PS3 Rally

Hey guys!

It seems like this Thursday (24th of January), the Devil May Cry 4 demo may be coming out for the PS3 and Xbox 360! - In Japan, of course
So those in Japan, get ready! We’ve been waiting for this for absolutely ages, so yes! Don’t get capped, because this will absolutely be a stunner of a game!

North American and European folks, we’ve got you covered - just 5 days after the release in Japan.
Yes, you guys can experience the awesome wonders of DMC 4 on January 29!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on this:

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Hey Hey everybody! It’s Tommy Tseng, back from holidays in Taiwan!

Yes yes, its been quite a while since I came back, but I’ve been busy! Heh, anyway….
For those readers still in here, not to worry! I’m..still..here..kinda!

Anyway, onto PS3 news -

With Crysis already out, PC Gamers have probably been locked up in their room with their brand new powerful PCs playing Crysis 24/7. Whether they’re playing the awesome (yet, a little, unsatisfying) multiplayer, or the ABSOLUTELY shockingly fun,exciting,orgasmic singleplayer (yes, I know, because I have in the past satisfied a whole week just playing the SP demo all over again, after I got my new PC 8800GT pride!)
Whether it’s destroying an entire outpost by chucking grenades and wrecking havoc from the top of a mountain with your rifles, or just running in with your fists, grabbing and chucking soldiers onto rooftops, gazing in awe at the AMAZING physics and volumetric smoke, you’re NEVER bored. I’m serious! And if you don’t want to attack, you can just stay on your little car’s machine gun and cut down the monstrous amount of trees in the game. Cause global warming in the game, not in real life, k?

Anyways…I’m supposed to be a PS3 blogger right…hahaha. Ok ok, back onto the real story…
If we backtrack to quite a while ago, I wrote a post about how Crysis would most likely be on the PS3 (promotional boxes, Crytek hiring a PS3 Console Programmer). Well, great news - seems it may be true!

Seems like Playstation World UK insiders are stating that Crysis may be an exclusive game to the PS3! Seems the Xbox 360 may not in fact have Crysis after all!

However, I know most of you are longing for it, yet are dreading that it may be ‘another poor PC to console port’, like what the guys over at www.1pstart.com said a while ago on The Orange Box. Anyway, perhaps this may not happen, as it has been stated that the PS3 version will have extra game modes as well as extra features. Extra features, more than the PC version? I sure know I’M excited.

Oh and that reminds me…I nearly got a PS3 over the holidays! I was at the Taiwan Comp Expo, and they were selling a 40GB PS3 for around $550 AUD. From what I remember, I knew it was REALLY CHEAP, and was about to buy it…except for the fact that my family cautioned me not to, as there was the problem of PAL/NTSC. Ah bummer. Well, we’ll have to see next time

Also, seems like Sony may not be losing the console war after all! Seems like Sony may be able to top 200 000 units sold in February in Australia! Yes, Aussie-land! And if they do this..they may be set on a road to overtake the Wii and the Xbox 360! Hooray!

On a mysterious note, Sony has also stated that they have major exclusives for the PS3..in works. Seems like theres over 20, and they haven’t been revealed yet. Oh bummer. Guess we’ll have to wait for that, eh?

Also, here is a photo from the Taipei 101 fireworks I saw on New Years Eve…absolutely GORGEOUS if you were there, live. Missed it? Come back in I think 2 more years. If your Chinese you’ll know what I mean (Hint: Calendar)

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven’t been posting in the last few days! Holidays have just started and I’m in Taiwan! Absolutely Marvellous. Low prices, GREAT food = me a fattie!

Anyway, I somehow managed to pack my laptop, bring a whole heap of chargers for PSP, phone, 2 hard drives, and I STILL didn’t pack my laptop power adapter! So…yeah.

Anyway, seems like I got to Taiwan at the right time! Smack bang in the middle of the IT Month Expo in Taiwan, running from December 1 to December 9.

I must say, it’s the most fun I’ve had in a while! Promotions = free gifts that are thrown at you from EVERYWHERE. I mean, GIFTS. At the end of the day, I had a whole grocery bag (which was also given to me), stacked full with gifts like towels, bags, phone add-ons and more.

Who can forget the booth babes? Absolutely GORGEOUS! (Especially the ones from Garmin)

So…I went to the PS3 booth(s)! Heavenly Sword and Uncharted:Drake’s Fortune look GORGEOUS.

I played Gears of War today on Xbox 360..awesome, but I think Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune looks and plays sooo well! It’s so..fluid, and the character jumps around so much..

For those in Asian countries, you should know the popular Dynasty Warriors series. The new one, well, that looks sooo goood. And I mean, really, really good.

Gran Turismo? Absolutely Fantastic. The only game I managed to play though, was Time Crisis 4, using the new Guncom 3.

I must say, it is kind of disappointing, as the developers have taken a different stand to making the game. The new Guncom 3 looks like the Wii Zapper, though it is a lot different. Using your left hand to hold the front of the gun, you control jumping and moving. Right hand, you control shooting and aiming.

The Time Crisis series you always shot and ducked. Now, you move around (sloooowly), and you do a lot more. Eg. go to the harbour and get the keys, duck down to grab ammo.

It just feels so much slower than the rest of the series. Somehow the aiming system was broken or something, and you couldnt even aim on the right hand side of the screen. Reloading, I think you aim outside the screen and double tap the trigger..I wasn’t too sure, to be honest.

Although it was a disappointment, I think it was partly due to a few glitches and errors. The cool thing though, when you change guns, you can see them..and the machine gun looks AWESOME!

The PS3 has a lot coming, both game-wise and media-wise. Profile 1:1 support on Blu-ray is coming this month for the PS3, with Picture-in-Picture playback the main addition.

I’m off to see some friends in Taichung (center of Taiwan), and I’ll be back soon to give you more updates! Till then, have fun!

Hey guys!

With Haze now being delayed until next year, what FPS Action Shooters are there left on the PS3 to play?

Resistance, you’ve probably bored yourself to death fragging others for now;
Warhawk, you’d probably stay around in a plane and not run around on the ground shooting people;
Metal Gear Online, still isn’t out yet;
Killzone 2, you’re still dreaming;
The Orange Box, who plays that on the PS3 anyway;
Crysis, when the hell is that getting out;

Seems not alot..eh?
Well, strap yourselves in for some old and new school fragalicious action! Unreal Tournament 3 is coming out, DECEMBER 10! For Europeans, unfortunately a January/February release.

Fortunately, you guys get a PSN update! Here it is:

G-Police (PS1 Classic)

Blazing Angels 2 Demo
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Demo

Folklore DLC - The Alchemist Pack
Motorstorm DLC - Rascal and Governer Vechicle Pack

Battlefield: Bad Company Trailer
Beowulf Trailer
Motorstorm ’Devils Weekend’ Trailer
Ratchet and Clank Future ’New’ Trailer
PSN Showcase Trailer
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, ’Lifelike Facial Animation’ and ’Hunting El Dorado’ Videos

Tekken 5 Wallpapers

Someone’ll be bringing sexy back this summer/winter with these sexy cufflinks.
However, it is advised that you only get this if you have:
1. A suit, preferably
2. Money, preferably
3. Sexy back attitude

Number 2 is a big bummer, as since they are sterling silver, they come at a hefty $150.

And for those Call of Duty 4 players (same here), you’ll be drooling to see what’s included in the UPDATE come soon! PC gamers, not the v1.2 update, but a new one Infinty Ward is working on!

Some awesome upgrades, including Killcam to Airstrikes and Claymores! Here’s the full list:

Additions / New Features:
Added Kill cam to Airstrike bombs and Claymores

Addition of Host Migration so if Host Leaves auto-chooses next best host

Tweaked the following Oldschool Mode settings based on feedback:
- Added Unlimited Sprint
- Increased Magazine Size
- Added Ragdoll Cam

Addition of New “N0M4D” Control Scheme

Optimizations / Tweaks:

Identify party by background color (in Lobby)

Optimized server selection for first match for better connections

Improved network performance for 18 player games

Optimized ‘Chase Cam’ when Spectating

Fixed Playlist error when attempting to join from other games

Handle Corrupt Create A Class data instead of kicking player

That brought my sexy back.

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven’t been posting recently, been sick…cleared up a bit today, so that’s good

Anyway, apparently Haze’s release, as seen in my post beforehand, was going to be December 14th (in Europe). I also stated that rumours of it being delayed to 2008 were also false. ..Since Ubisoft stated the release dates!

Well, it seems they’ve come back yet again to state that it will not ship in December as originally scheduled and in fact, go for a release between January and March 2008. Bummer.

Back on to radical, yet good news for Sony. It’s getting a helping hand in advertising. Yep, its porn.

Seems in Japan, adult-only sections in retail stores now have signs stating “Blu-ray adult movies, definitely enjoy them on the new PS3!”. They are also now stocking Blu-ray porn movies.

So now the PS3 is truly a ‘home entertainment package’.

Hey guys!

It seems the 40GB is doing wonders yet again! Last week in the US (November 5-11), over 100 000 PS3 consoles were sold, with 75 000 before that week!

Before the price cut AND the 40GB PS3 introduction, Sony was only selling around 30 000 - 40 000 consoles per week.

Great news in the U.S. , though what’s happening in Japan?
Seems like the 40GB is doing wonders there as well! Seems like the 40GB was able to sell 50 000 in one day, with weekly sales rising considerably to 68 000 consoles, from a measly 16 000.

And more great news comes with this!
Assassin’s Creed, one of the most highly anticipated games this year, apparently runs better on the PS3, giving it more framerates than the Xbox 360! Although it runs smoother, apparently the Xbox 360 version has better lighting, although that won’t really matter when your slashing up dozens of enemies at high-speed

Who can also forget Haze, our little PS3 exclusive?
It seems that Haze will be available on December 14th, in Europe! Yes, that’s right - the rumours you heard of it being delayed to 2008 are FALSE. Ubisoft have come out and stated it will be released in December, and that’s when it shall be released. Remember, this is one of the games rivalling Crysis in visual graphics. Do watch out for it.

Who can forgot the chick-magnet as well? Singstar, here we are!
Europe fans - a lot of news for you today!
Singstar will be released on the 7th of December in the UK with two packs! Buy the game for £25, for game and two microphones for £50. Fiesty!
Singstar will ship with 30 songs, but as widely known, 40 more will be available via the Playstation Network. At just 99p each, you surely can’t miss it!
With 40 at the initial release, it seems another bunch will come a week later! Sony has also stated songs will come on a regular basis, so there may be a possibility songs will be released every week, however realisticially it may be every fortnight or month.

Bet it doesn’t beat the Top 10 Most Badass Weapons in Gaming History, does it?

11th of November.

Many things happen that day. One of them just happens to be the release of the DualShock 3 controller!

…In Japan, of course!

Many games will have the rumble feature, including Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. I hear Motorstorm 2 probably will have it as well, along with many other new games. Older games probably will get patched up to include the rumble feature as well, it is speculated.

Fun fun fun it is…except the fact that Western countries will not get it until the new year! What a bummer, although there is semi-good news: Most of the ‘large quantity’ of pre-orders have come from import companies who want to meet the demands of their Western clients. So…
1. Stick with your controller and wait for DualShock 3 at RRP (Recommended Retail Price)
2. Import the DualShock 3 controller ‘now’, and pay an extravagant price.

While your waiting, why not use your PC and play some Tabula Rasa? Fun fun fun.

Hey everybody,

If you have a PC, and love PC games, then if you haven’t already tried this, I suggest you come over to my house for a good slapping! (Single Player Demo of Crysis, by the way)

I believe most of you may still be in doubt over if Crysis will be on the PS3. Last we heard some store clerk accidentally put out a promotional poster/box about Crysis on the PS3, and..that was actually all we heard of it. Not much to go by, but eh, we can always hope

Hope no more. Crysis may actually BE on the PS3!

I was looking around on Crytek’s website, and found a jobs page…so I checked it out, seeing what qualifications you needed to get into this ultra ‘1337′ company. And what did I find?

Console Programmer - PS3

Requirements:

Shipped at least 1 title for Nintendo GameCube, PS2 or XBOX or simultaneously
5 or more years C++ object oriented experience
Strong 3D math and graphics background
Ability and desire to innovate, contribute and polish all aspects of a game
Experience with next generation cross-platform development
Experience working with all major aspects of a game engine
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Passion for making video games

Pluses:

Gdb debugging knowledge
Experience with low-level programming
Experience with multi-threaded engine design, system design
Power PC assembler experience
Linux toolchain experience

Responsibility:

Development of a Next-Generation GameFramework based on CryEngine 2.0
Work on various aspects of porting to engine code to PS3 and creating solutions to get the utmost out of the PS3
Cross platform code development
Create and maintain documentation
Complete all tasks in a timely manner and to a consistent high quality standard

Sweet. So if they’re looking for a PS3 programmer, aren’t they aiming for a…PS3 game?

The PS3’s Deployment in Europe is slowly becoming a grand one as the PS3 is rising the ranks of console glory!

Sales have risen considerably after the 60GB PS3’s price was reduced and the much cheaper 40GB PS3 was introduced.

The PS3 outsold the Xbox 360 by 10% in the UK near the end of October, while it beat the Xbox 360 by 50% in Europe. (Sweet.)

Looks like the holiday season is definately sprucing up!

By the way…Xbox 360 Rally is looking for a writer. If you think you’re up to the task, you can sign up here. It’ll be fun, I promise

Apparently some have signed up…so if you really want to know the situation, just email them.

Hello Hello!

It seems there have been updates for the Playstation Network! And here they are:
Full details as follows:

UNITED STATES

Need for Speed: Pro Street (Demo)
Timeshift (Demo)
Twisted Metal 2 (PS1 Game)
The Godfather: Don’s Edition DLC
Beowulf Trailer
Burnout Trailers (x3)
Gran Turismo 5 ’Tokyo Motor Show’ Trailer
Need for Speed: Pro Street TV Spot
Playstation Eye Trailer
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Trailer

EUROPE

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Demo)
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (Demo)
Feel Ski (PSN Game)
PS Eye: Mezmerize
PS Eye: Tori Emaki
Eye of Judgement Trailer
Motorstorm Revenge Weekend Trailer
Playstation Eye Trailer

JAPAN

Toy Home (PSN Game)
Record of Agarest War DLC
Call of Duty 4 Trailer
Guitar Hero 3 Trailer
Winning Eleven 2008 Trailer
Heavenly Sword Anime Series Part 3

Might I say, that is quite a good list of updates there! Except why did Japan only just get the Call of Duty 4 Trailer?..hmm….
Playstation Eye is also looking veeeery good. 120 FPS, much?

Also, new Devil May Cry 4 screenshots have appeared. Clickie here to check em out while your waiting for that February release

I shall be off for a week experiencing the Australian outback and getting myself wrecked. There’s a LOT of news I’ve got in store though, so stay tuned!