E3 lives on as GamePro Expo - News at GameSpot
I am so there!! Is this good, I was unsure about the downsize of E3 but now we have the best of both worlds. A small one for the press so that is not complete chaos all the time, but still a huge one for huge fun.
PS3 pushing SCE $1.71 billion into red - News at GameSpot
Sony admit to losing money. Is this a slippery slope that will result in the downfall of Sony. The thing that Sony is relying on is blu-ray. The problem is, last time Sony tried to enforce their own format, it failed. Movies stopped becoming widly avalible for the PSP, could this be the same old story. Part of me wants to see Sony die just so I have proved my self right. However, less compettion means less development and competitive pricing. If Blu-ray does fail, will Microsoft buy Sony so they can use the controller. Another theory of mine is Google. Why not? They have the funds, they have the technology, but most importantly, the still have Sergy and Brin and a whole team devoted to coming up with innovative ideas. For those who are unable to read between the lines I was suggesting that Google could create a console.
Sorry about the capitals it is how Sony like it written.
I have been thinking about the PS3, trying to classify it, a copy of the 360, a super computer, a uninnovate hunk of junk. However, as I was watching a video, I realised what I had been looking for. It is a souped up PS2. The controller is identical except with the tilt which most games aren't going to use. Hell, even the console doesn't look that different except it is less practical when you put it sideways. This is fine except a PS2 is £100 with 2 games, but a PS3 is £500 plus 2 games at £75 so £650 for better graphics. Admittedly they are awesome, but £550 for better graphics?!
BBC NEWS World Americas UN initiates arms trade agreement: "Only the US"
I think this shows the USA in a very negative light. I know I don't normally cover politics but this is a exception. The US has such a large economy it is not like they won't be able to survive without their weapons trade. It is because, if the US stop selling weapons to Irak then there won't be any reason to fight them.
Sorry about the lack of posts recently. Just moved house and have a lot on my plate. I have just got the expansion pack to Civilization 4. I have experienced some of the new features and I am much enjoying playing the barbarian mod. It has, however, inspired me once again to review Civilization 4. I will hopefully get round to it this half term.
Console News
Xbox 360
The new camera for the Xbox 360 is now out. It is effectively a eye toy. It allows video conversations over Xbox live, custom display pictures, and a couple of completely useless cool features. Its RRP is £35 and so is quite expensive considering it is just a gimmick. It fits in with the style of the 360 though. The pack includes 1 month Xbox live gold, a microphone and the camera.
Halo 3 is due out this March and a RTS is also coming out, Halo Wars. This game is not going to come out on PC so that they can make a intuitive controller for a console based RTS. However, I believe this is a mistake, not only because a lot of the Microsoft market are PC gamers, but because they are spending time on a intuitive controller, rather than a innovative game.
PS3
The PS3, although coming out this November as planned in the rest of the world. In deepest darkest Europe it is coming out this March. However, this is not all bad. In the USA, it is reported that when Sony were asked how many units had been allocated to each shop in America, the answer was 6. This means, that there will be global shortage, however, when it comes out in Europe the problem should be much less. Having said this, my dads friend went in to Game, the man behind the counter asked him if he would like to reserve a PS3. The deposit was £50, when asked if this equaled a guaranteed PS3 on launch day, the reply was : "No, your name will be put in a hat and you stand a chance of getting one on launch day"
The expected price is going to be, as predicted, a two tier launch price. This, although predictable, is slightly hypocritical of Sony as they criticized Microsoft for doing this with their launch. The two price plans are:
£335 - CHEAP
Will contain a 20gb hard drive
£400
Will contain a 60gb hard drive
If this expense wasn't enough, remember the games are going to be £75. That is a lot of money to justify spending on a game. The reported reason for the delayed launch was caused by a "diode creation error" and if I was to read between the lines :"and you are our least important market and we have to miss someone out."
Another interesting feature of the PS3 is the controller named thraxis. Cool name, not so cool idea. They wanted to be innovative so they have built in a motion sensing tilt. At first I thought this was just a attempt to be innovative like Nintendo whilst still doing Microsoft on the stats front, it didn't look like the best or worst idea, I didn't think it added much, but it hardly took much away. However. after some thinking, I realized the idea was made up by a board of directors. The tilt function is used a a accelerator on some racing games, which means you are going to be holding the controller at a very difficult angle. Simulate that with your hands and try holding that for a couple of minutes. It starts to ache after a couple of seconds. Hopefully, it will be possible to disable this feature for games that do not lend themselves to it.
Wii
In comparison, the Wii is going to cost £179 and is coming out on the second of December. Some videos were released on the Nintendo website showing new players experience the controller for the first time. It looks like Nintendo have done it. At first I was skeptical because I didn't think it could work. I haven't quite forgiven them for the Micro, but I am coming close. The thing that Nintendo has done well this time well is external developers and the introduction of games aimed at a higher age audience than 4.
The graphics do not look significantly better than the NGCs, it still doesn't play DVDs, it doesn't have a hard drive, but you know what, I don't care. Providing they throw in Wii sports with it I am happy. I look forward to buying my Wii this Christmas with Red Steel as my game.
PC
Not much news here. Vista is still quite a while away . The new flight simulator from Microsoft has come out. Gamespot gave it a 8.4 so if you are looking for a good flight simulator or know someone who does, it may be a good Christmas present. I have discovered that wired Xbox 360 controllers, although not guaranteed to work, should so. However, if you do not want to take the risk there is a special version. The same goes for the web cam and external HD DVD player available for the 360.
Sonys next generation console, the PS3, is expected to be released this March in Europe. It is still going to be launched in November everywhere else. This falls right into Microsofts plans of releasing Halo 3 at the same time, as that is the expected launch month for Halo. The plan being that shops like game will split the advertising between them, and a game getting the same amount as a new console is good for any company, even Microsoft. It might tip people towards getting a 360 as they think "I really liked that game" and not take a second glance at the huge PS3 poster.
However, it is a gamble, as they forget that, although Microsoft have a huge fanbase for Halo. Sonys is unbeatable at the moment so it may just be shooting them selves in the foot. Only time will tell.
Finally, shops like Game will know they are making a bigger profit on the PS3 so might just advertise that.
In conclusion, I think this will not work for Microsoft because shops are out to make money and Sonys fan base in only revealed by Nintendos, but Sonys covers more than one type of person.
Wii Launch Center - Wii arrives in Europe on December 8 for £179 - News at GameSpot
Update: WII £179 in England, however we will have to wait till December. This staggered launch should hopefull reduce over-demand, not that I think that is going to be a huge problem in the UK.
Gamespot repor Wii launch details.
It is offical. Nintendo's Wii will be coming out this November the 19th for $249.99 dolars; £159.06. More than I first anticpated, but still significantly cheaper than the X360 and pocket money compared to the PS3, although I would like to not that Sony have made no offical announments, although I suspect one in imminent.
In other Wii news released today, the Wii will NOT be able to play DVDs. Although you make think this is bad, I personally don't think it will make any difference. The poeple who are going to puchase the Wii aren't the kind of people who want their console to do a hundered and one different things. So disappointing yes, suprising sort of, a major problem no.
Final Specs:
WII Launch Date and MSRP: Nov. 19, 2006, in the Americas at an MSRP of $249.99.
Color: White.
Size: About 8.5 inches long, 6 inches wide and less than two inches thick (157mm x 215.4mm x 44mm).
Controls: "Up to four Wii Remote controllers can be connected at once using wireless Bluetooth technology. The wireless signal can be detected within 10 meters of the console. Both the Wii remote and Nunchuk controllers include a three-axis motion sensor. The Wii Remote controller also includes a speaker, rumble feature and expansion port, and can be used as a pointer within 5 meters of the screen. The Wii Remote controller has a power switch, plus pad, A, B, Minus, Home, 1 and 2 buttons. The Nunchuk controller includes an analog control stick and C and Z buttons."
The Look: "The Wii console features a compact design that...can be displayed either vertically or horizontally."
Media: "A single self-loading media bay will play single- or double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs for the Wii console, as well as 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs."
Channels: "The Wii Channel Menu is the main gateway for a variety of...interactive multimedia, entertainment and communication functions."
Communication: "The Wii console can communicate with the Internet even when the power is turned off. The WiiConnect24 service [content and game updates] even if the system is idle. Users can connect wirelessly using IEEE 802.11, or with a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor. The Wii console also can communicate wirelessly with the Nintendo DS."
Virtual Console: "The Wii console will have downloadable access to 20 years of fan-favorite titles originally released for Nintendo 64, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The Virtual Console also will feature a 'best of' selection from Sega Genesis titles and games from the TurboGrafix 16 console. It also will be home to new games conceived by indie developers."
The Specs: "The Wii console has 512 megabytes of internal flash memory, two USB 2.0 ports and built-in Wi-Fi capability. A bay for an SD memory card will let players expand the internal flash memory. Design was optimized with state-of-the-art processing technologies that minimize power consumption, keep the console compact and enable the 'sleepless' WiiConnect24 mode."
CPU: "PowerPC CPU (code-named "Broadway") Made with a 90 nm SOI CMOS process, jointly developed with and manufactured by IBM."
Graphics Processing Unit: "Being developed with ATI."
Other Features:"Four ports for Nintendo GameCube controllers. Two slots for Nintendo GameCube memory cards. An AV Multi-output port for component, composite, or S-video."
For complete list of upcoming games check this out
There is going to be a new Forza Moter Sport for the Xbox 360. The first one was a increibly realistic driving game where you could customise your cars to no end, whilst still retaining the realism that Need for Speed lacked.
Also, Microsoft announced the following add ons for the Xbox 360 at Lepizig, the games convention in Germany. They are making:
I was just watching Feeder at Reading and Leeds on BBC3 when I realised how exclusive music is. Every few minutes or so, a message would pop up at the bottom saying: "The following performance contains strobe lighting." Now, this means that if you are epileptic there is a very high chance of an epileptic fit. Basically all Gigs and festivals use strobe lighting, which means anyone who is epileptic can't go to any festival/gig at all. All so it looks a little cooler. This is not acceptable really. Any other industry and it would be discrimination. Please leave a comment if you agree with me, because it isn't fair.
thk123: "Fighting to make the world fairer"
It is offical, you can no longer rely on Gamespot for reviews. No this isn't a way of getting more readers. Here is my reason, I receive emails from them and they say what good previews they have got coming amongst other things, they had a preview of guitar hero 2. Now when I went to my local game shop, I saw the guitar for the 1st game and it looked the MOST tackiest thing you have ever seen, in the email it was one of their game of the years and "couldn't wait to get their hands on more information." Do you really think that a company that likes guitar legends should be trusted with what game you spend your hard earned cash on. No is the answer.
I should point out I have only seen the guitar, if anyone has the game and it is actually good then please inform me. Also, I would like to point out that Moto GP a game that I reviewed in my last quick reviews is actually a good game, I had a chance to play it whilst knowing the controls. Expect a updated Quick Review next month.
Finally I am moving house so expect a drought of posts for the next couple of weeks as I will be busy moving.
I was browsing gamespot and found a interesting article talking about 1 company who have predicted that Sonys PS3 will win the next gen console wars. I found this very interesting because I personally think Sony are going to die. Microsoft have taken over the un-innovative company that makes solid consoles, and Nintendo have left no room for another innovative company so where do Sony come in. Sony used to rule because the PS1 was a new console with basically no opposition, it had a great controller and stunning graphics for the time. The PS2 had competition, and I think came out joint first. It had the best controller, a wide range of games, and not below average graphics. However, Microsoft have learnt form their mistakes and know how to make a decent controller. Plus, Microsoft and Sony both have external funds, so they can both chuck money at this, however, Microsoft had got pockets deeper than the Grand Canyon and definitely Sonys, so they can effectively buy Sony out. Also they have experience in combining everything together, which is what people want now. So this is why I think Sony have had their day.
Before I found out about the cost of the PS3 I thought that they would be able to hang on, keep creating consoles, selling them to their extensive fanbase (that is something they have in their favour) however, it is rumored to be as much as £750 which means half their target audience is gone. I predict doom.
Half Life 2
Half life 2 is a popular 1st person shooter from Valve that today I was lucky enough to play on. It isn't like any old 1st person shooter. Sure there is shooting and navigating levels but you can pick stuff up and the physics are out of this world. It has a simmilar physics engine to Splinter Cell 4, however, unlike SC4 it incourages you to put it to the test as in the latter levels you have this tool which means you can suck anything towards you and then fire it. For example I blocked a door with this crate and then after 5 minutes the crate broke up under the strain (it also started smoking which was a bit weird)
That Warhamme Game RTS Game
I have temporailrly forgotten the name for this game. This game is a intense RTS. Once one has got past the slightly un-orthadox set up of how to build units and building you can have a really good time with it. Instead of collecting resources you have to take these posts, these, I belive, are there so that even deffensive players get lured out to fight. I played on easy which meant even the strongest enmies run when they get shot. The graphics are really good and the game only requires 256mb RAM which meant it ran really smothly, if you are looking for a RTS, I recomend this before AoE 3.
PGR 3 - More in depth
My friend got PGR3 with his Xbox 360 so I can now do a more in depth review to it. The single player feels like you are flying through it, there are less races than in PGR2 and a lot of the time it feels too easy. Now I should note I am playing it on the easiest level, but, unlike PGR2, I don't know if it is actually long enough so that by the time you come to do the 1st level in the next difficulty whether it will be new or not. Having said that, the AI is clever and, as usual, will play as foully as you do, if not more. One of my favourite features about it is there are many different race types in SP and MP. For example in MP there is capture the track where the person with the fastest time captures a section of the track.
3.5/5
GRAW
Ghost Recon Advanced War-fighter is a intense, visually stunning SP and MP team strategy/3rd person shooter. I have player MP and a little SP at the shop. I really enjoyed it particularly the MP as you could communicate with your partner what to do. The game also features random events, which is what AI on the PS2 was meant to be like, where different things would happen each time you reloaded the game, so a guard might choose a different patrol route (this would have been much appreciated in Splinter Cell 3). The graphics was more than impressive; although I don't think good graphics are vital for a good game; they have helped a lot in this game.
4/5
Moto GP
Moto GP is a motor bike racing game also for the Xbox 360. It is, as per, graphically perfect; but what about the game play. The game is very difficult and so I presume very realistic. The brake doesn't appear to work and, as there is no break light, it is unclear whether you are pressing the right button. As I have not had much time to play it my review is fairly limited.
2.5/5
Table Tennis
Table tennis, although created by Rockstar who made GTA, the game is not violent in any way. The game is very simple in both controls and everything. The graphics are un-belivable, even for the 360 but all you have to do is stand near the table and press (A). I think this would be a good game for Xbox Live Arcade unless it happens to have a in depth story line.
3/5
Check out this funny flash movie on newgrounds. It is a paradoy on the Greenday song: Wake me up when september ends . This is what the author says:
E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) is tomorrow! Woo!
Celebrate with this musical parody!
Two quick things: 1) I know I can't sing. You don't have to tell me. I am fully aware. My job is animation. =)
2) I appriciate reviews and try to respond to them. But I will be at E3 this year, so please don't be discouraged if it takes a few weeks for me to reply. Thanks! Hope you enjoy it!
Ok - go watch: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/311913
Xbox 360 analysis coming soon.
Splinter Cell is a popular 3rd person stealth game that is published and created by ubi soft. It will feature a intense single player but with a twist. You are a double agent working for the bad guys. You have to choose how far you are prepared to go. If you don't go far enough they start to suspect you, however if you go to far... well I will leave that to your imagination. Furthermore the already stunning Multiplayer is going to be drastically improved. The game is expected to hit the store September 10th. Currently there have been 3 titles Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell Pandora Tommorow and Splinter Cell Choas Theory. However, I am not hear to tell you about the game I am here to discuss the games rating.
A un-offical source tipped me off that the game may be reciving a 18+ certificate. The previos 3 titles have recived 11+,12+ and 16+ respectivly. At Gamespot there has been no offical annoncement as to the games rating and the box image still says Rating Pending for both Xbox and Xbox 360 versions. However at Game, my local game shop, it claims to be 18+ on both consoles.
At ubisoft, it also says rating pending, and preumably this is the most reliable source. So in conclusion Double Agent may well be a 18+ but at current there is no reliable source certifing this. I will keep you posted.
Summer is hear and like always gaming news dries up, Game news companies recycle old news putting a new spin on it and I review all those games that I never got round to. For example Civ4. But firstly let me analyze the 1st half of 2006, the next gen year.
The biggest thing as always is E3, with both Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft wheeling out big guns. Nintendo and Sony both talked about their upcoming consoles and Microsoft managed to trump them by showing a prerendered movie showing no cool fights, just a battered master chief, some epic sounding music and Halo 3. The world is in unfair. Microsoft only have to publish a picture of their office and some fanatic will say he can see a halo 3 picture and then everyone will make up some rubbish about how from that picture they can figure out that Halo 3 will feature a revolutionary Co-Op mode or something. Nintendo put up the best show, with a highly impressive demonstration of the Wii. Sony's conference was made up a lot of stats that made no sense, the graphics that the PS3 has, were poorly demonstrated on a pixelated screen.
In the hand held market, both Nintendo and Sony have re-released their handhelds, Nintendo's was the only one that changed more than its colour. Microsoft have also said they will be making a handheld console, speculations that it will be massive.
Console Update:
Xbox 360:
Not much news hear, Xbox Live Arcade is taking off, and looks set to continue with more subscribers Evey day.
PS3:
The controller has been reverted to the Dual Shock except with slight modifications, so the controller battle is left wide open. The major difference is that it detects movement but only tilting - this shall be interesting as will still lure in people for a standard game whilst adding interesting interactivity; however it could be considered as neither here nor there, we shall see. PS3 is still pushing ahead with the blu-ray. Their Real HD argument might come crashing down as it is rumored that they will be releasing one on a lower spec for less. This will be hypocritical as they criticized Microsoft for having two launch types.
Wii:
Expected to launch this November at around £130. Legend of Zelda, Mario and a cool tennis game confirmed for launch amongst others.
Game of the Half:
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Game to Watch:
Splinter Cell 4: Double Agent
...Drive me insane. There are two I am going to go in to detail today.
MSN Plus
Stay away from this software. Ok it has some quite cool feautures like being able to leave a message to someone while they are offline and creating your own states. However, when you appear offline, it changes you to online and so hundereds of people had a go at me for being online but not. Also, it would just not send half my messages so people thought I was ignoring them. Worst of all there is no quick uninstall button and you have to go to Control panel.
MSN online
I tried using MSN online so that I would be able to go on Civ 4 and talk on MSN at the same time on my dads laptop, first I decided I would check it on my computer to see if it worked, first I tried it in firefox, but it didn't work. At first, I thought it was Microsoft being is usual selfish self, but I tried it in IE and I had the same problem. Basically, I went to the website and there was a button to launch MSN online, I clicked on it, it asked me to log in. Fine I thought, clicked log in and it took me back the the first page. I looked at the top right and it said signed in, so I thought maybe it was just stupid a little and went through the process again. Same result.
So in conclusion, the only reason why I am sticking with MSN messenger is because my friends are on it not due to quality.
Forums, the modern day equivelent of forums in Roman times. Every website has them now. Even nationwide (a bank) has one. Well, nearly. Forums are a place where hundereds of people can come together and produce amazing stuff just for fun. Forums are a place where one can learn new talents. Forums can be a place to make the friends. Sadly, the operative word is can.
In forums there are many different types of people. There are so called N00bs and newbs. There is a major difference between a n00b and a newb.
n00b
A n00b is someone who uses excesive text speak and "l33t" speak. These tend to be idiots.
A newb, however, is someone who is new to the forum/game ect. These are perfectly decent people just haven't been at the forum long.
Also, there are people who think any one who is new to the forum is a complete idiot, and that ansering their questions is a waste of time. Between these people and the genuine n00bs, forums have become a place where huge amounts can be acheived, but, like everything else in the world, a few people spoil it. I posted on a forum that suffers badly from the n00b/anti-n00b take over. You can read it here.
Now, I have always wanted a forum for people who make constructive coments but I don't have the right sort of friends, so if there are any reader who know of a forum where this dream has been acomplished, but where there are still interesting people, or if there are enough, we could make our own.
DON'T SPOIL THE INTERNET
Now as all of my reader[0] are aware this blog appears to have run dry. Well it hasn't. I have found a time when I am just killing time and that is when I will post to my blog.It is monday so that is when you will find new posts. In the news recently. E3. Was going to do coverage of it, but got to hooked on the gamespot coverage and didn't have time. However, I am going to post what happened at the nintendo confrence, and a summary of sonys. Sorry Microsoft, but you get a whole post about Halo 3, which was all your confrence was about. Also, in the news, DS lite is out in England and looking good. With a selection of good games like Metroid Prime it looks to be a summer hit. Also, Sony have made a mistake with the PSP. They have launched a new one. The problem is the only change is it is white. Firstly, the black looked better, secondly, no one is going to trade in their old one and pay money to have it changed to white and finnally, they won't capture a new audience because the black one is cheaper. If it wasn't bad enough for Sony, their UMDs are being trashed by movie companys as it is too expensive for such a small market. Looks like the PSP will have to prove itself as a games console now, Sony should have planned for that one.
I went to France on an exchange[full post coming later] and bought Splinter Cell: Chaos theory for 9 euros. Bargain. I'll do a review of that after Civ 4. It is rumored that SC 4 will be an 18+ on the 360. This will irate me to no end if it is the same case on the Xbox, are they just doing away with stealth. Rome Total War has a free expansion pack as I belive I have mentioned earlier called Alexandria, I'll bring you the lowdown of that next week.
And finally, The World Cup. No blog has gone without mentioning it somewhere. Love it or hate it it is taking over the world. England are through to the quaters, Owen is injured, leaving us with lanky, walking wounded wayne and the kid who is bunking lessons to come along. We won't get past the quaters, so that is the end of that.
Quick Reviews
Black
Ok, it is a long time since I played this but I think this review should still be adequette. I played on the single player. The graphics are simply stunning, esspically considering it is a PS2. The physics, the AI everything. It has the feeling of a well polished game. It is a bit like GRAW. The problem with the game is sometimes it can get very frustrating, there is this one bit where there is an invisible sniper and you have to run past it. But in conclusion a solic SP game but lacked MP which was a shame.
Oblivion
A stunning RPG. My friend got this at the same time as I got Fable so it made Fable look small and pety. In fable, one of the missions you played you got to fight in a arena, in Oblivion you can go to the arena any time and even watch it and place bets on the result. In fable you could walk from one edge of the map to the other in an hour. In Oblivion it would take the best part of a day on a horse, riding at full speed and not being attacked by any bandits. Oblivion is so deep I can not really review it, I will try and get my friend to review it, I doubt I will succeed.
Thats all because I have forgotten what other games to do.
