Joystiq [Playstation]

Alan Tsang

CES 09: DC Universe Online developer walkthrough

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

We missed these from a couple of days ago, but these latest videos, provided after the jump, are a developer walkthrough detailing the "early 2010, late 2009" superhero MMO DC Universe Online. The clips showcase a number of elements from the game, such as the action-based gameplay, the "composition" of the player-controlled characters, a "private instance" where your hero is called upon to assist Superman in a fight against Doomsday, different movement modes, improvised weapons and more.

The game appears to be coming along nicely; the graphics look better than in earlier videos and the ability to change your character's specialization is appealing. However, will the possibility of a subscription fee and the rumored lack of interoperability between the PS3s and PCs hinder its success on the console of our choice?

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Which game is David Jaffe 'most jealous' of? MGS4

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

David Jaffe is the focus of The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' weekly feature Ten Questions, where a member of the industry is subjected to ... well, ten questions. When asked about which title the acclaimed video game designer is "most jealous" of, he named Metal Gear Solid 4 as his choice, praising it as "an amazing achievement of both gameplay and mastering the process of game production. To make a game of that scale and at that level of quality clearly took a whole hell of a lot of tenacity and vision."

You know what we think? Jaffe states in the feature that if he wasn't a game developer, he would be a movie director or film editor -- and we gotta say, MGS4 is as film-like as they come.

[Via Joystiq]

Rumor: Killzone 2 bundle headed for Europe

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

Word on da street is that a Killzone 2 bundle is headed for Europe -- there's even a picture of the bundle to accompany the rumor. From the looks of it, the bundle will include an 80GB PS3, a single DualShock 3 controller and a copy of the PS3 exclusive first-person shooter. No release date was given, but we are assuming it will be around the same time as the release date for the game, February 25th.

If this proves to be true, we think US gamers can officially be jealous of gamers on the Old Continent.

Source -- Gamekyo
Source -- GOONL!NE

Tenchu 4 PSP trailer showcases plenty of ninja action

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

From Software just released a Japanese trailer for the PSP version of Tenchu 4 and it has everything one would expect from a game of the stealth-action franchise. Check it out after the jump -- badass ninjas sneaking around at night, check. Villain with a maniacal laugh, check. Blades piercing various people, check. Damsel in distress, check. The graphics also look like they haven't suffered a downgrade compared to the Wii version. Still no word yet on a US release.

And last but not least, the trailer confirms the inclusion of kittens in the game. Is it too early to crown Tenchu 4 GOTY?

[Via Siliconera]

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Blu-ray releases for the week of January 11th

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

Let's start things off with a Blu-ray special: Amazon is having a Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale on 247 different Blu-ray titles right now. Take advantage of this deal here. Now, let's take a look at this week's releases:

Theatrical releases:

We had an excellent time with Appaloosa, an old-school Western helmed by Ed Harris that features stellar acting and solid writing. Mirrors starts out okay, but by the second half one couldn't wait for this dull excuse of a horror movie to end. Theatrical releases are above, everything else (including TV releases) are after the jump:

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Sony: Home was probably announced too early

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

When asked about the reception Home has had amongst developers, game director Peter Edward admitted to Develop that the social networking service was unveiled a little too soon. "Initially, there was real excitement from people, because we were showing something really different and that had a lot of potential. And then there's the realization that, well, we probably announced it too early -- GDC 07 was a long time ago. I think there was sort of recognition amongst developers of 'Oh, this is interesting, but there's still a lot of work to be done.'"

That attitude is changing though, according to Edward. "It's mature and everybody's starting to produce some really interesting stuff. As soon as developers start seeing what other people have done, it really starts to build on the excitement." We think most of you will agree with Edward -- the wait for Home was simply too long. Would our opinions have been different if the wait was shorter? Hopefully, as time goes on, the service will evolve into something that both gamers and developers can get really excited about.

SOCOM 1.30 patch brings Trophies and more tomorrow

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

SOCOM: Confrontation's highly-anticipated 1.30 update, which has been met with delay after delay, will finally be released on January 9th, at 5AM EST/2AM PST. Hey, that's in a couple of hours! The patch brings with it Trophies (a list of them can be viewed here), D-pad lean-in, a Quick Match/Party system, as well as key bug fixes and new features.

The update will take an hour or two to happen, so the game will be down until approximately 7AM EST/4AM PST. And ouch -- this patch will also wipe out all player statistics.

It's been a long time coming, Slant Six! Let's hope everything goes smoothly.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Huh? Hilton Garden Inn made a training game for the PSP

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

Who says the education sector gets to have all the fun? Last year, Hilton Garden Inn of the Hilton Hotels Corporation developed an internal training game called Ultimate Team Play. The player is placed in various positions at a hotel such as front desk, housekeeping, maintenance or food service. A "unique scoring system" that is also utilized in real Hilton hotels to assess employees is present to keep track of your progress.

This game will obviously not be released commercially, but it has been revealed that a demo will be shown as part of a "30-minute Case Study" at Game Developers Conference 2009.

Exploit that works on the PSP Brite found in GripShift

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

Famous for its imperviousness to hackers, the PSP Brite has now been hacked by one MaTiAz over at lan.st. An exploit was supposedly found in the 2005 title GripShift and has been described as "a buffer overflow vulnerability when loading savegames [sic]." It is now available for download, as well as an accompanying new SDK. Remember however, this exploit doesn't grant the all-important kernal access. A video of this proof of concept in action, after the jump.

[Via Engadget]

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PSP software sales in the UK dropped dramatically during 2008

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

The UK sales figures for the PSP during 2008 are looking downright abysmal. According to PocketGamer.co.uk, 4.1 million games for Sony's portable were sold during 2008, meaning sales have dropped approximately 27% from 2007's figure of 5.6 million. It looks even worse if you go by revenue -- 70 million pounds in 2008, as opposed to 111 million pounds in 2007, indicating a decline of about 36%.

It is hard to say this comes as a surprise to anyone; there just weren't any high-profile releases during the latter half of the year for the PSP. Hopefully, Sony can get third party publishers interested in the platform again in this new year. Incidentally, there are still a few games we are looking forward to in 2009 -- take a look at our picks here.

Rock Band DLC: Roy Orbison, Jethro Tull and more

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

Due to Sony's holiday break last week, we didn't get any Rock Band DLC. As a result, everything has been pushed back a week. Hopefully Harmonix/Sony will adjust this soon -- we'd hate to think it will become standard practice for PS3 owners to get their DLC a week later than everyone else.

"Space Truckin'" -- Deep Purple
"Funk #49" -- James Gang
"Hymn 43" -- Jethro Tull
"Take Back the City" -- Snow Patrol

Roy Orbison Pack

"Claudette"
"In Dreams"
"Mean Woman Blues"
"Oh, Pretty Woman"
"Ooby Dooby"
"You Got It"

Each song will be priced individually at $1.99 while the Roy Orbison Pack will cost $9.99. Look for the Roy Orbison tracks next week on Thursday, January 15th while the other songs will debut this Thursday on January 8th.

Source -- Rock Band DLC announcement
Source -- Rock Band DLC announcement

Blu-ray releases for the week of January 4th

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

Already hailed by Empire magazine as one of the best TV shows of all time, Dexter's charming self arrives on Blu-ray this week:

Theatrical releases:

The Criterion Collection continues its peculiar (though certainly not unwelcome) practice of releasing their Blu-ray releases at prices lower than their DVD counterparts with The Last Emperor. Pineapple Express is a charming fast-paced comedy that even non-stoners can enjoy. Finally, a movie that truly lives up to its name: Disaster Movie. Theatrical releases are above, everything else (including TV releases) are after the jump:

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Weekly Shonen anniversary ensemble fighter announced

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

A crossover fighting game featuring characters from rival manga magazines' Weekly Shonen Sunday and Weekly Shonen Magazine has been announced for the PSP. Apparently, this is all part of their 50th anniversary celebrations -- both publications made their simultaneous debuts on the same day back in 1959. No gameplay details have been announced except special moves can be executed with a single button and that the title will be developed by Konami. No release date has been set. A list of IPs that will be make an appearance for the brawler, after the jump.

[Via Kotaku -- thanks, David B.!]

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Pre-order Killzone 2, get the demo or a theme for your PS3

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

We already know Amazon is offering some exclusive skins for your avatar in Home if you pre-order Killzone 2 from the popular online retailer. Looks like Gamestop and Best Buy wants in on some of that pre-order action, too -- reserving your copy at Gamestop will grant you access to an exclusive demo of the game that begins on February 3rd while patronizing Best Buy will yield you an exclusive PS3 theme. Strangely, Best Buy's pre-order page ~~makes no mention of the complimentary theme~~ [Update: Actually, the free theme from Best Buy is mentioned here], but a promotional e-mail from Sony does.

So, which pre-order goody seems the most enticing to you?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Source -- Gamestop Killzone 2 pre-order
Source -- Best Buy Killzone 2 pre-order via PSN e-mail

Deals: Call of Duty: WaW $35, 50% off Blu-ray discs

by Alan Tsang { 1 year ago }

Didn't get what you really wanted for holidays? Like Nazi zombies? Not to worry, Call of Duty: World at War is on sale for today only (or until supplies run out) for $34.98.

Did your girlfriend get you Sex and the City: The Movie on Blu-ray and claimed it was a present for you? Don't shed those manly tears, my friend -- there's a sale going on right now for all sorts of Blu-ray titles, some of which will surely resonate with your macho self. About 200 titles are on sale, including Band of Brothers for $37.49, so check out the selection here.

For those of you with children or are just simply young at heart, you can buy The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2-disc edition) and Wall-E (2-disc edition) together for $29.98, just click here and then scroll down to "Best Value" and click "Add both to Cart". This discount is also available here (again, just scroll down) for the 3-disc editions of both movies for $39.98. Finally, if you don't mind waiting for it to come back in stock, The Chronicles of Narnia Blu-ray Bundle, which includes both movies in the franchise, is on sale for $31.99.

Source -- Call of Duty: World at War for $34.98
Source -- Save Up to 50% on Blu-ray Discs [via Cinematical and Slickdeals]