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PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 42
See how to use the PlayStation Store (15.2MB) Also featured: Beowulf, Haze, Assassin's Creed, Boulder Dash, Mocap
A quick exploration of PS3 game delays
It's a funny fact that PS3 games seem prone to delays more than any other console currently available, so we thought it would be nice to bring your attention to something that lists the most notorious delays. In addition to listing the delays, there's an explanation by GamesRadar why each game has been pushed back. It's an interesting read, but if you're too lazy to find out, the following games are mentioned: Fatal Inertia The Orange Box Unreal Tournament 3 Home Haze Metal Gear Solid 4 With the exception of the "who-cares" title Fatal Inertia, we'd agree that those games have made us groan upon delay announcements. The really weird part is most of the titles above are touted in some form as "PS3 Exclusive". Hopefully the issues with the PS3 melt away next year, or people really will start calling it the DelayStation outside of the intertubes.
Haze delayed until 2008, brings Rainbow Six Vegas 2 with it
After last week's report of Haze being on track for a December release, we're now prompted to point out the rather abrupt appearance of a detour in-between the metaphorical train and its final stop at the PlayStation 3. It seems the designers at Free Radical didn't receive nearly enough coal to reach the lead platform in time for Christmas, and now hope that you'll conduct your purchase of their first-person shooter in the first quarter of 2008.Thankfully devoid of increasingly insufferable train puns, a Gamasutra article details the delay mentioned within Ubisoft's favorable first-half financial results. Sales for le publisher rose by 52% to $372.86 million, with profits jumping up 12% to $44.8 million. You might consider the money already spent on Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, expected to arrive in the same quarter as Haze. Not much is known about the sequel, save that it'll (probably) feature soldier-types shooting up evil, one-armed bandits. Fellow Tom Clancy property, Splinter Cell: Conviction continues to be wishy-washy about a potential release date, as it's also been pushed back to Ubisoft's fiscal year 2008-2009.
Haze release gets cloudy, pushed to next year
Looks like the somewhat-exclusive PS3 shooter Haze is being delayed. According to a statement by Ubisoft today, they revealed that the game will arrive in Q4 of their fiscal calendar, which spans January-March of next year (fiscal years make little sense, no?). If Unreal Tournament doesn't successfully arrive on PS3 this year, it means that PS3's two big "exclusive" FPS games for this year will have gone by the wayside.[Thanks, Andrew! (No, it's not me.)]
Haze gets December release in Europe
If you love Haze and live in Europe, rejoice and be glad! You've acquired Release Date (1)! Use this item to locate hidden release date information ... Haze will be released December 14th, if you'd like us to stop beating around the bush with strange RPG innuendo. This information comes with the above video, which is less of a Haze trailer and more of a look around Free Radical's office. It's for fun and we thought we'd share it with you. The American release of Haze is currently slated for December 4th.[via Joystiq]
Haze on track for December release
Free Radical's first-person romp through cutting-edge war, crippling drug addiction and nebulous PlayStation 3 exclusivity agreements is on track for a December arrival, reports Gamasutra. Publisher Ubisoft has confirmed a European release for December 14th, noting that America can expect to receive Haze within the same merry month (online retailers currently list it for December 4th). Haze looks to be the last major FPS of the year, and had best hope its vaunted script and gameplay guarantees a spot at the illustrious table already seating BioShock, Call of Duty 4, Metroid Prime 3, Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Halo 3 and TimeShift Crysis. %Gallery-6686%
Some more Haze gameplay footage -- shaky cam style
High definition, this is not. This is shaky-cam footage of what's assumed to be the first several minutes of Haze. It had been a while since we had something to share with you on this game due out in a few weeks, so we thought we'd toss this your way and see if you found it interesting. Even though it's a shaky-cam, you can still see the detail that's gone into this game and it looks pretty nice. Check it out.
Let's talk about the vehicles of Haze
If you haven't been keeping up with Free Radical's Haze, a few weeks ago we talked about their weaponry and today we're going to talk about the vehicles you'll run across. We'll start with the Mantel vehicles. Boxcart - lightweight buggy of sorts. BigBoy - a transport truck with a big ol' rail gun. Mrs. Mantel - a ship that drops soldiers off with really impressive speed. And the Promised Hand vehicles: Macho (Stag) - a hodgepodge vehicle built for jungle missions Mula (Mule) - a very light buggy. Palo Hueco - a helicopter with crappy armor, apparently. Diente de la Serpiente - think about it. A really slow vehicle with a nuclear missile attached. Sounds like a winner! All of these vehicles will make an appearance in the single player campaign as well as four player co-op and multiplayer. It seems there's more vehicle action than previously expected. Let's hope they keep the battlefield balanced!
Korn rocks out original track for Haze
Ubisoft's Haze is still a month away, for the PS3 at least, but that has not stopped the band Korn from being "inspired" by Free Radical's sci-fi FPS, prompting the nu metal rock group to record an original track for the game. The single, creatively titled "Haze," will debut over radio, television, and download sites in November alongside the game's release, meaning even your non-gaming friends could be banging their heads to Haze marketing material in the near future. Take pictures. Korn's vocalist Jonathan Davis is said to be a major driver behind the collaboration, which makes sense given his apparent passion for games. He once worked on a PS2 fighting game called Pop Scars that aimed to pit celebrities like Mary J. Blige and Marilyn Manson against each other, but this project was eventually canned by Davis in 2004. This setback did not dampen the rocker's spirits, however. Said Davis, "Gaming for me is a religion and Haze is the shit!...I had to come up with a track that can hit up that kind of rush I get from the game and I think we really rocked it!!" We share your enthusiasm for games, but I think we speak for everyone when we say 'stop shouting!' Please.
Korn, while on Nectar, record song out of Haze love
Most American music listeners know of the band Korn. Some remember the highlights of their career, like appearing on South Park and the hilarious antics that ensued. Whether or not you like their music, Korn has made video game buzz today by recording a song they say was "inspired by" the upcoming shooter Haze. The song's launch is going to coincide with the game's release, so you know it's a little more than inspiration on the band's part. Conspiracy theorists, unite!The song, entitled "Haze", will act as a "testament to the synergy possibilities between music and video games, which often share the same audience," says Ubisoft's Christian Salomon. Also speaking out is Korn's singer Jonathan Davis, who rehearsedly exclaimed "Gaming for me is a religion and Haze is the shit! I had to come up with a track that can hit up that kind of rush I get from the game and I think we really rocked it!!" The double exclamation marks are, of course, to emphasize how much the band "rocked it". Well, take it however you like, but it seems the marketing train for Haze is underway. But will it pay off?
Haze demo coming to the EU PSN Store November 16th
Can't speak Spanish? That's ok, neither can we. However, we've been reliably informed (by our mate babelfish) that the official Spanish PS3 website has been updated. A new article states that a Haze demo will be making its way to the European (or at least, Spanish) PSN Store soon. We would expect to see the same demo being released on the US store a week or two earlier, but who knows. Maybe Europe will get it early for once. Alright, alright - once you're done laughing, we'll get to the meet of the issue. The demo will be from a jungle-based level and will feature up to four player co-operative play. There's no word on whether the Co-op mode will be online for the demo or not. We hope so, but won't be holding our breath. Even so, co-operative play in a demo is definitely something we're excited about - especially with it being such a huge selling point for the game itself. [Via N4G]
Haze is commentary of game violence, of itself
The scriptwriter for Free Radical's upcoming shooter Haze, Rob Yescombe, sat down with the friendly Gamasutra to discuss the meaning behind the script he penned. In addition to the heavy political overtones found throughout the game, Yescombe admits part of the script is talking about violence in videogames. He said "As a [futuristic private military operator] Mantel guy, it makes sense that you play it like a game, because you're absolved from responsibility. It's weird that our entertainment is founded on shooting people in the face! The truth is that I enjoy it as much as anyone else, but I find myself weird for liking it so much. That's less than a big political statement; it's much more about, 'What are we, as people who are entertained by this?'" Good question, we guess. It's just entertaining to do stuff we can't do in real life, perhaps? No good answer, really.Originally, Yescombe planned to pen a story akin to Apocalypse Now, which would make the game a lot more narrative-heavy, if Conrad's Heart of Darkness taught us anything. He claimed the story became a bit too overt and controversial for a new IP to push, so a lot of the heavier political stuff seems to have gone hidden in the depths of the game. You can still look for it, he says, as it's still there, but it's not the crux of the tale. After all, Yescombe says, if the game isn't fun to play, it doesn't matter what sort of political commentary you toss in. From the looks of it, Haze will be damn fun to play and the story seems like it's just going to grow if future installments are planned.
Haze weaponry revealed, detailed, explained
Free Radical have recently updated their blog over on IGN, deciding to enlighten us to some of the weapons available in the upcoming, hotly-anticipated shooter Haze. Since there's a lot to say about each weapon, we're going to give you the shorthand version here and leave it up to you to research further. Diplomat pistol -- standard Mantel weaponry, seems most useful in short-range situations. Blacksaw assault rifle -- depleted uranium are the bullets, pain is the result. Also available: silenced version. Donkey Puncher shotgun -- " ... this high-end shotgun is more than enough to kick any ass presented to you." Enough said. Hard Candy rocket launcher -- apparently makes Sloppy Joes out of the enemy. Pinpointer sniper rifle -- it's a sniper rifle. Need we say more? Heavy Gun -- uh, we're not sure, but it sounds extremely useful. Seems to be a stationary weapon of mass destruction. Razor Tongue knife -- standard Promise Hand melee weapon. You can smear it with Nectar, which causes Mantel soldiers to overdose on Nectar if you slice 'em. Nice way to make a knife useful without being ridiculously overpowered (Warhawk). Lobo -- the assault rifle of choice for Promise Hand soldiers. Oso -- shotgun! Notice the trend of Spanish names for Promise Hand weaponry. Mano del Dios -- the "Hand of God" is essentially a minigun you really don't want to see from the wrong end. Dragon de la Gente -- take a guess! It's a flamethrower for the people, by the people. There are more sniper rifles and grenades to be had, but we think you get the point. All of these weapons are, admittedly, standard FPS necessities, but we can't believe this is all there will be offered. Maybe it is. But if not, we're sure there will be quite a few interesting ways to lace Nectar into more weaponry. We're excited for this one to come out, so we'll wait for November with bated breath.
We can't enjoy it at release, but Haze will have rumble
OK, so the video above is silly showing that an injection of the steroid/hallucinogen "Nectar" from the game Haze will cause the Sixaxis to rumble like it's the recently announced DualShock 3. But it is nice to know that Haze will ship with rumble in the coding -- even if we can't use it at launch.Looks like the Japanese, who will have the DualShock 3 this year, will be the only ones to enjoy rumble with their Haze at release. Everyone else on this little blue planet has to wait until early '08. Many of the games currently in development for the PS3 are being designed with rumble in mind and older PS3 games will supposedly receive patches. The guys at PS3 Fanboy tell us that if you really need to rumble with Haze you can always import a DualShock 3 from Japan and it should work fine. We'd prefer to wait for Sony to make some minimal-cost customer-friendly Sixaxis to DualShock 3 exchange program, but we're not holding our breath.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Haze injects nectar into controller, adds rumble
A cute new video for Haze highlights the PS3's newfound ability to rumble. How did they do it? Is it magic? No! It's nectar, the steroid-esque substance from the upcoming PS3 FPS. While some find it lame, we think it's a cute way of explaining the origins of DualShock 3.
New Haze video shows off rebel gameplay
Fresh on the heals of the Haze exclusivity announcement, GameVideos has a new developer walkthrough video showing off quite a bit of rebel gameplay. Wandering around a new level titled 'Abandoned Resort,' the graphics look fantastic and the gameplay looks interesting. Seeing the developer dip his knife in nectar and then throw it at Mantel Corp troopers to force a drug overdose is pretty crazy. Especially when one of the troopers opens fire on a buddy and then pulls out a grenade and stands there until it blows them both up. See kids? Drugs are bad, m'kay.
Haze is PS3 exclusive for the foreseeable future
According to German website eXp, and recently re-affirmed by Gamespot, an announcement was made regarding Haze at Leipzig that caught our attention. It seems that the title, initially scheduled as a PS3 exclusive for this year and slated for a 360 release early next year, has become a permanent exclusive feather in Sony's cap. If you're looking for a console version of Haze, you've only got the PS3 to choose from. Yep -- the 360 version has dropped off the map along with the PC build. We don't know why.To keep this from becoming a "ha, ha, take that 360 bots!" comment thread, we'd like to discuss a few of the reasonings for this announcement -- all speculative, of course. First, Sony doled out a hefty sum of money to grab the game's exclusivity forever. To do that, they must be confident in the game's ability to sell well and is getting incredibly positive reactions from gamers and game journalists, which it really is. A second possible reason is the difficulty Haze developers are having moving all the stuff from the PS3 to the 360 -- utlizing Blu-ray and standard hard drive space may have spoiled them. It's not to say they couldn't actually make the game for 360, it's just that they felt the quality of the experience would be severely hampered and scrapped it. We'd sooner give the nod to our first assumption, but we'll leave it up to you guys to discuss this. Either way, we know the PS3 will be getting a fantastic game built with its strengths in mind.[via PS3 Forums]
PS3 version of Haze is 'currently' the only one in development
There's been some confusion surrounding the exclusivity status of Free Radical's upcoming shooter, Haze. First, the publisher announced it would be leading on PS3, though the developer confirmed that the game was being built with all platforms in mind. The following month, an Ubisoft release list showed the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Haze following the PS3 version by just one week ... but they later pulled both of those versions from the list entirely stating that the PlayStation 3 was "the only confirmed platform."Of course, this all sounds a little too much like the mess surrounding Assassin's Creed's exclusivity (also courtesy of Ubisoft). Adding to the mystery today, GameSpot UK writes, "Ubisoft said that currently no other versions [are] in development, and although it was still leaving the door open in the future for 'new partnerships,' currently the game is indeed only planned for the PS3." So, what about the previously planned for Xbox 360 and PC versions? Ubisoft says, "The official statement on PC and Xbox 360 is that these platforms are not confirmed." If they're not confirmed, and not being "currently" developed for (despite what Free Radical may have been doing previously) then it sounds like Haze may be skipping Microsoft's one-two punch for now. How about a straight answer, Ubi?%Gallery-6686%
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 29
Finally, after a long E3-related hiatus, PSP Fanboy Theatre is back with an all new edition. Every weekend, 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.) New for PSP: Get selected videos delivered automatically to your PSP via our new RSS feed. Legend of the Heavenly Sword: Part 1 Download MP4 (13.0MB) | Download JPG The following videos are featured after the break: Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Stranglehold, WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 08, Haze, Dirt.
Haze: timed exclusive, or totally exclusive?
The answer is timed, if you ask us. At Sony's conference, all the buzz for today's news, Free Radical's upcoming shooter Haze was announced as a PS3 exclusive title, qualified with the phrase "this financial year." It's pretty obvious what that means and we're going to squash the rumors of complete exclusivity now, so that it doesn't get out of control and used against the, er, "Sony camp". It's only on the PS3 until the end of March 2008. That's a long time, considering its release is coming in a matter of months. Oddly, a trailer has yet to be slapped onto the PS Store, but you can always check the one above.[Update: IGN interviewed Free Radical. "Haze will only be found on PS3 this holiday season, and will remain exclusive through the first quarter of the calendar year."]
