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Metareview + Our Take: Mortal Kombat II
Today gives us the opportunity to look at the reviews given to the PS Store's downloadable Mortal Kombat II. Before we get into our impressions, we'll do as we always do and cite the big-name review sites. Their scores for this game were surprising. There aren't too many reviews on the game, though. Without further ado, here are some of the scores given to MKII. IGN: 7.3 / 10 GameSpot: 7.9 / 10 What we noticed in these reviews is that the reviewers didn't actually review the title as what it is, rather, as what it was. "Oh, this game was great in 1993!" were slapped over both reviews, listing what the game offered back then and how it still does all those things. What our impressions were entailed how that doesn't matter two kicks of the donkey -- the game as it is now really sucks. Read on to listen to our reasoning, or just flame away for no reason now.
Could Vib Ribbon go to PLAYSTATION Network?
Masaya Matsuura, of Parappa the Rapper fame, also created another one of our favorites, the higly creative Vib Ribbon. In a interview with Gamasutra, Matsuura-san said he was in talks with the powers-that-be to rework the title for release on the PS3. No dates were given, but further speculation by 1UP suggests the title would be more appropriate as a downloadable game on the PLAYSTATION Network than a simple rerelease. Originally released for the Sony PlayStation, Vib Ribbon allowed the user to insert any audio CD and transform the music of their choice into a playable level, where successes were viewed as an evolution of the main character you were controlling: (a common theme amongst another PLAYSTATION Network exclusive). [Via 1UP]
PLAYSTATION Network and Store upgrade next week!
Sony just announced that the PLAYSTATION Network and Store will be coming down this Tuesday for maintenance and upgrades."Over the next few weeks, some new and exciting changes will take place in the PLAYSTATION®Store. In preparation for this, both PLAYSTATION®Network and PLAYSTATION®Store need to be taken offline for a short while to allow us to carry out the upgrade and maintenance work. This is scheduled to take place between 16:00 and 19:00 BST (17:00-20:00 CEST) on Tuesday 8th May 2007. We are hoping to complete this work in as short a time as possible and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. But remember that these enhancements are paving the way for new and exciting content that we have planned for the Store!"Upgrades to the Store and Network? New and exciting content? Sounds darn good to me. I think I can deal with the Network going down for something like that. I'm hoping they make the Store a little easier to browse myself. What upgrades to the PLAYSTATION Store would you guys like?[Via N4G]
Calling All Cars is done, due out May 3
David Jaffe has announced on his design blog today that Calling All Cars (formerly Criminal Crackdown) has gone gold and is expected to hit the PlayStation Network on May 3. The game had been previously delayed for focus testing and other minor tweaking, but it now seems that Jaffe is happy enough with the product to let it go.Has it been worth the wait? Reviews are slowly coming in, but IGN is calling it "Sony's first truly original, must-have title on the PlayStation Network" and claiming it bests just about everything on Xbox Live Arcade. Strong words; we'll see for ourselves next week.[Thanks, Pete]
Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Virtua Tennis demos assault US PS Store
Without warning, like the shadowy figures known only through whispers in the night, Ninja Gaiden Sigma has made its presence known on the PlayStation Store. The demo will be available today in the US, one day prior to its Japanese release, alongside a demo for Virtua Tennis. Also coming out today are trailers for Gauntlet II, The Wheelman, John Woo's Stranglehold and The Godfather. The full version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma is set for a June release (on disc). [Via SCEA news release]
Snakeball, Super Stardust HD en route to PSN
Sony has officially announced the impending arrival of two more PlayStation Network titles, each of them boasting hyper-rainbow visuals that are likely to induce a mental state similar to that following ingestion of a hallucinogenic substance. Not that we have any experience with that sort of thing. We do have some familiarity with Snake though, which you may remember as that slithering self-extension exercise available on every electronic device known to man. In Snakeball, you pilot a "bizarre hoversnake" across an "outlandishly dazzling disco floor," all the while devouring delicious spheres, blasting other players and whacking them with your bizarre hoversnake tail. The game supports online multiplayer, as well as the newly announced PlayStation Eye camera, ideal for plastering a face over your bizarre hoversnake pilot. Three Speech expects the game to arrive in July. %Gallery-2812% Super Stardust HD, to which the Sony blog gives a 15 June release date in Europe, is an arcade shooter built around the high concept of blasting defenseless asteroids to smithereens. A two-player co-op mode (it's unclear if this is local, online, or both), online rankings, 1080p resolution and a "seriously catchy soundtrack" are mentioned in the game's list of features. No word yet on what it costs to shoot at space rocks or pilot bizarre hoversnakes. %Gallery-2813%
Sony now signing up PlayStation Home beta testers
PlayStation Network users, were you lucky enough to get in on the PlayStation Home Beta test invite yet? Apparently not everyone who applies will be accepted (shocker, right?), but it's good to know at least there's some movement in PS3rd Life Home process. Let us know if you get an invite, and definitely let us know if you get accepted.P.S. -Sorry, we don't have a link to share at this time, the invites seem to be per-user.[Thanks, Dustin]
The PS-Network reaches 1.3 million users!
Personally, we find 1.3 million registered users a strange number to start throwing all over the internet, but that's what's been going on so we may as well contribute. It's true -- 1.3 million users have subscribed to the PlayStation Network to-date. Approximately 600,000 of those are in the US. Among these users (the 1.3 million, not the 600,000), approximately 3.7 million things have been downloaded (no specifics, sadly). For a newly formed system, that's not bad. Microsoft's XBox Live, which has been around since 2002, has an estimated 6 million users with over 135 million bits of downloaded content. Yep, Sony's got a ways to go to catch up, but if they've generated over a million users in 6 months, the number five years from now (using Microsoft's 2002 starting point, here) then who knows if that number will exceed the competition. It's good news, but it shows how Sony really does have a lot of work left to do and a lot of ground still to cover.
Current PlayStation classics to be PS3 compatible in May
Sony has confirmed with IGN what Joystiq and the Fanboy sites discovered last night: current downloaded PlayStation Classic titles do not work on the PS3, despite its firmware upgrade.The problem is that two files -- the ROM and its certification key -- are needed for the PS One titles to work on the PSP, but that "such a system is not needed on the PlayStation 3," according to the article. We're not sure how this explains the console's inability to play the titles, but rest assured SCEA manager Al de Leon told IGN that, "we'll be replacing the older PS1 games with fixed versions sometime in May" and you will then be able to download the games directly to your hard drive.Sony did not comment on whether or not previously-disabled multiplayer modes would be reinstated upon the May update.
Sony unfurls Q2 release list for PlayStation platforms
Prompted by a panicked glance at a nearby calendar, Sony has blasted out a list of "key titles" slated for release on all manner of PlayStation devices during the second quarter of 2007. Starting over two weeks ago and ending on the last day of June, this period of time sees us paralyzed by F.E.A.R. and having to resort to Calling All Cars to save us from The Darkness brought by ninjas, pirates and Transformers. We'll likely run the Gauntlet in a Final Fantasy of Harvest Mooning... oh forget it. Just read the list. PSN Calling All Cars -- 18 May Nucleus -- 25 May Super Stardust HD -- 15 June Championship Sprint Gauntlet II Joust Mortal Kombat II Rampage World Tour Super Puzzle Fighter II HD Remix Rampart [Note: PSN release dates as published by "semi-official", semi-accurate Sony blog, ThreeSpeech.]
Sony planning to improve the PSN, not surprisingly
As you've all probably caught onto by now, the PlayStation Network updates the PS-Store every thursday with new content (maybe it skipped a week or two, but that's okay... it's the game's fault for getting delayed, usually). Susan Nourai, senior director of the PlayStation Network said that "We look at PSN as an emergent entertainment network. Our goal is to take a consumer-centric approach in both user experience, and just as important, to provide the type of content that consumers expect from PlayStation." Yes, yes. So this explains our regular updates, but what's going to happen in the future?As far as what we can expect, Nourai said "We stay in close touch with our consumers via communication outreach and research and have really appreciated the positive and constructive feedback. We plan to keep enhancing the things we're doing right, and will continue to evolve the service into something our PlayStation fans want." Basically, the PSN is going to become what we demand -- Sony is leaving the evolution of their online experience completely up to us. Take this chance to drop a comment saying what you'd most like to see happen to the network, let alone the PS-Store.
Mortal Kombat II gets downloadable April 12th
Oh yeah! This brings back the old-school memories. Button mashing never got any better than Mortal Kombat II, and now you can experience it all over again on your PS3 this week. From the press release:"Get ready to re-live all of the classic arcade action that made Mortal Kombat II a beloved classic. Brought back and available for download exclusively on the PS3, re-experience the classic head-to-head fighting game featuring classic characters such as Sub-Zero or Goro. Players will fight their way through the Outworld and defeat Shang Tsung or battle hidden characters including Jade and Smoke!"Ten new levels, online multiplayer and smack-talk inducing leaderboards will likely make this the best $5 you've spent in a long, long time. Get ready to download it on the PLAYSTATION Store this Thursday. And try not to break your SIXAXIS ... that thing is not made for prolonged thumb attacks.
Super Stardust HD -- what Blast Factor envies?
Helsinki based Housemarque has been working on a new PSN title called Super Stardust HD, probably a follow-up to their original Stardust that was on the PC. Housemarque also helped with the PSP title Killzone: Liberation which is supposedly very fun (don't got a PSP, so can't give my impressions). The title is rumored for a summer release over in Europe -- no word on any US dates, but we'll cross our fingers.What do you do in the game? Well, you hover over a series of planets (one at a time, silly) and... shoot stuff. Different weapons have different impacts on the things you shoot (amount of debris, power, etc), but in the end your ultimate goal is to destroy it all. We'll keep our eye and ears open for more info.
Jaffe: fixing scoring gap reason for Calling All Cars delay
Insomniac Games (Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet and Clank series) interviewed David Jaffe (God of War) for the second episode of their new podcast, The Full Moon Show. Of note is Jaffe's explanation for the delay of his upcoming PlayStation Network title, Calling All Cars.Jaffe said that during playtests people were enjoying themselves more when the scores were close, rather than when the scoring gap was wide. He talked to some industry vets who had worked on a few Midway titles to see if they had any code that could be used to narrow that scoring gap, and sure enough they had some code."We certainly don't want to go into and put in tons of that, but we've gone in and added just a little bit," he said. He continued to say that his hope is folks who are within 20% of each other's skill levels to have very competitive matches. Jaffe also explained that this was the reason for another playtest, and if the code's effects are noticeable then they will take it out.Jaffe noted that they are still planning for a release during the month of April.The interview starts 21 minutes into the 2-hour podcast. Jaffe also talked about his frankness in discussion, his love of playtests (the fifth one is coming up) and his ambitious, now on permanent hiatus, PSP tearjerker Heartland. The podcast also includes updates on Resistance: Fall of Man and the upcoming Ratchet and Clank Future.[Via Aeropause]
Gran Turismo HD 1.2, GTA 4 trailer to hit PS Network today
Sony has sent word of their new offerings for the US PlayStation Network today. Most importantly for racing fans, Gran Turismo HD Concept will be upgraded for free to version 1.2, which enables force feedback through Logitech steering wheel peripherals. (European gamers have been enjoying GTHD 1.2 since the console's launch in the region.)The Grand Theft Auto IV trailer is also available for download in high definition, as is the Armored Core 4 demo. Microsoft's Peter Moore, proud that Xbox Live got the GTAIV trailer up before Sony, has added yet another tattoo on his arm to add to his collection of AAA-titled inkings.All of the content will be available free of charge and should be online sometime today.[Update: It's the Armored Core 4 demo, not trailer, that is released today. All parties responsible for the error have been thoroughly sacked.]
Analyst: hackers to target online consoles this year
And so we're raising the Console Terror Alert Level to intense orange-red, based on very credible, detailed information on a non-specific threat.A security analyst for Australia's Computer Emergency Response team (who, contrary to the emergency response phrasing, don't get their own vans with flashing lights and sirens) has warned that, due to the online integration of new game consoles, he expects hackers to soon target your Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles."I haven't seen any malicious code that is specifically designed to run on a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox but I would expect it is not very far away," he said. CVG notes that these predictions come after the Xbox Live account hack fears, though those turned out to be nothing more than some idiotic customer service reps being talked into divulging info over the phone.Given that Xbox Live titles are tied to the original console and gamertag only, we'd say the possibility of a theft of your games and / or save files very unlikely. Not only that, but the peer-to-peer transfer of files over any of the console's self-contained networks is not possible. (In this sense, the PS3 and Wii are more vulnerable by merit of having a web browser.) There is always a worry over any medium where you have to enter financial or personal information (in this case your credit card), and the Xbox 360's inability to let you erase that card information has been chronicled in the past. However, the likelihood that you will be the victim of a console hack (and not in the traditional sense) without instigating it through your own console modding is, in our estimations, very slim.
PSP firmware hits 3.30, with bigger vids and better PSone
We were never ones to stand in the way of excessive format support, and never ones to accuse Sony of such a deed, but it appears they're feeling generous this week, with the brand new range of 720 x 480, 352 x 480 and 480 x 272 playback resolutions of MPEG-4 AVA (H.264) video that can be yours with the new 3.30 firmware update. The update also improves PSone performance with a menu option to increase disk dreading speed in exchange for better load times and a little bit of instability. Finally, Sony is tossing in thumbnail support for video and RSS feeds, another welcome improvement. Not bad at all for a 0.1 update, but we're still holding out for PS3-free PSone downloads.
What does Game 3.0 mean to PSP?
IGN has up a feature in which they interview John Koller the Senior Brand Manager for Sony and they ask him how Game 3.0 will effect PSP as well as what changes are in store for the handheld. The PSP's role in Game 3.0 "It's a developing situation for us with PSP in terms of Game 3.0. What we've always stated is that PlayStation Portable is the cultural currency between all of our products here at PlayStation. " The PSP and Home "All I can really say to that is what Phil Harrison mentioned, that PSP certainly has a place within the Home dynamic. We're still looking at ways to optimize that, and I think more info will be forthcoming soon on what that is." PlayStation Network features "There's a place for PSP inside the network as well -- that's the same as with Home -- and what that place is will be revealed soon." PSP's Future Mr. Koller goes on to say that they are working on advancements to the PlayStation Store and Sony Connect and those as well as the GPS and Camera will be revealed in time. Most of his answers referred to changes in the future and in speaking of the future of PSP, Koller said, "We're extremely excited for it. I was talking to a group a week or two ago, we were saying that this really is the year for PSP. This upcoming calendar year is going to be fantastic. There are a ton of initiatives that are going to kick off, that are about to happen, that will be announced soon, all of which will be very exciting from a variety of perspectives." Interesting stuff indeed. I can't wait to see what Sony has in store for my favorite portable.
Rumorong: Warhawk back to being downloadable title
Wednesday's rumorang about Incognito's online-only Warhawk becoming a Blu-ray title has been gracefully tossed away once more. The "semi-official" Sony blog, ThreeSpeech, sets the record straight and rubbishes a Sony representative's previous comments to IGN about the game seeing disc-based distribution. "Sony have advised us that it will be available as a download only for the time being and that a statement will be released if that position should change."Now that we have the issue of distribution out of the way, perhaps we can start focusing on pricing and, oh yes, whether or not the game will be any good. [Thanks, ChronoZaga]
No PSP love on PLAYSTATION Store this week
Last week PSP owners had the option of downloading the first of a game series that has a newer version already on PSP. I complained about it. Well, I probably should have just been happy there was a new PS1 game to download, because this week there's no PSP content with the weekly PLAYSTATION Store update. When I think of all the possible amazing PS1 games I could have downloaded it makes me cry that I have nothing. I'm sorry I yelled at you Sony, please give me more games to download for my PSP. In the meantime I'm going to start e-mailing Sony non-stop until they release Rival Schools: United by Fate for download.
