E3 2010: Sony Press Conference -The opening Gambit

  It's been an explosive year so far at E3, with the big companies in gaming seeking to outdo each other it's getting hard to keep up! however, fearless as ever, we send Drew into the mix to take a gander at what Sony have to offer this year with orders to separate the triumphs from the dead geese. What follows is a quick introduction to the action with links to further updates focusing on what you need to know about Sony's 2010 E3 Press Conference.   


  Honestly guys, I'm not sure that the bird analogy works, but what is most definitely true is that when these companies get together to do an expo they sure make a lot of work for the likes of me! Sony are no exception to this rule, this years E3 see's Sony covering all sorts of ground with their press conference and while some have argued on forums across the web that Sony's contribution was underwhelming, I'd say there is plenty to talk about.

  For a start there are the customary theatrics that come with these kinda of affairs. With stiff competition from rival companies there is always an element of "smoke and mirrors" while the big-wigs on stage peddle their wares. Sony achieved this by reputedly handing out 3D glasses and starting the conference early and thus generating a feeling of urgency around their conference. A clever device that set the ball rolling for Sony to announce a host of expected titles and a few surprises too.

  Nobody was going to be surprised at the announcement of games likes Killzone 3, Little Big Planet 2 and Grand Turismo 5 but the revealing of a new a Mortal Kombat game along with a Twisted Metal game in the final stages of the conference proved to be an exciting surprise. That said, when a battered ice-cream truck arrives on stage containing David Jaffe you have to admit it's usually a little unexpected. For the full story on the games of Sony's conference, look no further then here. 

 Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Sony's planned releases is the extent to which they will support 3D. During the course of the conference SCEA president Jack Tretton announced that by March 2011 Sony will deliver 20 titles for the PS3 in native 3D, including games like Killzone 3 and Mortal Kombat. This is a fairly impressive claim that shows Sony's commitment to innovating in the field of 3D gaming and goes along way in supporting the force behind Sony's planned releases. Get the scoop on Sony's 3D commitment here.


 Hardware and infrastructure are also receiving a push from Sony this year with the PSP set to see a whole host of new games, PSN getting a new service in PSN Plus and the final unavailing of that little device you may have heard of, Playstation Move. Sony appear to have decided to make a move on the portable market by pushing the PSP as the only portable solution for "serious" gamers. This has been a long time coming and will hopefully finally see the PSP getting into the stride it deserves. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is touted by Tretton as an example of a leading core PSP title before he goes on to unveil new titles for the machine including a new God Of War game. The portable parable can be found here.

  Infrastructure wise we see the way games are delivered to us getting a slight revamp with the unveiling of PSN Plus, an additional paid tier for PSN which has been received with decidedly mixed reactions. The basic idea behind 'Plus is that for either a years subscription costing $50, or a 3-month subscription costing $18, subscribers can expect access to free games, mini's, themes and discounts. As well this, PSN Plus implements a "full demo" service which allows players to download and play a full game for around an hour to trial it before purchase. This has proven to be a hot topic as Sony have revealed that while content like themes and content paid for with discounts will remain available at a subscriptions end, free games will not until the subscription is renewed leading to some to refer to the service as an expensive way of renting games. The biggest upset is that cross party chat has yet to be confirmed on PSN while a paid tier has.Whatever side you take in the PSN Plus debate, pay a visit to the discussion here.

  Now I can't help but feel that I'm missing something. Something big. Something that my editor-in-chief will flay me for should I miss it. Something, movement based perhaps? Oh come on, did you really think I'd forgotten? I talk of course of Sony's answer to the motion race - Playstation Move. Call it a gimmick, call it a revolution, either way it's big news. The build up to the unleashing of both Sony's and Microsoft's flight into the world of motion controls has been truly epic and now finally we get a look and Sony's contribution. What really sets Playstation Move apart is that in accordance with Sony's big games push, is that 'Move is already being announced as compatible with upcoming core PS3 titles with Killzone 3 and SOCOM 4 both reputedly being made ready for Move capability at launch. Move over to the full motion article here. 

   So there's a very brief overview of some of the main points from Sony's press conference. At a glance it is obvious that Sony are really pushing the gaming part of consoles. It's interesting that despite the importance of Move, it hasn't dominated Sony's press conference. Instead we see a vast array of games appearing in various formats across the Sony range. It surprises me that people have described Sony's conference as underwhelming when you consider the sheer volume of games that were mentioned during the presentation. While Microsoft can boast partnerships with ESNP and Activision, sony can counter with strong ties to EA, DICE and even Gabe Newell. You know? That formally rather vocal critic of the PS3?

   I would have to say that Sony could be close to leading the way in gaming over the next few years, with so many games apparently on the cards to support the moves into 3D and motion controls Sony seem to be building a solid and daunting presence in the gaming world. If the reports free all three of the console producers are to be believed then the current generation of consoles is evolving and if Sony deliver what they say they will they could come out on top. Whatever your gaming alliance, check out the following links to read the full news for Sony's 2010 E3 Press Conference and whatever you do, keep gaming!

Check out the rest of our Sony E3 2010 updates here:

SonyE32010 – Games http://tiny.cc/2gtsz


SonyE32010 – 3D http://tiny.cc/cgn17

SonyE32010 – Portable http://tiny.cc/8kwwh

SonyE32010 – PSN Plus http://tiny.cc/w8jqm


SonyE32010– Move http://tiny.cc/n20ri

E3 2010: Sony - The Portable Parable

  The PSP could almost be regarded as the black sheep of the Playstation family, it's a little different and often misunderstood. However, this could all be about to change with Sony's compact console about to receive an impressive push as this year's E3 revels.

  The PSP is often over looked in my opinion, many of my friends have disregarded it citing lack of quality games. Where this idea has come from is a little lost on me, there are many great games available of the PSP which are well worth a look in. The Ratchet and Clank series is both charming and playable, Metal Gear Acid and Killzone: Liberation both sit proudly in my games collection and the ability to play PS1 games after purchasing them through PSN gives gamers both an extended library and a good nostalgia trip to boot.

  That said, the PSP Go came and went so I guess at least the name was apt and Sony seem to be raging a constant war against hackers intent on modding the console for various nefarious reasons. However, while Sony may not be happy with people doing strictly illegal things to their PSP's it's actually good for business - in a way. It only takes one look at the various Dreamcast mod sites on the internet to see how an easily hackable console retains interest.

 Now it seems though that the PSP's luck could be about to change. At this year's E3 Sony announced that it sees the PSP as the only portable option for "serious" gamers and announced a ton of new titles for the system.

 For those of you into the God Of War series (I'm not) there will be a new title in the series called Ghost Of Sparta charting the origions of Kratos. During a montage a selection of other new games where teased including Modnatrion Racers, Ace Combat Joint Assault, Gravity Crash Portable, Dragon Ball Z Tenkachi, Hot Shots Tennis Get a Grip, Madden NFL 11, Patapon, Tetris, EyePet, Piyotma, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, The 3rd Birthday, Persona 3 Portable, and Ys: The Oath in Felgana 


 Oh joy! Tetris! Seriously through there's a lot to be getting on with there and that may not be all that the PSP has going for it over the next few years. If Sony's new PSN Plus service takes off it could give gamers even more reason to own a PSP. Think about the extra PS1 classics, Mini games and discounts that could be used to expand the PSP using the free content available for plus. No news on how this would work with the subscription service but I'll be finding out as soon as PSN Plus hits the "shelves". 


 No matter what happens it looks like it will be an interesting time to be a PSP owner and it could be about time the rest of you caught up. Check back with JustSandN for updates!  

 Get your fill of Sony E3 here:

SonyE32010 – PSN Plus http://tiny.cc/w8jqm

SonyE32010– Move http://tiny.cc/n20ri

SonyE32010 – Intro http://tiny.cc/gr0dx

SonyE32010 – Games http://tiny.cc/2gtsz

SonyE32010 – 3D http://tiny.cc/cgn17



 

E3 2010: Sony - I Like To Move It, Move It!

  Playstation Move represents Sony's answer to the motion war brewing between the big powers in gaming. Say what you will about looking like a neon maraca there's a lot of fuss being made about these motion controls. Let's see what all the fuss is about...

  Playstation Move has an important job to do. For Sony it seems to represent one of major in-roads it is making at this years E3. Games are being push in terms of both quality and quantity, PSN Plus seems poised to make Sony's on-line service more profitable and the push of the PSP shows Sony aggressively attempting to expand and finally grab it niche of the portable console market. However, it is probably Sony's move into the world of 3D that is most compatible and interglacial to the success of Move...and Sony.

  With the move into 3D and the supporting Bravia branch of Sony's product range, Sony are developing a rather sweet little entertainment centre. Take that out of the grotty one-room flat and place it in the family home and you can see Playstation Move fitting in snugly with this set-up and flying, or at least moving, out of stores the world over. However, the beauty of move is that it would appear to cater to everyone and already have an impressive line-up of games on the way.

  Sure, there will be the family friendly sports and pet games but along side these we see titles like Killzone and SOCOM on the way so Move sits well as a dirty student's pastime or an retro slice of 1950's family Americana. It's an impressive and ambitious move by Sony to get so much lined up close to Move's launch, EU Sept 15, NA Sept. 19, Japan Oct. 21.

  The most impressive display of Moves capabilities comes from the E3 demonstrations of Tiger Woods and Sorcery - which was designed specifically and exclusively for Move. What was interesting about this is that it took two fairly different games and showed how they would work on Move. Move's multiple sensors did a great job of capturing the movements of a golf player and wizard but I will reserve judgement until I have a go for myself. Which I really want to do!

  I've never been much of a fan of motion controls, they always seemed to go against the grain of what video games where, however, with Move's line up of games it seems that the gimmick element is contrasted with impressive core games. The list of games said to be compatible with Move includes Sorcery, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, Killzone 3, RUSE, Singstar Dance, echochrome II, EyePet TV superstars, SOCOM 4 and a Time Crisis game.

  The cost is to to be $50 for the controller and $30 for the navigation controller. There will also be bundle deals with a PS3, Move and PS Eye costing $400 and $100 bundle including Move, PS Eye and Sports Champions. Only time will tell if this will seriously threaten Microsoft of Nintendo, it's not the cheapest of toys, but given the range of games on the way it seems to be far from a gimmick.

 Get the rest of our Sony E3 coverage here:


SonyE32010 – Intro http://tiny.cc/gr0dx

SonyE32010 – Games http://tiny.cc/2gtsz


SonyE32010 – 3D http://tiny.cc/cgn17

SonyE32010 – Portable http://tiny.cc/8kwwh


SonyE32010 – PSN Plus http://tiny.cc/w8jqm

It only DID everything...

The PS3 hasn't had the easiest ride in the history of consoles, the E3 presentation at which it was announced was pretty embarassing, the inital high price point did it no favours, neither did the removal of PS2 backwards compatibility after the first few batches. These cons were far outweighed by the pros of the console, but a lot of negative opinion had spread throughout the public and sales were effected by this. Even now I still know some die hard fanboys who refuse to buy one, and reel off the same list of negatives every chance they get. Haters everywhere have another item to add to the list; Linux support is being removed.

Late adopters who bought a slim PS3 won't know what all the fuss is about, this feature wasn't included at all on their consoles. I'd wager that a great deal of PS3 'fat' owners probably weren't aware of the feature either, ignoring the 'install other OS' option in the system settings. As a Linux enthusiast I am disapointed to see this feature removed, but not entirely surprised. Installing an operating system on a games console isn't something that most people think to do, and Linux is still looked at as something reserved for nerds only. There are some benefits to having a fully fledged Linux OS on your PS3 though, with a little work you can play emulators, use a full web browser, watch media not supported by the console and generally enjoy a pc experience from the comfort of your sofa.

...Or play pirated PS3 games, this isn't confirmed at all but it seems pretty likely given that the official reason given for the funtions removal is "potential security risks" which any PSP owner will know means "it poses a piracy risk". Rumours are also circulating it may have something to do with a PS3 virus, but this seems unlikely given Linux's near resistance to all things virusy. Regardless of the reason, the PS3 is losing another cool feature that set it out from the crowd, and while Linux support may not be the same system seller that backwards compatibiltiy was it's still a shame to see it go. Just not a shock.

Hanging on the iPhone: GTA: Chinatown Wars

Micro Reviews for micro games.

GTA: Chinatown Wars

The GTA series has come a long way since it's 2D top down origins on the PC, and with each step forward it can sometimes be hard to look back. However not all platforms were created equal, and the graphics, euphoria physics and scale of GTA IV isn't easily replicated on smaller screens. This is why Rockstar returned to the well for GTA:CTW, opting to present a more traditional GTA for it's debut on the DS. This was then ported to the PSP and given a touch up graphically to keep the title in line with the more powerful system. Now about 6 months after the original DS release the PSP version of the game has been ported to the iPhone.

Visually the game looks great, the extra power the iPhone and PSP have over the DS allows for more detailed textures, some quite nice lighting effects and an all round more engrossing experience. The level of detail is impressive given the top down perspective, billboards are readable for example, and the quasi cell shaded look the game sports doesn't feel like it's only purpose is to excuse the non photo-realistic graphics.
There are a few flaws however such as the picture in picture moments for certain actions looking really pixilated. But overall it's by no means an unattractive game.

Things start to get a little less polished as far is gameplay is concerned however. The obvious area the game suffers in is controls, it almost feels wrong pointing it out as the fact that the iPhone struggles as far as input for games goes is no secret. GTA is far from the worse handing game on the system, the virtual joystick is responsive, as are the buttons, but they simply don't make for a fun experience to use. Driving is a chore and requires the player to relearn how to control vehicles in games as the cars are way too sensitive to the button inputs and tend to swerve dramatically between lanes while you attempt to straighten them up, the game locks the cars onto a track to make things easier, but when you have to manoeuvre out of the way of another vehicle the swaying side to side beigns again while trying to reconnect with the 'track'. Combat is a similar problem, there is no manual lock on option and the fire button is so near the flying kick and jump button that on many occasions you'll end up breaking cover and rolling towards the enemy.

All in all GTA is a worth while purchase if you haven't played CTW before, and the fact that it comes at such an impressive reduction compared to the PSP and DS versions makes the fiddly controls a little easier to swallow. There's a lot of depth to the game with plenty of side missions and innovative use of the touch controls in places meaning there are literally hours of gameplay to be had from this little game.

Chinatown Wars is available for download now