Stardust
Latest
Sonoro's saucy Swarovski-covered elements stardust radio demands $2,500
"Sonoro" and "absurdly expensive" have always gone hand-in-hand, but even we're a bit taken aback by the sticker on this one. The company's latest example of extravagance is the elements stardust, an "exclusive" AM / FM / MP3 clock radio that's smothered from one end to the other in Swarovski crystals. This thing's not all looks, though -- it's got a LED-illuminated metal ring for quick-touch control of tuning and volume, a full-range speaker, and an integrated bass reflex tube. Too bad you'll have to sashay down to Saks Fifth Avenue with $2,500 and an evil grin in order to take one home.[Via Blast]
SuperStardust HD devs planning split-screen multiplayer update
Our affection for SuperStardust HD just got a shot in the arm with news that Finnish dev Housemarque is putting the finishing touches on a multiplayer-focused update to the twin-stick PSN shooter. Following the already available "solo" add-on, this new "team pack" update will introduce several additions, from split-screen versus and co-op modes, to a skill balancer, ship editor, trophies, and a "true" 5.1 orchestral soundtrack. MTV's Stephen Totilo recently grilled Housemarque co-founder Ilari Kuittinen on the update, who commented that "a majority" of the development time spent on the update was focused on the new versus mode, which will feature "our 'sub' game modes and plenty of options so each gamer can tune the mode to suite their tastes." Even more interesting, Kuittinen adds that the team has been "experimenting with a game mode we call "Twin gun" mode (not disclosing specifics at the moment, maybe you can guess?) and how to make music generated levels, etc." It sounds like someone has spending a lot of time with Audiosurf, an addiction to which we can certainly relate. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
Super Stardust HD gets secretly updated
It seems that the Super Stardust HD upgrade pack that is "coming soon" is already available, in one form or another. Delete and re-download the game from the EU PSN Store and you might notice a few new, exciting features. Unfortunately, the game seems to have disappeared from our download list so we had to buy it again. A separate pack will hopefully be made available soon. We've been exploring the new version (2.02, according to the credits) for a little while and are very pleased with what we've found.The game now has full support for Dual Shock 3 rumble controllers, as well as a new online store section in the main menu. Currently this contains two add-on packs, a "Single Player expansion" and a "Multiplayer expansion", both of which are marked as "coming soon". The high score table now shows score, highest rank, session time and the time that the score was submitted. Along with the new game statistics section, you can keep a scarily accurate tally of how long you've played, how many of each enemy you've killed and how many times you've completed each level.We've saved the best for last, though. The new version has full support for custom soundtracks. These can be edited from within the game utilising any music on your PS3's hard drive. Playing Super Stardust HD to Sufjan Stevens' "Songs for Christmas" is an amazingly cathartic experience. We currently have no idea if the US PSN Store has the upgraded version of the game yet, or when its official release is supposed to be. We will keep you informed.[Thanks Withnail!]
Super Stardust HD overhaul coming soon
Some European PSN users have stumbled across an item on the store which, it seems, ought not to be there. The Super Stardust HD update doesn't appear for everyone, but those who do see it noticed there's a large "Coming Soon" slapped across the image. But what could an update to SSHD contain? Isn't it already amazing enough as it is? The item's description is a fantasy wishlist of desirable features, including improved graphics and sound, new game modes, split screen multiplayer, a ship editor and clan support. Clan support? How exactly that will work we have no idea, but it does give us the impression that our favourite dual analogue shooter will be heading online when the update hits. Sounds good to us - a little too good. Make of the above image what you will, we're going to remain cautiously optimistic for now, even if it is just wishful thinking. [Via Ripten]
Breakfast Topic: What do you want your character to look like?
You're likely already aware that one of the great new features to be unveiled in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion is the ability to change your character's hairstyle. A number of players (including myself) have actually stopped playing certain characters just because our original appearance choices didn't turn out as good in play as they seemed in the character creation screen. Some (including myself) have spent a long time thinking about what a new character should look like and trying out many variations, playing for a bit, deleting them and trying again until you get something you know you can live with for the rest of your character's life.Soon, however, our characers' hairspray will no longer be stone-stiff, and a new era of creative exploration will open up to Azerothians. Existing characters with ugly hair may get a second chance at coolness -- but as many already satisfied players know, your characters' good looks often come from a desire to make them fit, as closely as possible, some image we already have in our mind.So tell us of your dream for your character, how you envision him or her when you close your eyes. Do you want your Death Knight to look like Darth Vader, or -- heaven forbid -- Chuck Norris? If you like, you could link to a picture you like, or even draw your creative vision for us!My own most vivid character visualization was for a night elf rogue I had in mind. I wanted her to have the look of an angel who used to live among the stars in the sky, but had somehow gotten lost on earth and forgotten her way home. In hindsight, I was probably very inspired by my favorite Neil Gaiman novel, Stardust, in which a star actually does fall to the earth... and breaks her leg.
PS3 Fanboy interview: Zafro, the Stardust superstar
One game has caused the entire PS Fanboy team a lot of lost sleep: Super Stardust HD. This PSN downloadable title is far more addictive than any of us could have possibly guessed ... and although we're trying to beat each other's top scores, none of us can even match the incredible scores of the people at the very top of the Rankings. Zafro is one of those leaders, and we took some time to talk to him about mastering Stardust. How did you first find out about Super Stardust HD? What made it so appealing? My first impression of Super Stardust HD was from the trailer made available through the PlayStation Store. What stuck with me the most was the music, but the game looked great fun as well. The appeal to me is that I am a fan of shooters, such as Gradius, R-Type, Ikaruga, etc. I always keep my eyes open for games like this, so Stardust appealed to me greatly. Although not exactly the same style, a top down fast-paced shooter will almost always win me over.
E307: SMG developer walkthrough - Stardust Galaxy
This latest Super Mario Galaxy video doesn't introduce any new outfits like the last developer walkthrough, but it does demonstrate star-hopping, gravity tricks, and other essential skills for traveling in this 3D platformer. The latter half of this two-minute movie even features that curious portion of the E3 trailer in which the level builds itself as Mario moves around.How will we make it to November 12th without our heads exploding from all this exciting media? Collect five star shards and fly past the post break for the embedded video.%Gallery-4735%
PS3 Fanboy review: Super Stardust HD
There have been many dual-analog space shooters in the past. Geometry Wars popularized the genre on Xbox, and Sony attempted a similar effort with Blast Factor. What makes the newly released Super Stardust HD so much better than its genre predecessors? It's easy to see, literally. Super Stardust HD looks eons better than any of its competitors. But, not only does it feature good looks ... it features easy-to-understand gameplay and a great deal of subtle complexity that will appeal to casual and hardcore gamers alike. The basic concept of the game is simple. You control a spaceship with an infinite supply of destructive capabilities. The left analog stick controls movement of the ship, while the right analog stick controls the direction of your weapon. Using swift maneuvering and careful aim, players will have to destroy a seemingly endless onslaught of meteors and alien space craft. Meteors will fall towards a planet, and players will have to traverse the globe, trying to defend the planet. Each Armageddon-sized rock will splinter into smaller pieces of debris in a beautiful and chaotic spectacle. As players progress through the various stages, an even greater amount of objects will fall from the sky, providing players will a daunting challenge that borders on the insurmountable. Thankfully, players have a number of tools at their disposal.
Super Stardust HD shoots up PSN today
You're a spaceship destroying bad guys and asteroids -- it's been a time-honored tradition from Space War all the way to Geometry Wars and now crash landing on the US PlayStation Network as Super Stardust HD, an ancestor to descendant of [update: you have your concept of the direction of time and I have mine] the 1993 game Stardust with 1080p visuals. The shooter was released in Europe on June 15, receiving a glowing review from Eurogamer. Super Stardust HD should be available today for US PlayStation 3 owners for $7.99. %Gallery-2813%
Super Stardust HD interview is super starry
We're not very secretive about it: the latest selection of PS Store games are lackluster. While it's nice for the two people who actually want to download classic arcade titles, we'd all like to see some new, original games that actually benefit from a high definition experience. One such title, we anticipate with cautious optimism, is Super Stardust HD. The guys at Housemarque sat down for a very lengthy interview, perhaps too lengthy for a downloadable title. With that in mind, we'll summarize for you. You should already know what the game's about. If not, let us educate you on the basics. The temptation to put the title on the PSN instead of a budget PS2 title was too great! Online distribution, the developers claim, is so much more efficient for these types of games. We can see their point. As with most virgin PS3 projects, Housemarque had trouble programming for the PS3 from the PC version, but after hacking away and not giving up (see F.E.A.R., Splinter Cell: Double Agent), they got the hang of it and are pleased with the console and their results. What does the Cell bring to the table? Glad you asked: "the physics, collisions and particle effects run natively on Cell ... We are able to get over 10,000 active objects with physics and collisions and over 75,000 particles simulated and drawn @60fps." Wow! You can have real friends play with you! A shared-screen co-op mode will be available. No word on future downloadable content for the game, but we've got a feeling we'll see something. We have been assured that we won't be disappointed with this game and heaven help us, we believe them. The game is due out by the end of June, but we'll be having dreams about it every now and then. If our brains can actually dream up "over 10,000 active objects with physics and collisions and over 75,000 particles simulated and drawn @60fps." That would be a challenge.
SGD '07: Super Stardust HD gallery shows how planets survive
How do planets survive, you ask? Well, you shoot a rocketship into orbit and force it to fly around your planet and shoot a bunch of rocks, debris, intruders, and other assortments of material to keep it safe and sound. That's basically the premise of Super Stardust HD and while simple on the surface, the gallery we've got shows that there's actually a lot going on on-screen at any time. We're excited for this one, because while Blast Factor was fun, it just didn't deliver on the Asteroids-style game we truly wanted. Maybe this will. %Gallery-3208%
Two new PSN games: Snakeball & Super Stardust HD
We've covered the upcoming Super Stardust HD before, so we're not going to focus on that one quite as much as the newly announced Snakeball game for the PlayStation Network. The former, SSHD, features the systematic annihilation of asteroids, avoidance of the resulting debris, and the destruction of enemy units who want to stop you from annihilating asteroids. Just look at it! It looks pretty fun, but will it deliver what Blast Factor wasn't quite able to? Let's find out in June. Snakeball seems pretty cool. It's like... bumper cars meets Snake meets rugby meets children minus the children. It makes more sense if you check out our gallery. You glide across a funky disco flooring, collect colored balls to increase the length of your snake car thing, and slap other players with your tail or some kind of weaponry. Along with the recently announced PlayStation Eye, you can map your own face onto a rider to get a more unique experience. There are three modes of play which we'll paraphrase: make your snake as long as you can, master the different arena challenges, or play against 8 other people online. It's coming in July. [Via Joystiq]
