Archive for December, 2006
New Mercenaries 2 Info
Posted by Gary in M, PS3 software on December 22nd, 2006
1up.com reports that the latest issue of OPM has some new info about Mercenaries 2, which happens to be the sequel to one of the few games that managed to give the same freedom and enjoyment as GTA but set in a war zone.
If you thought the previous WMD that were just a button press away (if you had the cash of course) were devastating, wait until you call in a MOAB (which apparantley stands for “Massive Ordnance Air Blast”. Here is a real test drop of a MOAB. You’d better make sure you’re nowhere near the impact zone then…
Another new aspect to the gameplay in Mercs 2 is the ability to rescue civilians who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and capture hostiles up to no good, with a cash reward for those who don’t do good deeds unless their bank balance is given a boost.
As mentioned before by Pandemic, fuel plays a major role with you needing to make sure you have enough fuel supplies stocked up to call in those precious air strikes. Presumably to counter this, Pirates will feature in the game. I doubt they mean pirates like Jack Sparrow but they will be up to no good all the same, probably hijacking any decent vehicles you’ve obtained or overthrowing any fuel depots you’ve captured.
It’s also great to know that there will apparantley be no fogging in the game to mask the draw distance, meaning you can see for miles. Woot! I love nice graphics and one of my big hopes for the next-gen was to do away with visible draw distance & fogging so if this is true I’ll be one happy owner of Mercs 2.
Check out the official Mercs 2 website here for a sneak peak at what the game looks like in motion and I recommend you click on the vehicles part of the site to see some of the vehicles in action, if you’ve missed my previous posts ages ago.
I’m Going to Buy a 360!!!
Well, that’s what I should do because the PS3 is doomed after it lost Virtua Fighter 5 from being a ‘full’ exclusive to just a timed exclusive, with it also appearing on the 360 sometime summer 2007 after PS3 owners get it Feb/March 2007.
This follows Fatal Inertia, Bladestorm and apparantley Armoured Core 4 (if I remember correctly) going multi-platform. So I’ve decided that I no longer want a PS3 due to the aforementioned massive franchises now being available on the 360, possibly after they appear on the PS3 first. Oh yeah, they are still coming to the PS3 in-case that bit of info got lost somewhere on the way.
OK so I’m not actually going to get a 360, but I’m annoyed by people over-exaggerating how much these titles will damage the PS3 & Sony now that they are no longer exclusives to the PS3.
The Bigger Picture
Look at the bigger picture for a moment. The ‘big’ 3rd party franchises that are ‘exclusives’ (for the moment anyway 
) are a big reason why I’m waiting for a PS3. Games like DMC4, MGS4, FFXIII and Lair are important to me but they aren’t the only reasons why I’m waiting for a PS3 rather than going out and buying a 360 or Wii (don’t get me started on the Wii!).
I simply believe the PS3 offers better value for money than both the 360 and Wii. If you pay the top price $600 for the 60GB PS3 you get the 60GB HDD, WiFi connectivity, Bluetooth connectivity, 4 USB slots, HDMI output and a Blu-ray player (important because PS3 games come on BD never-mind the fact you can watch BD movies without buying an add on) and you can plug in MemoryStick/SD/CompactFlash. All for $599 and without buying add-ons or paying extra just to have these options.
If you don’t want some of the above features and think $599 is too much then you can go for the $499 20GB PS3 which is the same as the above but with a 20GB HDD, no WiFi and no MemoryStick/SD/CompactFlash slots. But nobody seems to take the 20GB PS3′s existence into consideration when they whine about the PS3′s price and compare it with the Wii/360. The 20GB PS3 is still better value for money over both rival consoles.
Your Inner Voice
Anyway, my point is that although 3rd party exclusives are important, they shouldn’t be the sole reason why you want to own a console. This generation will see more 3rd party games going multi-platform than the previous gen simply because more money can be made going that route. Also, take into consideration 3rd party ‘exclusives’, 1st party titles, value for money and what you get in the box, and make the decision with your head as to what your console of choice is going to be, not based on peer pressure or negative media spin.
Sony, for me, still has the best selection of 3rd and 1st party titles in development, regardless of the fact some of the former are no longer exclusives to the PS3. Add in the value for money side of things and no matter which games become multi-platform, I’ll still be getting a PS3 at the first possible opportunity.
Is the PS3 doomed to failure? Hell no! It may not be the overwhelming success that the PS2 was but there’s no doubt I will have countless hours of gaming fun with the 5KG black box sitting next to my TV and that is the most important bit of all.
Resident Evil 5 Lands Sometime 2008
Posted by Gary in PS3 software, R on December 22nd, 2006
Very little is known about Resident Evil 5, in fact I don’t think anything that’s been hinted at, has even been officially confirmed by Capcom but Producer Jun Takeuchi has spilled a lit bit of info via gamefront.de, reported by QJ.net, about one of my most anticipated games for the PS3 (also available for the 360).
Firstly he says the game might not be released until 2008. January 1st 2008 or December 31st 2008? I can live with the former…
Capcom is aiming to have the game running at a super smooth 60fps, and with the new game engine they are using, they’re aiming to have realistic facial expressions and animations. Special attention is being paid to the character’s hair, with each individual strand being realistically built from root to tip. I bet the undead will never look so good. That’s if there are even zombies in Resi 5.
You will be able to interact with the environments on a far grander scale than any of the previous Resi games. I don’t know if this means more QTE that appeared in Resi 4 or if you can use the surroundings to your advantage to help in your battle against the zombie (hopefully) scum. It probably means both.
Lastly, the temperature will effect the way your character is able to navigate his surroundings, with both extreme hot and cold temperatures effecting the gameplay. I can guess that if you’re in a cold environment your aim will be shaky as you shiver due to the cold or in a hot environment your weapon could overheat, resulting in the dead man’s click of your weapon jamming. Maybe..
I want this game bad, real bad but I will have other games to keep me occupied throughout 2007 so the wait should be manageable.
More PS3 Call of Duty 3 Maps? Or just X360?
Posted by Blackstaffer in C, PS3 software on December 21st, 2006
Totally360.com is reporting that there are two map packs coming out for the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 3 in the new year. I found the press release at GamePress.com, but it says nothing at all about the PS3. And why isn’t the press release on activision.com?
One map pack is free: “Champs”. It only has one maps and lets you play in Port Royal de Champs, France. It seems to be a medium sized map.
The second map pack costs 800 Xbox points, and is called “Valor”. It has five all new France-based maps to battle in.
If anybody knows whether or not these map packs are coming to the PS3, I’d love to know!
Army of Two Uses SIXAXIS Tilt
Posted by Gary in A, PS3 software on December 21st, 2006
Yep, you’re probably in shock at the above title but it looks as if it’s true. Being a little more serious for a minute, not many of the PS3 launch games have apparently utilised the SIXAXIS tilt control to good effect but it looks like EA Montreal has a couple of ideas for tilt use in it’s forthcoming co-op shooter.
C&VG.com reports that PSM has a couple of snippets of info about Army of Two and especially if you have obtained a mortar. Apparently, one character (either AI or human) can shoot a probe into the sky giving you a great view of the territory below, then by using the tilt controls you can aim where you want the mortar to hit.
You can also use tilt to steady a sniper scope’s view. Let’s just hope your blood sugar levels don’t drop at the wrong time.
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