ModNation Racers Gets A New Trailer

Giant camels , barrel launchers and and huge castles are the things you can encounter at ModNation Racers. That on top of the free creation of your own track and the ability to share your tracks with all your friends ModNation Racers has our attention.

Heavy Rain lacking innovation, doesn’t deserve the hype

Do you ever feel like you just don’t get it? Like everybody is running around you is going crazy over something, and all you see is garbage, yet you’re staring at the very same thing? Well, that’s the kind of feeling I’ve been getting recently with Heavy Rain. I saw the game at GamesCom, played the demo, read a lot online, and watched a ton of trailers, but I just don’t get it. Read more

Heavy Rain: And Hollywood drowns…

Let me get the situation clear for you. I work in a gamestore, and if I like a game that I see, I buy it. It happened with Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2, Assassins creed 2 and so on. But this game was different…

Never before in my life, I was so eager to get a game as Heavy Rain. The mystery, the dark theme, the fact that it’s simple but challenging and the fact that the story is not pre-made for you. You, and only you are the one who makes the story. No, of course you can’t drift of the main story line, but at this point it’s rumored that the game has 25 different endings. 25 different endings? Imagine yourself being in the cinema for a movie you already saw and still, you won’t know how it’s going to end. That is awesome!

For those who don’t know heavy rain; It’s not quite a game; It’s an interactive drama. The game itself is one big movie, but at some points (And by some I mean a lot) you’ll have to interact; Choose between drinks, Play the right note on a piano, or maybe even have to decide over life or death. Evade a car by pressing the right button in a split second or risk your life by having to do button sequences; sometimes fast, sometimes slow. That’s the interactive part.

The drama part is different. The PEGI system classified the game 18+, and that fits great. There were a few moment in the game, I wanted to look away. Not because there is a lot of gruesomeness, the game is a psychological thriller, just like the saw-series. Furthermore, I have never felt myself being so much emotionally involved in a game then this one. With all these twists, melodramacy and the great expressions of the characters, you don’t have a choise.

I’m not going to tell anything about the story itself. It would spoil everything. I can tell you that the game is a mixture of saw, se7en, and a random melodrama. The thing that makes the game even more awesome is the fact that you don’t control just one person, but four main characters, which at some points cross roads or even interact, All leading to one major climax, which of course isn’t pre-determined as the main persons can die or put themselves in dangerous situations.

The developers not just focussed on the main game, but also on expansions (The first one is already released) This fact is really important, since the story itself can be done in half a day. Of course, playing the story different gives it a wider gameplay, but the expansions make the thing just perfect.

A turning point is the bugs. How can a developer spread a game around the world that is one big bug? A lot of reports online tell about freezing games, corrupted savefiles, missing screen/audio and even lost saves. That is quite outrageous for a game this big. The only thing we know is that sony and quantiodream are “looking at it”.

All I can say is that this game probably is one of PS3’s masterpieces, and one of the better games all-time. If you are prepared for a psycological windmill which won’t spare your emotions, then get this game!

PS3 Down And Out! #Update 8 Its “fixed”

All around the world, PlayStation 3 consoles simply aren’t working like they’re supposed to, with an error preventing people from not just going online.

UPDATE - Sony has updated, saying “We’re narrowing down the issue and continue to work to restore service to all. Updates as soon as we have them.”

UPDATE 2 - A mass story-telling session on internet gaming forum NeoGAF points towards the issue potentially being related to a calendar bug in older PlayStation 3 consoles, not the PlayStation Network as was first suspected. Bear in mind this is mob science, however, and is by no means official confirmation on the cause of the problem.

UPDATE 3 - Citing unnamed “developers and studios”, British site Develop say that the issue is affecting titles currently in production for the PlayStation 3, with debug consoles – used by developers to actually make games – thrown “into a rebooting cycle, due to an endlessly-looping error message”.

UPDATE 4 - PS3’s still aren’t working, and there has been no official update from Sony in over 9 hours. Their last Twitter update says that they believe the issue does not appear to be impacting PS3 Slim consoles.

UPDATE 5 - Sony Twitters Rest assured, we’ve many people working on fixing this issue. As soon as we have some news, we’ll let you know.

UPDATE 6 -As you may be aware, some customers have been unable to connect to the PlayStation Network today. This problem affects the models other than the new slim PS3.

We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated in the system.

Errors include:

• The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000.
• When the user tries to sign-in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”.
• When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game.”
• When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)”
• Users are not able to playback certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date.

We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data.

As mentioned above, Please be advised that the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologise for any inconvenience caused.

For the latest status on this situation please check either PlayStation.Blog, Twitter or PlayStation.com.

UPDATE (And final) 7 -According to the official U.S. PlayStation.blog, the issue has been “resolved.” Patrick Seybold, senior director, corporate communications writes:

We are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 units other than the slim model, recognized the year 2010 as a leap year. Having the internal clock date change from February 29 to March 1 (both GMT), we have verified that the symptoms are now resolved and that users are able to use their PS3 normally.

If the time displayed on the XMB is still incorrect, users are able to adjust time settings manually or via the internet. If we have new information, we will update you through the PlayStation.Blog or PlayStation.com.

UPDATE 8 – Its “Fixed”

Free copy of ‘Red Faction: Guerilla’ with purchase of Darksiders (Release on Tuesday).

If you own a copy of Darksiders, you could have a mail order coupon to buy Red Faction Guerrilla for only $5.00 USD.

THQ has slipped coupons in the original boxes of Darksiders with instructions on how to claim your game.

Sending in this coupon will get you a bonus disc for Darksiders which include some additional contents (Such as Artwork, Videos, etc) and a free copy of Red Faction Guerrilla. All you have to pay is $5.00 USD for shipping and handling.

You need to be a US resident and claim it by March 5th.

Not quite there: Fairytale Fights

Dutch game developer Playlogic Games’ new title Fairytale fights certainly was a game that managed to catch our attention at GamesCom last year. I mean mix Fairytales with “kiddy” visuals, throw in some Happy Tree Friends and you’re sure to get some attention. So after our positive first impression at GC, we were pretty eager to spend some time with the game.

Roughly 4 months later and you can find the game on shelves at your local videogame retailer, so we figured it was about time to finally play through the full version.

Fairytale rights is a fantasy hack and slash game, released for windows computers, playstation3 and xbox 360 and has received the PEGI 16, and ESRB Mature ratings in europe and the US respectively (click on the ratings to view game-specific rating details). Having played the game extensively, I would highly recommend parents to not let kids below that age to play it. Now with that out of the way, let’s talk gameplay.

Right off the bat I just couldn’t resist checking the credits, and sure enough, some ten or so familiar names popped up, even putting our university in the credits. Pretty neat!

When you first pop the game into your system and start playing you immediately notice the rich color scheme and fun re-imagining of a range of fairytale characters that we’ve all come to love when we were little. But this game is far from intended for the disney crowd, instead going with bucketloads of blood and mindless violence. But hey, with the box art of this game, nobody should be surprised by that!

Our first impression was still the same as it was back on GamesCom (a hack and slash game, drawing inspiration from happy tree friends and fairy tales), so we skipped straight through the mandatory intro screens and set off to hurt anything that moved.

I’d say the single player mode took us about 20 hours to complete. You can also play through the “story” in online mode, effectively creating a 4-player co-op game, or do the same using the offline multiplayer co-op mode. The game also offers an on-, and offline multiplayer battle mode, allowing players to fight Vs. each other, but we found this mode of play to be fairly useless and much less fun than the story mode since there is no end to the battle, nor does it matter wether or not you kill a friend. I felt the multiplayer battle mode had potential but left much to be desired.

Going through the story mode, you are presented with a wide variety of weaponry, ranging from a lollypop to a tree branch, to a big axe. These can be picked up from beaten enemies or.. just about anywhere in the game, seeing as it’s literally filled with item and money chests, ready for you to be raided. After a while though, we started getting annoyed with them since there were simply so many and we stopped bothering to open them apart for grabbing a new weapon.

Wielding one of these many weapons, the player goes though a series of tales as they slay lumberjacks, gingerbread men, even leprechauns. The environments in FTF look great, all fit with the story you’re playing in, and the way they throw in some neat little details add to the impression of the game’s level design in a positive sense.

Sadly, not all is well in fairy tale land, because for some reason Playlogic decided it was a good idea to leave out the invisible walls we’ve all grown so accustomed to in other games, and in this case, that decision was a mistake. The problem is that you can easily walk off the level, get beaten off it by an enemy, or (thats a bit uncommon, but it happened to us) get stuck in the level geometry.

The level design is also set up in a way that frequently makes it difficult to estimate just where you’re going to land when you jump, resulting in us unintentionally jumping off the level several times in a row, falling off narrow ledges and other objects.

As we sliced our way though the world of FTF, we often pondered the question where they hid variety. You see, from the first to the last, including bosses, all you do is walk, slice, fall of level, re-spawn, and repeat that endlessly. About halfway through the game we ran across a maze, but thats about the only bit of variety we can recall in the entire game.

The game is set up as a number of fairy tales, each with a set of chapters with a boss battle looming at the end. Sadly, we found these battles, and the game’s difficulty, for that matter, to be consistently disappointing. The fighting doesn’t get any harder as you progress through the game, and the boss battles are either fun but extremely short and simple, or straight forward but too long and repetitive, and thous, boring.

Recap

The humor and fun details in the game add to the fun atmosphere that FTF has going on, and the graphics only add to this. However, the sheer amount of times we’ve frustratingly simply fell off the levels for no good reason, and the fact hat the amount of time we’ve died that way was roughly equal to the amount of enemy lives we took, definitely took away (in a big way) from any enjoyment of playing FTF.

If we add everything up, I’d say FTF is a game that had a lot of potential, but feels rushed and even though there are some very nice levels, overall, it could use some extra attention to the leveldesign.

FTF, for these reasons feels more like a downloadable PSN or Xbox Live Arcade game you’d buy for €9,99, rather than a full-blown €50 title. The game concept is nice, but it’s execution is lacking and disappointing, sadly.

BRINK New Images And Video’s

Developer Splash Damage brings us the game for the Xbox 360, PC, Playstation 3 and its looking very promising indeed!

Game Overview
Brink is an immersive first-person shooter that blends single-player, co-op, and multiplayer gameplay into one seamless experience, allowing you to develop your character whether playing alone, with your friends, or against others online. You decide the combat role you want to assume in the world of Brink as you fight to save yourself and mankind’s last refuge. Brink offers a compelling mix of dynamic battlefields, extensive customization options, and an innovative control system that will keep you coming back for more.

The Story

Brink takes place on the Ark, a man-made floating city that is on the brink of all-out civil war. Originally built as an experimental, self-sufficient and 100% “green” habitat, the reported rapid rise of the Earth’s oceans has forced the Ark to become home to not only the original founders and their descendants but also to thousands of refugees. With tensions between the two groups growing, Security and Resistance forces are locked in a heated battle for control of the Ark. Which side will you choose?

Game Features

Not Just Another Hero
Brink’s advanced player customization offers a near-endless combination of looks for your character – allowing for the appearance of your character to be truly unique. As you progress through the game and acquire more experience, you’ll have even more opportunities for customization.
Two Sides to Every Story
Choose to fight through the single player campaign as either a member of the Resistance or the Security and then take your same character online to play cooperatively or competitively against other players.
Blurring the Lines
Take your unique character online at any time you choose! Brink allows you to seamlessly move between your single player campaign, co-op with friends, and intense multiplayer action. Multiplayer takes the story online where you can play with up to seven other people (or AI characters) cooperatively as you take on the opposing faction or with up to 16 players competitively.
Play SMART
Brink uses the familiar shooter controls that you’re used to, without frustrating, artificial constraints and adds a new feature: the SMART button. When you press the SMART button, the game dynamically evaluates where you’re trying to get to, and makes it happen. Whether you’re a seasoned FPS veteran or someone just getting started, you’ll be able to make more intelligent decisions during the fast-paced action with SMART.
Context-Sensitive Goals and Rewards
Objectives, communications, missions, and inventory selection are all dynamically generated based on your role, your condition, your location, your squad-mates, and the overall status of the battle in all gameplay modes. You’ll always know exactly where to go, what to do when you get there, and what your reward will be for success.

Images:

Video’s:

Freedom of movement:

container city preview part 1

container city preview part 2

container city preview part 3

Gran Turismo 5 Gets A New Trailer

Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) Toyota FT-86G Sport Concept Trailer.

Gran Turismo 5 Delayed: Release To Be Announced

GT5 was first announced at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles back in 2006. According to GT series creator Kazunori Yamauchi, Gran Turismo 5 has cost $60 million to make. The game will feature over 1,000 automobiles and 20 different locations. It was delayed short after the release of Forza Motorsport 3 since the two games had to mush similarities. It got delayed to the “Summer 2010″ but today they have changed that to “To Be Announced”.  Therefor The company wants apologize for the trouble that this delay has caused.

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing – Tracks & Vehicles Trailer

Go ahead and pick a car and driver! Crazy Taxi’s BD Joe and Space Channel 5’s Ulala join the All-Star line-up.

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