B3yond the Report 09.09.08

Posted by Derek Robbins on 09.09.2008

This week in 411's premier Sony column, Sony's reaction to the 360's price cut is discussed, Square Enix's TGS lineup is revealed, and...was Little Big Planet's instruction manual really leaked? All of that and more this week in B3yond the Report.

Hello and welcome to B3yond the report! The special, limited edition…ON TIME VERSION! How crazy is that, eh? Anyhow…nothin' fancy this week let's just get down to the nasty.



Square Enix releases TGS lineup

So, are you getting amped up for the Tokyo Game Show? I know I am…after all, there is no way that it can be as colossal of a disaster as E3 was. One of the companies I am most looking forward to seeing at the show would definitely have to be Square Enix…what can the most popular RPG-centric company in the world unveil to us, the waiting masses? Well, we need not wait to find out! Here before you I have the Lineup Square is putting out at Square Enix, and unlike the 2008 New York Yankees…there aren't disappointments up and down the darn thing. Here are some noteworthy titles for ya'
• Final Fantasy XIII: Trailer
• Final Fantasy Versus XIII: Trailer
• Final Fantasy Agito XIII:Trailer
• Dissidia: Final Fantasy: Trailer, Demo
• Dragon Quest IX: Trailer
• Chrono Trigger: Trailer
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: Trailer, Demo
• Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: Trailer, Demo
• Kingdom Hearts Coded: Trailer
• The 3rd Birthday: Trailer
• Valkyrie Profile: Trailer, Demo
• The Last Remnant: Undecided (no highlighted trailer or demo picture)
• Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope: Undecided
• Infinite Undiscovery: Trailer
• Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book: Trailer, Demo
• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon DS+: Trailer, Demo


First of all, it's a little disappointing that we won't have any hand on impressions of Final Fantasy XIII at the show…but I imagine that's not a bad idea considering their packaging of the shiny new version of FF VII: Advent Children will probably net a few sales. Still though, with how unique the game is looking I really would have liked to know how the gameplay feels. All we know about it at the moment is how the CGs look, and while that is fine and dandy…it'd be nice to know how the game PLAYS.

On the same note, I am very happy that there will be a Dissidia demo there…the game looks pretty interesting, but with Square's last flirtations with the fighting genre it's really hard to tell whether the game will be good. I mean, do we really want another Ehrgeiz? I know I don't…
I expect the Chrono Trigger trailer will just highlight some of the new features of the game. There really isn't much to add to the game since anyone who likes RPGs will most likely pick this one up…but yeah, whatever…I'm not even supposed to be commenting on this title am I? Oh well. I'll be purchasing this the day it comes out if it makes any difference.

Do you happen to remember the Parasite Eve franchise? Of course you do…everyone played it, loved it, and bought both games just to see that one shower scene they showed in the commercial because they were good. WELL GUESS WHAT'S COMING BACK!? The game above entitled "The 3rd Birthday" is the third game in the PE franchise and it's coming to PSPs. I *CAN* talk about that one. Oh man, I can't wait to see more info on that one. Parasite Eve 1 and 2 were a couple of my favorite PSX titles.

The one thing that really leaps out at me is all the Kingdom Hearts stuff. Oh yes, all of the games unveiled there have already previously been un-veiled but there is one particular game from that series missing. The rumored Kingdom Hearts 3! I figure it's not on the list because they want it to be a big "surprise" announcement since nothing regarding the game is official yet. I really do hope they unveil it at the show…because I don't care what any of you say about the franchise the people at Square make good trailers and KH 2's trailers were among my favorites ever.

There are other good games here. I would delve more into DQ IX but that's also a DS game and unlike CT we've not all played the game a thousand times. So sorry guys! Anyhow, I'm really looking forward to Square stuff from TGS…it could be quite entertaining.

Source: Square Enix's TGS page



Sony to Microsoft: "Slash This"

When Microsoft announced that the 360 Arcade set would now run at a smooth 200 dollars…you could have been forgiven for thinking that Sony would retaliate in a rather quick way. Hell, even I, the Sony Reporter who has never faltered from the dark armor of Sony (I swear!) think that it's one hell of a deal considering it's going to run the same price as the Nintendo Wii (allegedly. All consoles are supposedly getting a 50 dollar price cut later this year. If they DON'T cut priced though then the 360 may very well be the best deal in town) but offer significantly better graphics. What was Sony's response?

We know PS3 offers that value across the board, with the built-in Blu-ray player the broadest and deepest software lineup in the industry, with LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Motorstorm [Pacific Rift]... we're quite confident our holiday sales will be good.

[...] We feel the PS3 offers the value at that price point. More than anything, you'll see with the 80-gigabyte announcement at E3 as well as with the recent 160 gif, consumers are telling you they want more storage for photos, music... new games are also getting quite a bit of pickup through PlayStation Network.

There's also our new video download service that consumers are going to want to do. It's showing that we're moving in the right direction.


I guess when you think about it like that…they do raise an interesting point. Sure the prices going down will help to bolster sales temporarily but enough people own 360s in America that it may not have that big of an impact. The 360 may outsell the PS3 for a couple of months but I don't really see it happening for an elongated period. After all, with so many big companies lauding the PS3's blu ray as the best on the market…it's sort of a compelling deal.

Let's think about it for a moment though. The PS2, while it did include a DVD player, was never considered a top-of-the-line DVD player. Sure it PLAYED them, but a premium experience could certainly be found elsewhere. Maybe it's because Blu-Ray is a relatively new technology but as of right now the PS3 is the premier Blu-Ray medium and is also the reason a lot of people purchase the console.

I do think it's a good move by Microsoft to lower the Arcade's cost…but I can't see a sudden flux of people swarming on the console.

So, err, if you were looking for Sony to lower the price of the PS3 even further. Sorry!

Source is: Gamsutra

- I really don't see a price cut coming along any time soon.

PSN store update

Haven't checked PSN since the 4th of September? Shame on you! Luckily though, on this extraordinarily slow week we have you covered with the latest PSN store update. "Whoo".

PlayStation 3 Store
• Qore Digital Magazine
o Qore Episode 04: September, 2008 ($2.99 Issue, $24.99 Annual Subscription)
• Downloadable Games
o NFL Head Coach 09 ($49.99)
• Add-on Game Content
o HAZE Destruction Pack ($9.99)
o Rock Band
 "Skullcrusher Mountain" - Jonathan Coulton ($0.99)
 "Shhh…." - The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets ($0.99)
 "Livin' at the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" - MC Frontalot ($0.99)
 PAX Pack 1 ($2.99) - includes "Shhh…." by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, "Livin' at the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" by MC Frontalot, and "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton.
• Game Demos (free)
o PURE Demo
• Game Videos (free)
o JEOPARDY! Trailer
o Super Stardust HD Tips Video 1
o Super Stardust HD Tips Video 2
o PAIN Call Da Shot Mode Video
o Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway - Making Of #3:
o Legendary Behind the Scenes Episode 1
o Midnight Club Los Angeles Trailer 2
o Midnight Club Los Angeles Trailer 3
o Red Baron Arcade Trailer
o Saints Row 2 – Uncle Gary Motorcycles Trailer
o Saints Row 2 – Uncle Gary Taunting Trailer
• Movie and Blu-ray Trailers (free)
o The Ultimates Featurette
o Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist Trailer
o The Fall Trailer
• PS3 Wallpaper (free)
o The Last Guy Wallpaper
PlayStation Store for PC
• PSP Wallpaper (free)
o Valhalla Knights 2 wallpaper (x4)
o Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2 wallpaper (x2)
o PSP Wallpapers Series (x3)


This looks like a fairly "meh" week from Sony on the PSN front, but let's take a look at what they're offering anyhow…oh boy! You can download NFL Head Coach for 49.99! Wait, seriously…49.99!? They call Disgaea 3 a rip-off at the same price (and it's not, it's awesome)…and they can try to get away with this pathetic excuse for a game? I thought they weren't even releasing head coach separately because nobody bought it on account of it's "MADDEN…WITHOUT THE GAMEPLAY". Whatever, I guess if you want to have no-thrills football game there you go.

The Rockband stuff this week is all from PAX. I haven't heard any of the songs myself so I can't really comment about them but I do think that I can trust them since they're from, you know, PAX. How could you not trust Gabe and Tycho? I mean really…

This next game apparently got Best Racing game of the show at E3 by the game critic's awards this year which either means it's really good or it shows off just how bad E3 was this year. Whatever the case PURE, published by DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS (!), has a demo that is now available for your play. It's one-level long and full of that racing ‘fun'…I guess. I don't know, I'm not a big racing fan unless the name of the game is F-Zero.

Can't really say anything about the trailers since you can just get them at your computer anyhow…but I find it interesting that they've released a trailer for Jeopardy. Really? Jeopardy? I think most of us know what that game will play like by now. A Triple H match thinks that everyone knows how this one will end up.

To round out everything, this week they have a Last Guy Wallpaper. I'm sure it'll look okay but like…my Metal Gear Solid 4 theme has yet to be supplanted. This is a challenge to YOU Sony…to release a theme that usurps my MGS 4 theme. If you do it, I will acknowledge the game the theme is based off of as the best on the PS3 library. Well…maybe.

Credit is Sony.

- Yippie.

B3yond the Tabloids!

As far as headline news is concerned it's been a fairly slow week but we actually have quite a few minor stories to report on. Maybe I should start lowering my standards for a "main" story?

So how many of you were hopping up and down with anticipation over the latest Harry Potter game? I mean, it's going to coincide with the movie release like every movie game in the history of the universe but wait…the Harry Potter movie was delayed? Guess what that means! HARRY POTTER'S GAME GOT DELAYED TOO! So if you like free-roaming around Hogwarts, too bad! I guess you can just read Beetle the Bard to pass your time…

Mercenaries 2, which to this point has received disappointing reviews, had quite the interesting promotional give away. EA decided to give away FREE GAS in Northern London, 35,000 dollars worth, to promote their game. Now as we all know gas costs more than most of us can afford these days…so guess what happened? IT GOT CROWDED! Streets in London were jammed so they had to end the event before they emptied all their gas. I wish they'd try this sort of giveaway here. In, erm, a city close to where I live.

So how many of you are sick and tired of all the Little Big Planet coverage that this column is giving you guys? Well…TOO BAD. I have before you…the actual manual for Little Big Planet in PDF format. Enjoy reading about the game…it's still a little ways off. The manual is here

D3Publisher is bringing some of their PSP titles over to PSN. Those titles are as follows:
September 18, 2008
• Cube - US$ 9.99
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - US$ 14.99
October 2, 2008
• WTF: Work Time Fun - US$ 9.99
• PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient - US$ 9.99
October 16, 2008
• PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 - US$ 14.99
• Dead Head Fred - US$ 14.99


Most of those are, uhm, kind of bad…except for Puzzle Quest. I'm not a big fan of that either but I imagine for those of you who are there's a slightly cheaper version of it available for download. Yay?

How can you tell if your survival-horror game is hardcore? If it's been banned in THREE countries. That's right, the up-coming Dead-Space has been banned in China, Japan, and Germany…though EA claims that it has yet to be banned in Germany. I have to say I expect Australia to join that list soon enough as well since they are loathe to violence. They did ban GTA after all.

Square/Tecmo deal is OFF. That means I have to quit fantasizing about a world where Yuna and Ayane can co-exist. Sorry about my damn luck.

So are you reading this news report at this precise moment in time but are furious at your lack of a Playstation 3? Upset that your puny Playstation 2 or X-Box 360 can't handle the furious power of Disgaea 3? NOT TO WORRY…because do I have a contest for you! Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to show Snake's octocamo suit in action. The thing is though, pay special attention to the fact that they want you to show something off that you shouldn't be able to see. In other words, be creative!

What you do is either create a video (30 seconds length maximum) or snap a screen shot, upload it to wherever you want…and send the link to Sony. If your entry is intelligent or funny enough YOU WIN THE PRIZE! What do you win, you ask? Quite simple, you get one of the limited Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Bundle Packs. Not a bad prize considering all it requires is a bit of creativity. If you're interested, click here!



B3yond the Cinema!



Here is your weekly Street Fighter IV video. This time we have Ryu facing off against Sagat in a recreation of the rivalry that the Red Sox and Yankees only wish they could have. Also the Hadoken v. Tiger Waves bring back a lot of bad memories. OH WELL, This game is awesome and will rock your PS3 very soon. You all better buy a copy or else.



Man, I bet you thought it was time to go on a Disgaea break now that the third Disgaea title is out and kicking ass. TOO BAD THERE IS NO TIME FOR A BREAK. On the PSP, they are releasing a sidescrolling Disgaea entitle Prinny. So basically it puts the humor of Disgaea in a side-scrolling type of environment. It's the type of game the whole family can enjoy.



Well the TNA game is fast-approaching and should be out in stores, well, the day this column goes up. Here is some gameplay footage from that very game. On one side we have the Motor-City Machine Guns and on the other side we have Jay Lethal and Eric Young. The participants of the match also provide commentary so it's actually a fairly enjoyable video.



Here's some PURE gameplay. It looks alright I guess.



So here's that Jeopardy trailer. Apparently you can play online which makes me wonder whether they will have question packs to expand the game's database? I mean, the lamest thing in the world is playing a game like this and running into repeat questions. Also, you can make your own contestants? Neat I guess. If you want to get your Jeopardy on and are camera shy I suppose this would be your best route, wouldn't it?

The One Man Water Cooler~!



I will change the name of this section, I swear! I am looking for a very specific picture – a picture of Calvin standing on a soap box – and am having issues finding it. So if you happen to have it, feel free to share it with me because I am apparently too incompetent in the ways of the internet and can't find anything.

So as a lot of you have read, or at least…skimmed over…I am a big fan of Disgaea. This love goes back to when the original was released and being an SRPG fan it was a title I needed to pick up. Plus all these reviewers were giving it awesome scores and there was just no way I was going to miss out on this game…so I played the first one and got hooked. It combines a humorous narrative with in depth strategy gameplay and offers you arguably the best Strategy RPG experience this side of Final Fantasy Tactics.

My love for the series proceeded to expand with the second in the series, Disgaea 2. The game may not be as good as the original, but it remains quite enjoyable. The staples of the franchise are there and rather apparent. While the main character Adell conceivably could have been ripped right out of any generic shounen anime…the cast as a whole is strong and is worthy of praise. Rozalyn in particular struck me well.

So naturally, you can imagine I was waiting intently for Disgaea 3 and to say the least I was NOT disappointed. (I'm not complaining about a game in this section! It's a first!) Many SRPGs play the exact same from iteration to iteration and that is mostly true here as well but the thing is this time they've changed things up a little as well. First of all, monsters (such as prinnies) are no longer kind of useless to have around. Sure there was a grinding trick in Disgaea 3 to make succubus level 9,999, but if you didn't want to be cheap about it…it wasn't as satisfying using monsters. This time around, monsters can fuse with humans and be their weapons. So now, instead of discarding the prinny you get at the beginning of the game you can strap it to your healer and have her level up through actually killing stuff.

Of course, now healing can also get you EXP considering I've leveled up a couple of times after healing a party member. So at least I can say the game now isn't totally un-friendly to healers. Thank Christ.

Speaking of leveling up, let me get to one of my favorite things about the Disgaea franchise. Let's say you JUST finished off your sparkly new copy of Final Fantasy Tactics. Now what? You're probably done. You can try that extra dungeon that takes a couple of hours but…you're done. How long did you spend on the game? Ah…probably around thirty hours.

After you beat Disgaea, you have a wealth of things that you can do. These revolve around leveling your character to the level cap and challenging the various fiends in the item world. The level cap in this game you ask? 9,999. While some may question the point of leveling that high…I figure at least it OFFERS replay value. If you invest your time into Disgaea 3 you will easily have over 100 hours play which is phenomenal value off of something you got for 49.99

Of course, this game is often affixed with the "JRPG" tag so there has to be a story there…right? Right. Disgaea 3's story is a lot like the first two's in the sense that in the first few chapters it is nothing but humor. They have a lot of instances where they break the fourth wall or reference something from the real world – including wrestlers (this is primarily a wrestling site after all!). I've made note of references from The Rock and Eddie Guerrero – or simply have something funny happen due to some good old fashioned writing. If you don't like the serious stuff, at least play the first few chapters because the game, without a doubt, a riot at this point.

Don't get me wrong, there are also bits of humor towards the end of the game as well…but it's a bit few and far between. At that point the story gets serious and delves more into Mao, the lead, as a character. The charm of the cast really helps things move along as I genuinely care about what happens to everyone. Will Almaz become a true hero? Will Mao open his heart? That doesn't sound too deep, but the cast is interesting enough to make me care and that's a pretty good thing.

I'm not exactly sure what all the bitching is about over the graphics. Yes, I know, they are without a doubt not up to par with the usual stuff you'd see on the Playstation 3. There are far too many colors after all! This is a way for NIS to say: "It's time to move on, the last generation is dead". Could the sprites have been better? Absolutely. Could they have used more advanced models? Sure. Thing is though, it's a strategy RPG. It's not like graphics matter…and part of Disgaea's charm is its simple design. Could this have been a PS2 game? Sure, it has the price tag of one…but the quality the game has surpasses what limited graphics the title offers. It's something I'll be playing for a long time.

Though I doubt I'll reach level 9,999 this time around.



B3yond the Mail!



Well last week's B3yond the Report was a tad bit late, but let's see what those of you who tuned in had to say anyhow, shall we?

David R talks about the wii in a Sony column. Who does he think he is, me?

I'm sorry that you hate the new Super Mario Sluggers. I've never really been a fan of the Mario sports games (don't get me started on Mario 3-on-3 for the DS). I understand your anger...

However, I picked up Mario Kart Wii today (finally). The game is VERY easy...and the game's control is a bit gimmicky; however, I'm still enjoying the hell out of the game. I always have a special place in my heart for Mario Kart games. :-)

Only a few more months until Persona 4 and Chrono Trigger DS. Woot! (Guess which games I have pre-ordered besides LittleBigPlanet?)

I absolutely adored Mario Kart Wii to the point that I can not see why so many people dislike it. It has absolutely astounding online play – to the point that it's sometimes hard to even tell if you're online – and manages to bring Mario Kart DS's experience to a console. I'm not sure how you can think the controls are gimmicky though…I use the gamecube controller and feel it controls like a dream.

Also, nice job on reserving Persona 4. That will be something I get on day one as well. Since we don't have a PS2 reporter here – due to the PS2 being on death's door – I guess I will have to talk about it ad nauseum won't I?

Trent thinks that Sony should look at themselves in the mirror (‘s edge)

Sony should talk to EA before they talk to the press. First they said Mirror's Edge was a timed exclusive for the PS3 and EA quickly said it was not. Now Sony said the game will have exclusive downloads on PS3 and EA has again said that is not the case, they haven't decided on downloadable content plans at all. I would guess EA has to be getting tired of Sony talking about an EA game so much. Not the attention though, the "getting everything wrong" part

Wow, so Sony isn't getting exclusive DLC for Mirror's Edge? Jeesh, I better stop reporting what they have to say. Maybe I should change the name of this report to the 360 and Wii extravaganza with no Sony at all.

I'm surprised that Sony keeps mis-understanding EA though. I guess they just want people to associate Mirror's Edge with the PS3 and EA just won't have any of that.

Time for the weekly Ocelot 411 comment

Thanks for the highlight. :)
And i am right. You think the 360 meatheads will even buy the 3 games you listed? They'll happily buy the next Gears of Bore of Halo instead of those 3. Its already entrenched thet the 360 is filled with shooters. Anything else will be overlooked and flop miserably. C'mon, Tales Of Vesperia will sell loads if on the PS3, but they decided they hate money and try to appeal to the cavemen who go "shoot. BOOM!" You know i am right.

Well the Japanese 360 users probably will since the 360 sales spiked over there thanks to Vesparia's release. Also, I am a former 360 owner and I know I would have probably purchased every non-tales of game that I had mentioned because they really did appeal to me. I think you just…you just…hate the 360 owners for no reason at all because you bought a PS3 and can't afford both so to justify your purchase you hate the one you don't own.

Hey, I'm LEGALLY OBLIGATED to dislike the 360…but are you?

Also, I wanted to write a 10th hour based on you but my brother won't let me. Can you convince him otherwise? Please?

Rod Oracheski closes up the comments this week.

I saw Vampire Rain: Altered Species in shelves today - and was a bit surprised. I thought it was some game I'd never heard of called ALTERED SPECIES, as that's in huge print with 'Vampire Rain' in small script above it.

They must be trying to get whatever sales they can.

I figure the reviews are so bad that MAYBE they can get some dude who is nostalgic for Altered Beast to think that this is a current-gen update of the classic game. Too bad there will only be one or two cases of this in the world and that game will sell about five or six copies. Optimistically. Maybe I can buy one out of pity!

If you wish to send me feedback simply comment below or send me an e-mail at [e-mail] Feel free to say whatever you want. Praise, criticism, conversation…whatever.

The 411mania Empire~!



Theo Fraser writes the Nintendophiles

Chris Evans writes the PC-Centric Extravaganza

Vincent Chiucchi writes the Select and Start News Report

Tommy Coloma writes the Negative Edge News Report

I, Derek Robbins, write The 10th Hour

Drew Robbins writes Coming Attractions

AJ and Mike Minotti are the voices of the Exploding Barrel Podcast

Well that's it, I'm out.

til' the crossroads