Posts Tagged ‘ PSN ’

Gran Turismo PSP Review

After it was teased to gamers before the PSP came out it finally has. We only had to wait for five years. So when I heard that the game was finally coming out I knew I had to get my hands on it when it came out. So come October 1 I logged in to the PSN and picked up the game.

I always start with the license part in every Gran Turismo game. But this time they call them “Driver Challenges”. It’s practically the same thing as the acquiring the super license. Although it’s not required to finish the challenges in order to race in certain tracks, it is highly recommended to start here to get a feel of the controls of the game. Unlike its console counterpart, completing a section with the gold trophies does not give you a car. Instead it rewards you with credits corresponding to the time you set. You can only earn the credits once. For example, if you come within the silver time, you will earn the credits for both silver and bronze. But if you try the challenge again, you will not earn any more credits unless you get the gold time.

Prolonged playing cramps my right hand. The X and the O button is a bit difficult to grasp for driving. I’m not sure how the playing experience will differ if played on the PSPGo.

Some users who purchased the game on the Playstation Network did not get the 2000 Nissan GT-R Spec V.

Now on to the good and the bad.

Sweet!
– You start with 100,000 credits. It’s a very generous amount compared to the credit situation in GT4 and GT5 Prologue where it seemed forever to earn enough money to buy a decent car let alone earn enough to afford to tune it.
– You can change the in game music with your own collection.
– There’s no damage.
– There’s barely any tune up or parts for you car.
– Buying the UMD format will still allow you to install it in the memory stick but still requires the disc to play (DRM reasons).
– Selection of cars is pretty good. Sure the Toyota GT 2000 is not there. Or I haven’t unlocked it just yet but there’s a good selection. It actually seems like there’s more car manufacturers in this game than in GT4 for the PS2.
– Selection of tracks is amazing. Most of the tracks in GT4 is in this game. I spent a few hours just going through the entire Nurburgring Circuit over and over again.

FAIL!
– The soundtrack. I’m not a fan of the music of the game and you can’t choose what to hear. Unlike the GT3 and GT4 will allow you to pick exactly what music you will hear while racing. Mac users have to use Nullriver’s PSPWare to allow you to sync your music and movies in your iTunes folder to your PSP. Or unless you’re geeky enough to know the file path to just copy the tunes over.
– There’s no damage.
– Not all the car dealerships are available at one time. Only four are available on a given day. You’ll have to check from time to time to see the cars available for purchase on a given day. Take note that one race does not always translate to one day.

Purchased from the Playstation Network using a PS3 and transferred to a PSP-1000 on a 4GB Memory Stick.

Rumor: Dreamcast games coming to a console near you

PS2, Dreamcast Games May Come to PSN, Says Allegedly Leaked Doc – Sega – Kotaku

Looks like the future of downloadable games is good. According to Kotaku, PS2 games and Dreamcast games may be coming to the Playstation Network in the form of downloadable content.

Ten years after the release of the Dreamcast it still has it’s gaming legs, coming to the PSN is big. Of course the return of PS2 games is also big. Will this finally allow gamers to install their PS2 games into their PS3s and play them? Since the removal of the backwards compatibility, it has been a tough choice for gamers who still want to play their old games. Let’s face it, the PS2 is the best selling console of all time. Though it may be eclipsed by the Wii in a few years, there’s still a lot of PS2 games out there.

The Dreamcast may be ten years old but the games still hold up today. If my Dreamcast was still working I’d like to play Shenmue and Chuchu Rocket on it again. If Sony is serious about this, I’ll be one of those who will be buying all those games all over again.

What can a little flower do?

Flower

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.

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.

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

What should’ve been there in the first place

PSP Online Access: Shit Just Got Real

When Sony launched the Playstation Network store on the PS3, the PSP store was also launched but only for the PC. Yes, mac users were left out in the cold. It seems that times have changed and they will now be bringing that very same store to the handheld. I wonder where they got that idea?

Before, you had to buy the game on your PC or on the PS3 then hook up your PSP via USB and transfer it to the memory stick. Soon you’ll be able to shop directly on the PSP and download it there. Be prepared with your power cord since some downloads may take a while, of course that’s just from my experience.

There are more functionalities announced such as ad hoc gaming and such with the PS3. All I can say is that it’s about time.