The SIXAXIS Report 03.11.08
Posted by Mark Salmela on 03.11.2008
This week I show everyone how to install Linux onto their PS3. Also, I cover news on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Wipeout HD, SOCOM: Confrontation, Metal Gear Solid 4, Echochrome, Grand Theft Auto 4, and more in the SIXAXIS Report!
Back again my Sony friends? Well sadly it was a pretty slow week, as Sony kind of blew all of their big stories last week. But to counteract the lack of big news I wrote a nice little feature on how to get Linux working on your PS3, so hopefully there'll be something to interest the readers. As a little side mention, I didn't give enough credit to Snakeball on the PSN, as my friends and I have been having a blast playing split screen multiplayer now that we beat Pixel Junk Monsters. If you've got $8 lying around and you like games like Fusion Frenzy be sure to check out Snakeball, there's even a free demo on the PSN. Any who on with the news!
Sony News of the Week
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue listing
Well here it is everyone, I've got the rundown of the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will have a total of six tracks, each with two track layouts.
Suzuka Circuit
Eiger Nordwand
Fuji Speedway
London City Track
Daytona International Speedway
High Speed Ring
The game will also feature 16 players online, a drift mode, 2 player split screen racing, in game car tuning, 60 cars, and much more. Here's the list of cars:
• Acura NSX '91
• Alfa Romeo 147 TI 2.0 TWIN SPARK '06
• Alfa Romeo Brera Sky Window 3.2 JTS Q4 '06
• Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo
• Amuse/Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z RS
• Art Morrison Corvette'60
• Aston Martin DB9 Coupe '06
• Audi R8 4.2 FSI R tronic '07
• Audi TT Coupe 3.2 quattro '07
• Blitz Dunlop ER34 '07
• BMW 135i Coupe '07
• BMW 135tii '08
• BMW M3 Coupe '07
• BMW Z4 '03
• Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C6) Tuned Car
• Chevrolet Corvette Z06 '06
• Citroen C4 Coupe 2.0VTS '06
• Clio Renault Sport V6 24V Tuned Car
• Daihatsu Copen Active Top '02
• Daihatsu OFC-1 '07
• Dodge Viper GTS
• Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe
• Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe Tuned Car
• Ferrari 512BB '76
• Ferrari 599 '06
• Ferrari F40 '92
• Ferrari F430 '06
• Ford Focus ST '06
• Ford GT '05
• Ford GT Tuned Car
• Ford Mustang V8 GT Coupe Premium '07
• Honda Integra TYPE R '04
• Honda NSX Type R '02
• Jaguar XK Coupe '06
• Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione '91
• Lexus IS F '07
• Lexus IS F Tuned Car
• Lotus Elise 111R '04
• Lotus Elise 111R Tuned Car
• Lotus Elise '96
• Lotus Elise Tuned Car
• Mazda Atenza Sport (2007 Tokyo Motor Show reference exhibit)
• Mazda RX-7 (FD) Special Tuned Car
• Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) '02
• Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) Tuned Car
• Mazda RX-8 Type S '03
• Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG '02
• Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R N1 base '06
• Mini Cooper-S '06
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR '05
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR Premium Package '07
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR Tuned Car
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR Tuned Car
• Nissan Fairlady Z Version S '07
• Nissan GT-R '07
• Nissan GT-R Proto '05
• Nissan Skyline Coupe (V36) Tuned Car
• Nissan Skyline Coupe 370GT Type SP '07
• Nissan Skyline Coupe Concept '07
• Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II Nur '02
• Nissan Skyline Sedan 350GT Type SP '06
• Peugeot 207GTI '07
• Peugeot 307cc Premium AVN '04
• RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7
• Renault Clio Renault Sport V6 24V '00
• Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STI spec C Type RA '05
• Subaru Impreza WRX STI (18inch BBS Wheel Option) '07
• Suzuki Cappuccino '95
• Suzuki Cappuccino Tuned Car
• Suzuki Cervo SR '07
• Suzuki Swift Sport '07
• Suzuki Swift Sport Tuned Car
• TVR Tamora '02
• TVR Tuscan Speed 6 '00
• Volkswagen Golf GTI '01
• Volkswagen Golf V GTI '05
Look for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on the PlayStation Network and on Blu-Ray for $40 on April 17.
Those graphics are truly jaw dropping.
Credit: Sony
SOCOM: Confrontation screens and info
It seems weird that a SOCOM game is getting such little attention, especially the first SOCOM title on the PS3. Well never fear kids, as SOCOM: Confrontation is set to have a big blow out in next months May edition of EGM. While we wait I have some brand new screens from the game showing off some of the levels such as Crossroads and the shopping center.
Confirmed weapons include an M60-E3, an AK-47, an USAS-12, and a SASR sniper rifle. The game will have 32 players online, but it does look as if this first SOCOM will be online only *like WarHawk*. The game will also reportedly start off with only 5 maps, but will be accompanied by downloadable maps shortly after. Zipper Interactive, makers of the original PS2 SOCOM games, are busy working on their own SOCOM title which will feature both single player and multiplayer modes *and will be released at the end of 2008*. SOCOM: Confrontation will be made by Slant Six Games, makers of the PSP SOCOM titles, and will be released in June of this year as both a downloadable title and a Blu-Ray title *just like WarHawk*. Look for more information on SOCOM: Confrontation in the May edition of EGM.
Ready at Dawn moving on to new projects, new consoles?
Ready at Dawn, makers of God of War: Chains of Olympus and Daxter for the PSP have announced they are finally moving on to making original projects. Ready at Dawn has been impressing the gaming community with their recent releases, as up until now they were a relatively unknown studio.
First off Ready at Dawn denied a PS2 port of God of War: Chains of Olympus. It seems as if most PSP titles are getting ported to the PS2 recently so I'm taking that claim with a grain of salt *I'm still expecting a port to the PS2 by the end of the year*. The interesting claim however is that they will be moving on to new projects on new consoles. For those who have been confused Ready at Dawn has never made a God of War game before and ARE NOT making God of War 3. I've seen a lot of message board posts claiming Ready at Dawn is making God of War 3 which is not true. Ready at Dawn isn't owned by anyone and can make a title for any platform including PS3 or 360. I've been really impressed by Ready at Dawn and I'm hoping we'll see some sort of PS3 title since Ready at Dawn and Sony appear to have a really good relationship going.
After the abysmal update that we saw last week with nothing but lame trailers, this week the PSN sports a brand new downloadable title. Coming from Capcom, Rocketman: Axis of Evil has been released onto XBLA and PSN this week. I was hoping for this game to be semi-decent since most of Capcom's releases have been solid this generation but Capcom disappointed me here. First off this game is basically a rip-off of Smash TV, and a bad one at that. I found collision detection to be horrible and the graphics to be sub par at best. There were many times where I took 3 or 4 hits in a row that I guarantee didn't touch me, and plenty of times where I wasn't sure if I was hitting any enemies. The PSN already has Cash Guns Chaos *though that's nothing to write home about either* so there's no reason to recommend Rocketman: Axis of Evil unless you're desperate for more Smash TV style games.
In addition the PC store saw FlOw and Ape Escape go up as downloadable PSP titles, as well as a bunch of trailers. The PS3 store saw the typical Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3 packs *hope you like metal* as well as a bunch of downloadable themes. Speaking of which, if anyone has any links to any good PS3 theme sites, let me know. There are some very good user-created PS3 themes out there and I want to find a good place to download them all.
Credit: Sony
Sony Quick News!
The PlayStation Store make-over that I've been reporting on for a couple of weeks now has finally been confirmed by Sony to be happening. The make-over will be sometime in April, right around the April 15 release of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Sony plans to make the store look a lot more visually appealing and make it easier to navigate.
One of the best PSP homebrew games, No Gravity, will actually be released as a PS3 title. No Gravity: The Plague of Mind will officially be coming to the PlayStation Network as a downloadable title. See kids, homebrew games can still lead to creations of new game studios.
In a funny note, the latest edition of the Kojima Productions podcast has announced that Metal Gear Solid 4 will be using the F word for the first time in an MGS game. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the F*cking Patriots coming June 12 exclusively on PS3.
It looks as if Ninja Theory is turning Heavenly Sword into a trilogy and is already underway with a sequel. I got this information from Kotaku and find it interesting since I heard earlier they were working on an original IP after Heavenly Sword. Sony has yet to confirm any of this but according to Kotaku and their insiders the sequel will take place 10 years after the original.
If you're wondering, Haze may still make its way to the 360, as Free Radical recently confirmed the game is still a timed exclusive to the PS3. Look for Haze on the PS3 this May.
It looks as if SingStar volume 2 is already on its way to Europe for PS3, despite not even released in America yet. It's not known whether "volume 2" means it'll be downloadable tracks to the SingStore, a brand new Blu-Ray game, or maybe even the rumored wireless microphones. I'll keep you all updated but as for now America is getting SingStar for PS3 in June and that's all that's confirmed.
We won! Microsoft officially it will be supporting Blu-Ray. We won! In actuality so far Microsoft will just be supporting Blu-Ray via Windows but that's still a fee Microsoft has to pay Sony for *and the other Blu-Ray committee members*. Whether or not a Blu-Ray 360 add-on is coming is still TBA.
The Motorstorm 2 debut trailer has been pushed back one week. The trailer was supposed to be released last week but will instead be released later this week. I'll make sure to post the trailer in next week's column.
Sims 3 info will be released soon by EA. Also shortly after that info on the 35 upcoming expansion packs for the Sims 3 will be released. Sims 3: The Urbz!
Resident Evil fans saw bad news this week, as it appears as if Capcom has debunked the rumored Resident Evil 5 October release date. Rumors are already circulating now that the game won't be released until 2009 which would be a huge bummer. We'll hopefully get a confirmed release date soon.
The Air Force wants 300 PS3's for cell processor research. Why G4 made such a big deal about it is a mystery to me. It's not that big of a deal folks, things like this happen all the time *and I didn't even have to make a joke about how wasteful our military is with money*.
Video B3yond!
Coming exclusively to the PlayStation Network *hopefully soon*, here's Wipeout HD.
The Liberty City Police Department wants you!
Echochrome makes my brain hurt.
Here's some Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 footage for everyone. Winning Eleven has always been my favorite soccer game *though that's not saying much*.
The One Man Water Cooler~!
Since my guide to installing a new hard drive on the PS3 went so well 2 weeks ago, I thought I'd do one more for everyone. While most of the internet savvy people such as most of my readers *hopefully* know, the PS3 is capable of running a full fledged operation system such as Linux. While I don't think anything as user friendly as Windows XP runs on a PS3 yet Linux works like a dream. So this week I'm going to show everyone how to install my favorite Linux, Yellow Dog Linux version 6.0 onto their PS3's.
As I did with my last guide I'm not actually going to write out a long step-by-step, since other people have already done it before *and did a better job then I could ever do* so I'm going to cover the tips they don't usually cover while linking to the guides.
The first thing you need to do is actually find where to download Linux. Terra Soft *makers of Yellow Dog Linux* has a selection of sites to download YDL from, but navigating those sites can be confusing. Since most of my users are probably from the US you'll want to click one of the "mirrors" under the US *I recommend using the primary mirrors*. Once you are in one of the "mirrors" you'll want to navigate to "iso" as that's what you'll want to burn to a DVD. Once you are in "iso" ignore everything else and just scroll to "Yellow Dog 6.0 DVD.iso" or a YDL 6.0 iso equivalent and download it. The download should be around 3.7GB so it might take a little while depending on your download speed *took me a little more than an hour downloading in the background*. If you're still not sure if you have the right download be aware most of the "dates" will read that they were uploaded on or around March 3, 2008 *that's when YDL 6.0 became a free download*.
The first thing to note is that the hardest part of the whole process is burning the iso to a DVD. Honestly, if you can get the iso burned to a DVD *which isn't too hard now days* then the rest of the process is basically just following a bunch of steps and letting Linux install itself. Most programs like Nero let you burn .iso's by going through "burn an image to a DVD" and selecting a .iso file.
Once you have your iso DVD burned you will need to go to the PS3. In previous versions you also needed some separate .self bootable files but with YDL 6.0 all you need is the .iso DVD. On your PS3 you will need to first "format utility" under "system settings" which means formatting the hard drive using "custom format" to allow 10 GB for "other os" which means Linux. Hopefully if you saw my guide for installing a separate hard drive that you should have done this process as soon as you got your PS3 or when you changed your hard drive since formatting the PS3 hard drive will delete your save files and downloads *they can all be downloaded back or backed up*. Once you have allowed space on the hard drive for Linux you need to go to "install other os" under "system settings" and put in the DVD you burned with YDL 6.0 on it and let the installer do its thing. Sadly I couldn't find a decent install video for YDL 6.0 but keep checking youtube hopefully something will pop up eventually. After going through a stupidly easy install process where Linux does most of the work you're set to go. There is also the option to boot the "game os" *the normal PS3 menu system* back up when you turn off Linux, and you'll have to choose whether you want Linux or the PS3 hub to start up normally when you turn on the PS3 via the settings menu.
While some people want Linux to be installed on PS3's right off the bat even I must admit I don't have a whole lot of use for it. There's always potential for the future and the fact that it is an actual running computer for those who only have one computer in their house, but for most having Linux is just bragging rights. I've had Linux on my PS3 for over a year now and to be honest I haven't used it for more than a few hours, mostly just tinkering around seeing what I can get to work *sadly I've had trouble getting things like emulators to run on the PS3 Linux*. So hopefully those who were curious about how to get Linux on their PS3's have had their questions answered for the most part. Obviously I accept no responsibility in the extremely rare chance that something goes wrong, but feel free to ask me questions in case you're still not sure how to get Linux to run on the PS3.
Well that's it for me this week. My local Best Buy finally has 360's in stock and I have to go exchange my 360 before they run out. I haven't been getting the red rings but my 360 has been acting up with multiple crashes and other errors. While I'm at it I've also had a SIXAXIS controller that has been acting up so I've got a nice little laundry list going on that I need to bring to Best Buy. Imagine the reaction on their faces when I bring up a 360 with a PS3 controller and say they weren't working. Any who I'll be back next week, cya in 7!
My SIXAXIS has been rattling. Something small broke off inside, but it doesn't seem to have affected anything. Hopefully it holds up until the DS3 hits shelves.
GT5:P is listed at $60 in Canada. No way I'm paying that!
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on March 11, 2008 at 03:40 AM
GT5:P is $40 at Amazon.ca, and $40 at Futureshop. Bestbuy should be fixing their price in the coming weeks.
Posted By: Ethos (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 09:30 AM
Check out a site calle "Play-asia.com" They already have the DS3's for sale at a great price. A little research will get you a 5% coupon code to get the price to 53 dollars. I have one and it works like a dream. To bad COD4 doesnt support it yet but most other games do.
Posted By: FCT (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 11:28 AM
FTC - Do you need to do anything to enable rumble in the DS3? I got mine from Play-Asia the other day but I havn't noticed any rumble yet, even in Warhawk that has rumble features. Vibration is set to enabled when I press the PS button.
Posted By: Guest#7691 (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 01:13 PM
I notice rumble in PS2 games, and also in Ratchet + Clank (When you jump into the air and smash your blade)
Posted By: Ethos (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 01:47 PM
finally some news on socom...it's the reason i wanted a ps3 as i was a diehard fan of the first two games, the third wasn't so hot but i'm still expecting big things. call of duty 4 is great but it's too damn hard to play with friends. And zipper is making it's own socom that's amazing news two socoms within six months. Is there any screen shots of zipper's socom?
Posted By: Dave (Guest) on March 11, 2008 at 10:37 PM
No Dave sorry to say nothing is known at this time other than Zipper is working on a new SOCOM title. Considering it took this long to get info on Confrontation I wouldn't expect to hear anything about Zipper's SOCOM until E3 in July at the earliest.
Posted By: Mark Salmela (Registered) on March 11, 2008 at 11:47 PM
I don't think they'll debut Zipper's game there, with Confrontation still new on the market. Maybe at something like PAX or TGS, later on in the year.
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on March 12, 2008 at 02:36 AM
