Monthly Archives: August 2009

We all know that Madden NFL 10 has already sold about a gajillion copies (that’s an actual number now, by the way). But perhaps what’s more telling in this new generation is just how many people have flocked to indulge in some online pigskin fun.

According to statistics located by Koku Gamer, the latest Madden installment has reached several online multiplayer milestones. Firstly, EA Sports boss Peter Moore has revealed that they’ve already managed to get 100,000 players online at once, which Moore reminds us is many more than can fit into an NFL stadium. Furthermore, in the opening week alone, there were 5.6 million matches played online, which Moore says “is the equivalent of over 21,000 NFL regular seasons.” And while we know that number likely includes all the games that were merely started but never completed, it’s still pretty damn impressive. As a side note, Moore said he’s happy with the recent PS3 price cut, just because “we know titles like Madden and NCAA Football have always had a very strong base of fans on Sony hardware.” …not like Madden needs more help in the sales department, but even so, a lower price point on PS3 hardware benefits everyone.

So anyway, if you haven’t yet gone online with Madden NFL 10, you’re apparently missing out. Don’t you want to get involved in one of the millions of matches…?

It’s just one of those things: when a game disappears off the radar for an extended period of time, everyone gets worried.

Those who really like the idea of L.A. Noire have been discouraged lately, as there has been no fresh news concerning Rockstar’s anticipated project. We kept hearing whispers that it was still in development, but the last update included a delay to fiscal 2009. This wasn’t good news and since then, some have postulated that L.A. Noire had been put on indefinite hold. However, according to Rockstar, they confirmed that development on this game was continuing forward, which means it will most certainly arrive at some point. They made this statement after talking about games like Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the PSP and Red Dead Redemption at GamesCom last week, so we’ll just cling to that for now. Remember, L.A. Noire started out as a PS3 exclusive way back in 2006 but it soon changed to a multiplatform project, which may be the reason for the lengthy delay.

We’re hoping for another update before the year is out, and if Rockstar is good enough to give us some media or something, we’ll be sure to show it off. We’re positive you’ll want it.

After Sony’s PS3 slim announcement last week, many fans were dismayed the new model would no longer include backwards compatibility and the option to run Linux as an alternative operating system.

Sony stated the console’s ability to run PS2 games wasn’t a major “purchase intent driver” and therefore not worth the cost of including, yet remained relatively silent on the missing “OtherOS” option.

A forum response on Sony’s official Linux for Playstation 2 developer community sheds some new light on the feature’s removal. A Sony rep explained the company is simply unwilling to bear costs of maintaining the hypervisor used for OtherOS support across major hardware revisions.

From the horse’s mouth:

The reasons are simple: The PS3 Slim is a major cost reduction involving many changes to hardware components in the PS3 design. In order to offer the OtherOS install, SCE would need to continue to maintain the OtherOS hypervisor drivers for any significant hardware changes – this costs SCE. One of our key objectives with the new model is to pass on cost savings to the consumer with a lower retail price. Unfortunately in this case the cost of OtherOS install did not fit with the wider objective to offer a lower cost PS3.

While Sony’s official line of software-related costs is reasonable from a corporate standpoint, others have speculated the company isn’t pleased with the handful of private research labs, companies, and individuals using racks of PS3s as a relatively inexpensive Cell cluster node or workstation. Because Sony sells the PS3 at a loss, any customer who doesn’t buy games for the console is bad for the bottom line.

That had some worried Sony intended to remove OtherOS compatibility from the original fat PS3 in a future software update. Fortunately, a report on the blog GamesILike indicates old models will keep the functionality. Another Sony rep wrote on a developer mailing list that: “SCE is committed to continue the support for previously sold models that have the ‘install Other OS’ feature and that this feature will not be disabled in future firmware releases.”

If it’s a truly a software cost issue, it seems Sony could just slap an extra fee on those who want the OtherOS option. The cost could probably be up there before it came close to the cost of buying specialized Cell hardware.

Late last night Microsoft’s recently announced price drop for the Xbox 360 Elite to $299 and Pro model to $249 took effect and retailers immediately adjusted the price accordingly. Unlike the PS3 Slim price cut, buyers do not appear to be snatching up Xbox 360 Elite’s at a fervent pace.

When the PS3 Slim went on sale at online retailer Amazon.com, it immediately shot up to the number one sales spot on Amazon’s hourly bestsellers list for video games. It has remained fixed in that spot now for 10 days running.

Now that the new Xbox 360 pricing is in full effect you would think everyone waiting to grab one would have shot it up the sales chart. Not so. In fact, PS3 Slim remains in the number one position this morning while Xbox 360 Elite sits at the #25 spot.

Browse or shop the newly priced Xbox 360 consoles at Amazon.com.

And that is the Halo 2 and Fable 3 Elite bundle which also saw its price dropped to $299. Clearly this is the better value over PS3. Or is it?

There are a number of potential reasons why Microsoft’s price drop is not having the same effect on sales as the PS3 Slim. The Xbox 360 Elite was introduced well over a year ago while the PS3 Slim is technically a new design with some small tweaks consumers had been asking for. People like new. Advantage: PS3 Slim.

For movies, PS3 Slim includes a full blown Blu-ray Disc player with all the bells and whistles only some standalone players are packaged with. Xbox 360 Elite has Netflix streaming. Advantage: PS3 Slim.

The PS3 Slim went up for pre-order sale nearly two weeks before Xbox 360 Elite at its new price. Someone on the fence for a next-gen console might have pulled the trigger immediately at the PS3 Slim introduction. Advantage: PS3 Slim.

And lastly, there are far more Xbox 360 consoles already in homes than any model of Playstation 3. This is the first time in the console cycle that a comparable PS3 and Xbox 360 model are going head-to-head at an identical price. Fewer PS3s already in homes translates to more potential buyers. Advantage: PS3 Slim.

It will be interesting to watch sales numbers through the holiday season. Sony, which as been stuck in third place since Playstation 3 was introduced, has a legitimate shot at overtaking Microsoft and Nintendo with next-gen hardware sales.

An intermediate generation of consoles will come before we see the PS4 and Xbox 720, as the console makers have expired their resources in their efforts in the current generation of consoles.

That’s according to Rich Hilleman, Electronic Arts chief creative officer in a recent interview. “I expected we’ll see a PlayStation 3.5 before we see a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox 560 before we see an Xbox 720,” he told VentureBeat,

Such an opinion would chime with the current climate, with Sony recently launching a new PS3 in the shape of the Slim and Microsoft citing the release of Natal late next year as a re-launch for the Xbox 360.

What’s It All About?

Based upon the recent movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra pits you amidst Cobra’s deadliest plot yet, putting you in the shoes of the Joes in a co-op arcade shooting environment. Taking its concept from classic run-and-gun shooters like Contra, The Rise Of Cobra is an isometric co-op shooting experience that can be played locally.

There are a range of G.I. Joe characters to choose from and unlock, though you’ll need to score well throughout the game’s various missions to obtain them.

Despite a rather dragged out campaign, there are unlockable characters, bonus missions and harder difficulty levels to keep you coming back. If you want to.

What We Liked:

-Flashes of rewarding gameplay. We can accept G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra for what it is. A run and gun shooter with a generous auto-aim and a cover mechanic. The gameplay is captured from a pulled back camera perspective allowing two-players to be on screen at once, be they computer controlled or human. An emphasis on combos and multipliers make the initial levels feel genuinely rewarding as you watch your points shoot through the roof. The sense of co-operative gameplay is also captured via the points mechanic that enhances your score if you and your team mate are aiming for the same enemies. Sadly the initial flashes of a rewarding experience are drained when the gameplay fails to evolve and the enemies gain the ability to soak up more and more bullets. Further multiplier mechanics and online scoreboards could have helped relieve the monotony of The Rise Of Cobra. Sadly it wasn’t to be.
-It’s mindless. If you want to play a game where you just run and watch explosions happen then this is for you. We’re totally not using that in a derogatory sense either, sometimes we feel like playing something akin to G.I. Joe. The problem is, the lack of any real set-pieces and the inane ability of enemies to soak up damage makes every level seem like a familiar slog. Those first five levels are pretty fun though. Until you realise you’re going to be playing them over and over and over.
-Local multiplayer. Where most games ignore the local multiplayer route, The Rise Of Cobra embraces it and rewards you for playing as a team. The mindless nature of the game could make for a rewarding 20 minutes or so with a mate while waiting for a taxi. If you’re playing a gaming night however, Joe will only serve as a warm-up to a main course of Resistance or Gran Turismo.

What We Didn’t Like:
-Rough camera. The pulled out camera mechanic from The Rise Of Cobra can sometimes work well, fitting two players on screen, a host of enemies and providing guidance on the linear path of where you need to go. Alas, sometimes it’s not always perfect, meaning players can go missing off the screen and enemies are impaired. It can also be disorientating.
-Vehicle control is really, really, really bad. The good news is that The Rise Of Cobra has vehicles for you to control. The bad news is that they handle like absolutely fucking shite. Given the pulled out view of the static camera, controlling these things feels like your being hung upside down, spun around at the speed of light, holding the Dualshock upside down. It’s beyond our vocabulary’s complexion to describe just how terrible these things handle.
-Story telling breaks pace. The Rise Of Cobra occasionally breaks up the shooting to try and tell you about what’s happening in the plot. We ended up skipping them. They break the pace so badly, your character finger on ear while you listen to the laborious story-elements. In an arcade shooter, story just feels so out of place. But it’s constantly popping up.
-Enemies soak bullets. Games like G.I. Joe should make you feel bad-ass. The fact that your weapons can barely take a dent out of some of the later enemies only result in you feeling like a ten year-old with a pea shooter.

For months, we’ve been blogging about rumors that Sony would cut the price of its PlayStation 3 game console from $399 to $299 and possibly announce a new trimmer model called the PS3 Slim. Well, at a press conference in Cologne, Germany, preceding the opening of the Gamescom Expo, the company finally took the wraps off the new console.

Earlier Tuesday, Kmart.com jumped the gun on the announcement and accidentally posted an ad on its home page that revealed a price cut to the “old” 80GB and 160GB PS3s to $299 and $399 respectively and hinted at the impending arrival of the new PS3 Slim.

In Cologne, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai performed the unveiling, taking the stage and announcing the PS3 was “getting a new model” and that indeed it was called the PS3 Slim.

The Slim is hitting stores the first week in September and will cost $299 (or for those who live in other regions, 299 euros or 29980 yen). Hirai says it has the same features and functions as the “old” PS3 but is 33 percent smaller, 36 percent lighter, and comes with a 120GB hard drive.

It’s unclear how Sony will sell the old 80GB PS3 at the same price as the new Slim, but we’ll have more details as they emerge. Until then, feel free to comment.

GamesCom may turn out to be one hell of an event: not only might we see the unveiling of the oft-rumored PS3 Slim – which should also be cheaper than the default PS3 model – but it seems the competition wants a piece of the action as well. You knew they would.

Everything is beginning to come to a boil, as summarized by GameSpot. Firstly, and perhaps in anticipation of the long-awaited price cut, the hot rumor is that Microsoft will meet Sony’s challenge by dropping $100 off the price of their 120GB Xbox 360 Elite model. This announcement should also come at GamesCom during MS’s press conference, which is scheduled for the day after Sony’s (August 18 and 19, respectively). Secondly, reports out of the UK say Sony will certainly confirm the European launch of the PS3 video store, although that announcement didn’t exactly take the limelight when it arrived during Sony’s E3 2008 presentation. So, what might take center-stage? Well, according to Hong Kong-based magazine GameWave, it’s the slimmer, cheaper PS3 model everyone – absolutely everyone – keeps talking about.

Now, it appears as if Sony has been increasing PS3 hardware orders overseas, and MCV says stock of the machine has actually “dried up” in the UK. An anonymous source was quoted as saying, “We’ve been told not to expect any further [PS3] hardware deliveries until September.” Lastly, we have the words of Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter, who offered the following to IndustryGamers:

“All of the rumors floating around suggest that a PS3 price cut and introduction of the PS3 Slim is going to happen by the end of the month, and GamesCom is the only significant event between now and then.

We have seen reports out of China about increased PS3 component orders, have seen pictures that look real of the PS3 Slim, and have seen recent reports of declining PS3 stock in Japan and Europe, with comments from retail that they have been told not to expect new supplies of PS3s until the end of August or early September. All of that points to the possibility of an announcement at GamesCom.”

Scarface: The World is Yours was a good, solid, open-world GTA-style title that Tony Montana fans should’ve appreciated. It had its fair share of flaws, but perhaps we’ll get a cleaner, sleeker, and deeper sequel…

According to BadAssGamerBlog, it seems we may be able to expect Scarface II at some point next year. The interesting part is that former developer Radical Entertainment doesn’t appear to be involved; the project must’ve passed to another designer. The supposed “inside source” in question stated the following:

“I like to stay close to the gaming community, and let you guys know what I find out around the place, it seems as though a new Scarface game will be hitting the marketplace sometime next year, but don’t hold me to this claim, you never know what can happen.”

That’s fine by us, but if the first game was true to the movie, how exactly would we have a sequel? We admit to not playing through the entire adventure before writing the review so now we wonder what happens at the end of the game…does Montana go down in a hail of bullets, like in the movie? If anyone out there completed Scarface: The World is Yours, please feel free to let us know what happened, and if there seemed to be any room for a sequel. We love us some “Scarface,” and we really do believe it could make for a great game on the new systems.