* Shinobi: Special Edition (FUNimation Entertainment)
* Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (20th Century Fox)
* Untraceable (Sony Pictures)
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (20th Century Fox)
* Mrs. Doubtfire (20th Century Fox)
* Youth Without Youth (Sony Pictures)
* Blue Man Group: How to Be a Megastar Live! (Rhino Music)
* Epic Conditions: The Weather Channel (Warren Miller Entertainment)
* The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Disney)

Blu-ray.com

Tags: PS3, PLAYSTATION 3, Blu-ray, movies

What I really want to see is a Bleach game for PS3

Tags: PS3, PLAYSTATION 3, DragonBall, Z:, Burst, Limit, Video

In a recent interview, Harmonix (developers behind Rock Band, Guitar Hero 1+2, and Frequency + Amplitude) explained their intentions:

We would like to make it possible for people to introduce their own music into sort of the Rock Band ecosystem, which is a pretty complicated topic. It isn’t easy to achieve - there are IP issues, ratings issues, and so forth. So there are a lot of things to work through to get that to work, but that seems like a natural direction for the franchise to move. We’d love to have it be a vehicle for people to be able to express themselves in terms of creating their own music and bringing it to a wider audience.

We also think there is a lot of potential for personal self-expression within the constraints of the game. Right now, the game does a really good job in bonding players together. That emotional feeling you get if you are in a band and you are succeeding is really powerful and we’re very pleased that it worked as well as it did.

But we think there is a lot more potential for personal self-expression within that envelope. You can see just little bits and pieces of it - there are drum fills, rock endings. There are ways for people to play distinctive roles and express themselves, but only a tiny fraction of the overall experience. We see a lot of potential for expanding that.

There are two ways to look at the genre:

#1 - Music is a powerful means of creative self-expression. the music/rhythm video game genre can aim to democratize this power to regular people.

It sounds like this is what the Harmonix guys are aiming for. That’s a grand and noble goal.

#2 - Music/rhythm games aren’t about self-expression at all. They are about mastering the dexterity of mimicking a technical pattern with a special controller or your feet. The games completely remove the element of creative self-expression and that’s precisely why they are so popular. It isn’t just the difficulty of playing an instrument that stops regular people from playing music, it’s the fundamental fact that the world doesn’t want to hear about the deep emotions or creative expression of ordinary people. And most ordinary people know their place well enough that they avoid composing and performing music.

I’ve gone to several social functions or family gatherings where a good game of Guitar Hero was enjoyed. The odd thing was that there were very highly trained musicians in the room, but it would have been wildly inappropriate for them to perform live music, yet playing the music game was completely acceptable. A genuine music performance would have been socially invasive. It’s just too much of that person’s personality and emotions. The music game works at a party because it’s more like a game of darts or pool.

There is room to expand the dexterity elements of the genre. Two obvious improvements are new instruments like pianos and supporting real MIDI instruments in addition to toy replicas.

So what do you think? Does the future of the music/rhythm genre lie with personal expression or simply as improved games of technical dexterity?

Looks somewhat like Lemmings. What do you think?

Since that video at 2005’s E3, Guerilla’s Killzone 2 has earned itself – for better and for worse – a reputation as a flagship title for Sony’s PlayStation 3 and the console’s ability to usher in a new generation of fully immersive digital entertainment.

But why is this considered such a flagship franchise? Does it have a reputable developer, were early Killzone titles particularly loved, or does this title hint at to do something really new and exciting? No. None of the above.

The first Killzone had some strong points and it wasn’t terrible, but almost no one would rank that among the top PS2 games. So far, Killzone 2 looks like another me-too entry in the overcrowded shooter genre. It does exactly what all 3D shooters are doing today: amazing graphics and technology, lots of shooting, an elaborate cover system, a variety of internet multiplayer modes, etc.

The game does look good, in an amazing-graphics, big-budget, big-event sort of way, and I suspect I’ll buy it, but this is relatively low on my overall anticipation list. In the shooter genre, Resistance 2 seems like it has much better ideas for delivering something new and fun. Specifically, the party-style grouping dynamics sound like a genuine evolution to the genre.

The Killzone teaser video at the 2005 E3 generated tons of controversy. But the controversy and attention seemed to be centered around platform wars politics rather than actual interest in the game.

So, is there something that I’m missing? Will this title really do something beyond just being a bigger, better, flashier version of the swarm of shooters that we have today? Does this title really deserve a reputation as a flagship franchise?

How am I sure that Psychonauts is terrible? I bought into the early hype and bought two copies as gifts for two separate groups of children in my family. None of the kids liked it. I’ve met tons of kids who love GTA, Halo, World of Warcraft, Wii games, or portable stuff. Those are what younger people play today. Even those who play platformers love Mario, Ratchet, Jak, and Sly, but I’ve never even heard of single younger gamer who enjoyed Psychonauts.

When I was a kid, everyone played adventure games like Sierra’s King’s Quest. Tim Schafer’s Monkey Island series and Day of the Tentacle were very popular favorites and I loved them and have great memories of them. But that was then and this is now. Kids don’t play those kinds of games any more.

Psychonauts has become like the Classical Music of video games. When I was young I remember hearing adult’s bemoan, “Why can’t kids play [what I did when I was young] and listen to [music I listened to a long time ago] instead of doing [whatever kids do today] and listen to [popular style of current music]”. Now the same kind of crusty, cranky, irrelevant attitude has come to games.

What’s worse is that, I’m someone who played and adored the LucasArts games like Monkey Island as a kid. If anyone should be prone to reminisce about a gaming era gone by, it should be me. But even I thought Psychonauts was terrible. It isn’t even nearly as good as the Ratchet & Clank’s and Super Marios of today, the quirky writing and art style was too forced and self-infatuated, and the game would have been completely ignored if not for the developer’s biography and a wave of bitter old-timer attitude.

vgchartz bemoaning the high praise of GTA and the low sales of Psychonauts
Popular reviewer, Yahtzee, nags everyone to play Psychonauts

I’m not able to embed the movie here. But you can grab it here. It’s available in HD too. But there is no audio from the game.

Tags: PS3, PLAYSTATION 3, Killzone, 2, Gameplay

Tags: PS3, PLAYSTATION 3, Resistance, 2, Gameplay

When asked about the PS3 version, Valve’s Doug Lombardi said:

“We’re not PS3 developers - we’re doing PC and 360 like with Orange Box. EA came to us and said ‘Wow, Orange box was an incredible project, can we do a PS3 version?’”

“If Left 4 Dead is big, then we may see a PS3 version later, or if and when we do a sequel, people may be more interested in that.”

OK, we get it. Valve hates the PS3 and doesn’t want to work with it. At least this time their public statements have a thin veneer of business rationale on top of their hatred.

What’s strange to me is that so many assume that developers are logical and choose their projects and target platforms for purely financial reasons and sales figures and market share percentages. If so, all developers would be developing for the exact same platform.

Remember not too long ago, Valve’s Gabe Newell, said that the PS3 was “a waste of everyone’s time” and:

“Investing in the Cell, investing in the SPE gives you no long-term benefits. There’s nothing there that you’re going to apply to anything else. You’re not going to gain anything except a hatred of the architecture they’ve created. I don’t think they’re going to make money off their box. I don’t think it’s a good solution.”

Which do you think: Cool, calm, strictly business decision making? Or hyper-opinionated developer?

I don’t know why this game has been so thoroughly panned in the press. Steve and I played this game co-operatively, and we had a blast. Sure, it has a few problems here and there, but nothing bad enough to spoil the game.

I played the ranger (or whatever she’s called) and Steve played the wizard. It was a lot of fun doing combos, and the good spells were a lot of fun. They could have had more of those, however. The special effects were fun to watch, the baddies were fun to kill, and most of the levels were fun to traverse.

All in all I’m quite satisfied with the game, but now I’m done. Anybody in Ottawa want to buy it from me?

Tags: Sony, PS3, PLAYSTATION 3, Untold Legends Dark Kingdom