Games Experiences

[News – X360] LucasArts takes The Force Unleashed to new level

2008-12-19T17:53:00.002Z

Finally, a decent DLC for The Force Unleashed. A new level and new costumes were released in this DLC.

This new level will take place on Planed Coruscant, inside of a Jedi Temple, where The Apprentice searches for his father.

There are a bunch of costumes and other add-ons along with this new level.

(source: Kotaku)

[News – PC] World of Warcraft: students dropouts and restaurants

2008-12-18T18:59:00.002Z

The first news is very very sad. Debora Tate, from Federal Communications Comissioner in US, said that one of the top reasons for college drop-outs is World of Warcraft. Sad!

The second one is for these drop-outs. If you’re an addict and live in Beijing, now you can have a meal in Warcraft restaurant. I don’t have to say that everything there will resemble Warcraft world.

(sources: Kotaku and CVG)

[News – Industry] Sega launched a casual games portal

2008-12-18T17:25:00.002Z

Sega launched a casual gaming portal, called PlaySega, for the US and Europe. It will have several different games styles, like arcade, puzzle, sonic and others.

It will have some exclusive games and each game will have their own achievements.

Interesting to play it at work.

(source: Gamasutra)

[News – Multi] Driver 5 under development?

2008-12-18T17:07:00.003Z

There are some rumors that Ubisoft will launch a new release of their Driver franchise. It seems that they intent to focus in driving action instead of walking action.

(source: Eurogamer)

[News – Industry] Midway near bankruptcy

2008-12-18T14:43:00.002Z

The times are tough and with this economical crisis worldwide, videogames industry isn’t immune. Midway, one of the historical studios from this industry, is near bankruptcy. With a debt that stand $150M, they have to find money ‘til the end of the year or…goodbye!

They already started to cut in staff (25%), closing studios (like Austin one) and cancelling projects. Good luck!

(sources: Kotaku, Eurogamer and GamesIndustry)

[News – DS] DSi: hacked and US launch only in March

2008-12-18T12:31:00.002Z

One major aspect of new DSi was the attempt to crack down on software piracy. However, hackers already have destroyed Nintendo’s plans.

Nintendo America said that a DSi launch in US territory won’t happen before March.

(source: TechRadar and Kotaku)

[News – PS3] Microsoft: Home is outdated

2008-12-18T12:24:00.002Z

Aaron Greenberg, from Microsoft, questioned if Home isn’t a bit outdated. He feels like a second Second Life but three years after and comparing Xbox Live to Home, is a nonsense, because there is a huge gap in quality.

(source: Eurogamer)

[News – PS3] Uncharted 2

2008-12-18T10:42:00.002Z

The first preview of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves have landed. There will be a new girl (Prince of Persia style?), sixaxis mechanics, etc (you can read more in our sources).

A new trailer has also been published with great visuals.

Check out our sources to know more about this promising game.

(sources: CVG, Kotaku, VideoGamer and Eurogamer)

[News – PS3] Heavy Rain: best movie ever, numbers and new details

2008-12-18T08:11:00.002Z

Heavy Rain is getting hyped everyday. The incredible design and graphics mixed with a promising gameplay are the ingredients for all this hype.

You can read an interview with Heavy Rain director and know how films like Seven and Silent of the Lambs are influencing the game.

The game’s script was written in 15 months, having 40k words and achieving 2k pages. To capture the movements, they used 70 actors and took 170 days to record. In the end, 30k animations were achieved.

You can know more in our sources.

(source: GamePro, Vgchartz, GameOver and CVG)

[News – Industry] South Korean Government pledges $237M to games industry

2008-12-17T10:16:00.002Z

South Korean Government decided to bet in videogames industry, raising $237M into the industry, to help its development.

(source: GamesIndustry)

[News – Industry] Spielberg: movies are getting like videogames

2008-12-17T10:06:00.003Z

Steven Spielberg, one of the most successful movies producer, believes that movies are being influenced by videogames.

He believes that producers are learning with videogames. He compared them like teasers that happens before the controls regret to the gamer. He even gave some examples, like the movies Wanted and Bourne Ultimatum.

He’s working in a videogame, which project is named “LMNO”, that will be released in PS3 and X360. Nothing is known about the game, only that will be very cinematic and will give an huge focus in the story.

He confessed that he loves Rock Band and he’s a drummer specialist.

(source: Eurogamer)

[News – PS3] PS3 able to read new 400Gb Blu-ray disc

2008-12-17T08:04:00.002Z

Pioneer is showing the biggest Blu-ray disc ever that can hold 400Gb of data. Hideo Kojima, now you can release MGS 5!

(source: GamePro)

[News – PS3] Sony’s PS3 Home: rewards, microtransactions, problems and Sony’s expectations

2008-12-16T14:51:00.002Z

Here are some news about the new PS3 service, Home, which has begun last week.

Now that Home has officially gone live, there are still some questions to be answered: full launch, Home’s economy, etc. Jack Buser, Home director, gave some hints about them. (source: 1UP)
Let me share with you an article talking about the PS3 Home service, in its different dimensions, explaining how this world works. (source: Eurogamer)
After public release, as expected, it came the problems. The main issue is the registration and login process since it’s almost impossible to enter Home sometimes. According to Sony, this is happening because there are many users trying to enter into Home for the very first time and the servers aren’t answering well to this demand. (source: Eurogamer)
Sony’s expectations for Home are high. They want to turn Home into a system seller. Dan Hill, Home service manager for SCEE, talks more about Sony’s expectations. (source: CVG)

[News – PS3] PS3 world news: price cut, Sony’s jobs, John Kohler interview, user-generated content leadership, sales and PS3 2009

2008-12-16T13:01:00.002Z

Here are some news of the last days around Sony PS3 world:

David Reeves says again that PS3 will not suffer a price cut since it doesn’t fit on Sony’s strategy. The key, according David Reeves, is to add value to PS3 and not cut its price. In the last generations, with PSOne and PS2, they cut the price when they reduce production costs but they’re not doing this with PS3. They’re confident in industry growth and PS3 sales. (source: Gameover)
Sony will close 10% of its manufacturing sites, including those who produce PS3. This results in a loss of 8000 jobs worldwide. (source: IGN)
An interesting interview with Sony’s John Kohler about the burning questions about PS3. (source: GamePro)
Sony says that they’re leading the user-generated content on consoles. With the release of games like LittleBigPlanet, Buzz and Singstar, user-generated content are growing up and these may increase the concept of game’s communities and, indeed, generate more sales. (source: GamesIndustry)
Sony has announced that PS brand has began the holiday season with a strong growth, comparing with October. Sony’s affirmed that its consoles are in a strong holiday momentum with sales increasing from 51% to 150%, comparing with October. (source: Videogamer)
An interesting article discussing the year 2009 for PS3, including PS3 portfolio, the best hopes, competition and the challenges that PS3 will have next year. (source: PSXExtreme)

[News – PS3] Square was interested in FF XI on PS3

2008-12-16T12:16:00.002Z

You can play FF XI on X360, PS2 and PC but PS3 is not in the list. Why? This is the reason.

(source: 1UP)

[News – PC] Ken Levine wishes PC gaming was “more successful”

2008-12-13T14:41:00.002Z

Ken Levine, Bioshock creator, talks about his undying love for PCs and his hopes for it.

Read here (source: Kotaku)

[News – PSP] The Rhythm of Creation: Hiroyuki Kotani and Patapon

2008-12-13T08:27:00.002Z

An interview with Hiroyuki Kotani and Junichi Yoshizawa, creator and associate producer, respectively.

They talk about the inspirational process and their philosophy on games development.

Interview (source: Gamasutra)

[Blogger Article] Policy change

2008-12-13T08:20:00.002Z

Dear readers,

I'm having some difficulties to keep the blog refreshed with the last news. Without having the last news, it's useless.

So, to keep the pace, I'll change the way I publish news. Instead of having all the news in a post, I'll share with you the link(s) that I read to publish that news. In this way, I'll be more quick and you'll have the last news without worring in which site it came out.

If I see that this change don't bring readers to this blog, I'll close it (unfortonately).

Regards!

[News - PS3] PS3 Home service is ONLINE

2008-12-12T02:56:00.000Z

(comments for what?)

[News – Multi] F.E.A.R. 2 details

2008-12-11T23:27:00.002Z

I know that the press isn’t quite excited with the new F.E.A.R. but this is one of the games that will make me play it since the day 1. I' really enjoyed the first one!

Let me share with you three videos, each one of them focusing in story, game design and AI.

The game will be out next February 13 for PS3, X360 and PC.

[News – Wii] Two years (and a days) later

2008-12-11T23:18:00.002Z

After its second birthday, what changed on Wii?

Wii was launched on November, in US, two years ago. It represented a huge risk for Nintendo since it was quite inferior, technologically, to X360 and PS3 but offered a new paradigm to interact with a videogame.

The package strategy has worked so well that it didn’t changed, in its core. Now, brings a Wii Sports copy to deliver one of the most enjoyable Wii games.

Talking about the controller, it worked very well. Only a few problem, with excitement, gamers could throw it against a TV without knowing it…so, Nintendo add a wrist to the pad and new straps and a silicone shell in the front of the pad.

To have an idea of how good the controlling system have result, Shigery Miyamoto, Nintendo’s mastermind, said that people are still getting used to this new way of control a videogame and maybe they won’t change nothing in a next-gen console. They can add some new features, like MotionPlus, but the core will be the same.

Wii price hasn’t changed at all. Why to change if they can sell all of them? No reason for a change. Even with a X360 version $50 cheaper.

The console menu has been being tweaked all over the time but hasn’t changed too much. It has some new features, like better friends organization.

It has some crazy peripherals but a poor online community. People prefer to play it physically against other friends than play it online.

In resume, Wii hasn’t changed at all but…is that bad considering that they sold 800k in a week a few weeks ago? I don’t think so.

[News – Multi] ShortNews: Fable 2, Echochrome, Blu-ray, Gears of War 2, Far Cry 2 and Halo Wars

2008-12-11T21:57:00.002Z

Fable 2 DLC was dated and for those who are waiting for it, they only have to wait ‘til December 22. It’s Knothole Island DLC and is a new area described like a “remote island of Knothole is dying, its golden sands and lush vegetation covered with snow, its people freezing, its treasures buried. Only a hero can face the trials of the three shrines to bring back the sunshine”. It will bring ton of new item. There are planned two more add-ons: bug fixing and co-op pack.
Sony is expanding its PSN puzzler Echochrome again. Now, it will add trophy support and 1000 user-generated levels to Freeform play. This is a huge update since it was only being released 10 user-generated levels at a time. Great day for puzzles!
For the first time in its life, Blu-ray players have overtaken DVD in Japan. The region saw Blu-ray recorders occupy more than 50% of market share for DVD recorders. Blu-ray is replacing DVD 1.5 times faster than DVD replaced VHS. Guess…good news for Sony?
Gears of War 2 surpassed the 3M mark. After some weeks on the shelves, it reached easily that mark. The original Gears of War made 5M copies to date. Will GoW 2 surpass GoW? Santa will tell us…
Intel have sponsored two bonus missions for Far Cry 2 on the PC as part of it’s Game On promotion. These levels are The Moroccan and The American. They can be accessed by downloading a patch from Game On site but the second level is only available after you beat the first one
Microsoft threw out Halo Wars release date. It will be launched between February 26 and March 3, first in Japan than EMEA and America, at last. Fans who pre-order will receive an exclusive in-game Warthog with flame decals. The Limited Collector's Edition is also available and includes a special in-game Honor Guard Wraith, a graphic novel, six Leader cards and a Spirit of Fire patch. As an additional exclusive, LCE owners will get early access to the in-game Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack for exciting new multiplayer action.

[News – PS2] Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories

2008-12-11T20:15:00.002Z

Familiar and charming blend of Disney and Final Fantasy themes
Battling standard enemies is fun
Lots of nostalgia at low price
Good for those who wants to understand the passage between KH and KH2
Incredible animation
Customizable dungeon crawling dynamic

Down

Recycles a huge amount of content from the original KH
Choppy exploration
Card elements lead to awkward combat
Narrative in the Disney worlds is lacking

Average: 7.5/10

[News – PSP] No plans for PSP2

2008-12-11T20:04:00.002Z

In a recent talk with MCV, David Reeves, SCEE president, guaranteed that Sony isn’t developing a new PSP, going against recent rumors.

He says that there are no plans for a PSP2 and nobody talked about this in Sony’s meetings. He even referred to the meeting that have place in Tokyo frequently and nobody said anything about this and he says that they are very busy.

Evaluating PSP, Reeves thinks that sales numbers are quite good but PSP lacks software. He says that producers think in every consoles before PSP, even internally. But the games, according him, will arrive but it only take some more time.

[News – Industry] Top 5 gameplay mechanics

2008-12-11T19:52:00.002Z

Gamasutra introduced us a nice and interesting top about the best 5 gameplay mechanics of 2008. For me, this mean innovation.

There are also ten honorable mentions.

Braid – Time manipulation (X360)
Left 4 Dead – Co-op player assistance and AI director (PC/X360)
LittleBigPlanet – Real-time level editing (PS3)
Mirror’s Edge – FP parkour (Multi)
Spore – Procedural character creation (PC)

Honorable mentions:

Audiosurf – Dynamic music-based level creation (PC)
Bangai-O Spirits – Auditory level sharing (DS)
Dead Space – Enemy limb dismemberment (Multi)
Echochrome – Escher-esque perspective manifestation (PS3)
Fallout 3 – VATS combat (Multi)
Far Cry 2 – Day/night and weather cycle (Multi)
NHL 09 – Fully human-controlled teams (Multi)
PixelJunk Eden - Swing-based movement (PS3)
Tom Clancy’s EndWar – Unit voice control (Multi)
World of Goo – Physics-based lattice building (Multi)