given how tough she is in game, I wonder if they could make her play in a way that's not broken but still puts her over as very strong? Whatever the case, this is the DLC pack I am most looking forward to.

Going by Japanese pricing, the difficulty pack was the cheapest one coming in at US $2.80. So expect that to cost three flat. It makes sense that the difficulty DLC is the cheapest since, you know, it doesn't technically add any new content. Edy's mission came in at US $5.50. I think that one will be reduced to 5 or perhaps even 4, given that the game hasn't sold all that well here. Lastly, the Selvaria DLC came in at US $7.50 and I would assume it's going to be priced firmly at $7 or bumped up to $9. I'm positive that I'm not alone in being super intrigued about this one.

So really, get out there and buy Valkyria Chronicles. It's one of the best Playstation 3 games on the market. It may not have the same mainstream hype that hits like Killzone 2 have, but I assure you that VC is every bit as good if not better. Maybe you should consider purchasing this game to coincide with the soon-to-be released DLC? I assure you, hours of fun awaits. Why would I lie to you?



Bioshock 2 information

The current rumor going around is that Bioshock 2 will be a timed-exclusive on the 360. That is to say, similar to the original, there will be about a year buffer between the release of the 360 version and the PS3 version. 2K Studios says that it is aiming for a simultaneous release across all (non-Wii) platforms, so this is still just a rumor. Even if it is a timed exclusive, Bioshock 2 will still be coming to the Playstation 3. 2K Studios has re-iterated this time and time again. So, since there has been some new information revealed, let's learn a bit more about it shall we? Thanks to Game Informer for being the source for this baby.

You will be controlling a Big Daddy in this game. Apparently, it's not just a Big Daddy but THE Big Daddy. The very first one! You will get the ability to inject plasmids into your system just like in the first game. You will be taking on the Big Sister, who is tasked with taking little girls from town down into Rapture. I wonder if this will explain the relationship between the big daddies and the little sisters more? I also wonder if the combat against the Big Sister will be going throughout the game?

You also get the ability to make decisions revolving around the little sisters in this game too. You can either harvest them for their precious ADAM or save them. When you save them, you have to protect them as they gather it up for you. This would be just like it was in Bioshock 1, eh? Honestly, it sounds like they are recycling an awful lot. Just by reading this, I worry if this Bioshock will be a bit too rehashy to warrant being made. If they can manage to tell as rich of a story as the original did though, I imagine this will be a totally moot point.

As has been confirmed about a million times, Bioshock 2 will have multiplayer, though according to Eurogamer co-op is out. I think this is good. Honestly, I don't think multiplayer is a good idea for this game at all. Just because the game takes place from a first-person perspective doesn't mean that you absolutely must play with others. Remember Metroid Prime? Metroid Prime 2 included multiplayer because people demanded it and it was just not anything special. I don't think Bioshock was the kind of game that leant itself well to multiple people. Like Half-Life or System Shock 2, Bioshock felt like a single player experience.

Luckily, they met me halfway here. Co-op being out is a good thing. Even though Bioshock was played through the first-person perspective, there were some legitimately creepy moments. Having a buddy along in those kind of games often takes the fear right out. Let's look at Resident Evil for instance. RE 4 was not a scary game because the gameplay prevented it from being so. Still, it did have a couple of moments that creeped you out. In RE 5, that wasn't there at all, and a lot of it can be attributed to the fact you have a partner. When someone is there watching your back, it takes away from that kind of experience. Co-op in Bioshock would be similar and honestly, I'm glad to see it not there.

Not enough is known about Bioshock 2 to know whether it will be as amazing as its predecessor, but it is definitely a game you should keep your eye on. Bioshock 2 sounds a lot like the original, so here is hoping that it mixes just enough up to stand on its own two legs.



Sony says 2009 PS3 lineup is great

A lot of people seem to think that 2008's "Year of Playstation 3" title may have been awarded a bit too soon. While I disagree, mostly because the Playstation 3 had a pretty damn good year last year, I can kind of see where people are coming from. While the PS3 had a great year, the 360 and Wii didn't exactly slouch either, so it was kind of hard to stand out. 2009 though is looking like it's going to top even 2008, and 2008 was the year when Valkyria Chronicles came out!

On tap for this year are Heavy Rain, God of War III, inFamous and Uncharted 2, among others. Sony also mentioned that they have several un-announced titles in the work. This would be similar to Microsoft saying that their big games for 2009 have yet to be announced. Well, I guess they have some things to unveil at GDC then? Ah, but you're probably tired of hearing me gloss what Sony has coming out this year. Well, let's see what the guys themselves had to say, shall we? SCEA's VP of Product Development Scott Rohde says:

I think we had a very good lineup in 2008, especially for the holidays, but in 2009, it's an absolutely amazing lineup. It's one of the best lineups that we've ever put out in a single calendar year, so it's very, very exciting.

[...] We're just now starting to see the fruits of that labor, whereas maybe last year and the year before we were just scratching the surface of what the machine could do. Now developers are seasoned; they understand how to develop on the PS3.

Well, really, it's pretty obvious that a company is going to come out and say that their games for a given year are going to blow the roof off (Microsoft said earlier in the week that they believed FF XIII would sell better on the 360 than the PS3. I doubt this, given that it's not being released on the 360 outside of the states and the fact I actually know people who bought a PS3 AT LAUNCH for FF XIII), but with the games Sony has revealed so far, well, it's hard to doubt them. We don't really know much about what Microsoft has planned for this year, so at this point, it looks like Sony is the show to see. That can always change though.

If indeed what they say about developers understanding how to develop for their system is true, well, only good things await. This might mean an end to inferior PS3 ports on hardware that is technically superior. This may mean more people leaping to make games on a system like the PS3 because they actually understand it. On the same hand, it could end up meaning pretty much nothing because the 360 is still easier to develop for and porting stuff over to the PS3 has had decent results so far.

I do hope that what they say about unleashing their potential is true. I remember reading earlier how Killzone 2 only (or was it Res 2? I forget) only utilized like 25% of the PS3's potential. We could very well have a system that will be pumping full-force over the next couple of years. It's been a slow start for the Playstation 3, but if you believe what Sony is telling you, things will only be up from here. Obviously, they're fighting an up-hill battle against Microsoft and Nintendo, but if they continue to release quality content and FINALLY offer a price cut, maybe…they can catch up?

Also, what's the deal with the 360 having an RE 5 bundle and the PS3 not? It doesn't bother me because I think that RE 5 really isn't good enough of a game to warrant a bundle, but…that's the kind of thing Sony should be doing to boost sales. Don't you think they could have sold a few extra systems by doing that? After all, the 360 elite + RE 5 was $399. An 80 GB PS3 + RE 5 could cost the same amount. Would that really hurt? Eh, whatever. And yes, I DO kind of want the red/orange 360. It looks pretty! Much better than the white ones.

Looking forward to the rest of 2009, Sony.



The PSN Update

It's been pretty ho-hum lately, but we have to continue on none the less. It's a dangerous life I lead, but somebody has to lead it eh?

Price Update: Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty ($9.99, limited time offer)

Downloadable Games: Wheel of Fortune ($14.99)

Add-on game content:
• LittleBigPlanet Killzone Mini-Pack (US$ 2.99)
• High Velocity Bowling: Jill's Totally Straight Trick Shot Pack (free)
• PAIN: Smack Pack (US$ 2.99)
• Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack (US$ 9.99)
• Midnight Club: Los Angeles
o Expansion (free)
o Premium upgrade (US$ 9.99)
• NCAA Basketball 09 Bracket Pack (free)
• Street Fighter IV Classic Pack (US$ 3.99)
• Unreal Tournament 3 Titan Pack (free)
• FIFA 09 Ultimate Team (comes in English, French, Spanish - all free)
• Karaoke revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2
o Black Velvet ($1.49)
o Brick House ($1.49)
o Call Me ($1.49)
o Hemorrhage (In My Hands) ($1.49)
o More Than A Feeling ($1.49)
o Rio ($1.49)
o Saving All My Love For You ($1.49)
o Smooth Criminal ($1.49)
o Stickwitu ($1.49)
o Tainted Love ($1.49)
o These Words (I Love You, I Love You) ($1.49)
o Toxic ($1.49)
o Unchained Melody ($1.49)
o Unforgettable ($1.49)
o Waiting For A Girl Like You ($1.49)
o What I Like About You ($1.49)
o You Can't Hurry Love ($1.49)
o You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling ($1.49)
• Rock Band - Get the Funk Out Pack 01 ($5.49)
o "Lifeline"— Papa Roach ($1.99)
o "Last Resort"— Papa Roach ($1.99)
o "Thrash Unreal"— Against Me! ($1.99)
o "Use It"— The New Pornographers ($1.99)
o "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth"— The New Pornographers ($1.99)
o "Shining Star"— Earth, Wind & Fire ($1.99)
o "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine - Pt. 1″— James Brown ($1.99)
• Guitar Hero World Tour
o European Track Pack 04 (US$ 5.49)
 "Carolina" by M-Clan ($1.99)
 "Hier kommt Alex" by Die Toten Hosen ($1.99)
 "What Have You Done" By Within Temptation ($1.99)
o Jimi Hendrix Track Pack 02 (US$ 5.49)
 Foxey Lady (Live from Woodstock)
 Freedom
 Angel
Game Demos:
Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition Demo

PSP Store
Downloadable Games
* Luxor Pharaoh's Challenge UMD Legacy ($9.99) (also available from PS3 storefront)
Add-on Game Content
* Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? - Marona of Phantom Isle ($3.99) (also available from PS3 storefront)
This package file adds a new stage and a boss character called Marona.
File size: 1.98 MB
You may notice that I left out the video section this week. That will always happen, mostly because I don't give a shit about the videos. If I want to watch a video, I'll find it on the internet instead of wasting PS3 hard-drive space to do it. Also, themes and wallpapers will be left out from now on unless something particularly interesting is shown on these files. If not, no mention.

Starting off, I love price cuts. It's for a short time, so you may as well hop on it if you like the Ratchet franchise. From what I remember, the Quest for Bootie is a teensie game that really just exists to hint at the next game, but I guess it probably is fun. I haven't really played it though, so I can't say for sure. Am I the only one out there who thinks the Jak franchise was superior to the Ratchet franchise? Yeah, Jak was harder, but it was also much more rewarding.

Wheel of Fortune is Wheel of Fortune. You know what you're getting there. $15 seems probably $5 too expensive, but this probably isn't a hard sell to older PS3 gamers or, reall, Playstation 3 gamers who desire to play something with their kids. Even so, a price of $9.99 just seems so much more, I dunno, fair.

I do not approve of the LBP DLC this week. It's just a group of costumes and stickers. So, in that sense, I also am not behind the Street Fighter IV DLC. It's costumes for Guile, Blanka, Dhalsim, Gen and Fei Long. Really, I can see everyone else but why lump Fei Long in the classics pack? He was unveiled in the Super Street Fighter II. All of the others were revealed before then. Whatever, I guess they just had to squeeze him in somewhere.

High Velocity DLC is there if you want it. Hard to complain about the price of free. Didn't they used to charge for these? Hm…were they listening to my advice? Doubtful, but glad to see it's free.
I'm not a big map pack guy, so I'm not too thrilled with the CoD DLC costing $9.99. Also running in at $9.99 is Midnight Club DLC. From what I read about it, it's just a couple of cars which doesn't really seem worth the nine dollars. What's fucking weird is that what should have cost $9.99, the expansion (which adds a new city to the game), is free. So, uh, whatever. Thanks!
To go along with the NCAA tournament, NCAA Basketball 09 got a nice little update that offers you an option to play this year's tournament with updated team all-arounds. A nice little piece that will let you play out your fantasy bracket. I mean, this is probably the only arena where my original pick of Villanova winning it all will actually play out. This feels pretty patch-like, but they're not charging for it, so I'm not complaining. Going along with this are also free updates for FIFA and Unreal Tournament 3. UT 3's new stuff includes new playable characters and over 16 new levels. AMONG OTHER THINGS! See, they don't charge out the ass for map-packs Activision. (To be fair, $9.99 is pretty much the going rate for map packs) The Ultimate Team stuff for FIFA appears to be a glorified demo. So not as impressive as the free UT 3 content.

The music this week sees the American Idol karaoke game re-appear after a mysterious several week absence. Where did ya go? You'd figure DLC for that would be pumping hardcore now that Idol is back in session. The songs on this pack seem recognizable, so one can assume these are songs you would hear on Idol. Have they release Proud Mary yet? Since you know someone sings that every god damn year. The Rock Band and Guitar Hero packs are decent with Papa Roach and Hendrix. Still charge too much, but complaining about that is pointless.

The PSP store comes with what appears to be a side-scrolling shooter set in Egypt. I mean, hey, it could be alright. Just glad to see more games available for the PSP store given the fact that the place has remained largely ignored. You also have Prinny DLC, which unlike the Disgaea 3 DLC, is actually worth a shit. You see, you get to play actual new levels and junk! Nice to see you kind of learned your lesson there, Atlus.

The update was plentiful this week. It wasn't the greatest but it wasn't bad. Last week was thumbs sideways and it's pretty much the same this week. So, eh, good going I imagine.



B3yond the Tabloids

Vintage PETA: I'm sure you've heard how they've complained about animal cruelty in CoD 5 by now. Well, Activision responded:

In order to create believable, real-world scenes and heighten the game playing experience, Call of Duty: World at War depicts the ruthless and gritty combat of World War II.

Dogs are included in the game for authenticity since they were used extensively by German, Japanese, U.S. and Soviet troops during the war. Activision in no way endorses or condones cruelty to animals, and we don't believe the game will encourage cruelty in any way.

Was kind of hoping Activision would take them to task for being offended at dogs being killed and not really giving a shit that humans are being shot all over the place in their game. Whatever, it's Activision. Baby steps.

For those of you who enjoy Diner Dash, a new 3D version of the game will be coming out for PSN (and presumably X-Box LIVE). This will not be a simple port of the PSP and DS versions of the game, as it will include entirely new content. For those worried about this though, no worries, the basic gameplay remains about the same.

For those of you who actually wanted to see another Max Payne game, apparently Rockstar has you covered. Assumedly this is being made to capitalize on the movie, despite the fact that it sucked. According to the press release, life has just been getting worse for Max since Max Payne 2. Rockstar says they plan on showing a side of Max that we've never seen before. We will see then. I don't know if they can make a successful Max Payne unless it plays a bit differently than the last one.

Apparently the much maligned Resident Evil 5 DLC has been delayed. Originally slotted for a March 26th release in Japan, the release date for it now has been slipped back to April 9th. No news on when the North American DLC will be released, but rest assured it won't be for at least a couple of weeks afterwards.

Bummed that the PS3 price drop hasn't happened yet? Well, bucken up a bit. Apparently this week Target is offering a nice deal. You see, when you buy a Playstation 3, you will also be getting a free Dual Shock 3 controller. So, really, it's like you're getting a $50 dollar discount since the DS 3 usually costs that much anyhow. Not bad, but I still wonder why we don't see more packs like this? Would have loved to see a Killzone 2 PS3 over here.

Did you know that even though a price may be free on PSN, the publishers have to pay sixteen cents for every gigabyte downloaded? That may not seem like a lot, but believe you me, it adds up! This might be part of the reason that we've seen the 360 snare exclusive DLC such as GTA IV's "The Lost and the Damned" as well as the Fallout 3 DLC. If the publishers have to pay because people want their stuff, that kind of sucks. The X-Box avoids this through the $50 charge for X-Box LIVE. So really, publishers pay for Sony, consumers pay for Microsoft.

It pleases me to say that Street Fighter IV was the most purchased game of February here in the states. Wii Fit sold 644,000…somehow, and Street Fighter IV sold 849,000. This number is the combined total for X-Box 360 and PS3 sales. Individually, the 360 sold 446,000 while the PS3 version sold 403,000. Total software sales were about 10% more than what they were expected to be. I guess this is cool considering the current state of the economy. Maybe people want to beat the shit out of others to distract themselves from such economic woes?

FF XIII's ATB system has been revealed a little bit. Apparently players will be able to use an infinite number of moves and chain them into combos and what not. From what little I've read, this kind of reminds me of FF X-2's battle system. A lot of people frowned on that game but I really enjoyed it. I doubt they'd go back to it though, so we'll just have to wait even further.

Remember that DC Universe online exists? Well, Marvel wasn't going to take this laying down! You had to know that. Gazillion Entertainment has acquired the rights to create a variety of MMOs from the Marvel universe and release them across the PC and multiple platforms.

Sony seems to think that Killzone 2 will make 360 gamers want to hop over and play their game. Well, I mean, Killzone 2 is good, but if they wanted to play Gears of War, I just assume they would turn on their own console they already own.

In an interview with IGN, Richard Lemarchand, the co-lead designer of the new Uncharted game, had the following to say:

We've added animations and technology that allow Drake to climb and explore the environment in a much more free-form and organic manner.

[...] Drake now freely clambers hand over hand on all sorts of objects like walls, ladders, signposts, monkey bars, ledges, ropes and so on. We added the ability for him to swing on free-hanging ropes across chasms, too.

You'll definitely find yourself in the middle of a firefight while running, jumping and climbing around the environment. Again, to keep things realistic, we've made sure that Drake can fire his gun during all of these actions. So if you're trying to get to higher ground and an enemy is already up there shooting down at you, you can fire at him and take him out as you're climbing your way up.

[...] Another huge new feature for us in that we've added technology that lets any character in the game perform all of their traversal and combat behaviors on any kind of moving object. This [...] has given us the ability to easily create those big summer blockbuster moments from the movies that the Uncharted universe is so inspired by.

Whether it's fighting on a moving vehicle as it races through the countryside, or running around inside a tower block as it starts to collapse - all of those tense, over-the-top moments can now be experienced by players in gameplay, while they're actually playing.


I'm sure Drew was very excited to learn all of this.



B3yond the Cinema



Here is the multiplayer teaser for Noby Noby Boy.



I guess Alyssa Milano is in the new Ghost Busters game.



More inFamous gameplay.



Here is that free Titan Pack stuff for UT 3. Gotta love the price of free.



A trailer for the incredible looking Fight Night Round 4.

It turns out I am getting this baby done a little too close to deadline time and once again will have to cut out the One Man Watercooler segment. Today was a busy day and I just couldn't get to the computer in time to write something. No worries though, as was the case last time I left out the watercooler, it will be back next week in its full glory. I'll probably talk about the Dreamcast like I was going to this week. Until that point though, well, all I can do is offer my apologies that one of the regular features for B3yond the Report was missing. NEVERMIND THAT THOUGH, let's get to some reader feedback from last week:



Rod Oracheski starts us off this week with some RE 5 lamenting:

I wish the AI in RE5 was a lot better. Playing on the harder difficulty settings, she becomes a lot more of an annoyance than anything - getting trapped by zombies, getting chainsawed because she's STUPID, etc...

And she does have a reliance on using healing items way too soon. It got to the point where I had to start carrying them myself just so I'd have them when they were really needed.

As for the price drop - I think everyone knows they need to do it, even Sony. But with the yen where it is, can they afford it? They're in third place and it doesn't look all that likely that a charge to first is in the cards, so maybe the focus shifts to 'being profitable' instead.

The AI in RE 5 never bothered me as is. To be honest, I always made sure I grabbed the healing items instead of her. When playing alone, I tried to play as solo as I could. Sheva didn't really get chain-sawed, but I assume that if I were to play in the dreadful chapter 5 alone, I would be feeling the bad AI full force.

My main problem with Resident Evil 5 is that it starts out utterly fantastic. The first three chapters are amazing and almost, almost as good as the chapters that you could play through in Resident Evil 4. Well, after that point, RE 5 went straight downhill. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 were about as un-inspired as could be and during points of chapter 5 I got the feeling that the game was, how should I say, generic. I should not be feeling this way about Resident Evil. It's sad. It's a good game, it is, but it's not even close to as good as it should be.

Giles explains the ‘razor blade' comment to me:

The Razor blade comment refers to the business model of selling razors. You give away the razor handle and only charge for the razor blades because it is the razor blades that have to be replaced and that is where you generate your profit. You give away the handle to build market share and trap consumers into buying your brand of blades.

So the Sony guy is saying that what the publishers are asking for is for them to give away their console so that the publishers can make a huge profit by selling more games.

Ahhh okay, I get it now. I think that's just Sony trying to come up with reasons not to lower their price though. Honestly, yeah, of course the publishers want more people to own PS3s so they can make more money. That's obvious. The thing is though, Sony has got to know that in order to maximize their profits, they really need to play ball with their publishers and just lower prices. If they just take that one step, maybe more people would get on board your system.

If you're not going to lower the price, at least release some new bundles. The Res 1 and Motorstorm pack is an okay start, but you should really bundle a new game with the PS3 over here. I mean, hey, gets the system into more hands doesn't it? I just think it's so goofy that the 360 gets an RE 5 bundle and not the PS3. The thing is, that bundle costs just as much as a new PS3 does without a game! I mean, if I was an RE fan and I didn't own a console already, I'd just buy that 360 elite bundle.

Dude talks about the new LBP game and RE stuff:

Alright Derek, good column. I must say that I disagree with you on RE4 and RE5. I guess I'm just to old school, but when I pick up a Resident Evil game, I expect to get my balls scared off. They decided to give up that element of the game for a different camera angle, and although they have a lot of people who love it, they lost me and I'm sure other people.

Oh and the LBP expansion? Unlimited possibilties!

LittleBigPlanet: Racer, where you can design your own tracks, your own karts, and your own Sack Boy, totally awesome.

LBP Fighter, I think they already have something called Fists of Fury, that I imagine to be like this.

If not, throwing the whole create-a-anything gimmick into it makes almost anything better.

And finally: Sack Theft Auto... nuff said.

Well, almost. I know that the Wii has the greatest install base, but at the same time, I know a LOT of people who bought the Wii, because it was SO cute and gimmicky and blah, blah, blah. Long story short, it sits gathering dust. Mine does. But heck, my 360 does too.

Anyway, I'll go back to work, thinking of Sackboy with a silenced pistol in in Metal Gear Sackboy...


Well hey, I am with you. I want to be scared when I play Resident Evil. The thing is, Resident Evil 4 was more than that. Resident Evil 4 did not need to have the Resident Evil brand, it was just a damn good game. It could have been called: "Killin' Shit in a Place That Totally Isn't Spain" and I would still have loved it. if I were to rank Resident Evils right now (from the main series), it would probably go: RE 4 > RE 2 > REmake > RE 3 > Code Veronica > RE 5 > The Original Resident Evil >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Resident Evil 0.

I think I like the ideas you throw out there for Sackboy. It's very possible that he could be Sony's new mascot. I mean, they've been missing one since Crash on the PS 1 haven't they? I guess the closest thing they have is Solid Snake, and he's not exactly as cuddly as Pikachu, ya' know?

Speaking of Pikachu, I actually use my Wii quite a lot. Early 2009 has been a pretty good time to own a Wii as both Deadly Creatures and Mad World have been released. Unfortunately, both of these games are fairly short and probably not worth full retail price. They are still fun as can be and give faith in the third parties who develop for the Wii. Plus, I still play Smash Brothers on an almost weekly basis. Eh. As for the 360, well, most of the stuff you can play on the PS3 as well. Though the 360 is getting a Banjo-Tooie with the Stop n Swap features that were missing in the N64 version. I can not wait.

A Guest gives me good news:

Derek,

As a fan of the column since its inception, and the constant promoting by yourself and Mark, I just wanna let you know I ordered Valkyria Chronicles and look forward to playing it! Thanks for the recommendation guys.

Ah, I am so glad that you jumped on the bandwagon! I feel so happy whenever someone tells me they bought this game. Really, it's the one PS3 game that I'm going to keep plugging until it gets its dues. There is no way, NO WAY, that this game should be as over-looked as it is. In my opinion, it should have been getting as much praise as Metal Gear Solid 4 got, if not more. So thank you for sharing this information with me.

Todd Vote comments on what M-X had to say and then adds some other stuff too:

"I really wanted to like RE5, but I can not stand that pivot-based control scheme. It just feels weird and wrong... I'm sure somebody on the internet will scream "n00b" in all their virginal glory at me for that-- but I just absolutely HATE that system."

n00b!!! haha, just kidding. I actually agree with your statement. The game is an absolute blast, especially when playing with a friend. However, the controls could use a bit of fine tuning. The way the characters walk around is so robotic.

And yes Derek... You did forget about the Top 5 again this week. This will most definitely reflect in the latest Robbins Power Rankings. This should move Drew right up ahead of you sir. Alright enough heckling.

I think it is very arrogant of Sony to claim they want the big install base, but yet they refuse to lower the price to something average Joe Gamer can afford. I really hope this constant refusal doesn't eliminate Sony from the future console races.

Question: If Sony ends the current generation having taken a significant loss on the home console market, do you think we will see them back for a round 4? Will they give it another go?

Unlike the both of you, I don't mind the moving system. It feels like Resident Evil 4 and is about the only thing that makes me remember I'm not playing run-of-the-mill shooting game #483 in chapters 5 and 6. Resident Evil has always had a very unique way of moving though, so I guess it's either a love or hate thing eh?
I know I missed another Top-5, but this week is fighting and I can assure you I will have something to say about that. I have a feeling that I'm not going to win that week though because I probably won't be giving that one franchise with the bad spelling any respect. I mean, you may very well know the one. It's krazy!

I am with you, them refusing to lower the price is very dangerous. I don't see this preventing a Playstation 4 from coming out, but you can't just assume that people are going to buy your console because you're Sony. Again, in the end, you pay about as much for a 360 as you do a PS3, but the thing is, you can buy the 360 in installments while the PS3 is a $400 at once price tag. If Sony made a detachable hard drive unit for the PS3 and sold it for $250 or something (and then sold a HDD with all the extra stuff for $100) I bet they could do a lot of business.

I honestly think that no matter what happens, we'll see Sony again. I don't think the PS3 has been a failure and things this year can only improve. Plus, it took two financial failures in a row for SEGA to finally bow out. Remember: The Dreamcast was a fantastic console and still managed to just not make it. Quality doesn't always survive. I think if the PS3 fails, Sony will try to market their system more like the Wii. Their current marketing is towards more hardcore gamers. They just don't buy things as much.

They pirate them.

As always, if you wish to comment you may do so below or simply e-mail me at [e-mail]. Either/or. You can also play me over PSN at the ID Croix22 or even follow me on twitter at the address: twitter.com/StDerek. YOUR CHOICE! You've got a lot of them.

The 411mania Empire



I write 10th Hour

Joe Roche writes The Full-Circle 360 News Report

Theo Fraser writes The Nintendophiles

Todd Vote does the 411mania game's Top-5

Chris Vicari writes The PC-Spotlight

Drew writes Three Player Co-Op

Tommy Coloma writes The Release List

AJ and Mike Minotti host the Exploding Barrel Podcast. Hosted by the Squadron of Shame. You can find the Squadron here.

Well, that's it for this week, I'm out.

'til the crossroads