In honor of the release of Heavy Rain for PlayStation 3, I wanted to see what your favorite type of rain is (in the context of gaming and nerd culture). In addition to Quantic Dream’s excellent game, you can choose from “Chocolate Rain” by Tay Zonday, Epic Games vice president Mark Rein, and Prince’s outstanding “Purple Rain” (the song, not the movie). Make your choice and leave your explanation in the comments section if you have a moment!
[poll id=”28″]
GameStop has a pretty sweet promotion running until 3/14/10 that allows you to receive 50 percent more credit for your game trade-ins. While GameStop’s trade-in value is usually pretty poor, the bonus makes it decent to good, depending on the title. While I’d love for all of you to buy your games through Amazon using my links, this deal is too good to dismiss. I’m going to go sort through my collection to see if I can scrounge up funds for Pokemon: SoulSilver and Dragon Age: Origins Awakening pre-orders.
Nintendo of America announced a slew of software release dates today. Here are the most notable titles. As always, let me know if you’re interesting in picking any of these games up.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii): May 23, 2010
Metroid: Other M (Wii): June 27, 2010
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (Wii): June 7, 2010
Picross 3D (DS): May 3, 2010
THQ has released a bunch of new screenshots of UFC Undisputed 2010
Nintendo of America has announced that the DSi XL will launch on March 28, 2010 at a suggested retail price of $189.99. Here’s what the company had to say about this giant DS.
The screens of the Nintendo DSi XL are 93 percent larger than those of the Nintendo DS Lite model, providing a more vivid and engaging play experience. The screens of the Nintendo DSi XL also feature a wider viewing angle, letting friends and family members join the fun. The new system launches in both Burgundy and Bronze colors, and comes loaded with pre-installed premium software Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock, as well as two free applications: the Nintendo DSi Browser and Flipnote Studio. Nintendo DSi XL will also come with a larger pen-like stylus that allows for a more comfortable grip and enhanced ease of use when playing games that use the Nintendo DS touch screen.
In all its incarnations, the Nintendo DS has been unstoppable. I’m sure the DSi XL will do well too. I find it funny that Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata brushed of the iPad as nothing more than a big iPod, yet his company has made a killing in Japan selling something that’s nothing more than a big DSi.
Are any of you going to buy a DSi XL?
BioWare’s Dr. Greg Zeschuk completely rules. He truly is one of my favorite people in the business (as is his partner in crime, Dr. Ray Muzyka). After the diabolical Chris Taylor missed our interview session at DICE 2010, Dr. Greg was there to save the day. Naturally I asked him about the crazy three months BioWare has had, with two giant games — Dragon Age: Origins Awakenings
Since he was a practicing physician before starting up one of the best development houses in the business, I wanted to get Dr. Greg’s view on games like Wii Fit
(Yes, it sounds like I’m totally kissing his ass, but I’ve known Greg and Ray for several years. I assure you that my fondness is genuine.)
Yes, that was me playing Heavy Rain until 5:00AM. It’s pretty much everything I was expecting and I’m having a wonderful time with it. There is one facet of the game that threw me for a loop: the voice acting. At times it’s so bad that it pulled me out of the experience. Let me explain as I rub the sleep out of my eyes (Monkees reference).
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the top 12 girls on American Idol, Bryan Danielson’s wicked suicide dive on NXT, or Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones, Jr, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Yes, that was me playing Heavy Rain
Some of the voice actors are good, but a lot of them are inconsistent or poor. I’m not sure what happened in the VO sessions, but it sounds like the person directing a few of the actors doesn’t use English as his/her primary language. Some of the phrasing and pronunciation is off. Strange accents pop at times. It’s…not the best and I’m thinking of playing the second time around using French audio with English subtitles.
Having said that, this is still a phenomenal game. The storytelling, graphics, music, and characterization are amazing. I’m just surprised that a game with such polish and high production values dropped the ball in the voice-acting department.
Any thoughts on Heavy Rain so far? For old times sake I will say that Brian Leahy (now with Shacknews!) is the Origami Killer!!!
My favorite PlayStation Portable game at E3 2009, Echoshift is being released this week on Sony’s PlayStation Network. It’s a cool and clever puzzle game that’s tough to explain, so check out the video above to see what it’s all about.
With major releases in February and March, Echoshift will be overlooked by many gamers. It’s my job to bring neat games like this to your attention. It’s on the expensive side for a downloadable PSP game ($14.99), but I think it’ll be worth it. I’m going to download it for sure and if I can pry myself away from Heavy Rain, I’ll share my experience with you.
For now, let me know if you’re interested in Echoshift.
I just picked up my retail copy of Heavy Rain during lunch. It took me about 15 minutes to download the latest update and install the game on my PS3. I know some of you have been having issues with PSN download times, so I wanted to see what your experiences were like with this particular title. If you pick up the game today and have a moment, please list how long it took you get the game up and running.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has launched the official web site for the upcoming Batman: The Brave & the Bold videogame for Nintendo DS and Wii. I’m a huge fan of the cartoon since it utilizes DC’s second- and third-tier heroes like Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Doctor Fate, and so many more. The cover of the game features Blue Beetle and Plastic Man!
On the development side, WayForward has been tasked with creating this upcoming Batman adventure. The company’s history is mixed, with strong games like Shantae on its roster accompanied by a vast assortment of licensed games that most of you don’t care about. Hopefully this game gets a Shantae-like effort instead of a Justice League Heroes: The Flash effort.
Batman: The Brave & the Bold is slated for a September 2010 release. As a huge super-hero nerd, I’m excited for this game. How about you?
