I meant to post this last week, but forgot. Do you have the time…to listen to me whine? If so, I’d super appreciate you checking out my review of Green Day: Rock Band for Machinima.com. I enjoyed the game, but wished MTV and Harmonix went with a Guitar Hero: Metallica approach and included artists that influenced the band (Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Clash, etc.). It would have broadened the game’s appeal and made it look less ridiculous following The Beatles: Rock Band.
Tag: PS3
This Week’s Videogame Releases
There are oodles of interesting games out this week — a perfect way to add some sizzle to your summer. On the multiplatform front, you have LEGO Harry Potter
As much as I can’t wait to play Sin & Punishment, my recommendation for the week is Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip
Are any of you picking up new games this week? Let me know what’s on your wishlist (please)!
Coffee #166: Is PlayStation Plus a Better Value Than Xbox Live?
Sony made a bold move at E3 2010 with the announcement of PlayStation Plus. A premium addition to its PlayStation Network service, PlayStation Plus launches tomorrow, June 29. It’s available for $17.99 for three months or $49.99 for 15 months (one year + a three-month bonus). For this chunk of change you get free PSN games, the Qore video-magazine, PSN discounts, automatic update downloads, full-game trials, and more. Here’s a PlayStation Blog post with more details.
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, your pending application to be a FIFA referee, the summer of LeBron kicking off this week, or A-Rod + Cameron D, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Sony made a bold move at E3 2010 with the announcement of PlayStation Plus. A premium addition to its PlayStation Network service, PlayStation Plus launches tomorrow, June 29. It’s available for $17.99 for three months or $49.99 for 15 months (one year + a three-month bonus). For this chunk of change you get free PSN games, the Qore video-magazine, PSN discounts, automatic update downloads, full-game trials, and more. Here’s a PlayStation Blog post with more details.
On paper, PlayStation Plus looks like a better value than Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft’s excellent service gives you online play, access to certain content, and discounts on games. It”s different from PlayStation Plus in that gamers are primarily paying for online play with Xbox Live Gold. Sony’s service is more about non-essential (but valuable) content and services. That said, people love console wars and will compare the two no matter how different they are, so I might as well do it here too. Ha!
I’m excited to see how well (or not) PlayStation Plus works. For now, let’s discuss which service offers the better value, on paper. Do you favor Microsoft’s rock-solid and time-tested Xbox Live Gold? Or do you think PlayStation Plus is where it’s at? Kindly vote in the poll and elaborate in the comments section!
[poll id=”56″]
Fat Princess DLC Adds Three New Character Classes
Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced that the “Fat Roles” DLC for Fat Princess will be available for download on Tuesday June 29. “Fat Roles” will cost $4.99 in America. The DLC adds three new classes: pirates, ninjas, and giants. Here are more details from the PlayStation Blog:
Pirates can call in cannon ball attacks, Ninjas can hide in the shadows to sneak through doors, and the all-mighty Giants can cause rumbling earthquakes and gain health by chomping on their enemies.
Pirates are cool. Giants are cool. Ninjas frickin’ rule!!! I’m looking forward to checking out this batch of Fat Princess DLC next week. Anyone else down?
Hulu Possibly Coming to iPad, PS3, and Xbox 360: Do You Care?
You’ve already heard the rumors that Hulu is headed for the Apple iPad and Microsoft Xbox 360. Today rumors are swirling that it’s headed for the PlayStation 3 as well. Do you guys and gals care about Hulu on portable devices and consoles?
I think Hulu is a great service, but I’ve never used it consistently. I’ll go through phases where I watch a ton of Hulu for weeks and don’t touch it again for months. Perhaps my usage will be different when it’s available on something that I use more for entertainment than work. Perhaps Hulu on a console is just what I need…or perhaps not. I’d like to have it on my consoles, but I won’t lose any sleep if it doesn’t happen. How about you? Kindly make your selection in the poll and elaborate in the comments section.
[poll id=”55″]
Last Batch of Shacknews E3 2010 Stories
Finally…Raymond has returned to RPad.tv!!! It’s fun talking like The Rock. It’s also fun writing for Shacknews. Here’s the last batch of stories from E3 2010. Check ’em out and shoot off any questions you have about the games/people. (And yes, this post means that my full attention is back on this site.)
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West: This is a pretty cool action-adventure game with unique tandem gameplay mechanics and a really cool setting. Plus it has Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma Talk Zelda: Skyward Sword: Aonuma spills some details on the story while Miyamoto briefly talks about the art direction. You know…it’s frickin’ awesome that I got to hang out in the same room as Aonuma and Miyamoto.
David Cox Talks Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: As a huge Iga fan, I’m approaching this game cautiously, but the crew seems to be doing a great job. Cox talks about working with Kojima, being compared to other God of War, and the game’s WTF moment.
Virgin Gaming: Virgin’s supplementary service lets you bet on your online matches and win some cool prizes. The company claims that Virgin’s other branches will throw in prizes too. Virgin Galactic anyone?
The Sims 3: The console version of The Sims 3 is shaping up to be the best console Sims yet.
More Shacknews Previews From E3 2010
Here’s another batch of E3 2010 previews I wrote for the fine people at Shacknews. Check ’em out and let me know if you have any questions about the games. Remember, if you post comments over there, please be nice to the Shackers. They’re good peeps.
Time Crisis: Razing Storm: Good, mindless fun with the PlayStation Move.
Mario Sports Mix: I’m not yet convinced that this suite has the depth of my beloved Mario Golf and Mario Tennis, but it seems like a good party game in its current incarnation.
Supremacy MMA: This game is way early, but I like that it’s trying to be distinctly different from UFC Undisputed and EA Sports MMA.
Donkey Kong Country Returns: This should be another great game in Nintendo’s ridiculous holiday 2010 lineup.
Sonic Colors: After years of mediocrity, it looks like a great Sonic game is finally on the way.
Coffee Talk #163: Games You Want Patched for PlayStation Move
I’m totally psyched to play Heavy Rain with PlayStation Move support. When Sony announced that it will be patched for Move, I was excited. When I tried a Move-enabled demo at Sony’s E3 2010 booth, I was sold. The game completely lends itself to motion controls. Doing a quarter-circle movement with Move feels more natural than doing the same with an analog stick. Most importantly, I’d get to experience a brilliant game in a totally new way.
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, Chris Jericho as a game show host, U.S.A. vs. Algeria, or your picks for Wimbledon, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I’m totally psyched to play Heavy Rain with PlayStation Move support. When Sony announced that the game will be patched for Move, I was excited. When I tried a Move-enabled demo at Sony’s E3 2010 booth, I was sold. The game completely lends itself to motion controls. Doing a quarter-circle movement with Move feels more natural than doing the same with an analog stick. Most importantly, I’d get to experience a brilliant game in a totally new way.
Are there any old games that you’d like to see patched for PlayStation Move? Let your picks fly in the comments section (please)!
Sony’s Kaz Hirai Dismisses the Nintendo 3DS
In an interview with Sankei Biz, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai brushed off portable 3D gaming. While he didn’t call out Nintendo’s 3DS handheld by name, it was easy to see his target. Hirai said:
Based off internally conducted research, naked-eye 3D for portables does not have high precision, and at present there are limitations.
He surely has a point, but he’s also comparing apples to oranges. Most experts believe that the 3DS will cost under $200. Playing stereoscopic 3D on your PlayStation 3 requires a $2,000 television and $150 glasses. While the PS3 will certainly provide a superior 3D experience, these are two entirely different product categories and price points. That said, it’s always fun when CEOs try to layeth the smack down.
What do you think of Hirai’s comparison? Is he just confident that the PS3 will have the better experience? Or is he threatened by the buzz the 3DS received at E3 2010?
Source via Andriasang
Grading the “Big Three” at E3 2010: Nintendo vs. Microsoft vs. Sony
Another E3 is in the bag and it’s time to judge how the “big three” did at this year’s show. Usually I just rate the companies’ respective press conferences immediately after the last one, but since I was working for the excellent people at Shacknews, I didn’t get a chance to. Using the pressers and what was shown on the show floor, I’m going assign letter grades to Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. I’d love for you to do the same thing in the comments section!
Microsoft: Kicking off the major pressers was Microsoft. The format was very strange. It kicked things off with a third-party game and close the show with a hardware refresh. Sure, it’s a pretty big deal that the Xbox 360 will have first dibs for all Call of Duty map packs and add-ons, but I was surprised that Halo and Gears didn’t get the money spots — they certainly looked fantastic and deserved the rub. Closing out the show with a new product is fine, but updated hardware doesn’t quite fit the bill. It’s cool that Microsoft went all Oprah and gave everyone free consoles, but I thought the company would have been better off plugging a first-party game in that slot. (On a side note, I found it hilarious that Epic’s Mark “Chocolate” Rein was standing up and clapping when he found out about his free console. The dude loses more money having a brain fart than I make in a year. Ha!)
On the non-gaming front, the ESPN announcement is potentially huge. Unfortunately, it’s not for everyone. Your ISP has to be on the ESPN 3 partner list, from what I understand. In something that I’ll have file as “sucks for me!”, my ISP, Time Warner, is not on the list.
Obviously Microsoft had to talk up Kinect at its press conference. Unfortunately, it didn’t play well at the presser. The good news is that the product was much more interesting on the show floor, particular with games like Child of Eden (expectedly awesome) and Dance Central (surprisingly fun).
Grade B-: If I was just going off the presser, it would have been a C+, but Microsoft had a lot of great stuff at its booth. While most of the Kinect stuff I saw wasn’t fun, the cool gamers for Kinect were better than the cool games for Move.
Nintendo: I thought Nintendo absolutely killed it at E3 2010. It had the best games and the most interesting new hardware. I was actually scared that Nintendo’s presser would have put me to sleep with a 20-minute presentation on the Wii Heart Rate Monitor Vitality Sensor. Instead I was bombarded with classic franchise after classic franchise returning to the Wii — Zelda, Donkey Kong Country, Metroid, and Kid Icarus dazzled millions of longtime Nintendo fans.
As a show, Nintendo had the best conference. Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata, and Reggie Fils-Aime are the best “personality” executives from any of the big three. The presser also had the best pacing and flow.
I’m not sure how it played for everyone at home, but Nintendo was the talk of the show at E3 2010. It had the tech everyone wanted to see with the 3DS (at times the line took more than two hours) and it had the journalists’ darling game in Kirby Epic Yarn. Disney’s Epic Mickey also played well — yes, a third-party game for a Nintendo system was one of E3’s highlights.
Grade A: Nintendo owned the show. I want to hear some of you that are in the “Nintendo forgot about me” camp complain about the company’s E3 2010.
Sony: Sony’s performance was mixed. In terms of content, I thought it had a better presser than Microsoft, but it was about 30 minutes too long and cut into everyone’s E3 show floor time (which nobody was happy about). Sony did get the loudest pop of any of the E3 pressers with Kevin Butler’s performance. The company also had the biggest shock with Valve’s Gabe Newell on stage hocking Portal 2 for PS3 with Steamworks.
Sony had two pieces of new tech to push — 3D gaming and PlayStation Move. 3D gaming is interesting, but it’s probably not something that will take off this generation. It’s just too expensive for most people. Killzone 3 is okay in 3D, but I thought MLB: The Show was better. As for Move, the tech is cool, but Sony is having a hard time showing that it’s more than just Wii in HD.
In terms of games, there’s a lot for PS3 and PSP owners to get excited about. The two biggest were Gran Turismo 5 and Twisted Metal. I’m not really into the former, but the latter was way fun. The third-party games like Assassin’s Creed 3 (with the beta being PS3 exclusive), Medal of Honor (also with exclusive content), Dead Space 2, The 3rd Birthday, and Kingdom Hearts looked great.
Grade B-: Sony gets points for a wide variety of great games, solid tech, and Kevin Butler. It loses points for taking way too long, keeping everyone from the show, and failing to make the tech seem like fun. Steamworks on PS3 is huge and I’m not sure why people aren’t making a bigger deal out of this.
[poll id=”54″]
Now it’s your turn! Take the poll and let me know which company had the best show in your opinion.