Archive for January, 2007
Final Fantasy XIII: Active Time Battle
Posted by Tosh in F, PS3 software, ZGame Profiles on January 31st, 2007
Looks like when Square Enix said they wanted Advent Children type action in Final Fantasy XIII they meant it. Here is quote from the interview 1UP had with Toriyama about the game.
The foundation (of the new battle system) is based on active-time battles (ATB), but the waiting time until you choose a command is gone for the most part.”
Toriyama also confirms: every summon will be part mecha, and will have “an expanded role”.
For example Shiva can also become a motorcycle and you might be able to ride it in battle. This sounds very interesting. I can’t wait to see the demo 
Saints Row Confirmed for PS3
Posted by Gary in PS3 software, S on January 31st, 2007
THQ have today confirmed that Saints Row is coming to the PS3 this Spring. This is what Kelly Flock, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Publishing at THQ had to say about Saints Row for the PS3:
Saints Row has established itself as one of the most successful original properties in next generation gaming, and we’re excited to bring the groundbreaking experience to PLAYSTATION 3 system fans worldwide. Bringing the open-world genre to the PLAYSTATION 3 system for the first time will help grow the Saints Row fan base and expand the open-world online community.
Whether this GTA clone can fill the void for PS3 owners until the real thing (GTA IV) arrives later this year is up for debate. A trend does seem to be forming with this current gen, as more and more 3rd party titles are going multiplatform. How many 3rd party games will remain ‘exclusive’ to the PS3 or 360 this gen? More and more games that people thought were ‘exclusive’ to one system are turning out to be nothing more than ‘timed exclusives’ and then being ported to the other system with some added bells and whistles a few months down the line.
Anybody played Saints Row on the 360? Is it right to label it as a GTA clone, or is that doing the game an injustice and is it any fun to play? If it’s cheap on the PS3 then I may consider it but I won’t pay £40 or £50 for it.
SIXAXIS Rumble via SplitFish?
Posted by Blackstaffer in Talk on January 31st, 2007
So the biggest thing about the PS3 controller is that it now has tilt functionality. The PS3 can detect when you move or rotate the controller, in 3 axes each. The second-biggest thing about the PS3 controller is that it does not have rumble. And people have been talking about it ever since. Yadda rumble this, yadda rumble that.
Some of the talk is about Immersion and whether or not Sony would settle their suit with them so that they could use rumble.
But now SplitFish says that they’d be able to supply Sony with rumble for their controller without trespassing on Immersion’s patents. So now the ball is in Sony’s court – will they or won’t they? Somehow I doubt it.
65nm CELL Production Started?
Posted by Blackstaffer in PS3 on January 31st, 2007
PlayStation Universe says that production of 65nm Cell chips has already begun. This is significant because these chips are cheaper to produce than previous chips, thus allowing Sony to save some money on PS3 production. Also, the chips run cooler, so the fans won’t have to be so noisy. I know people say how quiet the PS3 is, but it’s not quiet enough for movie watching.
I wonder how long it’ll be before Sony will actually start using these chips. Assuming, of course, that PlayStation Universe has it right.
MotorStorm ‘Behind the Scenes’ Video
Posted by Blackstaffer in M, PS3 software on January 31st, 2007
There’s a nice little video about the making of MotorStorm now available. They mention things like helicopters, cameras, realism, and the like.
So if you’re interested in that sort of thing, follow the link below.
Watching this video, however, got me to thinking how they’ll top this game. I assume, of course, that a sequel will be coming. Will they do a similar theme, but in a new location? I would have thought a desert theme would be boring, but they seem to have done a good job of it. So maybe an ice-themed game? What about jungle? Or how about a go-back-to-Roman-time theme? Hmmm. The possibilities are endless.
PS3 Steering Wheel Force Feedback Works!
I just got Need for Speed: Carbon for the PS3. I put in the disc, booted up the game, selected “Quick Race”, and started playing with my Driving Force Pro. What did I notice?
Force Feedback!
Both the jarring rumble when you crash and the more subtle pulls on the wheel when you start to lose traction with the road. This is with a plain US PS3 and a plain US copy of NFS: Carbon. No special tricks or settings are required for this at all. And this isn’t me quoting someone else, or reading into something. I felt this with my own two hands.
Remember, earlier this month, when waves of web sites reported that the PS3 was uncapable of doing force feedback, even with third party steering wheels? Apparently, testing this out wasn’t hard at all, and this rumor is completely, 100%, categorically untrue.
Of course, none of those sites posted updates or tried to correct this error. Even today, you can Google “ps3 steering wheel force feedback” (no quotes in actual query string) and get links like this, all claiming that this is impossible and even officially confirmed as such by Sony themselves:
Ars Technica
Playfeed
Kotaku
1UP.com
Gizmodo
Joystiq
Destructoid
Netscape Games
Embarrassingly, even this blog reported on this story:
PS3Blog.net – PS3 doesn’t support force feedback
However, we did update this rather quickly.
UPDATE: Many people say Ridge Racer 7 also supports force feedback (I couldn’t test myself). The free GT:HD doesn’t support force feedback.
Other very minor changes.
Global PS3 Prices
Posted by Blackstaffer in PS3 on January 30th, 2007
Just out of curiosity, I decided to convert what the 60GB PS3 goes for in several territories into a baseline currency – the USD. So here it goes:
US: $599
Canada: $556
Europe: $776 (including VAT)
UK: $834 (including VAT)
Japan: $515 (based on 62790Yen)
So it’s obvious from the list above why Best Buy and Future Shop (Future Shop is owned by Best Buy) have raised the price of the console to $699Cdn ($592US). Us Canadians were getting a break on PS3 pricing, and some people decided they could make more money.
It’s also obvious that Sony’s really milking Europeans for every dollar and dime they can get. What is it about Europe anyway? Microsoft has high prices there for their Xbox 360 console there as well. ($517US for the Premium model in Europe, $549US in the UK.) If I were Gary and Tom, I’d be really ticked…
[Edited to say "including VAT" and to add Japanese price.]
GRAW 2 Dev Diary
Posted by Blackstaffer in G, PS3 software on January 30th, 2007
Here’s something cool. The GRAW 2 folks are making video developer diaries about the game, and the first one (link below) is pretty good. Although it was pretty funny to hear the translator talk about “motor” instead of [graphics] “engine”.
This first developer diary is quite interesting, and talks a lot about the graphical capabilities of the game.
One thing it talks about is ambient occlusion. Though the example they give isn’t very good at all, the fact that they’re putting ambient occlusion into games is pretty cool. Ambient occlusion creates very realistic lighting and shadows.
They also show off some of the cool smoke effects in the game. They look really nice.
And the last thing that really impressed me is light passing through objects, like leaves or cloth. It looks really cool, and will make a big difference in the game.
I’m looking forward to this game a lot, and I hope that it doesn’t get delayed any more than it already has.
Follow Us
Last 5 Comments