The SIXAXIS 06.12.07
Posted by Andrew Mellick on 06.12.2007
Mellick is back with all the Sony news. The PS3 is hacked, plus big sales numbers, and is the church mad at Sony? Plus an in depth look at Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
This SIXAXIS is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Yes faithful readers I have returned. My two week absence was for good reason. My wife had our second child! So apparently I had to help with that. I thought my job was done after conception? I was perfectly content being the "doesn't say or do anything but the love is there" dad, but my wife wants the "help me with these kids or when your sleeping I'll cut it off!" dad. Love is beautiful
Time to get…this…conclave…start-ed!
Sony News
Aliens need not apply.
In the past year or so, Sony has really pissed some people off. Haha, yes I could tell you some stories. But anyway, they have managed to nail a whole new demographic, the Church of England.
Apparently church officials are up in arms at the use of its Manchester Cathedral as the backdrop for the game Resistance: Fall of Man. Going so far to say that the games display of death and violence on the church's grounds is "sick and sacrilegious". The church has even demanded and apology and wants the game off shelves ASAP, if these demands are not met, they are set to take Sony to court.
For those of you who haven't played the game, the Cathedral is the location of the epic battle for mankind, and yes the church is littered with hundreds of bodies of the dead and dying. However, the church fails to realize something here; the aliens did all the killing! Sony is just telling the story. Do we blame history books for World War 2? Of course not. So Church of England, put your righteous indignation (and possible lawsuit) where it really belongs, against aliens.
Europe, a million strong and growing.
Well it only took 9 ½ weeks but Sony's latest console has hit the 1 million sold mark in the Europe PAL region. That's right, Theo! Your home…continent, can't get enough of the PS3.
This is great news! I'll admit Sony has had a rough ride for the past year or two but they really seem to be making strides in the right direction. The Playstation Store is starting to bulk up and online play is growing. Plus the eventual addition of Playstation Home will only increase that growth. Now Sony has to get some damn games out! Seriously, we need a slew; lets get them on the shelves, some quality titles. There are plenty to look forward to on the horizon, let's hope they deliver.
Hacker's unite, huzzah!
Well, the PS3 made it six month before hackers were able to find a way into the system. As it stands the PS3 has been hacked and the anti-piracy software, circumnavigated allowing gamers to make back up copies of games. However, any copies in actual use have yet to be seen.
The PS3 finally got its cherry popped which I'm sure comes to no surprise to most. The Urkels (yes I made a Family Matters reference) of this world will always find a way in eventually. The real question here is how far this will spread. The PSP has become a hotbed for copied and homebrew titles.
However, I don't see it becoming too big of a problem with the PS3 seeing how the system requires a far amount of communication with the internet to be fully enjoyed. This will allow the company a certain measure of control in what they allow. But it will always exist in some form or fashion. Now, I get to look forward to that "entrepreneur" on the corner by my job trying to sell "Metal Gear Solid 7: Rise of Sonic".
New Releases
PS3
Fantastic four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: Well if it's anything like the movie…it will fail miserably.
Go! Puzzle: Are they telling the puzzle to leave? That seems rude.
PSP
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas : Time to strategically hit the craps table, baby!
Puzzlescape : ..and in a shocking development, the PSP gets a puzzle game.
Zendoku: Read previous.
PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient: Oh for the love of God, enough puzzle games. Hell, I'll even take a ported title at this point.
PS2
Fantastic four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: Multiplatformoria
If there is a new PSP how do you think it will do?
It'll blow everybody away 11%
It will be an improvement on the first one 18%
More of the same 15%
Lame 6%
An overpriced piece of crap 50%
Well it looks like all you negative nancies got a hold of this one. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
The water cooler
Because I have been off for two weeks and I haven't really paid a whole lot of attention to the hot issues in gaming as of late, I thought I'd use the water cooler this week to take a look at Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicle's.
For those who are unaware CDXC is a souped up port headed to the PSP in October. So what is so special about all this? Well, let's just say you get you'll moneys worth with this one.
Here is what's coming your way:
Rondo of Blood- This is the title of the port. Never heard of it? Don't be surprised. Unless you're a hardcore fan of the series you probably know nothing of it. Why; because for some inexplicable reason, Rondo of Blood never made it stateside. Which is very odd because fans who have played the game consider it one of the very best the franchise has to offer.
The game is set directly before the events of the smash hit Symphony of the Night and goes a long ways in playing out the events that lead up to the title. This is a very compelling aspect. CSOTN spends much of its time telling the story of the Belmont clan and their history so anything that provides more insight into them is great. Also, Symphony features one of gaming's most kick ass characters in Alucard, so hopefully we'll learn more of him as well in Rondo of Blood.
Konami is really taking hold of this opportunity by going through the entire original Rondo of blood and applying graphical updates and 3D cutscenes. From the previews it looks very crisp and should translate beautifully to the PSP.
Plus, for those hardcore gamers out there who would like to play through the game in its original format, Konami has got you covered. The entire original ROB will be playable via unlockable feature.
What else could there possibly be? Well let me tell you. Konami has decided to include in its entirety, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night! Yes, quite possibly the best side scroller ever will be available to play on the PSP.
On top of all this creator Koji Igarashi has promised that the voiceovers in both games will be revisited to make sure the game sounds more authentic and less C grade porno.
Now, why am I marking out for this? Is it because I'm a huge Castlevania geek? Yeah probably. But this is a big deal in that it shows exactly what can be done on the PSP. Between the raw power of the PSP and all the space on a UMD there is a whole world of opportunity when it comes to extra content and added features.
This should be the PSP's bread and butter. I'm taking nothing away from the DS it's become a benchmark of ingenuity, but it can't possibly compete with the PSP's power, so why not capitalize? Here is to hoping other developers take notice when this game hits shelves come fall.
Youtube Theatre
What better time to show the trailer for Castlevania: Rondo of Blood than when I just verbally fellated it in the last section?
Pictures for Ashish
To complete my descent into geekdom here is a screen shot from the aforementioned Rondo of Blood!
