The SIXAXIS Report 10.16.07
Posted by Mark Salmela on 10.16.2007
A Resistance Fall of Man sequel in the works? Also, the latest news on the PlayStation Eye, PSP Slim, L.A. Noire, TimeSplitters 4, MX vs. ATV Untamed, Guitar Hero 3, and more in the latest edition of The SIXAXIS Report!
Well I'm back again, as I took just enough time out of my Team Fortress 2 and Halo 3 schedule to crank out another Sony themed column. I must say though, there are issues with Team Fortress 2. Finding an undercover Spy is impossible, CTF is impossible to win when there are turrets set up, and there's been lag in almost every game I've played in. So there are some minor gripes about Team Fortress 2, but the game still is addictive and fun as hell. I'd recommend TF2 as a great alternative for FPS fans who hate Halo.
As for Sony, they had a decent little week for themselves, considering they basically know they're not going to win anything in October with Halo 3 and The Orange Box dominating every ones time. You can basically tell they aren't trying with Heavenly Sword commercials still airing. I think they're just waiting until Ratchet and Uncharted are out before they bust out their big holiday advertising campaign. I can almost smell the new Ratchet commercials coming any day now *frat boy turns friend into penguin then makes him dance with groovatron? Awesome*.
Sony News! Apply directly to forehead!
After 19 months, the PSP is back on top in Japan!
With the release of the PSP Slim, the PSP has gotten back on top of the Japanese market for the month of September, selling over a half a million units in Japan. MGS: Portable Ops+ and Crisis Core are the two biggest selling games for the PSP right now, helping the PSP take the top of the sales chart for the first time since February 2006 when the DS was in short supply. Another interesting note from the September sales chart in Japan is how the DS didn't take much of a hit in sales, but the Wii sold considerably less in September, only 168,000 units.
The new PlayStation 3 exclusive shooter, Everyday Shooter, has hit the PlayStation Store this week, selling for $9.99, making it one of the more expensive PS3 downloadable games. The game follows the Super Star Dust HD/Geometry Wars formula, but takes a weird artistic twist to said formula, giving it a unique look.
Also new demo's are out for NHL 2K8, Conan, and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. This is the same demo I had the chance to play, and it is a very solid demo. I definitely recommend everyone go try the Ratchet demo, as it could easily be the best PS3 game coming out this holiday season. There is also some new wallpaper for Everyday Shooter and Ratchet, but I don't really care. Hey, at least it doesn't cost money like it does on the 360 *they like overcharging for things, and people like paying for them apparently*.
Credit: Sony
More PlayStation Eye Details
Sony has announced that their successor to the PS2's Eye Toy, the PlayStation Eye, will be coming on October 23, 2007 for $39.99 as a single product, or it will come bundled for $69.99 with Eye of Judgment. The camera will be 60 FPS, feature a built in microphone, and run at 640x380 resolution. The camera will also boost a special lighting effect so gamers won't have to be in a perfectly lit room to use the PSEye like the Eye Toy basically required. You can also upload videos of yourself taken with the PSEye to the internet for everyone to see, how fun! The mic also uses noise cancellation techniques so you don't have to be right next to the camera to speak into it.
Credit: Sony
Resistance: Fall of Man sequel in the works?
Well this probably should have been seen coming, but it looks like Insomniac, makers of the Ratchet and Clank series, have begun work on a sequel to their PS3 launch title from last year, Resistance: Fall of Man. There is no official name yet, but the game will be released in November 2008 *Insomniac always puts out one new game a year so I wouldn't expect a delay, their release dates are usually pretty final*.
The game will take place mostly in the US, with possible levels including Chicago and San Francisco. There will also be playable vehicles in the game now, including several vehicles not seen in RFoM1, with at least one of them being airborne. It is not known if you will play as Nathan Holt again but he will be involved in the storyline. The game will also allegedly leave the door open for a third sequel to be made at a later date. I thought Resistance: Fall of Man was a good game, but it was definitely lacking in several areas *especially multiplayer* and the appeal of the game wore off after a couple of months. Not to mention Rainbow 6: Vegas was out as well as Gears of War and it was hard for me to recommend the PS3 initially over the 360. Anyways, I hope Insomniac can improve a lot of their shortcomings in time for Christmas 2008. I will definitely be looking forward to it.
The DelayStation 3's at it again, Singstar the latest game to face a delay
This one should have been seen coming due to the lack of promotion, but Sony announced the first PS3 version of its popular Singstar franchise has been delayed until February 2008 today, citing simply "It needs further testing". The game was scheduled for a November 2007 release, and may still make that date in Europe, but the US release is now February 2008. I have never bought a karaoke game before, but I'll probably end up getting Singstar for the PS3 when it comes out, as I do have a fancy for singing *if only this site would hold mandatory karaoke Friday's I would own you all* and the line-up looks pretty solid. Singstar is also another game where Sony is pushing the community features where people can upload videos of themselves singing and download a ton of new songs weekly.
TimeSplitters fans rejoice! Free Radical, makers of the upcoming PS3 game Haze, has officially announced it is now making TimeSplitters 4. It hasn't been announced for any console yet, but I'd assume it would at least be on the PS3, especially with Haze all but being a PS3 exclusive *last I heard no 360 port was actually in development*. A release trailer is now out, flashing the words "fight to the finish". Hmm... Where could they have possibly gotten that one from?
Credit: Free Radical
MX vs. ATV Untamed to be released this year!
The new game from THQ, MX vs. ATV Untamed, has been moved to a release this holiday season. The game was originally supposed to ship in February of 2008, but THQ has now moved up the release date to December 17, 2007. The game will be out for all 3 next-gen platforms, as well as the PS2, PSP, and a DS version in January 2008. The game will feature a 12 player online mode *for PS3/360, not sure if the other versions have online* and one of the modes that really excites me is the Snake mini-game. The mode will have each player leaving a beam of light behind them in Tron fashion, and if any of the other opposing players touch the beam you leave behind you, they are out of the race. So basically things are going to get crazy in multiplayer. Also, if the host leaves, someone else in the room automatically becomes host, so races won't close down mid-game if the host becomes a sore loser.
Credit: THQ
EA acquires Pandemic Studios and Bioware!
Well this is quite the little news story, as EA has bought out two big developers this week. Pandemic Studios, makers of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, as well as Bioware, makers of the 360 exclusive Mass Effect. The big reason why I put this up in the Sony news section of the site is because EA usually makes every game multiplatform, very rarely settling with an exclusive console. Now I think Mass Effect is safe, since that game is published by Microsoft Studios, but I wouldn't be surprised if now we hear the next game from Bioware *Mass Effect 2?* will be coming to both the 360 AND the PlayStation 3. So Sony fans can't quite parade in the streets, but don't be surprised if Microsoft lost another big developer *remember Bungie is also technically independent now, but don't expect a PS3 game from Bungie, it won't happen*.
Credit: EA
Disc space the reason Rockstar chose the PS3 for L.A. Noire?
According to Rockstar, one of the main reasons why L.A. Noire will be a PS3 exclusive will be because of the disc space that Blu-Ray will allow. Microsoft fans will be quick to disagree, but we're still very early in the life span of the next generation consoles, and games like Halo 3 and Oblivion have already packed the DVD as much as it can go. I think eventually we're going to be seeing 360 games coming on multiple discs and Blu-Ray will look more attractive to game developers.
As for people who haven't heard about L.A. Noire, it will be a game set in Los Angeles in the 1940's, made by Rockstar *developers of the GTA series*. The game will supposedly have the same style of play as GTA, and aside from a main storyline, the game will feature several side quests based on actual events that happened in the 1940's. Rockstar has even gone on to hire someone to create clothing for the game that looks historically accurate. There have been some rumors the game is running into development problems, but Rockstar insists the game is still in development and in good track to be released in 2008 exclusively for the PS3. Below is one of the few screenshots available for the game.
Still coming faster than that sellout Hedgehog in Brawl, it's Sony Quick News!
Rumor has it that Sony has begun working on downloadable games for the PSP, much like the PlayStation 3 has downloadable games via the PlayStation Network. There are reportedly 7 titles in development for the PSP from Sony, and they will be distributed via the PSN. Look for the first titles early next year *like every major PS3 game*.
Despite Capcom's recent announcement that they will be increasing production on PS3 software, Capcom today announced they will be moving Monster Hunter 3 from the PS3 to the Wii, citing production costs as the main reason. I'll never figure out Japanese business strategy.
Sony has been very quiet on the announcement that Guitar Hero 3 will require little dongles hanging out of the USB slot for the GH3 wireless controllers. The 360 and Wii versions of the game will not require this extra little piece, and the PS3 version only has it because it is not using Bluetooth but rather USB *Microsoft and Nintendo have wireless USB*. To some people this is a big deal, thankfully, I am not one of them. It is shaped like a cool guitar pick, after all.
Despite a PC demo coming out, there are no plans for a PS3 demo for Unreal Tournament 3. The reason is because Mark Rein and Epic want to finish the game ASAP for the PS3. Well, they had me at hello, as I'll be buying this game no matter what *unless it gets horrible reviews, I'm talking worse then Lair*. So the lack of a PS3 demo doesn't really affect me.
Koei recently confirmed *maybe reconfirmed* that Fatal Inertia, a futuristic racer out now on the 360, will be coming to the PS3. All I can say is don't waste your time, the game was horrible on the 360 in my opinion. There's a free demo on the marketplace for anyone who's curious, or stupid.
New Oblivion content is coming, labeled as "Fighter's Stronghold". This will reportedly be the last expansion released for Oblivion by the original team, and will apparently be released this week on XBL *it might be out by the time you read this*. Bethesda, the developer, has said they are looking for a way to distribute the expansion pack on the PSN, which confuses me since it shouldn't be any harder then the process you go through to put stuff up on XBL.
According to a Rockstar spokesman, they are considering having the entire map unlocked for GTA IV from the very beginning, which would be a first for the Grand Theft Auto series *or at least since it went 3D*. I wouldn't mind being able to explore just how accurate and large Rockstar recreated New York City from the start *I know it's Liberty City, but they're not fooling anybody*.
For anyone interested in importing the DualShock 3 controllers from Japan *they will be in Japan at the end of this year, out in the US in 2008*, the controllers will reportedly work on most US video games. Insomniac is really the first developer to confirm this, as according to them, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will support the Japanese rumble controllers.
Sony updated the terms and agreements for using the PS3 online *this applies to everyone, including people who already have accounts before they made the changes*, as now uploading offensive *racist, pornography, hateful* material via either video or audio is now terms for getting banned. So anyone who planned to upload videos of themselves doing strip teases online will be banned, but feel free to send them my way for a second opinion in case you think Sony unfairly banned you my lady readers.
Video B3yond!
The new PlayStation 3 commercial, it's actually pretty good. It's about taking the PlayStation 3 back to the drawing board and showing what it's capable of. I expect to see short clips or edited versions of this on TV soon for the holiday advertising, which is a good thing. One thing that can't be argued, it's better than the "This is Living" commercial. Oh god, no more soccer, please!
Another trailer for Assassins Creed, though the game still has some AI problems. You'll notice the AI problems during the sword fights as the other guys just stand around waiting for you to kill them, but otherwise the game looks awesome.
A clip from the new PlayStation Store game Everyday Shooter. The game is pretty good, but at $9.99 it's one of the most expensive PSN game out there.
The One Man Water Cooler~!
Well I thought since I wrote such a long One Man Water Cooler last week that I'd take it down a notch this week. Hey, we journalists need breaks too!
So this week I'm going to be talking about the downloadable games for the PS3. Now then, in the course of one year, Sony's PlayStation Store has really started to fill out with both some really good games, and some really bad. That's why this week I'm going to focus on some of the better PSN games to have come out. Everyone note I will not include WarHawk since I basically consider it a full retail disc game, since even downloading it will cost you $40 when none of the other PSN games except Tekken 5 will cost over $10.
First, the best PSN game, I had to put a little bit of thought into this one, as it was really close between Calling all Cars and Super Star Dust HD. I don't feel justified in giving it a tie, so after long thought, and consulting a number of people on which one they liked better, I'm going to have to go with Calling all Cars. Sure, it's probably going to be controversial, as Calling all Cars has a very mediocre, if not bad single player. But, single player aside, the multiplayer in CAC is the best multiplayer you can get on a downloadable PSN game *WarHawk isn't included in this list*.
Super Star Dust HD has the best single player far and away, but I've already played Geometry Wars, and while I think Super Star Dust HD is better than Geometry Wars, I just think Super Star Dust isn't that much better then Geometry Wars. I guess what I'm saying is that if Geometry Wars had not come out on the XBLA already in the past year I would have said Super Star Dust HD was the best game on PSN. I know CAC takes a few concepts from Twisted Metal, but I haven't seen anything like CAC in the past year, at least not anything that fun to play with other people. I've seen people groan when I mention games like Super Star Dust HD and Geometry Wars, but never have I seen someone groan at Calling all Cars, everyone who has played it has at least thought it was fun, if not awesome.
Some of the other good PSN games to have come out include Blast Factor *though it doesn't get really good until you get all of its expansion packs which brings up its price to almost $25*, Tekken 5, Mortal Kombat II, and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. There are also some decent games like Everyday Shooter, flOw, and LocoRoco Cocoreccho. Last, but definitely not least, avoid Go! Sports Ski, Super Rub-a-Dub, and GripShift at all costs, they are god awful.
The 411mania Empire!
Nintendophiles by Theo Fraser, happy 1 year anniversary Theo! That reminds me, The SIXAXIS Report is approaching its one year anniversary, November 14. It's had three different writers however so I don't plan on having much of a celebration, since I've only been writing the column for the past month and a half now *and I have no plans on slowing down*. The Select and Start News by Vincent Chiucchi
Mike Minotti has gone into hiding since last week I threatened to have a battle royal between the 411mania news writers to settle the console wars, or he got the Halo flu…
Signing Off
Well I hope you enjoyed the column, I just finished my review for DiRT, as well as a bunch of useless homework *Economics and Calculus both suck*. I'll be in 411 fact or fiction *games edition* within the next week as well, so look for that, the DiRT review *up now*, and of course The SIXAXIS Report every Tuesday. See you guys later!
