Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is amazing- I’ve been playing it quite heavily over the past weekend, and it just rocks my socks. At first I wasn’t so sure about the plaudits of best ever graphics and cracking gameplay, but it’s true. Looks like everyone else agrees that it is awesome.
Tag: PlayStation 3
The Empire Strikes Back
Back when the PS3 launched, I practically screamed at Sony’s stupidity. Why price the damn thing out of the reach of most consumers? It meant that people like me, Joe Consumer, could not get a piece of the next-gen gaming action… at least not on the PS3 anyway. One year later, look how things have changed. I’m going to be bold and just say it- Sony has proved us all wrong. Sure, they may have had early poor performance with sales, but Sony has adapted to the market and fought back.
So, how has the situation improved? Well, Sony have steadily been reducing the price of the PS3 to more acceptable levels, (unfortunately) going so far as to remove PS2 compatibility to get the PS3 to be profitable. However, this cloud might have a silver lining in the form of potential PS2 compatibility via software emulation at some point in the future.
Also many gamers have complained that there just has not been a great selection of games. Having got a PS3 last Christmas, I would have to disagree. I would even go so far as to say that Sony got ‘the must-have game’ fairly early on in the form of Resistance: Fall of Man. I’m sorry, but it’s just amazing. Something bizarre has been happening though; I’ve noticed in discussions on the internet that a lot of Xbox 360 gamers have claimed that they have great games such as The Orange Box, Burnout Paradise and Assassin’s Creed which demonstrates why the Xbox 360 is the best- completely forgetting that such games are also on the PS3.
The PS3 has released notable exclusives such as: MotorStorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet and Clank, Heavenly Sword, SingStar, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune etc. PS3 gamers also have a lot to look forward to with regards to exclusives: Gran Turismo 5, LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4, Haze, Killzone 2, Resistance 2 etc etc etc! It’s time to crack open the champagne; 2008 and beyond is set to be an amazing time for PS3 owners.
There’s been a notable flurry of welcoming PS3 news indicating that things are getting better. I’ll share a few that I’ve read about on PS3 Fanboy:
- Sony sells 1 million PS3s in United Kingdom
- PS3 has best average review scores of current gen consoles
- PS3 version of DMC4 accounts for 39% of UK sales
So it seems the PS3 is finally hitting its stride and may soon become the console of choice. From news reports and personal experience I know the PS3 is very popular in the UK, and also throughout Europe and Japan. The exception to the rule is in the USA. They sure love their Xbox 360.
Well, that just about wraps it up. I’ve said my piece, now it’s your turn. If you disagree with me- even better! Feel free to comment and I’ll reply as soon as I can.
Resistance 2 Screenshots
The original Resistance: Fall of Man is still kicking my ass, but it’s interesting to see what the future may hold. Some high-res screenshots have been released courtesy of SCEA. The graphics look amazing, of course and the Chimera look quite vivid and dare I say it…real? The Chimera are also packing some new gear- very trendy. However I will say that they look very creepy, especially in this image:
Click on image to see full size
The whole screenshot collection can be found here. I can’t wait to find out more information about this game and of course, to see some more fantastic screenshots.
More PS3 Gaming
More PS3 Gaming- In addition to being captivated by Locoroco Cocoreccho, Super Rub a Dub is a lot of fun as well. Again, excellent value for two small downloadable games. Anyhow, after having played heavy amounts of Assassin’s Creed since I got my PS3, my other new favourites are Resistance: Fall of Man and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. I like a bit of variety these days and try not to hammer one game to death (like Assassin’s Creed, I must admit). I’ll try to give some thoughts and opinions on these two epics at some point.
A little bit of PS3 indulgence
A little bit of PS3 indulgence- I’ve been playing a sick amount of LocoRoco Cocoreccho! over the past couple of days. For such a small and cheap downloadable game off the PlayStation Store, you may think there’s not much to it, but I’m just astounded. There’s so much gameplay and replay value. On top of that, I’m loving the SIXAXIS interaction.
Developers affirm undeniable potential of PS3
Developers affirm undeniable potential of PS3– damn right, the PS3 has a very bright future ahead in 2008. Let the good times commence.
SingStar Humilitation
Happy New Year! I had the recent misfortune of being humiliated on SingStar for the PS3. The task was simple; do a duet with a mate on a variety of tracks and try to sing reasonably. However I encountered quite a fundamental obstacle to achieving my goal- I really can’t sing! Instead of a sublime rendition with dulcet tones, my voice was like an untuned guitar… with possibly a few strings broken for good measure.
This begs the question- do I actually buy SingStar for myself and get some much needed practice? Or do I admit defeat and vow never to (attempt to) sing again?
My Assassin’s Bane
After having a fair time to get acquainted with Assassin’s Creed and the various ins and outs of the game, I find myself particularly irritated with a teensy but (in my mind), crucial detail. If I draw the attention of a guard and speed off into the distance on my trusty steed, then calmly walk about miles away; a random guard where I now am will somehow know what that other guard did, and proceed to attack me. Are these guards psychic or something?!
Meh, it’s a minor detail I just thought I’d mention. I’d like to make clear though that it does not in any way alter my actual enjoyment of the game. It has to be one of the best action games I have played for quite some time. It is quite an achievement considering there are no guns- which makes a refreshing change.
PSP Firmware 3.70 in-depth
Forget firmware 3.60, this is the real deal! You may recall a while back now, I recommended that firmware update 3.51 was pointless. Therefore, I have now upgraded my system from 3.50 to 3.70, and I’m expecting a large number of new features with such a version jump in the firmware. What’s going to make a look at this firmware interesting, is that I’ll be looking at the changes on an original PSP (PSP-1000). Let’s get cracking…
When updating, you’re presented with the following change log:
- You can now set custom themes in [Theme Settings] under [Settings].
- Support has been added for assigning buttons in [Remote Play].
- A scene search feature has been added under [Video].
- Sequential playback is now supported under [Video].
- Simultaneous playback of content under [Music] and [Photo] is now supported.
However I want to see exactly how this works, and whether there’s more features (as I never installed 3.60). I’ll start from right-to-left, beginning with [Network]. The 1st thing I notice is a new funky orange and black logo for PlayStation Spot. What is PlayStation Spot? It’s a wifi spot set up by Sony in certain public locations for you to download game demos, trailers etc. Anyhow, on the PSP, clicking on PlayStation Spot creates a new wifi connection: ‘PS Spot’. Apparently, if you are in range of a PlayStation Spot, you will also be able to access the Internet for free and browse the web, and even play multiplayer games in infrastructure mode. So that’s the PSP Spot.
Moving to [Game], I thought I could delete the 3.70 file, and quickly move onto exploring what else is new. However, on hitting [triangle] to bring up the menu…something has changed. On the menu, I can either start the update, delete it, or find out information about it. However, on the ’start’ option, there is a graphical PSP ’start’ button. I’m guessing the aim of this change is to expose extra functionality, and different, perhaps easier ways of doing things. Anyhow, there’s nothing else new under [Game].
Onto [Video], as I hover over a particular video for a while, a little guide pops up in the bottom-right corner of the screen saying ‘[triangle] options’. Which again, is exposing functionality that may not be obvious to a new PSP owner. On hitting [triangle], there is again another graphical PSP ’start’ button next to ‘play’. So, I hit ‘play’ and immediately as the video started another pop up guide says ‘[triangle] control panel’. Looking at the control panel, the PSP system again exposes secondary button options that you can operate without using the control panel such as play/pause, next scene etc…
THE coolest new feature under video is ‘Scene Search’. It is a revelation; simplicity itself to use, and very very useful. It appears as a new icon top-right of the control panel, or alternatively you can hit [square]. What it does is dynamically create scenes into the videos you’re watching which is very, very handy. You can press up or down to select anything from 15 second intervals to 5 minutes (on a short video), and left and right to ’scene search’. I’ll now try the same with a UMD film. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, which is a shame because some UMD films don’t have a chapter menu, meaning you have to keep hitting [R] once you’re watching the film. Anyhow, the ’scene search’ still undoubtedly a very nifty feature.
I’ll now cover both [Music] and [Photo] together, as they now share a new, very cool feature. Now, I’ve known for sometime now that if you hit the ‘home’ button, you can jump out of the current track you’re playing, and you can view other songs you might have, and even browse the main XMB menu. However, the moment you tried to access anything else other than music, the music would stop playing. That is still the case, but now if you go into [Photo] the music keeps on playing! I have noticed one thing though, if you want to view a set of photos with the music playing, it is best to use the slideshow mode at its default setting as my system was unable to cache both the thumbnails and pictures if quickly flicking through them. Maybe that’s just because I’m using a PSP-1000? With the added RAM of the PSP-2000, those users may not experience this minor thing. Again, the pop up guide and secondary button options are present throughout.
Onto the big one- [Settings]. I find myself both disappointed and intrigued by what has changed. Under [Theme Settings] there is now ‘themes’ where you can set background, colour and most importantly… icon design! At the moment, there is only ‘original’ theme, which shows a screenshot of the XMB with a mysterious new icon between [Video] and [Game]. It could be something to do with the Japanese TV tuner, and the screenshot has got left in other regional firmware OR it could be something to do with the upcoming TV tuner for the PS3. My guesses though, are only speculative at best. And now for the disappointment- PSP-2000 users get new colour backgrounds, but it seems like we PSP-1000 users do not, which is a shame.
Under [Video Settings] there is the new ‘Sequential Playback’ feature that was mentioned- useful, but nothing spectacular. And that, my friends… is it!
If you spot any mistakes, please let me know, and remember- I have only looked at this update with the PSP-1000.