We have a wide variety to pick from this week, two Animes, a classic based on Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend and a psychological thriller. So anything for you this week?

* Paprika (Sony Pictures)
* The Omega Man (Warner Bros.)
* I Know Who Killed Me (Sony Pictures)
* Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (Bandai Visual)

Blu-ray.com

Has anyone noticed this? Some games are quiet while others are loud.

On the XMB, some of the audio accompanying the XMB thumbnail is overwhelmingly loud compared to the other audio that I get from my PS3. Worse is games like Heavenly Sword: it seemed that during cut scenes, the audio was barely audible, so I had to turn my speakers way up, then the game portion was deafening loud and I had to turn my speakers way back down.

BTW, aside from this volume annoyance, the audio quality in Heavenly Sword was unusually awesome. Music and effects sounded noticeably crisper than DVD movie audio (which is very good). I don’t know the technical “why” behind this: is the audio stored at a higher sampling rate? does it use lossless or less lossy compression? I only have four speakers, so it can’t be 7.1 separation. Regardless of that, I can clearly hear a difference.

While the delayed Fatal Inertia for the PS3 will benefit from the delay, it doesn’t look like the delay will help the PS3 port of The Orange Box any:

After spending a significant amount of time with a near final version of the PS3 game, it’s apparent that this version suffers from a number of technical flaws, which at best merely hinder game play and at worst make the experience downright unplayable. Framerate is a consistent issue throughout the Half-Life series of games included in The Orange Box. One moment you’ll be cruising through the game at 30 frames per second and the next you’ll be enjoying a slideshow of series protagonist Gordon Freeman cruising down the river. However, Portal suffers from no such technical hiccups and is on its way to being a pitch-perfect port of the spatial reasoning exercise. Due to a server connection issue, we were unable to get any time with Team Fortress 2.

Solution? Don’t buy the game. I was really looking forward to Team Fortress 2, but if it has the same issues that Half-Life has, I’m not buying.

Half-Life 2: Orange Box PS3 Preview, Half-Life 2: Orange Box Playstation 3 Preview

Here, in an interview with Steve Foster of SCEE, and Lana-Jane Pike from local distributor Ster-Kinekor Games in South Afrika, we find some interesting discussion of a new controller for the PS2:

GN: Did the continued popularity of the PlayStation 2 over the PlayStation 3 catch Sony a little bit unawares? In other words, wasn’t the original intent for the PlayStation 3 to replace the PlayStation 2 user base?

SF: No… I mean, ultimately yes, but short term, no. The people you’re aiming at are quite different. I mean, someone who would be looking to buy a PlayStation 2 right now would not be looking to buy a PlayStation 3. He may do it in a dream kind of way, but not in a reality kind of way.

So the communities are very different that you’re targeting. So yes, PlayStation 3 will ultimately replace PlayStation 2 but the fascinating thing about working in markets like South Africa is you’ve got such a diverse public with people at different stages of life and capabilities of buying different technologies depending on where they live. This leaves for a very vibrant market that will continue to grow on PlayStation 2 and PSP and PS3 and there’s room for all of them. So yeah, we look on PlayStation 2 as a replacement for Wii, not for PlayStation 3. (Smiles)

GN: You’ll have to do something about the controller then.

SF: (Laughs)

LJP: Well if you look at the EyeToy, you’re using yourself as a controller. There is no controller, what better controller than that? You’re hitting stuff out of the air.

SF: And of course on PlayStation 2 we are introducing next year a wireless PlayStation 2 controller. A first party one that will have Bluetooth, so it’s going to be as good a quality as the PS3 one.

GN: Will it also include the SIXAXIS technology?

SF: It’s not six, it’s going to be four — FOURAXIS.

GN: And rumble?

SF: Can’t remember, off-hand.

A Bluetooth FOURAXIS controller for the PS2? Sounds mighty interesting… (And by Bluetooth, I assume they’ll use a USB Bluetooth dongle. But who knows?)

I assume they’ll remove two of the lateral movements to bring the degrees of movement down from six to four. But I’m just guessing. I don’t know why they bother, unless it’s to differentiate the PS3 from the PS2.

games.iafrica.com | features

To Summarize the issue:

• Someone made a offensive comic picturing Jade Raymond in sexual acts.
• A link to the comic was posted on the humor site, somethingawful.com
• Ubisoft threatened to sue somethingawful.com
• somethingawful.com posted the threat and basically told the lawyers to piss off.
• The Internet explodes with outrage at the treatment of Jade Raymond and laughter at the response of somethingawful.com.

What’s your opinion? Is Jade Raymond being treated unfairly? Should legal action be involved? Was the comic inappropriate? Should gaming sites cover this kind of petty drama?

Now this isn’t the full PlayStation Store that’s on the PS3, it’s mainly for the PSP. But you can download PS1 games, PSP demos, videos, etc. from the site for play on the PSP. Just choose your region and login and your set. There is some software you’ll need to download in order to transfer the files downloaded from the site to your PSP. You can even add funds to your wallet from this site, view your download list, change your account info, etc. Check it out!

PlayStation Store

I haven’t found the full list of what is available but we are getting 2 PlayStation Eye games today. Good thing I got a PlayStation Eye last week I hope Tori Emaki comes out soon. That looks great!

I’ll update this when I get more info about the PlayStation Store update today.

Operation: Creature Feature

In Operation: Creature Feature, you control tiny creatures from another dimension through the motion of your hands. Help them navigate obstacles through earth, water, fire and ice to escape from captivity. The more you save, the happier these creatures will be. They’re completely attracted to motion so watch out for other objects blocking you through the mazes. Be sure to check it out on the PS Store and download it for $4.99.

Aquatopia

Have you ever wanted an aquarium but didn’t want the hassle of cleaning the tank? Well show off the awesome power of your HD display with Aquatopia. Now, using your PS3 combined with the PSEye, you can have a virtual tank with both salt and freshwater fish. It’s virtual, so mix and match all you want. Remember when they said don’t tap on the glass? Well, feel free to with this tank. The action your PSEye captures will interact with the fish. You can even feed them by dabbing your hands in the top of the water. Get it from the PS Store for $1.99

[Update]

In addition to the new content in today’s Store update, we’re also running a Thanksgiving special on 4 PLAYSTATION Network titles: Calling All Cars, fl0w, Pixel Junk Racers and Everyday Shooter are reduced to $4.99 each until November 29th. You’ll also notice that we’ve updated the thumbnails on the Store. Take a look!

Demos

MX vs. ATV Demo
File size: 714 MB

Add-on Game Content

flOw DL Pack ($2.99)
The flOw Expansion Pack enhances the current flOw universe with an all-new campaign and playable creature. Added “Camera food” feature allows you to take screenshots of your creature and share with friends.
File size: 79.9 MB

Need for Speed ProStreet Collector’s Edition Upgrade ($9.99)
True automotive aficionados need look no further than this unparalleled package of dream cars and more. The Need for Speed:™ ProStreet Collector’s Edition features five exclusive cars: get the ’01 Acura Integra LS, ’05 Acura NSX, ’06 Lexus IS350, ’06 Audi RS4 and the ’06 Pontiac Solstice GXP to complete your ultimate car collection. In addition, extend your racing experience with four additional career race days.
File size: 100 KB

Rock Band
Customize your Rock Band experience by purchasing these playable Rock Band tracks. Please note: you need to actually own Rock Band in order to play these tracks:

• 3’s and7’s – Queens of the Stone Age ($1.99)
• Little Sister - Queens of the Stone Age ($1.99)
• Sick Sick Sick - Queens of the Stone Age ($1.99)
• Queens of the Stone Age Track Pack 01 ($5.49)
• And Justice for All – Metallica ($1.99)
• Blackened – Metallica ($1.99)
• Ride the Lightning – Metallica ($1.99)
• Metallica Track Pack 01 ($5.49)
• Can’t Stand Losing You - The Police ($1.99)
• Roxanne - The Police ($1.99)
• Synchronicity II - The Police ($1.99)
• The Police Track Pack 01 ($5.49)
• Cherry Bomb – The Runaways ($1.99)
• Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival ($1.99)
• Joker and the Thief – Wolfmother ($1.99)
• Juke Box Hero – Foreigner ($1.99)
• My Sharona – The Knack ($1.99)
• Bang a gong - T. Rex ($1.99)

File sizes: 14.1 MB-58.9 MB (singles), 72 MB-141 MB (Track Packs).

Game Videos

Battlefield: Bad Company Trailer 2 (free)
File size: 117 MB (HD)

Snakeball trailer (free)
File size: 93 MB (HD)

Ratchet & Clank Future: ToD – BTS Design (free)
File size: 262 MB (HD)

Ratchet & Clank Future: ToD – BTS Story (free)
File size: 262 MB (HD)

Movie and Blu-ray Disc Trailers

Superbad BD Trailer (free)
File size: 147 MB (1080)

New PLAYSTATION Eye Games Available Today

This is a movie that is PERFECT for Blu-ray! Sure it’s already out on DVD, UMD, and a DVD Collector’s Edition. But this is different this is Blu-ray, Full 1080p glory, and it is exclusive as well. It also has an extra scene where Sephiroth stabs Cloud on his sword and lifts him into the air And other extra scenes

I can’t wait to watch this again in HD. According to the website below it’s out in Japan on November 30th, 2007. Since Japan and North America are in the same Blu-ray region you can import. But question is will it have English subtitles? I hate the English voice overs they did. And for those that don’t like to import when will this be released in North America? Hopefully before the holidays ….

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Complete Release Date Announced?