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Gran Turismo 5 update 2.04 now available

Joe Garcia — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:34:55 +0000

For those still entrenched in the world of Gran Turismo 5, a new patch is now available for the Real Driving Simulator. Unlike the last few updates that either gave content or were in preparation for new DLC, this one is simply for fixing some gameplay issues. The patch weighs in at 79MB, and the patch notes are as follows:

Improved the performance of online races to provide a better racing experience. However, please note that using voice chat with 12 or more players can reduce screen refresh intervals.
Reduced wobbling of the screen when using the Chase view (The Chase view is when the car is viewed from the rear during races and replays, selected by using the SELECT button).
Electric cars (opponent cars and your cars in B-Spec) will now pit-in automatically to recharge the battery.
Reduced the amount of steering pull when using force feedback steering wheel controllers in banks on courses such as the Special Stage Route X Oval.
When driving formula cars using the Logitech steering wheel controllers, the initial force feedback amount has been lessened and adjusted to make it easier to drive in a straight line.
Fixed an issue where speedometer, race position and best lap time info are sometimes not displayed on the 2nd player side in 2P Battle Mode.
Fixed an issue where exhaust sound is heard even after switching from a combustion engine car to an electric car within the same online race.
Fixed an issue where if the game is started without signing in online and then saved, the cars and courses included in the Racing Car Pack and Course Pack would become unusable.
Fixed an issue where electric cars would not recharge in the pit and become immobile.
Fixed an issue where when the oil of the Toyota Prius was changed in GT Auto, the motor ceased to function correctly.
Improved the force feedback of the Guillemot Thrustmaster T500 RS, where the 10 level force feedback adjustment (especially when using the X2010 and X2011) was not working effectively. Also improved a condition where it was difficult to drive in the intended path.

Source: GT Planet

Eat Sleep Play hit by layoffs, David Jaffe leaving company

Joe Garcia — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:23:47 +0000

In a bit of bad yet strange news, Eat Sleep Play have laid off eight employees just a week before Twisted Metal is to hit store shelves. The studio still has 26 employees and will shift its focus its attention to developing games for Apple's iOS platform. Co-founder Scott Campbell called the move "pretty exciting" and looks forward to "reaching a lot more people." Furthermore, David Jaffe has also left the company, with people speculating that he would be looking towards the casual market as well. He took to Twitter to clarify that he has "zero plans to make games like FARMVILLE and ANGRY BIRDS" and that he's "still on TM along with ESP for the next months as we launch it and balance it in real time." As for his post-Twisted Metal plans, he tweeted that "I will be opening a game studio here in San Diego because I really miss internal game development." Source: Destructoid

Sony announces LittleBigPlanet Cart Racing

Joe Garcia — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:20:37 +0000

According to a tweet from Canadian online retailer FutureShop, Sony announced the existence of LittleBigPlanet Cart Racing at their Destination PlayStation media event in Scottsdale, Arizona today. No official word has come down from Sony regarding the title just yet. The game will also come with a Move steering wheel attachment. It sounds harmless enough, but what exactly does this mean for ModNation Racers? You know, the game that was developed with the phrase "LittleBigPlanet meets kart racing" in mind? Hopefully we hear something soon that isn't woefully redundant. Source: Eurogamer

No UMD Passport program for PS Vita in North America

Joe Garcia — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:05:47 +0000

According to Kotaku, Sony won't be reciprocating the Japanese UMD Passport program for the PS Vita here in North America. For those out of the loop, the program allows for players to register their PSP UMDs through the PlayStation Network Sony Entertainment Network and redownload them to their Vitas for a small fee. The PSP Go shared the same problem, with no way to get your old games onto the system without buying them again from the PlayStation Store. Sony looked at this failed business model and thought, "Hey, let's do that again!" But hey, at least they waited all the way up to a week before launch to spring the news on people. Source: Kotaku

Six PS2 Classics that need to be on PSN (because they won’t get HD remakes)

Joe Garcia — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:10:52 +0000

The library of great PlayStation 2 games is pretty substantial, isn’t it? No matter what your taste, the system had a wide array of titles to tickle your fancy. That doesn’t mean that they all sold terribly well, and it would be silly to think that all of the PS2’s greatest games would ever see rerelease in the form of HD remasters. That’s where the new PS2 Classics section of the PlayStation Store comes in. Introduced in October, we’ve seen eleven games make their way to PSN (I won’t be calling it SEN anytime soon because screw that). While there are a couple of gems on there -- God Hand and Odin Sphere are wonderful -- there’s plenty of filler. I’m looking right at you, BloodRayne. There are a lot of games that deserve to be played again, and they won’t be calling a PS3-formatted Blu-Ray disc home any time soon. Instead, let’s throw some of them up on PSN, yeah?

The Mark of Kri

The Mark of Kri caught an awful lot of people by surprise when it released in 2002. At a glance, it seemed like a cartoony game, what with it’s stylized graphics and colorful environments. But what was up with that M rating on the front of the box? As it turns out, The Mark of Kri was kind of God of War before God of War. It featured a uniquely satisfying combat mechanic that hasn’t really been repeated since, all while rewarding your fighting prowess with some good ol’ fashioned gore. Not quite as bloody as what Kratos would be doing in a few years’ time, but a little more deliberate. Also unique to Kri is the Polynesian protagonist and setting, which have unfortunately been unexplored beyond this short-lived series. There’s an official theme for Mark of Kri to dress up your PS3 floating around somewhere (I know because I downloaded it), so SCEA obviously have some interest in the game. You should, too.

Bully

As an open-world Rockstar game, Bully (known as Canis Canem Edit to those of you in PAL territories) was hit with controversy before it even had a chance to show what it’s really all about -- Grand Theft Auto in a SCHOOL?! Of course, all of that irrational hub-bub was unfounded, being one of the more heartfelt offerings of 2006. While the game could sometimes feel like GTA-lite as you tried to get back-and-forth between Bullworth Academy and the neighboring town, it was an experience all its own. Instead of robbing banks, you were taking chemistry tests. Instead of playing for 48 straight in-game hours, Jimmy needed to sleep lest he pass out on the street. Instead of banging hookers, you were kissing girls...or even boys, if that’s your thing. Bully already exists as an HD re-release on the Xbox 360; seeing as that was almost four years ago, though, I don’t think we’ll be seeing it on PS3 anytime soon. Unless they throw it up on SEN PSN, that is.

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System

It’s difficult for me to talk about Metal Arms because, well, I never played it. And neither did a lot of other people, for that matter. However, that doesn’t make me any less qualified to talk about it in this respect -- if you’re not targeting people that didn’t play these games upon their original release, then what’s the point? With that in mind, let’s talk about what I do know. Metal Arms: Glitch in the System was an ambitious title, created as a planned trilogy. It was violent shooter, but because the characters were robots it managed to maintain a Teen rating. It sold like crap despite critical acclaim, though, and nothing came of the franchise after. It’s a sad and fascinating story, with Metal Arms’s creator having tried to rescue the dead IP from its corporate masters to no avail. Jim Sterling of Destructoid wrote a fascinating piece on the dead franchises history that you can read by clicking here. It’s currently available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace, but there’s no reason that it shouldn’t exist on the PlayStation Store, too. I think playing a lost bit of gaming history is worth ten bucks, don’t you?

Metro: Last Light slips into 2013

Joe Garcia — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:59:39 +0000

The sequel to THQ's sleeper hit Metro 2033 has been delayed. Metro: Last Light was originally slated for release at the end of 2012, and will instead come out in the fourth quarter of the company's 2013 fiscal calendar. On people calendars, that means we can now expect the game sometime between January and March of 2013. So it turns out that the delay isn't going to be a massive one; it'll just be a few months later than we had hoped. Plenty of time to polish up any glaring development hiccups, and it's definitely better for a game to be late than broken. Since 2033 was only released on PC and Xbox 360, are there any PlayStation gamers bummed by this news? Source: CVG

PS Vita demo units now available for groping at over 3,300 GameStop stores

Joe Garcia — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:47:10 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to get hands-on time with the PS Vita at one of Sony's Vita Hill Social Clubs. It was a blast, and if you happen to be near one I encourage you to check it out, as they even provide you with free refreshments while you play. However, there are only eight Social Clubs strewn about the country. If those aren't an option, you'll be happy to know that over 3,300 GameStop locations have been provided with demo units of their own. 3,300 is at least several times larger than eight, so there's a good chance that a Vita is within arm's reach. Eager gamers will have a chance to try out Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational, Escape Plan, WipEout 2048, and more. GameStop has even provided a handy-dandy map for the geographically impaired. You can stop reading now. Go! Source: Destructoid

Naughty Dog releases first in-game screens for The Last of Us

Joe Garcia — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:28:51 +0000

Naughty Dog have released the first few in-game screenshots of their upcoming survival game The Last of Us, and it's already looking mighty fine. Now, the screens, as well as the first few gameplay details, are exclusive to Game Informer. In the interest of honoring the sacred pact between developer and publication-sold-exclusively-through-the-largest-games-store-in-America (and also not to get sued pantsless), you'll have to head over to their website to get the full scoop. The images are below, and be sure to check out GI to get the sweet, sweet details.

The Last of Us will be the feature story in the upcoming issue of the magazine, where plenty more screens and details will no doubt overwhelm the Internet.

Source: Game Informer

SCEE hits Twisted Metal with a delay and censor cuts

Joe Garcia — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:06:16 +0000

With gamers everywhere looking forward to a Valentine's Day massacre, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have pulled the rug out from under its regional demographic at the last minute. The game will be delayed into March, and will see some cuts as well. Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe took to NeoGAF to address the issues personally, detailing exactly what changes the game will undergo when it releases in Europe. Some editing has been done to make the cinematic cutscenes slightly less gory, while the sole gameplay change is that a screaming man tied to a gurney on the Meat Wagon vehicle is now a lifeless body. As for a new release date, nothing has been set and even Jaffe is unsure. Hopefully it won't be too long. Meanwhile, North American gamers can expect the game to launch on time on February 14th. Source: NeoGAF

The Five Greatest Open Worlds Ever

Joe Garcia — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:41:53 +0000

When Grand Theft Auto III released a little over ten years ago, it was a revelation. No longer were games to be bound by the mission-to-mission, level-to-level linearity that generations of gamers had grown accustomed to. Here we were given free reign to do seemingly anything in a living, breathing city and allowed to pursue the story however we wanted. That is, if we didn’t feel like driving off of sweet jumps and going on murderous rampages instead. All of this time later and there have been many a game to attempt getting a piece of the GTA pie. Some, such as Saints Row, have done so successfully. The True Crimes of the world...not so much. Still, that doesn’t stop developers from infusing sandbox fun into their titles, and the phenomenon is no longer limited to crime romps. From shooters to RPGs, and even racers, plenty have made great use of the open world mechanic. Now, this list isn’t necessarily about the best open-world games, but rather the sandboxes that they take place in. Which settings gave you the best time-wasting bang for your buck between missions? I’m glad you asked.

5. New York City - Spider-Man 2

We’ll kick things off with the only nonfictional setting on the list. The Big Apple is a setting that is overplayed in games and movies, but Activision gave us a whole new way to experience it when they dropped one of the best movie tie-ins ever onto our laps. The fun of swinging around Manhattan wasn’t so much in the tasks that you could tackle -- delivering pizzas (yes really) and collecting balloons for children lose their luster after about the tenth time. No, the real magic lies simply in swinging around. It wasn’t a concept unfamiliar to previous Spider-Man games, but this time it was different. In Spider-Man 2, Treyarch implemented some fancy new physics algorithms that allowed for more realistic web-slinging, so to speak. Things like release points, velocity, and trajectory were all factors that determined how you’d swing. Just as importantly, you had to be near an anchor point to even attach your web; no more swinging in open spaces. As a result, many hours were spent between friends to see who could get from point A to point B faster, or who could do a better job of navigating tricky corners. I spent an immeasurable amount of time climbing to the top of the Empire State Building and jumping off, just to shoot a web at the last possible second. Batman: Arkham City is the best superhero game of all time, but Spider-Man 2 was the first that actually let me feel like I was in the hero’s shoes.

4. New Austin - Red Dead Redemption

We already know that Red Dead Redemption is a fine game that any gentleman would love to play. We also know that the game is popular with less-than-honorable intentions. You’ve got a few things that you would expect to be able to do in an open-world western, such as getting blind drunk at a saloon or hunting.You can also play what is secretly one of the best Texas Hold ‘Em games available anywhere, cheat, get caught, then shoot the guy who caught you dead in the street. You can rob banks and and tie women to train tracks, like the dastardly villain in so many silent films. That’s an interesting segue, though, because taking in silent movies is one of several gentlemanly endeavors that you can partake in. It sounds like a dumb waste of time, but the silent films in RDR are some of the funniest things you’ll see in a video game, all without ever saying a word. Once you’re done taking in the arts, you can wander the countryside looking for flowers to pick. Aww, ain’t that nice? Miraculously, none of it is ever boring. You collect the flowers on your way to 100% game completion, but you’re always happy to do it. It’s...strange. Your time in the Old West can be as wild as you’d like, or as gentlemanly as your refined sensibilities lead you to be. There’s no question that New Austin is one of the best open worlds in all of gaming.

3. Skyrim - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I’ve put Skyrim into my disc drive but four times, yet I've amassed 28 hours of game time. At best, half of that time was spent completing quest lines. Of course, I always mean to follow up on quests. There are an awful lot of them, after all, so I’m constantly setting markers and going on my merry way. I travel up mountain paths and...wait, is that another cave entrance on my compass? I mean, I’m already carrying an awful lot of stuff, but I guess I’ll check it out. I’ll just take a strength potion on the way out if I need to. Wow, the bandit leader had a pretty slammin’ warhammer, didn’t she? I bet I can offload this for a pretty penny. And look, silver ore! Now I can make that jeweled necklace! It’ll be worth more if I enchant it, though...guess I’ll head back into town and do all of that. I’d may as well smith a few daggers while I’m here, too. Jesus, I got pretty sidetracked. Let’s try that again. Actually, let’s try a different marker. Boy, this river is quite tranq-- wait, was that a...yep! COME ‘ERE, YOU DRAGON SUMBITCH! ... I should probably unload all of these dragon scales and bones back in my house in town. Hey, is that another mine?