The SIXAXIS Report 01.22.08
Posted by Mark Salmela on 01.22.2008
How about taking a break from Burnout to come and see what’s hiding inside this week’s SIXAXIS Report? This week I’ve got news on Resistance 2, Echochrome, Burnout Paradise, Turok, 2 Days to Vegas, Devil May Cry 4, my frustrations with Xbox Live, and much more.
Come one, come all, it's The SIXAXIS Report. I'm a little burned out right now *not burnt*, so I'll keep the introduction short this week. Hopefully Burnout *what's with all the pot references?* will rejuvenate me a little bit. Any who, pretty slow week, everyone's getting ready for the Game Developers Conference *GDC* next month.
Sony News of the Week
PlayStation Store update for the week of January 18
Can't we all just get along?
Another solid update from the PlayStation Store this week. First off we have a complete bundle of Blast Factor for anyone yet to pick up the game, selling for $13 *not a bad deal*. Second, 2 new PlayStation Eye games in Mesmerize: Trace and Tori-Emaki selling for $2 each. I don't know much about either game but for $2 they might be worthy pick-up's for anyone itching to get some use out of their PSEye.
In addition we also got a bunch of videos for upcoming games like Pixel Junk Monsters. I am interested in Pixel Junk Monsters because it's based off of a flash game where you build defenses to stop oncoming enemies. I forget the name of the genera of games it's based off of but it's very good. I'll have to get back to you on that.
Finally this week we got demos for FIFA Street 3 and Turok. It is interesting that the PSN got the Turok demo yet from what I've seen you can't get it on XBL. That said, maybe I'm missing something, but Turok isn't very good at all. The AI is flat out retarded, and I got bored of the game very quick. The rag-doll physics are also very poor, as the dino's seem to become paper weight after dieing. The game comes out in a couple of weeks, but feel free to try the demo for yourselves now.
I'd help love to help you but this game sucks.
Credit: Sony
XFPS Rateup adapter details revealed
Team Xtender is currently hard at work on their XFPS adapter for PS3 users. The upcoming adapter will allow for full keyboard and mouse functions for all PS3 games, even the ones that weren't designed with keyboard and mouse compatibility *which is pretty much the vast majority*. You can map all of the PS3 buttons to anywhere on the keyboard or mouse, and the adapter will work with all versions of the PS3 *and all regions too*. The adapter will work with almost all keyboards and mice and will even allow for turbo fire. The adapter will be released around the end of February, so anyone who's interested won't have to wait much longer. I personally have no interest in picking it up, but I can imagine PC fans and anyone looking to play the upcoming PS3 MMO's will be dieing to get their hands on this.
Well it looks like Insomniac is further along with Resistance 2 than we had previously thought. According to the developers the company is already finalizing the outline for the single player mode, and is already putting in a lot of time to making a great multiplayer as well. The game is being pushed as the "first 3rd gen PS3 game", so it'll be interesting to see if it lives up to expectations.
As for other updates, the team is promising there will be more soldier classes and a random level generator for single player and co-op modes. One of the new species in the game will be the "Chameleon" and according to description is a type of enemy that likes to stalk its prey and attack silently. Look for Resistance 2 sometime this fall.
Credit: Insomniac Games
Sony Quick News!
Echochrome, a puzzle game Sony has been pushing really hard, will be coming out in Japan on March 19 for both the PSP and PlayStation Store at the US equivalent of $36. The game does look really good, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.
We still don't know whether or not BioShock will be coming to the PS3, but 2K Boston is hiring people right now and are requesting that they have experience in making games for the PS3. Although at this point I'd rather see a BioShock sequel *or prequel* at this point, I'm sure there are plenty of PS3 users who never got the chance to play the original BioShock so if they do port it over I'll be just fine with it.
The latest rumors are saying that the PS3 version of Frontlines: Fuel of War has been cancelled. The developers are neither confirming nor denying it. The game will be out for the 360 on Feb. 5 but the PS3 version if it still exists has a TBA release date. To be honest there wasn't anything special about this game judging from the demo so it won't be a big loss in my opinion. It's a pretty average shooter trying to imitate Gears of War.
2 Days to Vegas has been confirmed to be coming to the PS3, 360, and PC this year. The interesting note is that the developers are claiming this game will be more realistic and be better than GTAIV. This of course remains to be seen, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say GTAIV will be better.
It looks like the PS3 has its own version of the 3 red lights, as a recent video went up showing a PS3 that suffered from a yellow light of death. Apparently every time the PS3 is turned on the PS3 light that turns from red to green when turned on will turn to yellow, blink for a few second, and turn red while making the typical beep when a PS3 is turned off. Sony is aware of the PS3 and would like the user to send it back to them for replacement. It's pretty rare to find a broken PS3 and it's nice to see Sony is willing to replace the PS3 with no problems *something Microsoft didn't do until a lawsuit was filed*.
Capcom has also gone on record as saying they don't plan on having any downloadable content for their upcoming Devil May Cry 4 for PS3/360. Capcom is taking the route of last generation and making sure everything is in the game at launch, rather than putting it up for download weeks later. I have no problem with this method, as I don't like having to shill out an extra $5 for costume changes, they should be in the game from the start if they're going to be in there at all.
If anyone happens to be in Japan next month should look around as apparently Street Fighter IV will be playable at select events. I know I would totally be there if I had the option.
In a piece of information that just reassures me I made the right decision in selling my Rock Band kit, it looks as if downloads will increase to $2 starting next month. I must say I feel bad for anyone who pays $2 for the mediocre songs they've been putting up recently. I'm very glad I sold my Rock Band; I got old of it very quickly.
In some more positive news, Capcom has announced it will be bringing the original Bionic Commando game to the PSN and XBLA sometime in the next couple of months. They will be adding online support and be giving the game a total graphical makeover. I can pretty much assure everyone I'll be buying the remake on launch no questions asked.
Video B3yond!
A trailer for Sega Superstar Tennis, which will either be complete ass or it will be better than it has any right to be.
Army of Two coming to the PS3/360 this spring *I think March*. It looks alright, but I'll reserve final judgment until I get my hands on a demo.
Monster Madness EX coming to the PS3 this year. I never saw much in the 360 version, so unless I have a random change of heart I'll be passing on it.
A final Burnout Paradise teaser for everyone. The game is out this Tuesday, pick it up on PS3/360 *I prefer PS3*.
The One Man Water Cooler~!
Well I want to talk about a little something that doesn't have anything to do with Sony this week. Well, actually I will bring it back to Sony, so I've already contradicted myself *backspace be dammed*. Any who, this week I want to talk about Xbox Live. So for 2 years, I've been hearing about how Xbox Live is the best internet gaming interface ever. "PlayStation Network may be free, but it's nothing compared to Xbox Live" is all I ever heard for 2 years. Well this past Christmas, something happened, Xbox Live fell apart, literally. Going on 2 months now, Xbox Live has had constant problems for users. At times it's ok, but other times it's near unusable. For me personally, Xbox Live has been a total bitch. Half of the time I can't stay connected to Xbox Live, and when I can connect I can't download anything. Hell, I still can't download demos like Dead Rising *don't ask me why*.
So in the period of 1 year, I'm paying $50 to use Xbox Live. Now maybe I've been doing too many calculus problems, but that's 1/6 of my subscription down the drain because "they have too many unexpected users". Jesus Christ, what did you expect? They had no problem making all of these extra 360's for the Christmas rush; did they expect none of them would use Live? That excuse simply doesn't work for me, especially when you're Microsoft. Microsoft knew exactly what would happen, they just didn't take any steps to prevent or even fix the problem. Some of you might wonder why I'm bitching, considering next week everyone gets to download "Undertow" for free as compensation. You want to know why I'm still mad? How is Undertow compensation? I just lost 2 months of Xbox Live and they're going to give me some game I didn't even want for free now? Number 1, I don't want the game, it sucked. Number 2, what about the people who already bought the game, as far as I know they don't get any other choice. And finally number 3, what about the people who can't connect to XBL during the 5 days where you can download it for free? Anyone who's Xbox is currently being fixed is screwed. The people who missed downloading Carcassonne or whatever it's called didn't get a second chance to download it if they missed it back in September, what's going to make me believe they're going to get a second chance for Undertow?
This is ridiculous, and this is why I have yet to renew my subscription to Xbox Live. For anyone who didn't know my Xbox Live subscription expired back on January 9, and I have no intention on resubscribing until Rainbow Six Vegas 2 in March. As far as I can see, there are still people having problems with Xbox Live, so why should I resubscribe? I'll be downloading Undertow on my silver account, and I have no reason to pay for a broken service. I feel bad for the people who don't have the option of getting a real refund for Xbox Live. They definitely owe it to us to give us a month or two free of Xbox Live.
As for how this connects to Sony, they offer a free service. Sure it's not "as good" as Xbox Live in terms of structure, but in my opinion I'd rather have the free service. For the most part you're paying Xbox Live to use your own servers, while on the PS3 most of the servers are hosted by Sony, and they're free to use. I don't care if the PlayStation Store isn't as smooth or organized as Microsoft's, it's free, AND IT WORKS. If it wasn't for the fact that all of my friends use Xbox Live *mainly because they don't have PS3's*, I probably wouldn't bother. Playing online is fun, but under no circumstance should I have to pay for it. That's why I don't play World of Warcraft.
As for the other things, I played and beat Heavenly Sword this past week. I had always meant to play it, but I was too busy with games like WarHawk, Halo 3, and BioShock. The game is actually pretty good, though it was too short. I've heard a lot of comparisons to God of War, but to me it's closer to Ninja Gaiden meets 300. It's definitely not a bad thing, but God of War seems to be more adventurous. If I were to have reviewed it I probably would have went 8.0 or 8.1 out of 10.
I also started playing Sonic the Hedgehog on the PS3, but it's ass.
I even picked up Ridge Racer 7, Full Auto 2, and Lair for a bargain on eBay, so look forward to my opinions on Lair sometime in the next couple weeks. Needless to say, it'll be interesting.
Well I hope you guys had fun this week. I'll be looking for a replacement writer for the next week, I need a week off. I've been writing every week since early September, so I'm due for a week off. Burnout Paradise is coming out today, so at least the replacement writer will have something to talk about. As for me, you can find me online as "Fester" on the PS3, so look for me. I'm looking for a replacement writer, if I can't find one there just won't be a SIXAXIS next week. See you guys in a couple weeks.
umm, ok. Firs of all, rock bands songs are all 2.00$ except the four or five that came out at christmas as a limited time offer. The songs have always been released at 1.99 individually or in a pack of three for about 5.50. As I understand it, this is actually cheaper than the GHIII DLC. With that said, a normal song would cost about a buck online from like Itunes. With the programming involved to make one of the rock band dlc songs 2.00 is not really all that much to pay considering that the money gets split between all the people it takes to make it available including artists, record companies, the cover bands and harmonix programming teams.
Posted By: obikenkenobi30 (Guest) on January 22, 2008 at 12:40 AM
"It's pretty rare to find a broken PS3 and it's nice to see Sony is willing to replace the PS3 with no problems *something Microsoft didn't do until a lawsuit was filed*."
That's why they are doing this. Let's not forget that Sony had to deal with a similar issue with the PS2 (which I owned), where the laser lens are defective and wouldn't replace them until a class action lawsuit got back at them.
Don't sound snippety towards MS when Sony was the same way.
Posted By: Supro (Guest) on January 22, 2008 at 01:29 AM
Although I cannot comment on whether or not XBL is better than the Play station Network, I can say that Undertow as compensation is complete smelly ass. The game is horrible, especially if you are not playing on HD yet. small characters, looks like a cell phone game. I am pissed about this. It almost pisses me off worse than getting banned from XBL for my bio saying 2 in the pink 1 in the stink.
Posted By: Toddo (Guest) on January 22, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Heavenly Sword can't compare to Ninja Gaiden in any way that doesn't involve aesthetics.
Posted By: Man Faced Man (Guest) on January 22, 2008 at 12:33 PM
Even with the X-Mas problems of XBOX Live, it's still far superior than the PS3 Online. I don't understand how you had so many problems, I wasn't d/c'd once, just a few problems with communications, that's it. I agree that Undertow as compensation for the problems is bullshit. Not everyone had problems, which is probably the reason why they are not extending subscriptions, but they still should anyways like Blizzard does for WoW.
Posted By: Tubby (Guest) on January 22, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Turok is up on Xbox Live for Euro accounts (and who doesn't have an account in each region these days :D ) and isn't worth playing on the 360 either. I don't understand the 'something MS didn't do until a lawsuit was filed' thing - MS has been replacing/repairing consoles since day one, even extending the warranty. It was Sony that had to be forced, by losing a class action lawsuit, into fixing the PS2 DRE problem.
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on January 22, 2008 at 04:03 PM
When is 411 going to remove your column. You have the most biased and unsubstantiated claims. At least 411 should have someone writing about the 360 as a column. Sony has the most ridiculous fanboys. You bash the 360 service, talk about the FREE Sony ps3 online service and say how you would just use that but none of your friends have ps3. Thats because ps3 is a joke as far as online gaming. All I have heard from other parties is complaints about multiplayer online. The only thing the online for Sony is good at is downloads and chatting......big whoop! I know of NOBODY that has been down for 2 months. Sounds to me like you don't know how to set up your WiFi or have a firewall issue. I love reading your site and using you as an example of someone who is living in the glory of Sony's past. Next time you quote the sales of Sony's PS3s why don't you put down the place you got the info. Because there is a difference between shipped and sold. Sony is the last dog around the bend and they will need a long time to catch up. The new MG game is NOT a savior, it is a last gasp!
Posted By: Dman75 (Guest) on January 22, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Good job Dman75, ever been to 411 before?? The FullCircle is the column you want. And who could ever imagine a person whose column is mainly about Sony being a wee bit biased.
And sorry, nobody you know in 2 months?? Do you know anyone on live?
Please spread the MS PR speeches in another area, thanks!
Posted By: Ethos (Guest) on January 25, 2008 at 09:34 AM
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