The SIXAXIS Report 02.12.08
Posted by Mark Salmela on 02.12.2008
Will the PS3 be shipping with Yellow Dog Linux 6.0 in the near future? Do I really have a guilty pleasure for Go! Sports Skydiving? The answer to these questions and news on Epic vs. Insomniac, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Echochrome, GTA IV, Street Fighter IV screens, Hot Shots Golf and Twisted Metal on PS3, and more in the SIXAXIS Report!
Well greetings and salutations my Sony hugging friends. Despite multiple Sony logo's being burned in my yard last week from angry 360 fanboys, I have returned *albeit with a police escort* to deliver all of the latest and greatest Sony news. The only thing holding me back from playing Devil May Cry 4 is the making of this column, so I'm going to stop dicking around and get this done with!
Delivering Dante's pizza since 1956, it's Sony News of the Week
Resistance and Gears of War put up their dukes, argue over engine licensing
While this wasn't exactly the biggest or most life changing news ever, it was quite an interesting debate. At the DICE 2008 Summit *basically a smaller Games Developer Conference without the gameplay footage* a big debate broke out on whether or not companies should be licensing source engines like Epic's Unreal 3 engine or creating their own engines from scratch. Insomniac's Mike Acton went up and preached about all of the troubles of engine licensing like the whole Too Human lawsuit and how licensing engine's don't really save money in the end for developers. This was followed by Epic's Mike Capps countering with saying licensed engines provide for tested, stable, and rich in feature elements. He says it's a simple argument of "If you don't have your own engine, it makes sense to license an engine for cost savings."
While I don't favor one side of the other, I do have to say companies like Insomniac certainly know what they are doing. They are far from a big company *considered quite small*, yet they not only make their own engine, but they consistently release a new game every year which by today's standards is amazing from one team. Games like Ratchet and Clank and Resistance have proven to be AAA blockbuster titles and this may not have been true had Insomniac not made their own engines. On the other hand, other companies have had tremendous success without creating their own engine with games like Mass Effect and BioShock both making use of Epic's Unreal 3 engine. While I don't think engine licensing will ever end *nor do I think it should*, I do think we would see more innovation *at the expensive of even more and longer delays* in video games. So who knows what will be going on 5 years from now, but this certainly sparked an interesting debate. Be sure to let me know your thoughts and opinions at the bottom.
Yellow Dog Linux 6.0 released, to ship with future PS3's?
Well for anyone out there who didn't know *which should be no one, but Sony for whatever reason chose not to advertise this*, the PlayStation 3 is capable of running full fledged Linux. While there are plenty of options, the most popular option has been Yellow Dog v5.0 which launched March 2007. I downloaded YD5 for myself and while I appreciated the potential I never got much use out of it. Why? YD5 didn't have any support for Wi-Fi users like myself. Internet access required Ethernet and it simply wasn't an option for me. Well thankfully with YD6.0 that will all be changing. YD6.0 will be released for download March 3rd *if you want it for free, though you can buy it right now* and I will be all over it. Like I said Linux has the potential, but things like no Wi-Fi was holding it back. I can't wait to try it.
Another big announcement of YD6.0 is the alleged word that Yellow Dog 6.0 will be shipped pre-installed on future PS3's if Terra Soft *the creator* is right. Rumors have already been flying that this is even more confirmation of a new PS3 model *which I commented on last week* since right now the only way to get Linux preinstalled on the PS3 is to order one directly from companies like Terra Soft. Most people have no idea how to go about getting Linux on the PS3, so seeing a new PS3 with Linux preinstalled would be quite the unexpected feature that could become very popular. The PS3 is becoming more and more like a computer every day.
Sony PlayStation Store update for the week of February 8
Well normally I complain about terrible games coming to the PlayStation Store, but let me say there are times when you want to play a bad game. It's kind of a guilty pleasure. Well this week saw the release of Go! Sports Skydiving, and if you can't judge from the improper English, this game is terrible. Now Go! Puzzle wasn't bad by any means, but after the abortion that was Go! Sports Ski it was only obvious to me Go! Sports Skydiving would be nothing less than a joke. Well I downloaded Go! Sports Skydiving, and it's everything I dreamed it wouldn't be. Let me tell you, we may have the worst game of 2008 right here, and I love it. First off the controls don't work, the camera zooms back so far at times you can't tell what position you're in, Captain Rainbow *I can't make this stuff up* may be both the greatest and worst character of all time, and the whole concept of the game is retarded. It didn't work as a simulation in arcades, and it won't work as a downloadable title on the PSN. Thankfully the online is so bad it's awesome, as it's great to watch 4 guys dicking around mid-air playing grab ass with each other and spinning around while the entire rooms lags out *haven't played one game free of lag yet*. There's still no chat options, but there's selective quotes you can choose from to show the rest of the room, ranging from "I think I'm getting better" to "I think we should disband". It may be that I hate money, but Go! Sports Skydiving was a great purchase, and I recommend anyone looking for a good laugh pick it up.
As for the rest of the PSN update besides the $5 Go! Sports Skydiving, a demo of Lost Planet's online mode went up, but was quickly taken down once it was realized almost no one could get into a game online. I was one of the few to download the demo before it was taken down and let me say after 20 minutes I still couldn't get into a game. I definitely don't blame Capcom for taking down the demo, as I for one have just lost all interest in this game. Can you blame me? It's pretty hard to get behind a game when you can't even play it. Also Crash Warped went up for the PS1 *it's awesome*, a bunch of crappy Rock Band songs, and a ton of trailers complete this week's update.
Credit: Sony
Looking kind of funky, it's all new Street Fighter IV screens
Well even more screenshots of Street Fighter IV have been released *despite not knowing the release date, price, or platforms*, and it confirms a bunch of returning characters. The current roster stands at: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Blanka, Zangief, Dhalsim, newcomer Crimson Viper, and E. Honda. I'm still reserving judgment of the game until I get a hold of it, but it's looking better every time I see it.
In very good news, over 1 million PS3's have registered for the Folding@Home Project. That means an average of 3,000 new users a daily since its launch on March 22, 2007. While I don't actively participate in Folding@Home, I appreciate the thought and feel that it's definitely got the potential to help fight disease. The PS3 cures disease? How's that for a CNN headline.
In more positive PS3 news, Ubisoft has announced that the PS3 and 360 versions of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will be the exact same and will launch on the same day *March 21*. Rainbow Six Vegas was one of my favorite games *my Game of the Year for 2006* and it sucked to see the PS3 version get delayed until June 2007. Thankfully that won't be the case with R6V2 and here's hoping the game will improve on the first one and be even more awesome.
Japan will be getting a silver PS3 in the near future, but just like the white PS3 that's already out in Japan the US nor Europe will be getting it. That's not to say it will never be announced but as of right now the US and Europe will have to make due with the black PS3. Also Japan will be getting a greatest hits line-up but no word on that for the US or Europe either.
In a weird note, the PS3 version of Echochrome costs only half as much *$17* in Japan than the PSP version. The PSP version will ship with more puzzles than the PS3's 50 puzzles, but both will have the create-a-level feature and downloadable content will be coming to the PS3 version.
It still looks as if Ace Combat 6 will be coming to the PS3, but not much information is known. The game came out as a "timed exclusive" last year for the 360 and didn't sell for crap. Hopefully there are some major changes because I played the 360 demo and found it worthless. Then again the series allegedly sells well in Japan so Japanese PS3 owners will probably rejoice anyways.
In an interesting comment, EA made a prediction at this years DICE 2008 Summit saying they think the "garage" model developers will be dead by 2010. They believe that only major developers will exist, thanks to the ever rising cost of game development. While I think this will be a sad truth for actual big budget titles, I do think there will be room for smaller companies to make PSN and XBLA level titles. Sadly all of the smaller companies may be gone before 2010, as already we're seeing the developer pool dry up as bigger companies like Activision Blizzard and EA emerge as dominate figures in the industry, eating up smaller companies like Pandemic games.
As unbelievable as it may seem for Resistance 2, Insomniac claims that more or less all of the single-player maps are finished and running in a rough state. This is largely due to focusing on building the gameplay first and then adding art assets and balancing tweaks later. They also claim that large portions of the co-op campaign are also confirmed to be running, so that fall 2008 release date is looking pretty much like a certainty now. 60 person online multiplayer is on its way folks, and I can't wait to be a part of it.
David Jaffe has recently confirmed his new company "Eat Sleep Play" will be making a brand new Twisted Metal title for the PS3 this year. Twisted Metal was an awesome title back on the PS1, so here's hoping we can see another awesome Twisted Metal title *with online hopefully* for the PS3.
Video B3yond!
A new trailer for Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds coming to the PS3 next month. I've always enjoyed the Hot Shots titles, so I'll probably pick this one up.
A Japanese trailer of Echochrome for the PS3/PSP. The game looks very interesting; I can't wait to get my hands on it.
A video of Roman Bellic enterprises from Grand Theft Auto IV. They released a bunch of these little clips and I liked this one the best, just visit gametrailers.com for the other short clips.
A new trailer for Rainbow Six Vegas 2, showing off some of the new levels and the ability to run.
The One Man Water Cooler~!
Well after taking the past couple of weeks to vent my anger on Microsoft, it's time I went back and tackled some of my latest PS3 pick-ups. After all, if I allegedly hate Microsoft so much, what do I have to say about Sony's latest offerings?
Before I start, I'd like to mention I didn't get to play Devil May Cry 4. Apparently I'm "no longer welcome" in Gamestop and I've been banned from Gamestop. Don't ask me what I did, because I'm not even entirely sure what happened, but I'm not going to get into it and just take my money elsewhere. If Gamestop doesn't want my money, that's their decision, there are plenty of people who do. I did manage to get my preorder money back, and I picked up DMC4 at my local Best Buy but haven't gotten to play it yet. Maybe next week.
First off I picked up Lair for the PS3, and boy is it a tough one. First let me say I've figured out some sort of over-looked trick that the developers didn't mean to allow to happen. As I covered a couple of weeks back I picked up a Logitech USB racing wheel for the PS3, and when I turn on the PS3 it automatically aligns itself to the first slot on the PS3 no matter how I turn on the PS3. Well most games on the PS3 let you play single player games in the second controller slot, so I never both changing my SIXAXIS controller *what an awesome name* back to the first slot. Well after playing some Virtua Tennis 3 I popped in Lair for the first time, noticed the title screen wasn't picking up my controller movements at all, and changed the SIXAXIS controller back to the first slot. Well after starting up the first level expecting some diseased and broken SIXAXIS controls like all of the reviews said, low and behold there were no SIXAXIS movements at ALL! The game was controlled entirely by the analog sticks. As far as I know that is a complete glitch and it isn't supposed to happen at all, as there's no option to change the controls at all in the menu, and some missions require a thrust with the SIXAXIS controller which can't be simulated at all on the analog controls, meaning I can't advance any further.
Lair was actually pretty good when using the dual-analog trick. Everything that's normally on the left stick *camera control* just moved to the right and the controls weren't so horrible anymore *dragon control was on the left analog stick instead of SIXAXIS movement*. Sure fighting became near impossible but at least I could fly in a semi-normal way now. Now while playing Lair the normal SIXAXIS way SUCKED ASS I actually found myself having a little bit of fun using the analog sticks. I will say the graphics, sound, and storyline are all pretty good so at least it has good presentation. But gameplay still rules in the end and Lair is a very disappointing adventure. Factor 5, makers of the game, have recently announced they're going back to making games for the Wii, and all I've got to say is good riddance. If they can't even make the simple option to get rid of the SIXAXIS controls *which thanks to my trick looks like it wouldn't have been hard to do* then they can go make another Rogue Squadron game for the Wii. I will get along just fine without them.
As for other games, I tried out Enchanted Arms, had a good laugh, and put it back on the shelf for all eternity to keep my dust bunnies company. Sonic the Hedgehog is still a joke and at often times unplayable, Full Auto 2 is an alright pick up *though with the recent announcement of a Twisted Metal on PS3 I could care less about Full Auto*, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma still rules.
In addition to my previous set of PS3 pick-ups I also just got Fight Night Round 3, which is another solid boxing game. As I said last week I have no intentions to pick up Facebreaker as of right now, I don't want to play a cartoony boxing game. Maybe it's because I found out about Facebreaker just after getting Fight Night Round 3, but there NEEEDS to be a FNR4. FNR3 was good, but there are just a few slight imperfections that keep it from being great. The graphics could use a good boost *it's nothing like the original E3 2005 video which looked insane and could now actually be replicated*, the controls could be tighter, and it needs more recognizable characters like Mike Tyson. There's always the Don King boxing game, but there's something about that game that screams it'll be terrible.
Anywho, for the sake of avoiding a monster of a column, that's all for this week. I'll be back next week probably talking about more PS3 games or maybe my thoughts on Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Let's just say I'm very pissed about some of the announcements. Being able to add a run feature sounds good in theory, but I already have COD4. Also I've got some worries about shooting through environments. But that's for another time.
Well Devil May Cry 4 is calling, and after all the hype I've been talking up about this game for the past couple of months in this column, I need to finally go and play the game before giving it my final opinion next week. So look for DMC4 impressions and my thoughts on Rainbow Six Vegas 2 next week, as well as all of the Sony news you've come to love. Peace out for the next 7 days!
street fighter and twisted metal what year is this?
Posted By: thedouce (Guest) on February 12, 2008 at 02:40 AM
This the year of throwback games?
Posted By: Travis (Guest) on February 12, 2008 at 04:53 AM
my god
1st jeff
then alex
now our own Mark Salmela
gamespot are not makin friends at any rate right now.
give me gametrailers and CVG any day!
gamespot are the hiltons of the gaming industry slutting out to anyone and pissing off the general public with any sense.
Posted By: moley (Guest) on February 12, 2008 at 05:28 AM
My gamestop experiences range from really good to really bad. From the nice guy who takes time out to help you find a hard to find game at another store nearby, to the pushy as hell "you must PRE ORDER EVERYTHING or else you won't get one!" type guy, to the guy who knows a bit too much (i don't want to say nerd) and will talk your ear off for over an hour about what 15 other games you've never heard of before (and on other platforms than yours) are wayyy better than the one you are buying/looking for.
But only game stores seem to have the selection of titles I want, so I'm kinda stuck with the Gamestops of the world.
Posted By: Omni (Guest) on February 12, 2008 at 07:40 PM
About the licensing deal, I think that, frankly, licensing engines just make for a rehash of the same game a million times over, with new clothes.
To clarify, they are just putting new skins over old games. Take the "great" games, like Quake, Unreal, and many other huge selling FPS', they are all just rip-offs of Doom, and to a further extent, Wolfenstein.
Yes, I just dated myself, but still, the fact remains, no matter if the newest Unreal has a gazillion things in it, your still just playing Doom Part 244.
Same goes for the NEW Street Fighter. Which, for all intents and purposes, looks like a pretty SF II. Oh, sorry, we got 1 new character so far.
I am not trying to sound negative, you see. My point, so far, is that I am tired of playing the same game I was playing in 1998, or 1988. Make it look as pretty as you want, it's still the same damned game.
I love to see new ideas come out. Innovative things. Take GTA. It started as a Birds-eye view type game, then Innovated into GTA 3. Rockstar then came out State of Emergency.
Granted, SoE was horrible, but it was still an attempt at being innovative.
Again, Twisted Metal....
Come on people! Gaming companies employ just about the smartest, most imaginative people on the planet, and they best they can come up with is "Let's go for a cash cow of a game we made 10 years ago!"?
Posted By: Brad McLeod (Guest) on February 12, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Screw GameStop. If you want cheap used games, go for eBay. Even with including the shipping price, you can get a lot of good games for a lower price than GameStop's inflated prices.
Good job SIXAXIS Salmela. ^_~
- Ernie
Posted By: LazerBlader (Guest) on February 13, 2008 at 01:05 AM
Im sick of games like twisted metal and street fighter. Ok ok ok, those are great classics. But seriously... whats next, donkey kong? Resistance and Uncharted were both awsome never seen before games. I am a fan of sequels. I think gta IV, mgs4, god of war 3, gran turismo 5, and dmc4 are all going to be freakin sweet. However, who wants to be playing those games in 7 years? I, for one, would not be looking forward to metal gear solid 9. I think they are doing the franchise right by making this the last game. There comes a time when new charaters, heros, and themes need to appear. I think the only exception is final fantasy. Thats because its a new charater, story, world, and really whole different game each time a new one is released. All that said, sequals are cool and we all love see our beloved charaters rise again. But, like street fighter and twisted metal, a games legacy must eventually end.
Posted By: Calem (Guest) on February 16, 2008 at 04:08 AM
ps
I agree with Mark and the rest of you guys. gamestop blows.
Posted By: Calem (Guest) on February 16, 2008 at 04:16 AM
