B3yond the Report 05.13.08

Posted by Mark Salmela on 05.13.2008

This past week saw the annual PlayStation Day in Europe. Check out my full report of all of the news and games highlighted in the event. Games such as Killzone 2, Little Big Planet, Buzz, Elefunk, Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Mirror’s Edge, GTA4, Resistance 2, Pixel Junk Monsters Encore, and more in this jam packed edition of B3yond the Report! Plus, a 10/10 for the first MGS4 review, and I want your Echochrome levels!




Welcome everyone, to another splendid addition of the SIXA… I mean… B3yond the Report! My name is Mark Salmela and I have an extremely unhealthy addiction to Pixel Junk Monsters. This past week saw Sony hold their annual PlayStation Day in Europe, and it actually revealed a lot of cool information. I certainly didn't expect this much cool news to come out of such an event. This will definitely help tide me over until E3 in July.

Before I start the column, I thought I'd try a neat idea. With the release of Echochrome on the PS3 and PSP last week, I thought I'd have a little contest. One of the cool features of the PS3 version of Echochrome is the level editor, where users can create and upload levels. The only thing about this is you can only share levels with friends, which means if you guys want to share levels with me you're going to have to send them to me via a PSN message. Basically I want to hold a good old fashion contest. I want you guys to create levels using the level editor in Echochrome, and to send your level to my PSN account *Fester*. I want to judge which level I think is the best. Even if you think your level sucks, I want it. To send me a level, go to "canvas" and create a level. Once that is done go to "title" and name it something, then go to "save" and save it. Once that is done quit the level editor and go to "Atelier", press R1 to go to your portfolio, and click upload and send it to "Fester" on the PSN. While I don't have any cool prizes or anything I can send you, if there's any way you think I could pimp you or compensate you other than declaring you the winner of the contest and declaring you master of the universe let me know. Echochrome is a great game, and I want to see what types of amazing puzzles you guys can come up with. I will also send levels to the people who send me levels, which only helps to lengthen the game and get more mileage out of one of the best PSN games ever. Please be sure to enter if you have Echochrome. I plan on running this contest for two weeks, meaning you have until May 27th, on which I will post the winner.



Only damaging to flying monsters, it's B3yond the News of the Week~!

Sony's PlayStation Day Report



This past week was headlined by the PlayStation Day event held over in Europe. Since E3 is now in July, several video game companies hold smaller events throughout the spring and summer. One of the biggest ones is the PlayStation Day in Europe, which this year had some great content. Instead of going through my usual format in giving titles and having videos later in the column, I'm going to go through marathon style. Check it out.


Little Big Planet



Promising to bring user generated content to a new level, Little Big Planet will allow users to create and upload levels in one giant interactive community. I've said this many times before, but Little Big Planet is one of my most anticipated games of 2008. I am a huge fan of platformers, and the idea of endless levels from user generated content definitely makes me giddy. The possibilities of LBP are endless, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. One of the newest announcements is that there will be actual enemies in the game. While details are scarce, the confirmation of actual enemies as well as deaths from environmental obstacles is very positive. I was worried that the game would be too easy, but it has been confirmed by the developers that there will be an increasing level of difficulty as the game progresses. Speaking of which, the PS Day announced that Little Big Planet will officially be released via Blu-Ray this October. Now while this date was announced for only the UK, one can safely assume that it will be released right around or shortly after the UK October release. On a sad note there will be a Beta, but it will be a closed Beta for select insiders. This is sad news because the original idea was to have an open Beta where the best user created levels in the Beta would be some of the titles that shipped on the full game. Now we're going to just have Media Molecule's as well as the "Sony Insiders" levels. Not to say they won't be awesome, but the idea of a level shipping on a PS3 game developed by individual and typical users is really cool. Imagine if a B3yond the Report themed level shipped on Little Big Planet. Oh well, I'm sure LBP will be awesome, and maybe I'll make a level for everyone to play when it comes out *maybe? Of course I will*.



Hahaha that's just awesome. Killzone costumes in LBP.


Killzone 2



One of the biggest titles highlighted this past week was Guerrilla's Killzone 2. Set to be the PlayStation 3's answer to Gears of War 2 and Halo 3, Killzone 2 plans to take action to a whole new level. While the game was playable at the showroom floor at PS Day, the game itself has been delayed until February 2009. While I've stated before that I'm getting extremely sick of the PS3 delays *which I still am* I'm a little more forgiving for Killzone 2 since I was thinking it'd be launched in November 2008 anyways. And with Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2 coming in November already it would have been way too crowded of a month for FPS'. A 3 month delay will probably end up being a good thing. It's been working wonders for Capcom games like Devil May Cry 4 and Lost Planet for years now. I am still impressed how Killzone 2 has managed to surpass the 2005 E3 CG trailer, as looking at the few gameplay videos out there this game looks incredible. The lighting especially looks really good. Be sure to check out the latest trailer:




Motorstorm: Pacific Rift



Coming off of the highly successful Motorstorm, Motorstorm 2, now officially titled Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, looks to fix all of the imperfections of the first title. The first thing you will notice is environment, as Motorstorm: Pacific Rift looks much different than the original. The first Motorstorm had dull, muddy levels that were filled with a lot of brown. The sequel however, is taking place on a tropical island and will feature many different environments for users to race in. From the beach, to the rainforest, to a volcano, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift looks to be a huge improvement over the already awesome original title. Featuring 16 maps straight from the start, a 16 player online mode, as well as a 4 player split screen mode Pacific Rift looks to be awesome. My biggest problem above all else was the lack of local multiplayer, so Motorstorm: Pacific Rift is already a must buy in my book. Also take note of the new monster trucks, as these things are real beasts and will take you out. The title comes out in November 2008 and here's a nice pre-alpha demonstration of the game.




Elefunk



One of the best new PSN titles shown at PS Day 2008 was Elefunk. Taking a simple concept, Elefunk is all about making your character *in this case an elephant* make it across the level without dying. The only problem is that there is no set pathway, and as we all know, elephants can not fly. So to fix this problem you are given construction tools and you must create a bridge to support the weight of your elephant as he walks across to the other side. A lot of the game is based on physics, but unlike most physics based games this one is actually fun and not one sided. While I'm not excited at all for physics based games such as Pixel Junk Eden, Elefunk looks to be extremely fun while challenging the mind. Here's a trailer.




Buzz: Quiz TV



The highly successful Buzz franchise will be launching on the PlayStation 3 this year. Featuring all new high-res graphics as well as wireless controllers, Buzz will be a great party game for both family and friends. One of the biggest features of the new Buzz will be the downloadable content. For the first time ever users will be able to create and upload their own personal quizzes. That means the possibilities for potential quizzes are endless. Hell there could be a quiz all about 411mania.com for everyone to download. The community will be self-policing, as users who download costume quizzes will be able to rate them based off of accuracy, as well as how fun they are. Sony will also be releasing their own themed quiz packs, so Buzz on the PS3 will be well supported. Another new feature will be online multiplayer, as teams from around the world will be able to compete in Buzz competitions. I have never bought a Buzz game before, but Buzz: Quiz TV looks almost too good to pass up. Here's a trailer.




Resistance 2



The last of the PlayStation Day games worth noting is Insomniac's Resistance 2. Resistance 2 is the sequel to the 2006 PS3 launch title Resistance: Fall of Man. Resistance 2 will feature an unprecedented 8 player online co-op mode *I believe you can play up to 8 players in lan-mode as well*, and a 60 player online competitive multiplayer. The multiplayer mode will feature teams of up to 8 players per team, meaning there will be around 7 – 8 teams ideally in a full room *depending on how the room is split up*, where players can play from a range of multiplayer modes. While most of the modes nor single player elements are still under wraps, we do know that the Chimera have invaded the US, and as such most of the gameplay will take place on American shores. Players will once again resume the position of Nathan Hale, and it appears as if the Chimera will focus more on an aerial assault. Here's hoping vehicles are added into the multiplayer, as that was one of my few complaints about the first title. With Killzone 2 getting pushed to February 2009 it looks as if Resistance 2 will be Sony's blockbuster hit this holiday season among games like Little Big Planet. Here's hoping the game is awesome.

Credit: Sony PlayStation Day 2008


PlayStation Store update for the week of May 8



PRAISE THE LORD, PIXEL JUNK MONSTERS ENCORE IS FINALLY HERE! You guys have no idea how awesome my weekend has been. I've binged on pizza and Pixel Junk, and I couldn't be happier *although pizza is getting too dammed expensive these days*. Everything we've come to know and love about Pixel Junk Monsters has been multiplied to the max, and I love it. The ice canon is now a default weapon, and the new levels are awesome. There are 15 new levels total in Pixel Junk Monsters Encore, and I can't recommend this $6 purchase highly enough. The only problem I've had so far with the expansion pack is the rapid increase in difficulty. In the original title I managed to get rainbow on every level in both single and multiplayer, but so far I've barely been managing to beat the levels in the expansion, let alone get rainbows on the levels. This expansion pack will take a long time to get perfect on. Anyways, I honestly can't decide whether Pixel Junk Monsters or Echochrome is the best PlayStation Network title. It's really close *I don't count WarHawk as a PSN title*. Besides the PJM Encore expansion pack, we also saw the release of the Haze demo. While it wasn't terrible, I was pretty disappointed. While it's not bad by any means, it just screams "mediocre". While I originally planned to pick it up on day one to hold me over until MGS4 I think I'm going to hold off now and just save my money. College is getting too expensive people; I can't take this shit anymore.

Besides Pixel Junk Encore and the Haze Demo, there were also a bunch of cool videos uploaded onto the PlayStation Store. One of which I've included below. It's a video for a game called "Mirror's Edge". While I've heard of it before, this new in-game footage trailer blew my mind. This game looks so cool I can't wait to get my hands on it. Basically it's a first person adventure game where you run and jump across buildings Assassin's Creed style. But unlike Assassin's Creed this just has a certain feel to it that just feels so fresh and new that I can't wait for it. With everyone complaining about the lack of creativity in video games today I recommend you guys check out the video. Mirror's Edge looks cool. Besides that, we also got videos for games like WipeOut HD, a bunch of wallpapers and themes for Pixel Junk Monsters, and downloadable content for games like Rock Band. And since I'll get yelled at if I don't list the Rock Band tracks, this week includes "Date with the Night", "It Hurts", and "This ain't a scene, it's an arms race". Once again all 3 songs suck. But this still doesn't stop the weekly PlayStation Store update from being super sweet. These are the types of updates I've been clamoring for from the PlayStation Store; it appears as if maybe Sony is finally getting their act together since they've been consistently good since the new store design. Here's the Mirror's Edge trailer.



Credit: Sony



B3yond the tabloids!

The first official review of Metal Gear Solid 4 is in. The official UK PlayStation magazine gave MGS4 a perfect 10/10. For comparison the same issue gave FF7 Crisis Core an 8, Silent Hill Origins a 6, and the COD4 map pack an 8/10. Now while I knew GTA4 wouldn't be perfect from the get go due to the glitches and problems that come from a sandbox style game I actually have faith that MGS4 might be a perfect 10. I feel that Kojima has put everything he has into this game and that this will be one epic conclusion to the MGS storyline. To quote the review: "As for Snake? It turns out his last stand really is his finest hour. Farewell old friend. You've earned your rest."

The PS3 version of GTA4 has received a patch that looks to fix all of the problems people have been having with the game. When the game first launched the online didn't work at all and several users reported game-ruining crashes. While I know the online mode works now the reaction as to whether or not the patch solved the crashing has been mixed. Some users claim all of their problems have been fixed while others claim they're still having problems. Rockstar has claimed anyone else with problems need to contact Sony to get their PS3's replaced, so it appears as if Rockstar isn't going to do anything else to fix the problem. Great job guys. By the way I still don't know which version of GTA4 sold better, although it appears as if it's been 3:2 in favor of the 360. I would consider that a success for PS3 since the 360 has a much greater install base.

A few lucky fans a month will be chosen from the leader boards of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue to participate in what is being called Gran Turismo Racing Academy. Details are still scarce but basically the best GT5 Prologue users will be chosen to compete in real life events, sponsored by Nissan and Polyphony. It's a cool concept and videos of the events will be uploaded to GT5 Prologue for users to watch.

Speaking of Gran Turismo, the Gran Turismo franchise has now sold over 50 million units worldwide. Over 2.5 million units of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue have been sold, making it one of the best selling PS3 games despite just coming out *well it's been out for a few months in Japan, but relatively new in America and Europe*.

Sony will be launching a feature called Movement in Europe where they will send out two guys named Spencer and Martin all across Europe to search for local indie bands that they could add into SingStar on the PS3. I think this is a really cool idea that I wish they would repeat in America. There are tons of bands in America just waiting to be discovered and SingStar would be a good place to feature some of those bands.

More than 5 million PS3's have been sold in Europe, officially putting the PS3 ahead of the 360 in the PAL territories. Even though the 360 had a 16 month head start on the PS3 I knew this was coming easily. I'm not meaning to start anything here but it's a fact that the 360 fails everywhere outside of North America. I'm actually surprised it took this long; I had thought the PS3 had surpassed Europe months ago. I know it took like 3 months for the PS3 to beat the 360 in Japan.

The FTC has released a survey claiming that retailers are being very strict on the sales of M rated titles to minors. In fact, according to the FTC video games rated the best in terms of enforcing age restrictions, which is very positive news that shows the ESRB works and that we do not need government involvement. So lay off Congress. Personally when I was a minor it was extremely easy for me to buy whatever I wanted, but now days I have seen places like Best Buy refuse minors with M-rated games. I saw 2 kids in front of me trying to buy R6V2 get rejected at Best Buy while I was waiting in line to buy it myself, so it is being enforced.

Fight Night Round 4 has officially been announced by EA and will be coming to the PS3 and 360 next year. This is great news to me as so far I think both Don King's Prizefighter and Facebreaker look retarded. I don't want a kiddy boxing game and the Don King game just looks plain awful. With the recent announcement of Mike Tyson joining the Fight Night franchise, here's hoping there's a create-a-character that "happens" to look like Little Mac. Just saying…

While unconfirmed, there is a rumor going around that Skies of Arcadia 2 will be announced. The rumor also says the RPG would be made for the Wii and PS3, which is a weird combination since usually games are Wii/PS2 or 360/PS3. Either way a lot of people would love to see Skies of Arcadia 2, so here's hoping the rumor is true. By the way, Valkyrie Chronicles is being made by the same team as Skies of Arcadia, and will even feature some of the characters of Skies of Arcadia. This game is PS3 exclusive and will hit US shores this fall.

Codemasters has purchased the Formula 1 racing license from Sony, ending their 4 year lock on Formula 1 titles. While I thought the Sony Formula 1 titles were average, I think Codemasters racing titles *DiRT and GRID* have been terrible. So here's to not caring!



The One Man Water Cooler~!



Well I don't have a whole lot to say this week. I've been preparing a special feature for the site that basically would have made for my One Man Water Cooler feature for the next month. But don't worry, the One Man Water Cooler will officially return to B3yond the Report next week with a list of my most anticipated PS3 titles. While the order on the list is constantly changing, the top ten titles I chose for the list remains the same. Don't worry, they're all really good titles and I'm sure you guys will agree they will be awesome. Any who, for the sake of stretching the column on too long I'll cut the One Man Water Cooler for the week. There was so much news and previews stemming from the PlayStation Day that I wore myself out. I didn't even get to cover all of it. Hope you enjoy the special feature starting tomorrow!



B3yond the Mail




To Jake (Guest): I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one having problems with GTA4 being obscenely dark. This is probably the only game I've played on my HDTV where I had to physically go into the game's settings and adjust the picture so I could see at night. I wasn't sure if it was because I was playing via VGA or if it was a typical problem.

To somecoolname (Guest) : While in theory pushing on the left analog stick changes who you're locking onto, in reality it actually works less than 50% of the time. Most of the time the lock-on would refuse to switch characters or it would switch to another person whom I didn't want, in which case the lock-on is once again too ineffective for proper use. GTA4 is a great game, but boy is it problematic. And I don't want to hear any of those "you only notice the problems because it did everything else so right" argument. That's completely asinine. It's especially true when these criticisms are about crucial gameplay elements such as the lock-on system and driving mechanics. I don't know why sites like Gamespot and IGN got such a hard-on for this game.

To Chungles (Guest): You bring up a valid point. I am really the only person on this site who actively praises the PS3. I am the Sony guy for 411 after all. I can definitely see why people get upset at me when I criticize Sony, whether it is for things like Home, or which version of GTA4 I purchased. But that still shouldn't stop me from expressing my opinions, nor does it mean I hate Sony. In fact I would love to never have to criticize Sony again, but if they make mistakes I feel it is my job to point them out.

To calem (Guest) : I know this is going to contradict my previous arguments, but you are very right in that the number of people who have been having problems with GTA4 on the PS3 is extremely small. The fact of the matter, and this is the reason why I hate consumer reports, is the fact that when people purchase a product and it works they are extremely less likely to give a consumer report on it. If I buy a hamburger at McDonald's I'm not going to go write a review about it. But if I were to get a bad hamburger my odds of expressing my frustrations would rise exponentially. It is common knowledge that people are more likely to talk about a product if it is broken than if it works. The vast majority of PS3 users that aren't having any problems with GTA4 aren't reporting as such because they're busy enjoying the game.

To Chris (Guest): You are right to point out that I am way more enthused about SingStar on the PS3 than I was about Rock Band. I would bet that I am in the minority when I say that I don't really like playing rhythm based games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and DDR. I bought Rock Band, had a great time with it for about 2 weeks, than never had the interest to play it again. The only thing I really enjoyed in Rock Band was singing, as it's something I enjoy unlike playing Guitar in Rock Band *the drums were pretty fun*. I guess you're right in calling me out for favoring SingStar to Rock Band based on personal preferences. Also, I don't accept your argument about Rock Band. Just because I can play a song in Rock Band 4 different ways *4 different instruments* doesn't mean it's 4 different versions of the song. It doesn't matter how many instruments they make a Rock Band song compatible with, none of them will let me do anything cool with them like put them on my PSP *I don't have an I-pod, eat me*. I'd rather put songs on my PSP than play it on guitar.

To guest (Guest): Thank you Mr. Guest. You correctly identified the Russian hip-hop song that plays at the beginning of GTA4 as "Schweine" by Glukoza. I love it, muchos gracias.



The 411mania Empire~!



Nintendophiles by Theo Fraser. How come no one ever tells me anything? I didn't know columns got reshuffled. Maybe this column got reshuffled and I didn't hear about it. Hell, maybe I finally got fired and no one told me *boy would there be a party*. If I had to pick another day for this report it'd probably be Friday, since most of the news of the week happens on Monday – Thursday. But I don't plan on giving up my Tuesday slot anytime soon; I'm very content with where I am now.
The PC Centric Extravaganza by Chris Evans. GTA4 will probably end up on the PC, but I'm guessing in 2009. I think they'll try to make 2008, but they're so busy with projects like L.A. Noire and Midnight Club that they'll never make 2008.
The Select and Start News by Vincent Chiucchi.
The Negative Edge by Tommy Coloma.



Signing Off!



Well I hope you've all enjoyed the latest edition of B3yond the Report! The fact or fiction I promised you guys last week should finally be up *I don't know why it took so long*. I don't want to give anything away but I may have a special feature launching very soon *tomorrow* that I think you may all like. Here's hoping it goes over well. Also, please be sure to create a level in Echochrome and upload it to "Fester" on the PSN for the contest. Any level you create will do. I'll be playing a lot of Pixel Junk Monsters Encore this week, I can't even begin to describe how addicted I am to this game, or just how much freaking harder it is from the first one. I want to hate it so much but it's so incredible it's ripping me apart at the seams. Any who, I'll be back next week, see you in 7!