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Sony's 'Welcome Back' campaign apologizes to distraught PSN users with free games, good vibes
Remember the recent PlayStation Network outage? You know the one, right? It started in late-April and lasted up through this weekend's phased restoration (and continues on for many un-phased users). Well, Sony would like to sincerely apologize for the whole thing the best way it knows how: free video games. The company today announced its "Welcome Back" program, which is letting all existing PSN and Qriocity users in North America pick two of the following games: Dead Nation, inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and Wipeout HD + Fury. PSP users, meanwhile, can chose two from LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, and Kill Liberation. You can claim the games at some point in the next 30 days, and once you've downloaded, they're yours to keep. The gesture may well prove too little, too late for many disgruntled users -- but even they'll likely have trouble staying angry at Sackboy's adorable little dirt-stained mug.
Sony buys Motorstorm developer, sequel coming
It was clear how proud Sony was of Motorstorm even before the game launched on the PS3. It shouldn't come as much of a surprised to you then that Sony has purchased Evolution Studios, the developer behind the game, and its subsidiary Bigbig Studios, which you may know from Pursuit Force.As part of the announcement, Evolution revealed they were working on a sequel to Motorstorm (may we suggest Motorstorm 2: Motorstormier?). Unfortunately, Bigbig, the studio with the more awesome name, has already beat them to the most awesome game title: Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice coming this fall to PSP and PS2.
Joystiq impressions: Pursuit Force Extreme Justice (PSP)
Did we really need another Pursuit Force? The PSP original took a novel approach with action movie-styled gaming. As a member of the Pursuit Force, players had to jump from vehicle to vehicle, apprehending gang members along the way. It was an interesting experience, but the gameplay eventually ran thin.Extreme Justice marks the return of the Pursuit Force series, and it plays almost identically to its predecessors. In fact, it's a little too familiar for our tastes. The game begins with a CG intro, where a wedding gets crashed by a couple of rowdy gang thugs. The chief, and the newly expanded Pursuit Force team, get ready to jump into action.The gameplay is still reduced to madly holding down the R trigger to shoot at your opponents. Although there are new vehicles to commandeer, the differences are simply cosmetic. We were also surprised by the graphics. Although the game looks sharper overall, we were surprised to see tearing and other graphical glitches plague the early build we played -- the overall effect is a game that looks sloppier than the first.Pursuit Force Extreme Justice should be, at the very least, an entertaining excursion for those that missed the first game. However, we've seen very little new in Extreme Justice to justify a return visit for series vets.%Gallery-3264%
Hands-on: Pursuit Force Extreme Justice
Did we really need another Pursuit Force? The PSP original took a novel approach with action movie-styled gaming. As a member of the Pursuit Force, players had to jump from vehicle to vehicle, apprehending gang members along the way. It was an interesting experience, but the gameplay eventually ran thin.Extreme Justice marks the return of the Pursuit Force series, and it plays almost identically to its predecessors. In fact, it's a little too familiar for our tastes. The game begins with a CG intro, where a wedding gets crashed by a couple of rowdy gang thugs. The chief, and the newly expanded Pursuit Force team, get ready to jump into action.The gameplay is still reduced to madly holding down the R trigger to shoot at your opponents. Although there are new vehicles to commandeer, the differences are simply cosmetic. We were also surprised by the graphics. Although the game looks sharper overall, we were surprised to see tearing and other graphical glitches plague the early build we played -- the overall effect is a game that looks sloppier than the first.Pursuit Force Extreme Justice should be, at the very least, an entertaining excursion for those that missed the first game. However, we've seen very little new in Extreme Justice to justify a return visit for series vets.%Gallery-3216%
Pursuit Force designer promises "the whole cow" for meatier PSP sequel
Designers say the darnest things sometimes. Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice lead designer for Chris Whiteside recently sat down for an interview with IGN and immediately responded to past forum suggestions and direct pleas for more content in the sequel. According to Chris, "many people commented on forums that they wished there was a little more 'meat on the bone', and with Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice you get the whole cow." No kidding. For the second go-round, the team of developers decided to sit down for a fireside chat with Hollywood script writers to encapsulate that "blockbuster-type feel" and from the sounds of it, it worked. The extra content includes Pursuit Force "recruits" that will have "their own behaviors and characteristics" of which to help the player progress. The game will also feature a new "Boss" feature, in which the boss battles seem more of a stage on their own, taking the player "onto huge vehicles and navigating huge hazards to reach your opponent." Lets see. 24 new weapons (including our all-time favorite in just about any game, the flamethrower), assault rifles, rocket launchers, 54 drivable (and more responsive) vehicles, control sentry guns, hovercrafts, 4-player ad hoc wireless, story mode with purchasable content, three difficulty settings and more ... the whole cow, no kidding. Look for more on Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice as we near its September release. %Gallery-3216%
Pursuit Force sequel allowing four players to jump onboard
Click to embiggen. One of the PSP games that we spent a little more time with than we should have at Sony's Gamers Day event last week was Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice. The game isn't leaps and bounds above the original title, but it's pretty addictive to jump onto each moving car and blast away at whatever you happen to be chasing. We're assuming that the "extreme" part in the title refers to the new four person multiplayer over ad hoc networks. There's 12 different vehicles in the new game, which should give everyone something to hop onto that suits their needs and / or desires. No word yet on if you can hijack one of your fellow player's modes of transport or not, but we imagine there will be a fair share of leaping back and forth going on. Those Pursuit Force cops sure are agile ... not to mention pretty liberal with the whole "we need to borrow your car" thing.
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 20
PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. (Note: OE custom firmware will also play these videos.) Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow [PSP]Download MP4 (8.1MB) | Download JPG The following Gamers Day videos are featured after the break: Jeanne de Arc (PSP), PaRappa the Rapper (PSP), Pursuit Force Extreme Justice (PSP), SOCOM Tactical Strike (PSP)
Pursuit Force dishing out Extreme Justice this Fall
Compared to the interpretations we're constantly exposed to in modern forms of entertainment, certain aspects of our society can seem a little dull. We're generally not entertained by the sort of justice dished out in a court by some gavel-wielding grandpa, and have to turn to more ... extreme measures. Pursuit Force returns to the American PSP this Fall with Extreme Justice, putting the kibosh on criminals and encouraging your over-the-top cop to keep his limbs outside the vehicle at all times.Adding 3 more playable characters to the mix and a new array of vehicles to leap on, over and between in high-speed chases, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice hopes to make good on the promise the original game showed but delivered in pieces. Let's hope it's transported in an armored van this time.%Gallery-3264%
SGD '07: Pursuit Force Extreme Justice
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice is officially heading to America this fall. Players will once again play as an acrobatic cop who will do anything to stop the gang violence plaguing the streets. Unlike the prequel, players won't have to do it alone: four new playable characters join the adventure. The game looks to be quite massive, featuring more than 50 levels in seven distinct environments. Sony estimates that the game offers 20 hours of gameplay right off the bat -- and that doesn't even include planned downloadable content packs (a la Wipeout Pure). There are 12 different vehicle types, including hovercrafts and new "boss vehicles" specifically designed for boss encounters. Extreme Justice will also offer an expanded weapons arsenal: more than 30 in all. The game also includes four-player multiplayer. Unfortunately, it's Ad-Hoc only (we hope that will change). Check out screenshots from Sony Gamers Day in our gallery below. Then, go past the break to see a video of the game in action. %Gallery-3216%
GameStop reveals listing for new Syphon Filter
Is Syphon Filter returning to PSP? According to an updated GameStop release list, the answer is yes. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow joins the newly revealed SOCOM: Tactical Strike and a US-release for Pursuit Force 2 in the retailer's latest update to their database. If Gamespot's investigating is to be believed, Logan's Shadow should hit PSP systems first -- September 4th. Afterwards, Pursuit Force 2 and Tactical Strike should release on September 25th and October 2nd, respectively.Retailers are notorious for revealing unannounced titles accidentally, giving this report a great deal of weight. With Syphon Filter joining the PSP lineup again later this year, it's clear that PSP owners are going to have a lot of games to play this fall.
Apprehend these new Pursuit Force 2 screens
Although flawed in many ways, Pursuit Force was a blast. Playing as an extreme, acrobatic cop, gunning down gangs in high-octane car chases, is always fun. The game didn't garner any headline-grabbing sales, but a sequel's already in the works, this time for both PSP and PS2.Jeux-France has collected an assortment of pictures from the upcoming sequel, and it looks to provide more of the same. But wait ... is that a tank in the background? It looks like Extreme Justice is going to up the ante quite a bit. Check out some screens, after the break.
Pursuit Force sequel: Extreme Justice on PSP & PS2
Bigbig Studios is giving it another shot. Despite the original Pursuit Force falling short of expectations (the North American release was admittedly better tuned), SCEE is giving the developer another chance, announcing Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice for PSP -- and PlayStation 2. Both versions are tentatively planned for release in Europe this summer; apparently giving the PSP version no lead-time.Extreme Justice looks to build off of the same over-the-top action featured in the original. Tanks, trains, and airplanes will be added to the mix of vehicles you can jump between, along with a bike and sidecar, jet skis, helicopter, and hovercraft. In addition, players will be assisted by an AI-controlled task force with characters who specialize in air support, high-speed support, special ops, and heavy assault. The "Justice Bar" will also be added to the playing field, a crutch of sorts, granting rookie super-cops the ability to regain strength and prolong missions.The PSP version will ship with a 4-player ad hoc mode. For PS2, 2-player split-screen multiplayer will be added.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice heads to PSP & PS2
I thoroughly enjoyed the first Pursuit Force (pictured above), a high-octane racer-shooter that has you jumping and gunning from car to car. It perfectly emulated the experience of being in a Hollywood action movie, and although the game was short (and somewhat shallow), it met moderate success on the PSP.Now, a sequel is heading to both the PSP and PlayStation 2 platforms. Extreme Justice will have players fighting warring gangs once again. Four new recruits to the Pursuit Force will provide support for the player throughout the game. As with the original, the player will commandeer a number of vehicles, including jet skis, helicopters and more. A nice addition to the sequel is multiple difficulty levels: a great addition for those that found the first too hard for their tastes.The PSP version will feature 4-player ad-hoc multiplayer, and the PS2 version will feature 2-player split-screen. The game is scheduled for a summer 2007 release.[Via Gamespot]
Real life Pursuit Force video
You've most likely heard about Pursuit Force. The game's been out for a while, but for those of you not in the know: you play a cop that'll use some pretty severe tactics to get your job done. This commercial, and that freaky Twisted Metal commercial from the other day prove how awesome strange European marketers are.
