B3yond the Report 04.08.08

Posted by Mark Salmela on 04.08.2008

This week I rate the top PlayStation Network games. Also, news on things like the new PlayStation Store, the DualShock 3 controller, Metal Gear Solid 4, WarHawk, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Echochrome, Motorstorm 2, Haze, Mercenaries 2, and more when we go B3yond the Report!




Welcome to B3yond the Report, where we keep our hands warm with the damn patriot act! Sorry, I've got to stop listening to rap while trying to write a news report. Any who it's time for your favorite news report once again *I'm going to get hate for that one, then again everyone refuses to acknowledge my request for a 411 games war*. I got a lot of positive reader feedback in regards to the new changes, so thanks guys I'll be sure to keep raising the bar in the future. Any who it's time to get back to what I do best *or arguably worst, I don't know*, so stand up if you're broke and you ain't ever givin' up *sorry I couldn't resist, good song*.

Thanks to Ashish for letting me leave the title as "B3yond the Report" instead of "B3yond the Report Gaming News Report".



Down with rumble since day 1, it's B3yond the News of the Week~!

SIXAXIS is dead, long live DualShock 3



Rumble fans rejoice! The DualShock 3 controller has finally been released in the US at a price of $55. The wait was long *and it seemed as if it would never come at times*, but rumble has finally returned to the console that could. It appears as if Sony will cease production on the SIXAXIS controllers, so once they're gone they're gone for good. While $55 is expensive for a controller, it's still only $5 more than the 360 controller and is actually $5 less than a Wiimote and Nun chuck.

The DualShock 3 controller has made significant improvements to the shoulder buttons compared to the SIXAXIS controller. The SIXAXIS controller's shoulder buttons just folded back, so at times it was impossible to tell just how hard you were pressing them, so seeing some improvement *it's not perfect* in the DualShock 3 controller is more than welcomed. The DualShock 3 controller also feels heavier and more natural, although the battery life is only about 16 hours *down from about 30 in the SIXAXIS, though still longer than a pair of double A batteries or the battery life of the 360 charge kit*. The DualShock 3 controller is out now in both black and Satin Silver *Sony made a last minute call to bring those to America, too bad they also didn't bring the white controllers*. Check your local stores for availability; it might be a while before you can find one. A lot of games already have patches that added in rumble support, and more are on the way. WarHawk with rumble support is awesome.

Credit: Sony


Gran Turismo 5 Prologue to receive car deformation patch



Despite recent rumors, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be receiving a patch later this summer that adds in car deformation. While I'm very disappointed to hear that it won't be included from the get go, it's better to add it in for free than hold off until Gran Turismo 5 in 2009. According to the creators of the game the reason why it took so long is because all of the car manufactures originally didn't want car deformation in the game, but have now given in to Polyphony Digital's request. The lack of online and the lack of car deformation were the two biggest complaints critics had, so it's awesome to see both feature being added in for the PS3 release. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is out pretty much everywhere except America now, and America will finally see the release of GT 5 on April 15 for $40 via Blu-Ray and the PlayStation Store, be sure to pick it up.

Credit: IGN


First images of the new PlayStation Store surface



As I discussed previously, the PlayStation Store is currently undergoing a make-over, with the store re-launching with a totally new design on April 15 *the day of GT5 Prologue*. Like the Xbox Live Marketplace, the new PSN will be installed natively on the PS3 hard drive, and will no longer be loading off a web page. Basically what that means is that the new PlayStation Store SHOULD have much faster load times, and will no longer take forever just to download a demo. Also gone will be the web page design, with the PlayStation Store now looking sleek and sexy like the SingStore. The old PlayStation Store navigated horribly unless you used a mouse, so it's glad to see they're putting a lot of work into the store to make it awesome. When the store re-launches next week Sony promises "a lot" of new content to accompany the update, although GT5 Prologue is the only confirmed thing at the moment *as well as Rock Band content*. I hope there's a lot of new content, as there was nothing put up last week and there'll be nothing put up again this week. The PC store will not be receiving a make-over, it's just the PS3 store for the time being. I'll be sure to give my hands-on impressions when the store finally launches on the 15th.


Looking Good…

Credit: Sony


Details on the new WarHawk v1.3 patch



Well the new WarHawk version 1.3 patch went live early last week, and boy is it awesome. The main features of the patch include the new Bio-Shield generator and the Wrench, both of which are awesome. The Bio-Field generator will create a small field of gas wherever you put it and will increase the health of you and your teammates while hurting your enemies *if they go in it*. The Wrench acts as a second melee weapon, replacing the knife. But where the Wrench really shines is in the repair function. Unlike the knife the Wrench actually has an ammo bar, as it will regenerate the health of your team's vehicles if you hit it while decreasing the energy of enemy vehicles. It really adds to the gameplay. For example if you have someone driving the tank you can have a second guy in the hatch with a wrench constantly making repairs in case you're under attack. It's perfect for repairing vehicles if you're trying to sneak in and take over an enemy base. There were also other minor gameplay fixes and it's great to see Incognito putting so much effort and support into the WarHawk community. The next expansion pack Operation Broken Mirror will launch later this month for $8, and in the mean time WarHawk is currently on special for $30 instead of $40. If you can play games online and haven't picked up WarHawk you definitely owe it to yourself, it's easily one of my favorite PS3 games.

Credit: Incognito


The Metal Gear Solid 4 pre-order bundle is in stores now!



The Metal Gear Solid 4 pre-order bundle is finally out in stores. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago Konami is releasing a special package for those who pre-order Metal Gear Solid 4, and it includes the Metal Gear Saga volume 2.0 DVD as well as a Beta key for Metal Gear Online. Anyone can go to Gamestop *and maybe other stores, I'm not sure* and get this package that comes with a pre-order for either the special edition or regular edition of MGS4. The Metal Gear Saga DVD is a mini-history of all the MGS games and basically tells the story of MGS for all of the fans such as myself who are confused as to what's going on. The DVD is very interesting and definitely got me pumped for MGS4. Also included is the MGO beta key, and the MGO beta will run from April 21 – May 5. 16 Player Metal Gear Online sounds awesome, be sure to pick up your beta key before they run out, it doesn't cost you anything *other than what you're paying for MGS4*.


Here's the Metal Gear Saga 2.0 DVD you get with a preorder of MGS4.


Here's the rumored box art for the American version of MGS4, which looks totally bad ass.

Credit: Konami



B3yond the tabloids!

Motorstorm 2 will reportedly feature a lot of personal character customization. According to the developers, "Players will not only be able to customize their drivers, they'll also be able to design their vehicles with paint and new parts as well." The game will also feature races taking place in the jungle *as seen in the trailer*, caves, mountain hillsides, and even volcano craters, complete with lava. Look for Motorstorm 2 this winter on the PS3.

The latest edition of the official PlayStation Magazine promises that the public Home Beta will be launching "very soon". The latest rumored date I heard was the end of May, so I guess "very soon" depends on your opinion of how soon the end of May might be.

Metanet Software, creators of hit game N+ have announced they are working on a new game called Robotology. No platforms have been announced, but hopefully we'll see a PSN release since we missed out on the very fun N+.

Saints Row 2 will launch on both the PS3 and 360 on August 26, 2008. We all know it will be crushed by GTA4.

The first two R-Types will be released on the PlayStation Network as a bundle in the near future. R-Type is a really fun side-scrolling shooter and should be a solid edition to the PlayStation when it launches sometime in the next month or two.

Burnout Paradise has officially sold over 1 million units now and Criterion is promising downloadable content in the near future. I love Burnout Paradise but I can never find the time to play it.

Rockstar has officially bought Mad Doc Studios and has renamed them Rockstar New England. Mad Doc Studios were the people who made the 360 version of Bully.

According to Sony, the reason why some PS3 games require installing onto the hard drive has to do with the change from DVD to Blu-Ray. Sony reports, "DVD drives read discs at varying speeds, while Blu-ray discs are read at a specific speed." While they're basically blaming the laser diode for Blu-Ray, they're just trying to avoid long load times on their games *which has both positive and negative aspects*.

Sega has finally confirmed the development of Sonic Unleashed despite the fact that we've known this for weeks thanks to leaked screenshots and video. Sega didn't confirm whether or not the game will suck like its predecessor *despite the fact that we've known for weeks thanks to leaked screenshots and video that it will*.

Latest reports are claiming that Echochrome on the PSP and the PS3 will each feature 56 puzzles, with the 56 PSP puzzles being different from the 56 PS3 puzzles *at least in the US version, Japan is still TBA*. The cost will be $10 for each version and both versions will feature a create-a-level with the only difference being the PS3 version will feature level-sharing online. I'll be sure to let you know if I ever upload a level *maybe a B3yond the Report themed level*.



B3yond the Cinema!



Here's an April fool's Day prank from Konami and Ubisoft that actually features new footage of Metal Gear Solid 4. I can't stress enough how awesome the game looks.



Here's a look back at 20 years of Metal Gear Solid. This is only a small clip from the Metal Gear Saga 2.0 DVD that comes with a pre-order for MGS4.



Man, Mercenaries 2 looks awesome. Mercenaries 2 will be out on both the 360 and PS3 on August 31, 2008.



Here's an updated look at Haze, coming to the PS3 this May *if I remember right*. The game is slowly coming together, here's hoping it turns out alright.



The One Man Water Cooler~!



Well in what should be the biggest news of the week I finally got rainbow on every map in Pixel Junk Monsters. I'd stopped playing the game a couple of weeks ago and had only recently attempted to get perfect on every map. Let me tell you, some of the levels are a bitch to get perfect on. It literally took me a dozen tries on a couple of the hard maps.

Any who, this week I want to talk about some of my favorite PlayStation Network titles *sorry for ripping off the top ten Derek*. I did this same feature once before back in October but since then the PlayStation Network has seen a lot of awesome titles go up for download. Next week I plan to talk about my favorite PS3 disc games overall *and I'll include WarHawk in that list*.

The last time I made this list my two favorite titles were Calling all Cars and Super Star Dust HD with the slight nod to Calling all Cars because Super Star Dust HD was too much like Geometry Wars *although better*. My opinion as to those two titles haven't changed, although there have been some great titles since then. Here are my top ten favorite PSN titles, although be aware I chose not to include PS1 titles. If I included those then the list would be almost primarily games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Twisted Metal 2. With that said:

Honorable mentions include flow, LocoRoco Cocoreccho, Rampage: World Tour, Everyday Shooter, Go! Puzzle, and Piyotama.

10.) High Velocity Bowling – Bowling done right with SIXAXIS controls. It definitely gives Wii Sports Bowling a run for its money.

9.) Tekken 5 – One of the best PS2 fighters

8.) Mortal Kombat II – One of my favorite fighting games ever. The level of violence is awesome and it's a blast to play with friends.

7.) Pain – I know I initially hated this game thanks to the high price point and all of the micro transactions but once you get past that the game is really fun. Classic Horse can't be beat and the bowling mini-game is also really fun.

6.) Blast Factor: Advanced Research – A Geometry Wars style shooter that gets even more fun with the Advanced Research expansion pack. A high recommendation for fans of the Geometry Wars style shooter.

5.) Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix - The best puzzle game on the PSN. It's similar to games like Tetris and Dr. Mario, and is a blast to play online.

4.) Snakeball – A Fusion Frenzy style party game that gets to be really fun with friends and online. It's too bad this game went under the radar, as it deserved more promotion.

3.) Super Star Dust HD – The best Geometry Wars style shooter out on the market easily *I know it sounds weird but it is better than Geometry Wars easily*. It's addictive, hard, and a lot of fun.

2.) Calling all Cars – Easily the most frantic multiplayer game on the PlayStation Network. While the single player isn't the greatest game in the world the multiplayer more than makes up for it. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who hates this game.

1.) Pixel Junk Monsters – The perfect strategy game. Pixel Junk Monsters is a ton of fun in both single player and co-op mode. Taking ideas from games like Defend your Castle, Pixel Junk Monsters is a strategists' dream and is easily the best purchase on the PSN. I can't wait for the expansion pack in a couple of weeks.

That's it for this week. Be sure to come back next week as I rate the best disc PS3 purchases.




The 411mania Empire~!



The Select and Start News by Vincent Chiucchi, who can't be serious. This guy attacks one of my most sacred traditions and attacks the One Man Water Cooler~!!!!!!!! That's basically an attack on my Holy Land! The first shot has been fired Vince. My men will rally around me and we will strike back! I guarantee it!

Since Vince doesn't even have his own banner *ha, Snake laughs at that*, I've chosen to steal and humiliate one of his most popular pictures. It's on Vince!



I hope you enjoy that water Vince, as it's the last thing you'll ever enjoy.

The Full Circle by Joe Roche, and I think my best plan involves a pistol and a meat cleaver.
Nintendophiles by Theo Fraser, who refuses to acknowledge that Dr. Mario is the only game coming to the Wii that matters *screw Mario Kart*.
The PC Centric Extravaganza by Chris Evans. Steam > Windows Live.



Signing Off!



Believe it or not I'm just starting my spring break. Call us Minnesotans crazy, but we don't feel justified going on spring break with 3 feet of snow on the ground. So I'm going to be spending the next week catching up on the new WarHawk patch as well as refueling my engines for the pending GTA4 rush. I put up a review of Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds last week, so go check that if you haven't already. I'll be back next week with the weekly report, and eventually a review of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue *that's still a couple of weeks away*. I'll be back in 7, and until then you've just gone B3yond the Report.


Snake is still awesome.