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Archive of "PSP" Category
Young Thor Review
Thor is a manly god. He has a hammer. He crushes stuff with it. He calls down lightning and wields it with his manly, crushing hammer. In Young Thor you play as the childlike version of this masculinity, with a character that has more in common with Link than a Norse deity. Why? Because cel-shaded children with lightning powers are fun to be around.
Quick & Dirty at E3: The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest
The Lord of the Rings is serious business, so it’s about time it took itself a little less seriously – we do enough of that. That the game looks more like a Saturday morning cartoon than anything Peter Jackson made is a small shock to the system, but not unwelcome, and it’s appropriate that these rose colored glasses are worn by Sam Gamgee. The game follows Aragorn through the three books in flashbacks narrated by Sam, and is even voiced by Sean Astin of the Jackson films. The game is geared towards a young audience, and so the narration is constructed like Sam is telling his kids the story.
The Aragorn’s Quest aesthetic has more style than the rather literal dark movie to dark game creations pumped out by EA. It fits well with the game narrative, unfolding like a storybook across the decidedly less gruesome battles. War may not be pretty, but Aragorn’s Quest doesn’t shy away from dressing up the ugly with soft focus, vibrant colors and a lot less innards. Despite the cozy bedtime story telling there are baddies, they’re just without gore and extraneous snarling. After all, evil exists, we just fight it with a smile and a flourish.
The demo highlighted a couple of different areas to include Pelennor Fields and Mines of Moria. Each level has objectives, but also what are essentially side quests – like fighting off siege engines from the walls. The side quests can net you special items, though failing to complete them doesn’t cause you to fail the level. Helpful for the young gamer is the sparkly breadcrumb trail that guides you to your objectives; Aragorn just says “no” to stopping to ask for directions.
Your party includes the regulars like Frodo, Legolas and Gimli – and Gandalf can pop in/pop out for some co-op. You only play as Aragorn in single player, and when Gandalf joins the game he is tethered to Aragorn. Gandalf can alternately fight (with fireballs) or heal, and is a useful contribution. However, the co-op camera is tricky and made it difficult for me (playing as Aragorn) to target enemies.
Controls use the Wiimote and Nunchuck. The latter controls the shield, bow and a torch and allows for moves like shield bash. The sword has special moves and combos, and your weapons, tools and moves even help with some puzzle solving.
There’s a small RPG element to the game that has you snagging items that level up members of your party and even lore that you can collect and read about. LOTR enthusiasts will find something here in the lore and items, but this game is for the children through and through. It’s a refreshing addition to a series that has, frankly, blundered down the same path for too long. While I’m not clamoring for a kiddie game myself, it’s good to remember that we don’t have to keep hitting the same note. Due out this Fall for Wii, PS3 (with Move), PS2, PSP and DS this is shaping up as a good Christmas buy for the family
Season 2 Casting Call for The Tester: Make it an N4Ger!
The Tester is looking for candidates! Auditions have begun, and I gotta hope we get some more N4Gers on there!
In its debut season both Cyrus and Naucious were active members of the site, though Cyrus (or UNCyrus, as we know him) was a part of the forums and a Trophy leader earning him serious N4G support. Of course, we like to think the threat of flaming and a possible banhammer kept him on his toes, particularly during the trivia challenge.
Notes from the Sony Conference
First off, Sony gave me lunch, which is a sure way to keep me in a good mood. It’s a good thing, too, since the next thing they did was give me 3D glasses. I’ll get it out of the way: I don’t like 3D.
After a brief introduction from Tretton, who touched on the life cycle of a Playstation console and the value of exclusives, Kaz Hirai took the stage for the 3D fest. Highlighting the tenets of Playstation, “innovation and content”, Hirai asserted that “Sony is the undisputed leader in 3D” and ”What playstation did for Bluray we’re now ready to do for 3D as well”. With twenty titles created natively in 3D by March 2011, he said the year would be remembered as, “the year playstation brought authentic 3D to the industry.”
Did I mention I don’t like 3D? It hurts my eyes. It’s really dark. And when things move too fast you can’t tell what’s happening.
We were then treated to some Killzone 3 in a live demonstration. Specifically two sections for the 4th level of the game taking place in the arctic north of Helghan. The first section focused on ground combat and use of the jetpacks while the second on air combat, both heavily featured the destructible environments. It looked cool, but it was so hard to appreciate the gameplay, the environments and the combat when I was so busy just trying to wrap my eyes around the 3D nonsense. They aim ”to deliver the most realistic sci-fi shooter experience available” in February 2011, and it will be fully compatible with Move at launch.
“What tiles like Avatar are doing for movies, titles like killzone 3 will do for games.” Kaz Hirai
The game they used to show off the Move to greatest effect was Sorcery, a 3rd person action adventure game designed for Move. You play as a sorcerer’s apprentice and must rescue the land from darkness by playing through faery realms. The gameplay demo onstage was fun, and I look forward to getting hands-on with the title. Your motions affect power as well as trajectory, and the spell combinations were neat – like the ability to create a wall of fire and then send a whirlwind through it creating a fiery whirlwind that scoops and scorches your enemies. Slated for Spring 2011.
Next up was a demo of Tiger Woods with Move, and golf is still boring.
Heroes on the Move should collect some fans, it features Ratchet, Clank, Sly, Bentley, Jak and Daxter in a playful weapon-heavy romp.
“Gaming is having a ridiculously huge tv in a tiny 1 room apartment.” Kevin Butler, VP of Scene Stealing
Move will ship EU September 15, NA September 19, and Japan October 21. The Move controller is priced at $49.99, the navigation controller at 29.99. Move bundle including a Move controller, PS Eye and Sports Champs game goes for 99.99, while PS3 bundle including a PS3, PS Eye, Move controller and Sports Champs is set at $399.99. Four titles will be available during the holiday with games like Socom 4, Time Crisis, NBA 2k11, Ruse, Killzone 3, Echochrome 2 and Eyepet in the pipe. Games like Toy Story 3, Heavy Rain, and RE5 Gold Edition will have Move compatibility as well.
PlayStation Plus comes out later this month and can be purchased for one year at $49.99, or 3 months for $17.99 – and for a limited time you can get 3 months for free. Plus touts exclusive features and content, early demos and beta access, and discounts on the store.
Quick bites:
Invizimals was quickly overshadowed by God of War: Ghost of Sparta for the PSP, which chronicles Kratos’s rise to power.
Little Big Planet 2 showed off excessive cuteness and some badass real time strategy and shooter levels.
Medal of Honor unveiled Deuce, and said June 28th they will debut a series of videos where tier one operators share their experiences and stories. The multiplayer is being handled by DICE, and we were shown a new map that looked a lot like a game…we’ll call it Small of Pooty. Available October 12, limited edition will include 2002′s Medal of Honor: Frontline.
Dead Space 2 showed off a boss fight and advertised the limited edition pack, you can get Dead Space Extraction and Dead Space 2 with Move support.
Portal 2 Surprise! Gabe Newell showed up to announce Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3, making it ”the best version on any console”. Coming 2011. <3 Glados
Pretty, pretty FF XIV MMO vid.
Mafia 2: Agusut 24, exclusive day one content, for free.
Got a look at Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood online mode, which does not seem to feature any sisters – but those are some elaborately attired dudes. At launch the PS3 version will include an exclusive package of missions and the beta will only be available on PSN.
The GT5 (November 2, 2010) footage was beautiful, and there was even a snippet of The Stig!
The Infamous 2 trailer confirms some icy new powers for Cole, as well as some truly objectionable pantalones. Seriously, change the pants.
David Jaffee and Scott Campbell’s demo of the new Twisted Metal (2011) highlighted the online game mode “Nuke”. Set up as faction v. faction, players must capture the opposing faction’s leader, feed ‘em to the missile launcher and guide their missile to the giant airborne image of that leader. Three times. If you like Twisted Metal, you’ll be happy right about now.
Home has a replicated booth for anyone that wants to experience the PS E3 Booth in virtual space, and Tester fans take note: the casting call for season 2 begins today.
Q-Time For Q-Games
For my fellow PixelJunk junkies, Gamasutra’s Christian Nutt has an interview up with Dylan Cuthbert of Q-Games. Here’s an excerpt with a bit of trivia:
You guys developed the XrossMediaBar interface for the PlayStation 3.
DC: Yeah, we did all the rendering technologies and everything, and also the wavy bar and the dust that’s in there, and the music visualizers as well.
ZTGD Weekly Review Wrap-Up
This week I break down the latest holiday reviews including Assassin’s Creed II, Crystal Alliance and a pair of PSP Minis games that are definitely ones to look out for.
Check it out on ZTGD.
ZTGD Weekly Review Wrap-Up Episode 10
The Wrap-Up returns after the long holiday to breakdown the latest reviews including two expensive pieces of hardware and of course the latest games including LittleBigPlanet, Way of the Samurai 3 and of course Modern Warfare 2.
Weekly Video Review Wrap-Up Episode 8
This week I make up for lost time with coverage of two GTA games, Tekken 6, DJ Hero, Borderlands and a ton of other games as fall rush continues to dominate.
ZTGD Weekly Review Wrap-Up Episode 7
This week I break down the latest reviews on ZTGD including Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias, A Witch’s Tale and so, so much more.
ZTGD Weekly Review Wrap-Up Episode 6
The sixth episode of the Wrap-Up covers a handful of reviews including Brutal Legend, NBA Live 10, Osmos and a host of others.
Thanks for watching, guys!
ZTGD Weekly Review Wrap-up Episode 4
The latest weekly review wrap-up is here. Games include: HYBRID: Eternal Whisper, MySims Agents, Toy Story Mania, Gran Turismo, Zombie Apocalypse, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, NHL 2K10 and Tales of Monkey Island: Lair of the Leviathan. (more…)
ZTGD Weekly Review Wrap-Up: Episode 3
The third episode of the ZTGD weekly review wrap-up is now live as I break down Darkest of Days, NHL 10, Halo 3: ODST, Champion Archer and much more.
Hands-On at PAX with Sony’s Digital Comic Reader
Unveiled at Gamescom just over a month ago, I got a chance at PAX to try out Sony’s Digital Comic Reader for the PSP and PSPgo. The DCR allows users to purchase and download comics from the PlayStation Store and read them on their handheld. Since I’m not much of a fan of reading anything in digital format (yeah, I know) and way too nostalgic about the whole holding a book/mange/comic in your grubby little hands experience, I was skeptically interested in how exactly Sony could make this a pleasant experience. Spoiler: they managed it, and I want it now.
ZTGD Weekly Review Wrap-Up: Episode 2
I play a little post-PAX catch up and run through games like Fling!, Beatles Rock Band, Section 8, Wolfenstein, Disgaea 2 and much more in this two week special. (more…)
PSB Slips with a PixelJunk Spoiler?
Earlier today the Playstation Blog reported on some PixelJunk news:
Playstation Blog writes: Hey PixelJunk fans, Sorry about the lack of information as of late, but busy doesn’t even begin to describe my work for the past few months…what with the a deluxe PSP version of PixelJunk Monsters coming along (yes, we’ve heard your requests!), and at the same time implementing some of our most crazy ideas for the new gardens in Eden Encore.
Since then, however, the post has been taken down and restored a bit altered – but the feed reader shows the edits:
Simple gaff? Maybe Cuthbert forgot to save some secrets for GDC!
About
I’m Community Manager and Admin for the NewsBoiler Network, home to N4G, TechSpy, AnimeShinbun, FilmWatch and 11×2. I also write for network editorial site, ZTGD.
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