Category: PS3

The Best Videogame Commercial of 2011

Here’s my favorite videogame commercial of 2011. Surprisingly, it does not star Kevin Butler. I’m a huge fan of the ads starring Sony’s fictitious vice president, but the “Michael” spot outdoes them all. It’s just awesome to see so many different characters from so many different games hanging out in the same room. Worlds collide…and it’s awesome.

Consider this a warm up for next week’s Coffee Talk columns when I’ll be asking you about your favorite game, videogame graphics, electronics, etc. of 2011. For now, please let know what your favorite videogame commercial of 2011 was and embed it in the comments section if you have a chance.

Are You Ready for the South Park RPG?

Obsidian Entertainment is developing South Park: The Game, an RPG featuring those lovable (and foul-mouthed) kids on Comedy Central. From what I understand, the game is kind of like an M-Rated version of Paper Mario. On paper, this sounds frickin’ brilliant! I like Obsidian a lot. I love South Park and Paper Mario. Put them all together and, in theory, you should end up with an awesome game.

For more info on South Park: The Game, I highly recommend watching Game Informer’s interview with Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart.

Right now I’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. Are you excited for it? Do you dig the idea of the South Park gang in an RPG crafted by a company known for making very good RPGs? What other television characters would like to see in an RPG?

FFXIII-2 Noel Kreiss Getting Ezio Auditore DLC Costume

Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIII-2’s Noel Kreiss will be getting a special Assassin’s Creed costume. Through the magic of DLC, you can make Noel look just like renowned videogame assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze. The price and release date for this DLC has not yet been revealed.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Ezio is super cool, but Ubisoft has been whoring him out to other companies. It’s weird that he’s going to be in Soulcalibur V and Final Fantasy XIII-2. This whole French-Japanese connection is bugging me out…but of course I’m going to download the costume. Crossovers are cool.

How do you feel about FFXIII-2 having Assassin’s Creed DLC?

This Week’s Videogame Releases (WWE 12, Tekken)

The onslaught of excellent games has slowed down, but there are still some hot game releases left in 2011. Leading the way is WWE 12. I’m sure it will be another fine wrestling game from THQ, but I’m also sure there’s at least one good reason the writing won’t be as stellar as the Shakespearean scripts found in previous games. Fighting-game fans have a pair of releases to look forward to this week. Tekken Hybrid offers loads of Tekken gameplay in one package. The King of Fighters XIII takes a storied fighting franchise to the next level.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Sony Wants You to Replace Your Cable Box with Your PS3

Sony Corp. is rumored to be exploring an Internet-based television service that would use devices like the PlayStation 3 to replace traditional cable and satellite receivers. This could be a major disruptor to the American market; most consumers have two choices for premium television (cable or satellite), while a limited number of consumers have access to fiber services like AT&T U-Verse and Verizon Fios. Here’s more from The Wall Street Journal:

Sony Corp. is considering launching an Internet-based alternative to cable-TV service, people familiar with the situation said, posing the latest threat to the cable and satellite operators that dominate pay TV. The Japanese electronics and entertainment company has approached several big media companies to negotiate the rights to offer their TV channels over the Web in the U.S., the people said. Sony is proposing to beam the channels over Internet connections to Sony-made devices, including PlayStation gaming consoles, TV sets and Blu-ray players, the people said.

To me, cable and satellite companies are the same as mobile phone service providers — they all suck. While Internet services like Netflix and Hulu have given consumers more choices than ever, I’m still dreaming about a true disruptive service that would put cable and satellite companies on their collective asses.

Apple and Microsoft are rumored to be exploring an Internet-based TV services, and I’m thrilled to see Sony in the mix. These alternatives can’t get here fast enough. I’d love to cancel my Time Warner Cable subscription for a modern and more cost-effective service. It’s good to have dreams.

How about you? What do you make of the rumor? Would you be down with a Sony Internet TV service that ran through your PlayStation 3?

Source

This Week’s Videogame Releases (Mario! Zelda!)

It’s a Nintendo sandwich this week with Super Mario 3D Land kicking things off and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword wrapping it up. In between those Nintendo games are fine titles like Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Need for Speed: The Run, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Saints Row: The Third, Rayman Origins, and Kinect: Disneyland Adventures.

Any of you picking up new games this (absolutely loaded) week?

Meet the Capitol One Visa PlayStation Card

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced details on the PlayStation Card — a Visa credit card by Capitol One. The card earns points that can be used “for PlayStation games, accessories, and PlayStation Network content — along with other great products from Sony”.  It offers some nice bonuses for gamers that frequently buy PlayStation games and Sony electronics. Here’s the rundown:

  • 10X points on all PlayStation Network purchases
  • 3X points on all PlayStation and Sony purchases at Sony stores and Sony.com
  • 3X points at quick service restaurants, at movie theaters, and on your mobile phone bill
  • 1X points on all other purchases

Any of you going to apply for the PlayStation Card?

Source

This Week’s Videogame Releases (Call of Duty, Skyrim!!!)

Between Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, this might be the most loaded videogame week of the year! But wait, there’s more!!! Kojima Productions fans will definitely want to pick up the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, while wizards and witches of all ages will want LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (spoiler: Dumbledore dies!). Fans of cinematic adventures should check out Heavy Rain: Director’s Cut…even though it’s not really a director’s cut. You can get retarded (in here!) with The Black Eyed Peas Experience. If all this videogame excitement is too much for you then you might want to chill out with Deepak Chopra’s Leela.

Any of you picking new games this week?

Razer Chimaera 5.1 Wireless Gaming Headset Review

Here’s a video review of the Razer Chimaera 5.1 wireless gaming headset. Although it can be used with any console or PC, it only allows for chat on Xbox 360. It’s a high-quality product from Razer, a company that’s known some of the best mice and keyboards for gamers…

Here’s a video review of the Razer Chimaera 5.1 wireless gaming headset. Although it can be used with any console or PC, it only allows for chat on Xbox 360. It’s another  high-quality product from Razer, a company that’s known some of the best mice and keyboards for gamers.

Here’s the Cliff Notes version:

Like

  • Super Comfortable — I wore the Chimaera for several gaming sessions of two hours or more and found it perfectly comfortable the whole time.
  • Great Sound — Although it’s not as impressive as headsets with multiple drivers, I really enjoyed the sound output. At the very least, it blows away TV speakers in terms of clarity and detail.

Didn’t Like

  • Microphone — The mic isn’t noise-cancelling, which could be a deal breaker for gamers that play in crowded living rooms, doorms, etc.
  • Possible Interference — I’m positive that interference won’t be an issue for most people, but if you live in a crowded apartment complex (like me) with lots of 5.8GHz devices fighting for signal then you’ll probably experience occasional dropouts. At home, I experienced a few dropouts but when I brought the Chimaera to my friend’s house in the suburbs I didn’t have any.

Kindly watch the review when you have a chance and let me know what you think! Is the Razer Chimaera 5.1 something you want this holiday season?

Heavy Rain Director’s Cut Coming November 8

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced that a “director’s cut” of the outstanding Heavy Rain for PlayStation 3 will hit store shelves on November 8, 2011. It’s not a director’s cut in a movie sense. It’s more like a special edition…that’s being released a few years after the original. Here’s the features rundown of Heavy Rain: Director’s Cut:

  • Complete, original game, Heavy Rain
  • Heavy Rain Chronicles: Episode 1 — “The Taxidermist” DLC
  • Heavy Rain Original Videogame Score by award-winning film and television composer, Normand Corbeil (16 tracks)
  • New front-end menu and interface with built-in Move support
  • A series of 8 “Making of” Bonus Videos
  • Three Dynamic Themes (Heavy Rain, Heavy Rain ARI Forest, Heavy Rain ARI Mars)
  • 15 additional pieces of new concept art
  • 2 bonus Trailers (Thank You Trailer, Love Trailer)

As many of you know, I’m a big fan of Quantic Dream and really enjoyed Heavy Rain. That said, I think it’s misleading to call this a director’s cut. When I first heard about this product, I was hoping for additional chapters or scenes that were omitted from the original game — you know, the type of content you’d expect from a director’s cut of a film. While this is a nice package for Quantic Dream fans and those that haven’t played the game yet, I wouldn’t classify it as a director’s cut…at all. Having said that, this will probably fall into the category of games that I buy over and over again.

Do you think this package should be labeled as a director’s cut? Any of you planning to pick up Heavy Rain: Director’s Cut next week?

Source