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Composer of Sony's mysterious Afrika revealed
Of all of the things you wanted to know about Afrika, exactly how low on the list was "Who's composing the soundtrack?" Pretty low, we'd bet. Maybe just a hair above "What's my character's name?" and way, way, way below "What the hell is the game about?" Either way, we now know that the game will be scored by apparent video game newcomer Wataru Hokoyama. If you want to get an idea of what the game might sound like, you can hear some of his work right here.The only thing we know specific to Afrika is that Hokoyama has hired a 104-piece orchestra, just further confirmation of what clips of the game's graphical prowess have already shown: Whatever the actual "game" part of Afrika is like, the presentation is going to be positively scrumtrulescent.
Afrika gets music composer
No, we still don't really know a whole lot about Afrika. We know it looks gorgeous, and we'll be taking photos of wild animals rumbling across the African plain. But today, we know one more thing about the mysterious title – Wataru Hokoyama has been tasked with composing the game's music. No, never heard of him? Neither have we, but that's probably because he's never created video game music before. However, the composer has already put together a 104-piece orchestra to begin the long road in creating beautiful music that we all hope can match the game's already stellar graphics.
PS3 ways to appreciate the environment: Afrika, Aquavita, Planet Earth
The incredible power of PS3 can be used to bring some of Earth's most beautiful environments and creatures to your home. For example, the mysterious upcoming title Afrika looks to be quite the visual feast (HD trailer, after the cut). We don't know much about the game, or how it plays. However, we know the game will help us learn more about this unique environment. With it, we may be able to understand even more why so many people are working to try and save this ecosystem, and the animals in it.We know almost nothing about the upcoming Aquavita as well -- but we do know this much: it's going to be an Eye-enabled title. With the camera, the PS3 can become a virtual aquarium. Once again, it looks stunning, almost real. But it's not meant to be a replacement for the real thing. Once again, this environment faces real threats on a daily basis, and it's up to activist organizations to help protect the various aquatic ecosystems.As beautiful as both Afrika and Aquavita are shaping up to be, let's hope it serves as a reminder as to how precious our Earth is. A simple screening of Planet Earth on Blu-ray will turn anyone into an environmentalist. Yeah, the Earth looks great in 1080p -- but imagine how good it looks in real life. PS3 owners have tons of ways of appreciating the environment -- but will they take action to help protect it?%Gallery-8663%%Gallery-8664%
New Afrika trailer is not very helpful
OK. So, we get it. Officially. The animals in Afrika [working title] look really fantastic. Like, probably the best animals ever. Wow, are these animals ever great. Now, is there an actual game here? We certainly hope so, because, like we said, those animals look awesome, and it would be a shame not to get to hang out with them.This new TGS trailer probably gets closer than ever before to suggesting that you'll actually need a controller to take in the Afrika [working title] experience. If this clip is any indication, you will be taking pictures of animals, and also driving a jeep through a herd of them, which seems inadvisable at best. Don't miss TGS 08, when Sony will unveil Afrika [working title]'s petting mechanics.
TGS07: Afrika still spelled wrong, beautiful as ever
It's been awhile since we last heard anything about Sony's spelling-challenged safari romp, Afrika. When it was first unveiled, the consensus was, graphically, the title looked great, but no one really knew what the point of the game was.This video will do nothing to better explain the game's gameplay, unless it involves taking voyeuristic photos of meercats and giraffes mating in their natural habitat or trying to run over endangered animals.Who knows, though, we're sure there's a huge market for that kinda thing somewhere.
Rumor: Sony's mysterious Afrika to use pressure pad
While it seems unlikely to be getting PlayStation rumors from a Nintendo site, Go Nintendo has a rumor roundup from the Japanese gaming magazine Game Lab, which drops the hint that Sony might be working on a pressure and touch sensitive mat to coincide with Afrika's eventual release.We're not sure what happened to Afrika after it was shown off at last year's Sony presentation at TGS, but it managed to disappear faster than some endangered species. If they are working on a peripheral that facilitates some sort of innovative gameplay it could explain the long delay, but with no details out we have no idea how the game would actually work. Stomp your feet to cause a stampede? Run like a gazelle to escape the lions? Hopefully we'll know more soon, probably right before the game is released in 2012.
Ask PS3 Fanboy: Volume 1
Welcome to the inaugural addition of Ask PS3 Fanboy, the feature where we do our very best to answer your pressing questions. Don't be shy! You can e-mail me anytime at colin.torretta@weblogsinc.com and we'll put your question in the running for our next Ask PS3 Fanboy segment. Sorry for the initial delay, but this will be a weekly special ever Sunday -- so ask away!Q: Is there an effect solution for playing Guitar Hero on the PS3?A: There is currently no device that offers a 100% support for Guitar Hero 1 and 2, though Pelican has recently released an adapter that provides maybe 70-80% compatability. According to reviews, the adapter works flawless on Guitar Hero but has some issues on its sequel. Unfortunately, you cannot do hammer-ons or pull-offs in Guitar Hero 2 while using the adapter -- making it more or less impossible to play the harder difficult levels of the game. You don't really need to do hammer-ons or pull-offs for the earlier levels so it's not a complete deal killer but definitely annoying. Also, while the Pelican adapter supports Dualshock controllers, it doesn't support rumble at all which is a bit of a bummer. Q: Have you heard anything about Afrika recently?A: Very little has been heard about Afrika since it was announced, though three months ago Phil Harrison did mention it briefly in an interview with British gaming site Pro-G. He didn't get into specifics, but did say that he's seen the game and that it's coming along nicely. Unfortunately, he was being very coy about the whole thing so there wasn't a lot to get out of the interview. As for release date, the last time Sony talked about the release date of Afrika, they were saying it will still be coming out in 2007. I think it would be a safe bet that we'll get another taste of Afrika come the mini-E3 next month -- but don't expect an avalanche of info. According to my completely unscientific guesstimates, I'd say TGS '07 will be the big unveiling with a 2008 launch.More questions after the jump!
A quick look at African game development
Unlike the mysterious PS3 demo Afrika, the continent of Africa doesn't exactly come up much in discussions of modern game development. This could change, though, if any of the African game projects detailed on the White African blog manage to catch on with a worldwide audience.Sure, the provided list of African games is pretty short, and is rendered even shorter when you take out American-made but Africa-themed games like Cabela's African Safari. Still, the fact that these games exist at all is news to us. We're particularly intrigued by Africa an ambitious, stalled MMO project set to take place in a 13th century version of the continent. Here's hoping we'll actually get to play it one of these days.
A plethora of many PS3 title screens... many are nice
Motorstorm... Monster Kingdom (Unknown Realms)... Afrika? Check out these screen captures from Famitsu.com that got posted on PS3forums and nod your head in approval. Motorstorm is starting to shape up really nicely. Really nicely, even though some of the pictures seem kind of blurry (perhaps these eyes are growing old, but it's probably just a game effect). Monster Kingdom looks interesting, too. A very cool sense of fashion to be found on the characters, and what appears to be a colorful world. Very colorful! And Afrika... well, those screens aren't exactly new, but they're still good for a desktop background. Very scenic. There are also a few screens of Lair, but they don't appear to be new. Or they're starting to blend together... either way. Feel free to leave your reactions here and which of these interest you most, assuming you were given a lineup of just these three to take on a nice date with your couch.
Hot Shots producer developing Afrika
Much like a dog when you say "radiooooooooo," many gamers tilted their head ever-so-slightly to the side, puzzled, during the unveiling of Afrika for the PS3. What exactly is the point? What experience is this game even offering? Well, since then, we've heard just about no information on the game, until now. While not exactly a bombshell, we have found out that Daisaku Ikejiri, the producer behind the most recent Hot Shots titles, will have a large role in the development of the title.So...yeah, does this change anything?
