PS3 | Procrastinating in the Heat

Posts Tagged ‘ PS3 ’

What can a little flower do?

From the same studio that brought “flow” into the PS3, this time they are about to bring “flower” as well. If flow brought you under the sea, flower will bring you the wind as you use the sixaxis to navigate from flower to flower collecting petals along the way. If you’re good enough, maybe a little music.

It is sad that very few games on the PS3 take advantage of the sixaxis let alone the motion controls. Sure it’s no Wiimote but “flow” very much captured the principle of it. Heavenly Sword tried to but I can say that “flower” is a great game to use it on. I don’t think you can play it anywhere else.

Very much like “flow”, it’s a relaxing game. No enemies, nothing to shoot, you don’t die. It’s something to take the stress off everyday gaming or even from the world. It’s a casual game that has the ability to bring in hardcore gamers as well.

It’s on my list of highly anticipated games for 2009 and a definite must buy for any owner of the console. I’ll post a more detailed review when it comes out sometime in 2009. Hopefully.

Flower ‘Painting’ gameplay HD

2009: 01/10
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: PS3
PSN
sixaxis
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I’ll wait for the PS3 version

Ever since Square-Enix announced a few months ago that a number of titles were heading to the 360, a lot of RPG fans felt betrayed (this seems to be the word of the day). So games like Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, Star Ocean and Final Fantasy XIII will see the light of day on the 360 giving a much needed RPG boost to the American console.

But so far, it hasn’t been good to Square-Enix. Infinite Undiscovery just went from $59.99 to $19.99 in a matter of three months. Not a good sign if you are selling games. And now comes “The Last Remnant”.

Initial release for the 360 and eventually on the PS3 and the reviews aren’t exactly good.
The Last Remnant for the Xbox 360 from 1UP.com
The Last Remnant Review: Strategically Sound, Technically Flawed

In short, too many bad things to make this RPG even good. We’ll have to see what happens when Star Ocean comes out next year and FFXIII when it comes out. FFXIII has the distinction of being released first on the PS3 before being ported to the 360.

This is one game that I will wait on the PS3 and hope that they will fix all the technical issues plaguing the game.

2008: 11/28
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: 1up
Kotaku
PS3
RPG
Square-Enix
xbox
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More impressions on the PS Home Beta

I was finally able to finish downloading the other areas and walk around a bit. There’s quite a number of other areas to explore such as the mall, bowling alley, movie theater and of course the central area.

What I couldn’t figure out was that if Sony intended these to be default areas, then why not have included it in the original download in the first place. The areas can only be downloaded within Home and not through PSN. You can download the areas in background and still chat and walk around the area and interact with your surroundings but not much else. You can only dance so much alone in your house while waiting for the download to finish.

I’m hoping that these could be downloaded in the background and you can quit Home and go play something else instead of just leaving it on, sucking up power (yes, the PS3 is technically the most power hungry console among the 3) play another game and then log back in once PSN tells you that the download has been completed.

These aren’t the bugs yet, just the inconveniences. All the participants lack definition from afar. Meaning you won’t know who it is until you get pretty close. It’s very hard to notice if someone is trying to get your attention. Not to mention that everyone is wearing jeans and a t shirt doesn’t help telling people apart. It’s most probably my internet connection. But not everyone in the world has fiber running to their house at break neck speeds. Home needs a lot more background downloading. At this point it’s going to be another Second Life.

It’s still very early but it holds a lot of promise. If this were to become the new interface for the Playstation, Sony is on to something and could be one step closer to creating a totally a very unique gaming experience.

I would like the opportunity to launch games directly from Home.
I would like to invite my friends on Home to play online with me in games such as Little Big Planet.
I want my friends to visit my pad and see my stuff.
I want all my gaming trophies on display for my friends to be jealous of.
I want be able to buy stuff from the PSN store from Home and use in home.

The possibilities are endless. Sony is really on to something here. It may be have been a slow start for Sony in this generation but it’s definitely not out yet.

I’ll post the bugs when I see them and play a little longer.

Sony ‘TGS 2008 Press Conference’ 4/4

2008: 11/27
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: home
playstation
PS3
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LIttle Big Boo Boo

Little Big Planet Delayed Due to Quran Controversy

Finally a AAA exclusive title comes to the PS3 and it gets delayed. Apparently passages of the Koran were found in the lyrics of one of the songs in the game.

Gamers now have more time to pre-order the game. But those who have already pre-ordered it, chances are it may have already been shipped to you.

It’s sad in this day and age for game developers to overlook this. Sigh and another week of wait for me.

2008: 10/20
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: little big planet
PS3
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It’s wasn’t the hard drive

Xbox 360: Why The 360 Didn’t Ship With A HDD (And Why The PS3 Did)

This is some crazy marketing being done by Microsoft here and lame reasoning in my opinion. The original Xbox didn’t get clobbered in the market because it had a hard drive. There wasn’t just any reason to buy one then. Much in the same case as the PS3 is in now.

There were no real games (other than Halo) on the original Xbox that would make me buy one back then. The PS2 was such a juggernaut that all the games anyone wanted was on it. Developers were able to fit their games into the dual layer DVD discs that were norm back then.

Fast forward to today. Almost everyone ships with some form of internal memory. The Wii comes with something. The PS3 has it standard on all their consoles. But the Xbox ships it optional, and for what? To claim that they are cheaper than the Wii. Thinking that making it cheaper than the Wii will help them overtake Nintendo.

This is a dangerous claim by Microsoft since most of their current games require an internal drive of some sort to save their games. Before the consumer knows it, he would have racked up an additional $50 or even more just so he can play the games he wants. Shipping without a hard drive is a complete u-turn from the “center of the living room” campaign they are doing right now with the digital rentals, media center connection and the Netflix connectivity. You’re going to need that bigger proprietary hard drive that they are shipping. Developers are stating that they are reaching the limits of the Xbox. This is a console that is not really a next gen console. But the best of the last gen.

Apparently only a small percentage of gamers are really into the high definition gaming with all the bells and whistles that some games come in. But what is the Wii showing us, that people don’t need the HD support, or the DTS surround sound. What matters to gamers is the gameplay. It just so happens that it’s the casual gamers that are driving up the sales.

Did the previous gaming generation end too soon? It was such a runaway win for Sony with the PS2. Even now it still sells. Nintendo and Microsoft were so far behind that they had to come up with the Wii and the 360 in order to survive in the marketplace. And us gamers were just so happy to buy the next console that hit the stands.

Given the choice today I still would have purcahsed the elite instead of the cheapest version. Why? It’s like buying a PC. Buy the better version because before you know it, the geniuses behind the machine would have thought of doing something more with the machine. Such as those Netflix rentals.

2008: 09/18
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: PS3
rants
Sony
Wii
xbox
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Nothing to see here, move along

PlayStation.Blog » PS3 Firmware update (v2.43)

Unless you’re in Japan you don’t need the 2.43 PS3 firmware update. According to the Playstation Blog, “It will not cause any issues with your system or add any new functionality.”

I think I should leave my PS3 at 2.41 as it is.

2008: 09/17
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: PS3
PSN
Sony
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Have you unlocked any PS3 trophies yet?

Sony released the update to include trophy support on the PS3 in July. The award system which is very much similar to the achievements on the Xbox requires a patch from the game developer to support trophies in their game. Uncharted was one of the few games that have a trophy system in the game but it has yet to be unlocked.

Not all new games being released will have this function, and for those who were thinking of just downloading the save game and loading it up as if it was your own save doesn’t work.

So this begs the question, does anyone care about Sony’s trophies?

Fallout 3: No PS3 Trophies For Fallout 3

PS3Trophies.org – PS3 Trophies – How They Will Work

Playstation 3: The Eye Of Judgment Eyes New Expansion, Sees Trophies In Its Future

2008: 09/16
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: PS3
PSN
Sony
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Apparently price is not an option

Console Wars: Sony Doesn’t Seem Concerned By Xbox 360 Price Cuts

Since the Xbox is now priced lower than the Wii, this leaves Sony in a very expensive position. They are currently the most expensive next gen console on the market by failing to break the $300 mark. From their statement they still feel that they can generate enough sales to push forward.

Some people may say that this is not a good idea. No one will buy a more expensive console blah blah blah and so on. But on the other hand this shows a focus for the electronics giant. The Wii suceeded in a market which the Xbox and the Playstation didn’t fully serve, the casual market. Apparently there are that many casual gamers out there to warrant that it’s been almost 3 years since the Wii launched and there still isn’t enough to go around.

What the Xbox is now trying to do is get that casual market by lowering the prices of their console to make it more attractive and including “Mii” like avatars even though they’re not cute. Microsoft however is risking lowering their profits by going this route and possibly stretching their wings a little bit too far.

This strategy worked for the PS2 which still has a ton of games. Can the Xbox make this generation work? The failure rate of the Xbox is very disheartening. I know for a fact since I’ve gone through3 consoles myself in the past three years. This is not very encouraging.

Whatever happens, it’s the consumer who will profit. Despite earning warnings for practically every industry except for the oil, I think gaming will still have a very good year.

2008: 09/09
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: Uncategorized
TAGS: PS3
Wii
xbox
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Is it time for a new Xbox?

Xbox 360 devs reaching the ‘upper end’ of the console’s graphic capability? – Engadget

Epic Games, developer of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament has expressed that they may already reaching the limit of the console.

If that’s the case, the Xbox 360 reached its end pretty quickly with both the Wii and PS3 still have a lot in them. The tranformation of the Xbox into your home entertainment device with the addition of Netflix rentals this fall could be a way to increase the value of the console. Already priced lower than the Wii, I think we could expect at least a preview of the their next next gen console by E3 next year.

2008: 09/09
POSTED BY: mdelamerced
CATEGORY: videogames
TAGS: E3
PS3
Wii
xbox
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Not all is lost in Japan…yet

Rumor: Kingdom Hearts A PS3 Exclusive, Will Be Seen At TGS

The Tokyo Game Show is the next big gaming event on the calendar (WoW fans will argue that Bizzcon is the next gaming event) and it seems that Sqaure-Enix is busy trying to comfort die hard Sony fans that all is not lost with their favorite franchise.

Sure we’ve heard of Kingdom Hearts for the DS and the PSP. But get this on the PS3!! Not only that. It’s playable.

The unlikely marriage of Disney and Square in 2002 has proven to be one of the most lucrative team ups in gaming. I don’t see anything bad out of this but only good things. Another game to tide us over until Final Fantasy 13 is released.

Final Fantasy XIII Agito: Final Fantasy XIII For PSP Is Way, *Way* Off

Downside, FF13 Agito for the PSP will not be coming out until it’s console cousins FF13 and FF Versus 13 come out. They may change their minds. But I haven’t seen that happen. Well with the exception of FF13 going to the 360. It’s such a long way off. By that time a new PSP version might be out already and I would be playing my PS2 games on it and still FF13 isn’t out yet.

Sigh.