Archive for February, 2011
Sony’s New Ad Slogan?
Posted by Jay in Commercials, QuickNews, Software on February 24th, 2011
As you know, the Kevin Butler ads usually ran off of the “It Only Does Everything” slogan. According to PSXExtreme, the company will be using a new, more generic slogan, “Only on PlayStation”. The move was to take focus away from hardware and put it on the software. There doesn’t seem to be any plans to remove Kevin Butler from the ads at least.
Killzone 3 Sharp Shooter Impressions
Posted by Darrin in Accessories, Killzone 3 on February 24th, 2011
Immersion
The core move, aim & shoot game mechanics are much more immersive with a light gun that you actually aim rather than thumb sticks and buttons. It’s a different play experience that is worth trying. The ergonomics are excellent and the nav controller movement is very intuitive.
Learning Curve
I won’t lie; this is way harder than using a traditional dualshock. When I transitioned my FPS input style of choice from keyboard-only to mouse-look and again to dualshock, I went through long learning curves. It’s possible that I will grow accustomed to this over time but I’m skeptical that I will ever reach my full dualshock level of proficiency.
With limited proficiency, this isn’t a viable option for competitive multiplayer where you will get butchered by dualshock players, but for single player gameplay, this is a ton of fun.
Major Flaw
The huge limitation to this control system is how you turn your character. As it is now, to turn your character, you move the aiming reticle to the edge of the screen to start the turn, hold the aiming reticle steady until you turn as far as you want, and then move your aiming reticule back to center to stop turning. This is very hard to coordinate and completely unnatural. I frequently find my character spinning around while I frantically search for that center, “stop turning” position.
The Ultimate Solution
In a perfect world, the ideal control would have your character turn one-to-one with your real body turns, and stop turning when you stop turning. Ultimately, that can’t happen until gaming hardware moves away from the traditional free-standing TV display form factor and adopts wearable video video glasses that track your head’s orientation and delivers camera control that works just like your body’s natural camera control.
To long time blog readers, I’m sorry for harping on this again, but honestly, this feature is worthy of repeat mention. This single feature would deliver the next level in 3D environment immersion.
Additionally, if anything demands a unique platform and special input hardware, it is this. Who cares about DS-style dual screens and NGP-style back plate touch control silliness, when you can have a genuinely transformative input paradigm?
Socom 4 Co-op Declassified
This is sounding like a ton of fun. Chris Roper // Community Specialist, Zipper Interactive had this to say about the co-op experience in Socom 4.
Another Quality FooBear408 Liveblog Event! | Engadget Meetup
Posted by FooBear408 in Community, Live Blog, QuickNews on February 24th, 2011
Greetings loyal FooBear408 minions! Looks like another liveblog this Friday will be taking place in my neck of the woods: San Francisco.
The event hailed as the “Engadget Meetup” is being hosted in fog city this time (the event was in NYC last year) and the list of guests is quite impressive. Everyone from PlayStation to OnLive is going to be there, and, of course, yours truly, will be there rubbing elbows and kissing babies. Autographs after my work is done though, Tosh really seems to get out the proverbial liveblog whip…
Killzone 3: Visuals and Tech Impressions
Posted by Darrin in Killzone 3 on February 24th, 2011
Art Style
Guerilla Games definitely has some high end art talent. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such stylish gas masks, hooded sniper cloaks, or helghast captain costumes. (On the downside, why do the ISA look so generic?)
Secondly, Guerilla must employ the top technical effects wizards; every scene is saturated with the most absurdly gratuitous use of mesmerizingly awesome particle and lighting effects: swirling fogs, floating embers, and exotic lighting make every scene visually addicting to watch.
Stereo 3D
I’ve seen a handful of 3D games already, so the core effect has lots its shock novelty. But combine that with the dramatic visuals and particle effects mentioned above along with the expert application of 3D to HUD elements and scoped weapon use, and the result is mind meltingly awesome.
During this console generation we’ve seen a lot of visual improvements; the move to HD, a twenty-fold increase in geometric detail and texture and shader quality, etc, but I think this tops my list of eye popping moments.
(Next up: Sharp Shooter Control Impressions)
Crysis 2 Gameplay on PS3 with a “Demo Coming Soon” Announced
“Watch Alcatraz clash with the alien invasion in the second installment of The Crysis 2 Experience “Semper Fi”. Continuing the tradition of raw, unfiltered gameplay, this footage captured on the PlayStation 3 shows a snippet from the singleplayer level “Semper Fi or Die”.
The end of this gameplay footage teases at a Multiplayer PS3 Demo coming soon. The game is set to release on March 22nd in the US, and a PC demo on March 1st, so I expect the Demo will release within the next couple weeks for the PSN.
Unreal Engine 3 is Now Available to be Licensed by Developers for the NGP
Posted by Oly in PlayStation Vita, PS3 on February 24th, 2011
We’ve seen this video reveal of the Unreal 3 Engine at the Tokyo Press Conference last month, but Epic released a Press release today about it.
Epic Games, has officially announced that the Unreal Engine 3 may now be licensed by other developers for the NGP (next generation portable entertainment system), or as some of us still call it, the PSP2. The best part of their press release is that “multiple UE3 licensees are already working with NGP, some of which have indicated they intend to release their games for the platform’s launch.”
Epic Games’ founder Tim Sweeney said, “We see NGP as a true game-changer with a perfect combination of performance, innovative controls and gamer appeal that make it truly a high-end console in your pocket.”
Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 Available for the Next Generation Portable Entertainment System from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
CARY, N.C. – February 24, 2011 – Epic Games, Inc. announces Unreal Engine 3 support for the next generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP) from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE). Developers may now license Epic’s award-winning engine technology for NGP.
Epic Games’ founder Tim Sweeney presented a real-time preview of a large, outdoor environment running on NGP at PlayStation®Meeting 2011 last month in Tokyo, demonstrating a sweeping panorama full of particle systems, animating characters and atmospheric lighting effects.
“We were very proud to be onstage with SCE to give the world just a taste of what Unreal Engine 3 can do on NGP,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “NGP raises the bar for the performance of handheld platforms with its multi-core GPU and shader-based, multi-core CPU. This makes Unreal Engine 3 a particularly advantageous fit for NGP. Furthermore, multiple UE3 licensees are already working with NGP, some of which have indicated they intend to release their games for the platform’s launch.”
“We see NGP as a true game-changer with a perfect combination of performance, innovative controls and gamer appeal that make it truly a high-end console in your pocket,” said Sweeney.
For more information, visit www.epicgames.com/technology.
About Unreal Engine 3
The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed toolset and scalability across platforms. Unreal Engine 3′s highly mature toolset and content pipeline consistently evolve along with its advanced mobile features, multi-core processor support, optimizations for iOS, Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 and massive world support. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations and digital films and television shows. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained through the Unreal Technology website at www.unrealtechnology.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its “Unreal” series, including “Unreal Tournament 3″ for PC, PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. Epic’s “Gears of War” franchise has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and won more than 50 Game of the Year awards. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 is the five-time winner of and Hall of Fame inductee for Game Developer magazine’s Best Engine Front Line Award. Unreal Engine 3 has also held the Develop Industry Excellence Award in its category for the past three years. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through the Epic Games website at www.epicgames.com.
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Unreal, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Orcs Must Die! Unveiled
Posted by Jay in Media, Orcs Must Die! on February 24th, 2011
Earlier today, Robot Entertainment has officially unveiled their upcoming first original IP, Orcs Must Die! I can’t delve too deep into information on this title until tomorrow morning, but I will say they are aiming for a summer release as a downloadable title. Enjoy the trailer!
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