Nick Doerr
Articles by Nick Doerr
Mysterious countdown appears, possibly Namaikida 2
It seems a countdown has been spotted on Sony Japan's website. While the game would ordinarily be a mystery for reasons soon to be revealed, Eurogamer has got a pretty good guess as to what the game is and we're going to agree with them. The link to the website cites the title as "or2" which has been deduced to mean Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida 2, a sequel to another Japanese dungeon crawler of the same name, sans the "2".Since the first title didn't leave Japan, we don't have much faith we'll see the sequel leave the land of the rising sun either. Still, if you imported the first one, there's some good news since more is on the way. Who knows; maybe both will get some sort of domestic release in a two-for-one pack of some kind. Then again, we also believe it's possible to drive up a wall (note: do not attempt to drive up a wall).
PS3 Poll Police: Anything else exciting for your PS3 this summer?
The biggest games of the summer have launched. Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 have found places on the shelves of millions of gamers and all is well and good. Or is it? What will you do when these games are finished, in your eyes? Is there more to be had this summer, or is it time to pull out the ol' SNES and finally master that F-Zero track? Maybe even crack out the ol' NES and finally realize games have become much simpler since the days of Battletoads? How's your summer with the PS3 looking? I've got a backlog to get through. I could rent some games, I guess. I'll use the PS3 for other stuff besides games. We're going to the beach. It'll be romantic. I've got other consoles as well -- I'll find something. Dust collector, go! pollcode.com free polls We've always got plenty of use for our PS3 -- it's playing our movies, music, and anything we've got stuck on our external hard drives. There are a ton of games to rent and even more in our backlog. While there aren't any big releases until later on in the year, we'll be plenty busy until then. Want to know last week's poll results? Take a look after the cut.
Sony admits struggle in getting third party support
It's a pretty established and unfortunate fact that the PS3 hasn't secured many third-party exclusive games. Multi-platform third-party titles tend to be rough ports or aggravatingly delayed. Shuhei Yoshida has acknowledged this fact and let out a cry to third-party developers: "It's impossible to bring the level of support that we feel is important for the PlayStation 3 platform without the third parties' continued support." He also said that, sometimes, "we struggle to convince them to put more resources into the PS3."While admitting a problem is the first step to resolving it and moving on to your next addiction, we'd love to hear a little more about what Yoshida and Sony plan to do in regards to the third-party developers' fears of putting more of their eggs into the Sony basket. It's the cutest basket, after all. Made of sturdy wicker so it doesn't break ... aesthetically pleasing ... it compliments eggs really well. Do you think Sony should dole out some cash for exclusives, or more dev tools to show these guys and gals that it might not be so hard to program on the PS3 once you get your hands inside its shell?
Last Remnant enthusiasts will enjoy concept art, screenshots
Even though Unreal Engine 3 troubles are hindering the development of this multi-platform title on the PS3, we're still looking forward to The Last Remnant. Given this new stream of screenshots featuring battles as well as a lot of excellent concept art from Famitsu, our anxiety for a firm PS3 release rises further. Check them out and keep your fingers crossed for more information soon.
Silent Hill: Homecoming preview discusses combat, branching conversations
Are you still worried about Silent Hill: Homecoming being in the hands of a Western developer instead of Team Silent? Konami producer William Oertel put it pretty well: "Much of it is very deliberate. You don't have to go into every single detail. You leave it to the fans to decipher...In a sense, the whole game is like a puzzle." This is part of the ideology of the development staff -- to keep the game more on the psychological level like the legendary Silent Hill 2 and less on the literal side, like the first and third installments. We support this move.A preview of the game doesn't go into the storyline very much, since they claim it is quite on-track with previous titles and wish to refrain from spoiling anything. However, they do comment on the new battle system and how it, actually, works in favor of the Silent Hill style of play. Every weapon as a finishing move, dodging is challenging ... combat is, essentially, more difficult. Enemies detect sound and light pretty viciously now -- they reacted before, but now it's clear when you knock over any of the surrounding stuff, the enemy comes running.Conversations branch, too. During some of the games discussions between characters, you can choose from a couple of different answers that will yield different reactions or get you a little more background information. It doesn't sound overly complex, but it'll be interesting to see if these branches actually influence the type of ending you get. All in all, it's sounding pretty well done.
Rumor: Italian mag says Dark Cloud 3 in development
If you're supposed to take rumors with "a grain of salt", this would probably require you to ingest so much salt you'll melt away like a slug. Not only does Italian magazine PSMania claim that Level 5 is working on White Knight Story in tandem with development on Dark Cloud 3, they claim it's being developed as a PlayStation 3 exclusive for release in March of 2009, using the new "Kumo Engine". While this is great news, we're skeptical Level 5 would be working on their new, ambitious IP while also hacking away at another beloved franchise. Take this how you want, but we hope it's got some truth to it. Dark Cloud is a pretty underrated franchise.
Mirror's Edge video interview describes city, couriers
Because we love the style of the game -- from graphics to gameplay, we thought you'd also enjoy this Mirror's Edge video interview. The senior producer for the game, Owen O'Brien, talks a bit about Faith and the construction of the city she gets to run around in. Apparently, the city is very "monitored" and the citizens don't like that. So, they've gone back to the courier system of sending messages to one another. That puts the running in perspective and why you should probably make your way to your client as quickly as possible. It's a pretty excellent interview as it clears up a lot of mysterious bits about the game, so even if you're vaguely interested, check it out!
Fallout 3's Todd Howard discusses RPG elements, implementation
Ever wonder what Todd Howard is thinking about when moving from Oblivion to Fallout 3? The executive producer from Bethesda Softworks speaks with Adam Sessler from X-Play about the ambitious title and covers the difference between Oblivion and Fallout 3 (besides the obvious, of course). Howard says Fallout 3 is "far ahead" in terms of technology from Oblivion. We'll figure out the truth behind those words when we get our hands on Fallout 3, we guess. Otherwise, Howard speaks a bit about the trials and errors involved in getting RPG elements into the game when the use of guns and futuristic weapons is a gameplay must-have. Enjoy the video![via PS3Forums]
Command and Conquer team 'very interested' in PS3
Miss the PS3 version of Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3? Wish it were here? How about Kane's Wrath? Electronic Arts and the C&C devs reassures PS3 owners they plan to commit to the platform and will give it the "attention it deserves" relatively soon. They said "we are very interested in the PS3. We're big fans of the console. We're definitely moving forward on that front for hopefully our future titles," but also said not to look for Kane's Wrath on the PS3 yet. Any games they move onto the PS3 will have their hearts and souls put into them so they are not a simple port -- but of course, there's no timeframe on any of this. We're glad they're interested, but actions speak louder than words, so until we get more information, we'll give them a slight nod and await more information.
Disgaea 3 expansions hitting every month until '09 in Japan
It's not even released outside of Japan yet, but Nippon Ichi has been steadily planning Disgaea 3 expansions for consumption. While these updates and such may just be for Japan, it's likely we'll either see them incorporated into our game from the start or will see them on the PlayStation Store shortly after the game is localized. Anyway, starting June 27, there will be one pack per month until January of 2009 -- contents vary. In June, a new character will be available and sometime in Winter, new scenarios will open up. These aren't free, but only cost the Japanese fans 100 yen per pack. We'll find out in August what'll become of these updates outside of Japan.[Via Siliconera]
Why Alone in the Dark was almost tossed in the garbage
Atari was pretty close to scrapping the Alone in the Dark game when it was in the beginning stages of development. We all know the game is done now (albeit still vague on the PS3 version's release), so that didn't happen. But why was it almost canned? Atari dismissed the original concepts as pitched by the game's director, David Nadal, calling them "too ambitious". You can hear more from Nadal regarding the game and how much he loves the series over at CVG, but we just want to know when we can get in on the action. The PS3 version is set for a Fall release while the 360 gets it this Friday.
Next year will be the 'year of differentiation,' claims Yoshida
Shuhei Yoshida isn't wasting any time getting his PR machine in prime condition. As the new head of Sony Worldwide Studios, he's got a lot of responsibility under his belt, but also a lot of knowledge. He admits the first year of the PS3 was riddled with growing pains because developers built their games on the 360's architecture. This was the developers error, since releasing the game on the PS3 involved more effort than thought to take advantage of the multi-core processor -- leading to delays or sub-par ports.This was also Sony's fault, he says, but now that good tools exist to assist developers and many have gotten their hands into the PS3, the trend may change soon. "Moving forward I'm totally confident that developers will start to use more from the PlayStation 3 platform. This year is the year of parity, next year is the year of differentiation in favour of the PS3 platform," he said. With the clear difference in power between PS3-based games like Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid 4, we hope more devs take his advice and start their projects on the PS3 in the coming years. It will prove easier in the long run, since moving PS3 titles to the 360 is supposed to be much simpler.
Sony Worldwide Studios welcomes Michael Denny, Scott Rohde
Since we love keeping up with all the body-moving inside Sony, we thought we'd alert you to a couple of new faces that'll be helping to make decisions regarding the company's future. Aside from the promotion of Shuhei Yoshida as the new Sony Worldwide Studios head, Sony's Worldwide Studios Europe (apparently one worldwide studio isn't worldwide enough) sees the promotion of Michael Denny (pictured) as new VP. Sony San Diego Studios senior director Scott Rohde also got a promotion to VP of Worldwide Studios America (every country is their own world?). All jokes aside, we'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Denny and Rohde into their new positions and we hope to hear good things from them soon!
Shuhei Yoshida explains Eight Days, Getaway cancellations
Remember when Phil Harrison left Sony Worldwide Studios to join Atari? He was replaced by Shuhei Yoshida, a man who finally steps forth for an interview and, among other things, tells us why games like Eight Days and The Getaway got the axe. He first describes the state of the consoles pretty well: each console is going for a different target market and are actually working together to expand the gaming market as a whole.Online technology and the PlayStation Network are the big pushes, Yoshida says. LittleBigPlanet, SingStar, and Buzz! are all going to push online tech with the PS3 in new ways. This was partly why Eight Days and The Getaway were canceled -- no real online components. There's a shift away from big-budget single-player experiences and more towards online functionality. Not that you can't have both; but only single-player? Unless it's a huge name, it probably won't fly. Yoshida seems to have his head on straight. Let's hope he can help forge a bright future for Sony!
PS3 Poll Police: One last poll for MGS4; your impressions, please
It's time for one last push for Metal Gear Solid 4. Really, nothing else this week was as big or important as finally seeing the release of one of PlayStation's biggest titles. So now that you've had some time with it, what do you think? What are your impressions of the game? How are you enjoying Metal Gear Solid 4? It's one of the best games I've played. It's a great game. Pretty good, I'd say. It's all right. I've played better, but it's not that bad. It's quite horrendous, actually. One of the worst games. Ever. Different opinion altogether! pollcode.com free polls If you're leaving a comment in addition to voting, make sure you remain spoiler-free for all those who may not have gotten nearly as far as you. This is one game where not knowing where the story will go is a very important part of the experience. Speaking of experiences, last week's poll results deal with your experience in purchasing the game. See how many of your colleagues were out at midnight with you, or how many of you are sitting back with a scowl, as you ignore the game completely.
A PSP with L2 and R2 buttons, and how to do it yourself
Aside from a second analog stick, the PSP is missing the second set of trigger buttons found on all PlayStation controllers. If you're utilizing remote play with a PS3, you can map PlayStation One titles' L2 and R2 functions to the analog nub. However, someone thought that was rubbish and created their own L2/R2 modification to the PSP. You can do it just like the modder "Electro", assuming you've got access and are fairly talented with a soldering iron. It doesn't look that great, but if it works, you'll have the last laugh.[via Engadget]
LocoRoco 2 due out sometime 'this year'
The only issue with our subject line is that we can't discern the context of "this year", as quoted by SCE UK's product manager Claire Backhouse, when it comes to the release of LocoRoco 2. In addition to talking about the busy summer ahead for the PSP, whether it be increased incorporation with the PS3 and Remote Play, or the new Go!Range set of utilities adding GPS and voice video calling among other things. She says that "The key software titles we have coming out this year for PSP include Echochrome, Buzz The Master Quiz, Secret Agent Clank and LocoRoco 2." Whether this means 2008 or the fiscal year which ends at the end of March 2009, we don't know. But expect an announcement soon for your favorite rolling blob.
The Agency will be microtransaction free, actually
An announcement regarding Sony's online game, The Agency, ruffled some feathers last month. "You can customize your character any way you like with microtransactions for clothes and such!" was more or less what was told to the public. Eurogamer went on the scene to uncover the reasoning behind such an action and found out that, no, you won't spend any more real-life money than it costs to buy the game itself.Instead of enlisting Live Gamer to create a microtransaction system, there's going to be a real-world auction house where players can buy and sell in-game items. You'll get new duds and accessories by taking out enemies with a sharp-looking coat, or a nice pair of shades, then taking them away by force. Much better than paying some cash up front for a piece of polygonal cloth, right?[via Joystiq]
Way of the Samurai 3 spreading bushido love on PS3
Remember Tenchu? It was a ninja stealth-action game that the PlayStation birthed. It was fun and had a couple of sequels -- offspring, if we want to continue the analogy. Well, that franchise has gone to the Wii and Acquire seemed to leave the PlayStation behind. Not so! Way of the Samurai 3 is making its way to the PS3 to be published by Spike in Japan this year, according to Famitsu.Visuals get a minor tweak (the second game in the series is pictured), but gameplay is what's really changed. Characters are getting much better AI, for starters. The storyline will be influenced by your actions; in certain events or cutscenes you will have the option to draw your sword or remain calm and unflappable. Sounds cool, but then again, we haven't heard if Capcom will pick up the third one for release outside of Japan since they brought over the second.
Siren: Blood Curse Q&A session briefs you on the game
For those of you who need a little more information about Siren: Blood Curse, like if it's a remake, a retelling, or a whole new game in the franchise, the PlayStation Blog has posted up a nice Q&A with the series' creator, Keiichiro Toyama, to ease you into the lore of the game. First thing's first: this is not a sequel nor a remake, he says. It's an adaptation/dramatization of the original, or as he put it, if the original game happened in real life, Blood Curse would be a "movie based on a true story".Adding Western characters is to add to the feelings of isolation and terror -- when a Japanese and Westerner get stuck together, communication trouble is inevitable and only adds to your situational frustrations. The release structure as episodes is to give players the feeling of participating in an event; a TV drama they play.As for gameplay, sight-jacking is a split-screen affair now. You can move your character while checking out the enemy positions at the same time. Unlike other survival horror games, Siren is keeping itself away from "action" and more towards "survival" -- that is, scares and story. The difficulty has been toned down, since the first was infuriatingly difficult. There's a ton of more information to read up on if you're interested as well as some of Toyama's personal opinions on the horror genre, influences, and what scares him the most.