May 29th, 2008 Blu boy
SDF is calling it right now… Haze is the real deal. After having just completed the game, we can safely say that Haze is Free Radical’s best game yet, showing Microsoft how Halo 2.5 and Perfect Dark Zero should’ve been done. A fantastic next-gen shooter that no PS3 owner should be without. With this and upcoming FPS greatness such as Resistance 2 and Killzone 2, there’s no doubt that the PS3 has already established itself as the system of choice for FPS fans.
Set in the year 2048, in a dystopian region of South America ravaged by war, you play the role of Shane Carpenter, a military sergeant working for the world’s leading PMC, Mantel Global Industries. As a Mantel warrior you have the possibility to greatly enhance your senses and fighting abilities by consuming a drug named Nectar, turning you into a ruthless killing machine. Obviously, as you and your comrades are hunting down guerrillas led by the nefarious “Skin Coat”, you progressively realize that all’s not as sound as it initially appears. After a series of ingenious plot twists, Carpenter ends up leading the rebel resistance against Mantel. Haze is a thrill ride filled with some of the best set pieces that the genre has seen in years, awesome campy humor, voice acting and dialogue, and perfectly crafted mechanics that will keep you craving for more.
Haze delivers revolutionary FPS play in spades. From its glorious HD visuals to its beautifully crafted storyline and artwork the game oozes class from every pore. In fact, everything Halo 2.5 should have been.
Unshackled by the limitations of the N64, the talented Goldeneye team have put together some of the most enthralling and mesmerizing moments of gameplay we at the SDF have had the fortune to experience.
Pros:
Awesome graphics
Splendid level design
Great pacing
Great soundtrack
Great story
Great multiplayer and co-op play
Excellent voice acting
Excellent social commentary on the horrors of war
High quality enemy and ally A.I.
Captivating gun fights
Tight controls
No loading screens in-between levels
Cons:
The main campaign is too short. We’d really want MORE of this!
Score: 10/10
Special award: FPS of the year released in May.
Posted in Halo 2.5, Playstation 3, Reviews | 120 Comments »
May 29th, 2008 Peter Leess
The first of many titles that will support this new exciting functionality.
We are happy to announce that PLAYSTATION®3 has integrated the YouTube APIs to allow game developers to create games that enable direct upload of in-game video captures to YouTube. This YouTube upload functionality can be incorporated not only into new PS3 game titles, but also existing PS3 titles that have the ability to receive network updates. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has added YouTube functionality to Mainichi Issho, a popular game with PS3 users in Japan. Gamers will now be able to upload their in-game video captures to YouTube. We’re excited at the opportunity this presents and look forward to more and more games to be enhanced with YouTube.
Source
Posted in Features, Industry News, Playstation 3 | 19 Comments »
May 29th, 2008 BennyB
Free online play. Free dedicated servers. Free in-game messaging. It begins.
We’ve finally received word that the long awaited, and much rumored, PlayStation 3 Firmware Update 2.40 is indeed the real deal and is said to be coming relatively soon. Many of the most requested features, such as a universal friends list and in-game messaging will be included, in addition to a few rather nice surprises (*cough*soundtracks*cough*). We definitely can’t divulge all of the details, but trust us, it’s coming.
We aren’t yet 100% sure of the actual release date, but all signs point to sometime in June. We’re guesing that Sony will probably detail 2.40 in the coming weeks.
Source
Posted in Industry News, Playstation 3, Playstation Network | 29 Comments »
May 29th, 2008 BennyB
Paramount Home Entertainment has revealed the specs for the upcoming Blu-ray release of Michael Bay’s blockbuster hit ‘Transformers’, due to hit store shelves on September 2nd. On this two disc special edition, video will be presented in 2.35:1 1080p AVC and be accompanied by both a 5.1 PCM and 5.1 Dolby TrueHD lossless soundtracks.
Extras for the release are massive, and include:
Commentary: Commentary by Director Michael Bay
Featurette: OUR WORLD:
Featurette: The Story Sparks HD
Featurette: Human Allies HD
Featurette: I Fight Giant Robots HD
Featurette: Battleground HD
Featurette: THEIR WAR:
Featurette: Rise of the Robots HD
Featurette: Autobots Roll Out HD
Featurette: Decepticons Strike HD
Featurette: Inside the AllSpark HD
Featurette: Transformers Tech Inspector (TBD) HD
Trailers: TRAILERS (will play after the feature via a menu)
Trailers: Iron Man Trailer HD
Featurette: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Trailers: Transformers Teaser Trailer HD
Trailers: Rise of the Autobots HD
Other: Transformers H.U.D. (Heads Up Display)
Other: BD-Live Features (TBD)
Featurette: From Script to Sand: The Skorponok Desert Attack HD
Featurette: Concepts HD
Trailers: Trailers HD:
Trailers: Teaser Trailer 1 HD
Trailers: Theatrical Trailer 2 HD
Trailers: Theatrical Trailer 4 HD
Easter Eggs: EASTER EGGS:
Easter Eggs: Michael Bay Cameo HD
Easter Eggs: Girl in Dress HD
Easter Eggs: Bay Bot HD
Easter Eggs: Casting Mojo HD
Sorry HD-DVD and DVD owners…
Posted in Blu-ray | 16 Comments »
May 25th, 2008 Zanne
As a trivia aficionado, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find the best places to enjoy my competitive trivia-playing passion. From playing quizzo at the local bars, to buying any number of board games that purport to feature finely-crafted trivia, my friends have become accustomed to my passion for playing (and generally winning) trivia games of all sorts. Buzz! Hollywood Trivia for the PS2 offers a novel way to indulge my trivia addiction. With questions themed around Hollywood and the movies, almost anyone can play. Everyone loves movies; everyone has seen movies. This game skips right over the arcane trivia of European History and Geography and gets right into subjects about which everyone has knowledge. And if you don’t know the answer, you can always guess!
As for game play, the game comes with a set of 4 game controllers designed specifically to serve the purposes of the game and allow it to live up to it’s “Buzz!” name. The game is set up like a TV-based game show instead of the boring and flat board-game type trivia game. Players choose a contestant and buzz-in sound to represent them (I’m partial to the belch); all of the possible contestants are silly and make for ridiculous between-round animated antics. Questions are either text, picture, or film-clip based, and run the range of Hollywood movies–from the classics to recent releases. The game even makes use of your eye toy (if you have one attached) to increase the silliness of play and encourage your friends to work on their impersonations.
All-in-all, I give this game a 9 out of 10. It makes for a lot of fun evenings competing with friends over movie knowledge. (And what gamer doesn’t enjoy competing, even on a knowledge-based plane.) Too bad Microsoft, in it’s infinite wisdom, has only chosen to venture into the trivia market with Scene It? (a game notable only for two things–it’s colossal failure and the derivative nature of it’s entire existence). Although, I suspect the adolescent Xbot audience could find little use for a game that makes you want to actually interact with real life friends and create social connections. Buzz! Hollywood Trivia is obviously a great game choice for any individual possessing friends, family, or anything other than a Halo-based reality.
Posted in Playstation 2, Reviews | 93 Comments »
May 23rd, 2008 BennyB
Report: Xbox 360 Exclusive BioShock Coming To PS3
Submitted by Nick Smith on Thu, 2008-05-22 11:22.
According to the cover story of the UK PlayStation magazine PSM3, the Xbox 360 exclusive BioShock is coming to PS3.
While no details are available about the upcoming title, the website CVG states that the issue, which comes out June 5, will include a detailed preview of the new PlayStation 3 version as well as a plethora of screenshots.
When asked for a comment, Take-Two issued a blunt “no comment”, but that’s to be expected. There is also another European magazine that’s promoting the PlayStation 3 port of BioShock as well…so there’s obviously something in the works.
About the original, CVG had gushed that “the fantastic role-playing elements, standout scenarios and truly mental character encounters make it extra special. An experience of this calibre only comes around every few years and should be played by as many people as possible.”
Source
SDF confirmed this story back in September of 2007, but it’s good to see the gaming media can’t ignore it any longer. Expect a full, unbiased review of the definitive version of Bioshock when it’s released.
Posted in Playstation 3 | 109 Comments »
May 21st, 2008 BennyB
The state of the next-gen video game console
The Xbox 360 became the first next-gen console to sell 10 million units in the United States.
With the release Monday of Wii Fit, the exercise game that some video game analysts have predicted could become one of the best-selling titles of all time, it was Nintendo’s turn to dominate headlines related to the so-called next generation of consoles.
The “next-gen” era began in November 2005 when Microsoft launched its Xbox 360 and then really kicked into gear a year later when Sony and Nintendo pulled back the wraps on the PlayStation 3 and Wii, respectively.
Being big business–video game sales in the U.S. alone in 2007 were $9.5 billion–everyone has been wanting to declare the generation’s winners and losers since pretty much the first day all three consoles were on the market.
Doing so, of course, is a tricky proposition because console generations last for years, and sales ebb and flow according to a number of factors. But one thing that seems clear is that past success or failure is not a guarantee of future performance. And so while plenty of armchair quarterbacks have already written the results of the next-gen console wars, industry experts say the final results could turn current assumptions on their heads.
Here’s where we are today: Nintendo has shocked the world with its Wii, bringing millions of new mainstream gamers into the fold with its innovative motion-sensitive controller, low price, and fun, easy-to-use games. The Wii was presumed the generation’s sure third-place entry and now is seen as its winner.
Similarly, with the expected loyalty of more than 120 million PlayStation 2 owners, Sony’s PlayStation 3 was expected to be the next-gen winner, especially with a built-in Blu-ray player and incredible graphics courtesy of its Cell processor. Yet, the PS3 is generally seen as next-gen’s loser, due to high prices, the resulting lackluster sales, and the perception of a paucity of killer games for the platform.
The Xbox 360 was expected to be a solid runner-up, but instead, it hit 10 million U.S. units sold first, dominates the list of must-have titles, and has seen its online component, Xbox Live–with more than 12 million users–become the class of the genre.
It begins.
Posted in Industry News, Other Systems, Playstation 3 | 67 Comments »
