Chris Powell
Articles by Chris Powell
Yakuza 3 gets a commercial
Despite the fact that Yakuza 3 appears to have little to do with the series' previous installments, we're more excited than ever at the thought of finally being able to play it. And with the game's release getting closer by the day, Sega has released its first commercial for the popular franchise. While it doesn't showcase the massive amounts of blood and limb chopping that other videos have, it appears to introduce its audience to the game's cast, which we guess is okay. Yakuza 3 is set to hit Japan in March, and we expect an announcement to confirm the game is coming our way in the coming months.
Rumor: Orange Box patch might be on the horizon
It's no secret the PS3 version of Orange Box is inferior to the PC and 360 version due to the unforgivable amounts of bugs and bad coding. Many gamers have voiced their displeasure about the game, and one upset gamer, who purchased the game despite the highly publicized problems, posted a thread on Valve's forums. Soon after, a Valve employee responded to address his complaints. "I hope that we will be able to correct any major issues in the future," wrote Burton before wishing him a "Happy New Years." Now, this can be interpreted numerous ways, however, the most likely scenario is Valve issuing a patch to address these problems.One thing to keep in mind is that this mess isn't entirely Valve's fault since it handed over reigns to EA London for the PS3 port. However, it's still Valve's baby, and it's most certainly in the developer's best interests to keep the quality of its most-popular franchise as high as possible.
Best of the best: Sunday's retail ads
If you're like us and got some much-needed time off during the holidays, you were probably able to catch up on a lot of gaming. And now that you've played all your games and have all those gift cards from Christmas, what is a gamer to do? Well, thanks to CheapyD and speedy1961 at Cheapass Gamer, you'll be able to restock your backlog of games as they've compiled the best deals from this past Sunday's ads.Best Buy Rainbow Six: Vegas - $40 Resistance: Fall Of Man - $40 Need For Speed: Pro Street - $40 Circuit City Assassin's Creed - $45 Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - $45 This is pretty much the cheapest we've seen several of these games, and we're still surprised at how well Resistance has been able to keep its market value despite it being a launch title. Keep in mind, these deals are good for online and in-store, but you'll have to pay for shipping, which can ruin the good deal.
Deal of the day: Logitech Precision controller for $10 at Amazon
Yeah, we know what you're saying to yourself, "This is a really great deal!" right? Well, it is, but you'll have to do a little more work than usual. To get the wireless Logitech Precision controller for $10, you have to buy it by today and submit a $20 mail-in rebate by the end of January. This deal effectively ends at the last second of the year.Even without the $20 MIR, you'd still be getting the controller for $10 off its listed price of $40, so we'd say this is a pretty darn good deal either way.So if you opened up a shiny new PS3 this Christmas but need an extra controller or two, you can't really get a better deal than this. You just better hop on it before it's too late![Via CAG]
Man robbed of PSP on Christmas Eve
There have been stories both heartwarming and stomach wrenching this holiday season. However, even a PS3 phone book isn't as bad as this latest story. Late Christmas Eve, Zachary Mann was innocently enjoying his PSP on a street corner in York City, Pennsylvania, minding his own business when an unknown gunman robbed him of his PSP.Now there are certain things human beings just shouldn't do on Christmas Eve; one of them is robbing someone of their handheld of choice! Hopefully, police catch the thief and Mann gets his PSP, Memory Stick and game back safe and sound.
Worldwide PSP releases for the week of Dec. 30
We're not sure how often this has happened, but it seems that no games will be releasing on the PSP across all three major regions.NA Games No new releases EU Games No new releases Asia Games No new releases Chances are, it's probably not that big a deal for most of you since you're all very busy with all the great games you received for Christmas. But if you're a bit disappointed, rest assured that next week the PSP is definitely getting new games.
Blu-ray movie releases for the week of Dec. 30
Although last week's Blu-ray releases were pretty much all about Pan's Labyrinth, there are actually several titles Blu-ray owners could be interested in this week. Resident Evil Resident Evil: Extinction Resident Evil: The High Definition Trilogy Shoot 'Em Up War Of course, most gamers will probably be most interested in the Resident Evil trilogy, we hear Shoot 'Em Up is a fun action flick, and we can never say no to Monica Bellucci.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the PlayStation 3 Kid
First, there was the Nintendo 64 Kid, and now, years later, the PlayStation 3 Kid has arrived. After being hoodwinked by his parents and apparently being perfectly happy with just getting a box, this little guy has an all-too familiar reaction upon opening a new PS3 on Christmas. Sony, if you're seeing this, we've found you your next line of commercials. "OH MY GAAAWWWWD!"
Condemned 2 gets delayed until March
We're really excited about Condemned 2: Bloodshot. So excited, in fact, that we're actually not very upset that Sega quietly pushed back the game's U.S. release date from February to March. It probably means the game still needs some more work, and we'd much rather Monolith tune this baby to perfection than to try to rush it to meet its deadline.Heck, at least it's not as bad as the delays for Haze and Home delays, right?[Via Sega Nerds]
PS Fanboy Wallpapers: Volume 15
Every week, PSP and PS3 Fanboy will bring you new backgrounds for your Sony consoles, in resolutions up to 1080p. Download them directly to your PS3 by accessing PS3 Fanboy on your system. Download PSP wallpapers directly to your PSP by accessing the site wirelessly at m.pspfanboy.com. For those having trouble accessing the site on your PS3, please visit m.ps3fanboy.com or disable Javascript.This weekend, we're focusing on Sony's upcoming PSN title echochrome.
PS Fanboy Wallpapers: Volume 15
Every week, PSP and PS3 Fanboy will bring you new backgrounds for your Sony consoles, in resolutions up to 1080p. Download them directly to your PS3 by accessing PS3 Fanboy on your system. Download PSP wallpapers directly to your PSP by accessing the site wirelessly at m.pspfanboy.com.This weekend, we're focusing on Sony's upcoming PSN title, echochrome.
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 45
Gametrailers.com's Best PSP Game of 2007 (19.1MB) Also featured: Angry Video Game Nerd's Christmas Carol part 1 & part 2, Patapon and Yakuza 3.
Get a free PS3 with purchase of Sony HDTV
It appears that despite the fact Christmas has come and gone, Sony is still very much in the giving mood. Right now, it's offering a free 80GB PS3 if you purchase a select Sony HDTV with the Sony Card. We're not sure exactly why, but something smells a little fishy here.For the most part, Sony is offering up its Bravia line and a few of its rear-projection models in the deal. And since Sony may be dropping support of its rear projections anyway, you might want to choose a Bravia if you're serious about the deal.To apparently make the deal a little sweeter, you won't have to pay interest for the first year. However, if you don't pay it off within that time frame, the interest, which is at 14.49 percent, is retroactively tacked on. We're not sure how many of you are without a PS3, but this could be one alternative if you expect to come into a healthy sum of money once a rich relative "kicks the bucket" in the next year.[Via Joystiq]
See The Club demo in action
After playing through the newly released demo of The Club, we have to admit we're not completely blown away. From what we've gathered, the game feels pretty much like any generic third-person shooter with a tacked-on point system. Additionally, we never really got the feeling of excitement of the supposed fast-paced action that we were promised. Also, we're a bit dismayed by the confusing button layout. Who ever thought it'd be a good idea to map the sprint and shoot actions to the R1 and R2 button, respectively? On the plus side, there are a variety of interesting looking characters, a few of whom are a bit cliche, but they appear to have some decent background stories that we can only hope Bizarre Creations delves a bit in to. In the end, though, the game's saving grace might be its multiplayer, which pits several players against each other as they run through the level trying to rack up the most combos and gain the most points to win. Bizarre and Sega have until February to hopefully rectify some of these issues before The Club is released.
Playboy: Crush one of '07's most innovative games
There is perhaps no other PSP title as innovative and quirky as Zoe Mode's Crush, a puzzler that successfully implemented 2D and 3D gameplay like we've never seen before. And although the game never sold as well as it should have (Boo Sega's marketing department!), it has received the proper recognition from the critics that it deserves. To add one more accolade to the list, Playboy has chosen Crush as one of its runners-up for 2007's most innovative game. Being included among such wonderful games as Rock Band, Portal, Super Mario Galaxy and Assassin's Creed is no joke ... well, maybe the joke is that Assassin's Creed actually made the list in the first place. Nevertheless, it's great to see one of our favorite PSP titles getting a little more love. If you still have yet to play Crush, then shame on you. However, there's still time to rectify this gross oversight by picking it up today and experiencing one of the most original games ever to grace a handheld.
Playboy: Heavenly Sword has 'Best Jiggle Factor'
There are some awards our favorite games receive that make us happy they get the recognition they deserve, and there are some that leave us ... well, scratching our heads. Take Playboy's Best of Games of 2007 awards for instance as it awarded Heavenly Sword the "Best Jiggle Factor" award. We're not really sure what it means, but we're pretty sure it's a compliment. Here's what they had to say about the game: "This game has more than a few rough edges, but we loved its compelling scenario and character design. Nariko is gorgeous but also strong, angry and vulnerable. By the end, you don't just want to date her, you want to marry her." It beat out other scandalous and lewd games such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Conan and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary. With this well-deserved recognition, could it mean that Nariko could have a future spread in Playboy's Girl's of Gaming?
See a few Ratchet & Clank Future mishaps
Despite Ratchet & Clank: Future being one of the very best games currently available on the PS3, it's certainly not without a few quirks. Courtesy of Project Mod Gaming, we're shown a few in particular. Pretty silly video with some decent tunes to back it up.And before anyone says so, yes, it's been a pretty slow news day.
Sony to give away 100 Japan PSN cards
To kick of the new year, Sony Japan is giving away 100 PlayStation Network cards worth 5,000 Yen a piece now through Jan. 7. Entering is extremely easy, because all you have to do is to purchase something from the Japanese PlayStation Store. Of course, most Western gamers don't buy much from the Japanese store, so this may not mean much to some of you. However, we hope it could be a sign that deals like this could come our way sometime in the future. And with Sony just announcing that PSN cards are heading to the U.S., what better way to get everyone excited by giving a bunch away, right?[Via Gemaga]
Gamestop shows possible PS2 R&C: Size Matters boxart
After previously updating its site with a page for the rumored PS2 port of the PSP's Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Gamestop has just posted what could be the game's boxart.Furthermore, Gamestop has a ship date of Feb. 12 for the semi-budget price of $30. While we previously classified this story as a rumor, it's probably fair to say the probability of this former exclusive PSP title being ported to the PS2.Sure, some PSP owners might be upset that their handheld is losing one of its better exclusive titles, but we're just happy more people will have the opportunity to play this wonderful game.[Via Siliconera]
Pre-order Haze, get a nectar-filled syringe pen
We've seen some pretty wacky pre-order bonuses in the past, but this offer from Ubisoft might top them all. If you pre-order Haze from Ubisoft's store, you'll receive a free nectar-filled syringe pen. Of course, there's not real nectar, a "nutritional supplement" in Haze, actually in the pen, which could be a deal breaker for a few of you out there.However, this deal might be only good for Europeans since Ubisoft's asking price is about £50, which makes it one of the most expensive PS3 games you could buy. Add to that a £17 shipping fee and £10 in taxes, and you'll be spending nearly $150 for this bad boy. Yeah, best we let the Europeans keep this deal for themselves.[Via Kotaku]