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PS3 FEATURES

0  The Worst Bugs On Bad Company 2 Right Now Are... Sat, Mar 13th, 2010, 7:27 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Bad Company 2 has seen a lot of good press lately, as many happy gamers are thankful for a break from other FPS titles strewn with their own imbalances. Reasonably balanced classes, vehicles that are used for more then just camping a spawn point, and defined combat roles all work together to create an experience that’s really hard to beat. Even better seems to be the community itself, which despite the amount of bugs that have been experienced, has taken everything in stride. While many of the experienced bugs can be blamed upon some occasional unruly server lag (or just a few bad servers as a whole), some glitches are much more difficult to deal with. Amongst some of the more noteable frustrations are stabbing and having a knife not kill (this is simply due to server lag), being unable to spot an enemy player, and players may notice that the occasional login finds them completely missing their rank. Even worse is when a match starts with all your classes and unlocks completely reset, leaving players unable to access any other weapon you may have earned. Other players are reporting being kicked from matches early, or having a full match load-up only to send them right back to the Xbox Dashboard (or simply starting a full game crash). More »

2  How Voice Acting Has Changed The Video Games Industry Sat, Mar 13th, 2010, 3:58 pm (EST) BY FOZZIE Voice acting, as defined by Wikipedia, is the act of "providing one's voice to an animated character." Though its origin is unknown it's been safely lodged in the acting world for quite some time now. Disney, as many of you are well aware, has been well known for its animated movies and, more impressively, as a voice acting pioneer. Snow White (1937) was the company's first full-length animated feature film made and Adriana Caselotti voiced the movie's title character. More »

0  Why God of War 3 Doesn't Need Aggressive Marketing Tue, Mar 9th, 2010, 1:10 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA As we get closer to the release of God of War III, fans are eating up every bit of information they can get. The men and women at Sony are keeping a tight lid on this one however, with only the occasional trailer here, a screenshot there, and the unveiling of the box set for fans to chew on. That's exactly the way it should be. As a culture we tend to get a little obsessed with how much information we can learn before something even happens, and it's created a lot of false hopes and empty promises. God of War III is better off without it. More »

2  What Sony Could Offer In A Premium PSN Service Tue, Mar 2nd, 2010, 11:34 am (EST) BY ADAM MA There's been a bit of talk over the alleged leaked Premium Playstation Network features, and how much anyone would actually want to pay for those services. Some people are interested in possibly getting free games, PS1 Classics, and discounts to all content. Others would prefer the beta access, and supposed user-to-user challenges that allow a bit more customization. But in the end these features are just icing on a cake, and have little to do with what being online with a console is all about. Unlike Xbox owners most people feel that since Playstation 3 already offers free online services there's no reason for them to be charged for. Copying the things Xbox Live already does then offering a slew of useless additions won't help. If Sony really wants to start winning the console wars, then whoever is in charge of this Premium service outline need only look to a few simple things: More »

1  EA Takes Aim At Modern Warfare With Bad Company 2, Medal Of Honor Tue, Mar 2nd, 2010, 2:53 am (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS With the release of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 upon us, some have suggested that this game has the best chance of challenging Modern Warfare's position on top of first person shooters. This perception of direct competition is well founded, the DICE team has clearly gotten a lot of inspiration from Modern Warfare, while at the same time retaining the feel of a Battlefield game. This could potentially be a killer combination which publisher Electronic Arts seems ready to capitalize on. Bad Company combined with the Medal of Honor franchise are looking to dethrone Call of Duty as king of shooters, but will they be successful? More »

4  How Heavy Rain Succeeds Where Mass Effect 2 Failed Fri, Feb 26th, 2010, 7:29 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Mass Effect 2 was a game about choices. Yes, it did have aliens, a plot to shake the universe on its very foundation, sex sequences, and an epic soundtrack to tie it all together. But ultimately Mass Effect 2 completely hinged itself on the decisions commander Shepard made. The alliances you chose, the romances you engage in, and even your save file from the last game all played a role in shaping the storyline that unfolded till the very end. However, while Mass Effect 2 did keep many of its promises there was one really powerful storytelling element that was all but absent from the gameplay. Something that Playstation 3's exclusive Heavy Rain has in spades. Giving decisions to a player and then telling them that they will experience the full weight and consequences of their actions is a hefty promise to make. For a consequence to be experienced, the player needs to genuinely care about the characters. Mass Effect 2 never really gave me the chance to love my team. Sure I collected them, met them, learned about their hobbies and sexual preferences. In some ways I became attached, more for their combat usefulness than anything else though. The most interesting characters are received late in the game (Thane and Legion) and they aren't covered nearly enough, while the useless predictable eye candy hovered about for no particular reason at all (Miranda and Jacob). You learn about them through forced conversation that only sometimes seem to flow, and it's only through the game's cutscenes that characters really seem alive. More »

3  How Modern Warfare's Failures Contribute to FPS Gaming Thu, Feb 18th, 2010, 9:40 am (EST) BY ADAM MA It's hard to talk badly about a game that sold over 1 billion dollars worldwide, because it's clear that they've done something right. In this case that 'something' was Call of Duty 4, a game that set the stage for a whole new generation of shooting games. But now that Modern Warfare 2 is actually out, it's really hard to justify playing it still. Cheaters and exploiters are naturally rampant in almost every single game with a multiplayer component, but Modern Warfare 2 is absolutely out of control. So what do you do when cheaters ruin a poorly programmed game? Move on to another title, and hope its programmed better. Is it really a surprise to anyone that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Aliens vs Predator demos are doing so well? Aliens vs Predator might of had a lot of criticism surrounding its gameplay, but that didn't stop 14,000 people from trying it out over the span of a single weekend. Bad Company 2 squashes that by comparison, having been downloaded over 2 million times across Xbox Live and Playstation network, making it the most downloaded demo EA has ever released. More »

1  In the Dante's Inferno vs. God of War Matchup, Pick Kratos for the Win Fri, Feb 5th, 2010, 6:11 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS Dante's Inferno, developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts, is about to hit store shelves. Ever since the game was revealed there has been endless comparisons to a little game everyone, who hasn't been living under a rock, has heard of, God of War. EA's Chief Executive Officer, John Riccitiello, has been clear that new IP, such as Dante's Inferno, are vital to the company's success. The question on everyone's mind remains, will Dante's Inferno be able to stand against the God of War III juggernaut? After playing both games' demos, it is by no means a stretch to call Dante's Inferno a God of War clone. The game is shameless in how blatantly it rips off God of War's controls, mechanics and atmosphere, however, this doesn't automatically mean the game is of a lesser caliber than God of War III. Dante's Inferno is actually quite solid and arguably the best God of War clone so far; the controls are tight, the graphics are generally crisp and the premise is intriguing. Granted, these are only impressions from demos of each game and a great deal can change when they hit retail, but judging from each studio's past work (Visceral with Dead Space and Sony Santa Monica with the previous God of War games), it's a safe bet to assume the final versions of each game will be high quality. More »

0  Can BioShock 2 Prevail Without Rapture's Creator? Wed, Feb 3rd, 2010, 11:04 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA With Bioshock 2 just around the corner it's hard not to imagine how well the game will live up to its predecessor. So much focus has gone into the creation of Rapture, the underwater utopia build on the sweat and blood of its citizens, and the state it exists in long after its rulers demise. What has become of the Splicers? What's the full story behind Big Sister? How much more punishment can Rapture take before falling apart? The main impression gamers have been given is that the city itself is the most important character, that the unfolding of its story is the driving point of Bioshock's single player campaign. But as a fan of the first game I remember things differently. So very different in fact, that I'm concerned about Bioshock 2 living up to the high standards that have been set by its predecessor. More »

1  Is Romance In Games Like Mass Effect Even Necessary? Mon, Jan 25th, 2010, 7:03 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Playing through a western RPG means that you'll be subjected to a lot of choices. Fallout, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, they all love to offer the player decisions that naturally have repercussions. From the group you assemble to the alliances you make, these decisions shape the very foundation of experience. Selecting a character that isn't good for the team may lead to some harder boss fights, and so on. But where does romance fit into all this? More »

0  Hidden Gems: DJ Max Portable 2 Thu, Jan 21st, 2010, 12:46 pm (EST) BY COLIN One of the wonderful things about being isolated in a military camp in the middle of nowhere is that I get a lot of free time to just, well, do absolutely nothing. Of course that's just being inefficient, which is why I always keep my PSP close at hand. Doing so allows me to enjoy a myriad of portable wonders five days a week and one of those wonders includes a humble rhythm game known as DJ Max Portable 2. More »

2  Assassin's Creed 2 Can Stand Against Modern Warfare 2 Posted on 2009/10/16 BY DARRYL When Assassin's Creed was released in 2007 it instantly smashed records. After gaining the title of 'fastest selling new franchise ever to be released in North America' it then went on to sell around 8 million units worldwide on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It'd certainly be an understatement to say this surprised people, especially because of its love-hate relationship with the gaming media. For all those that loved the game, there were also those who honestly couldn't understand why it was receiving any praise. Time has passed since then, and although the original still continues to sell, its successor is just around the corner in the form of Assassin's Creed II (More »

1  TGS 2009 Awards: Best PlayStation 3 Game Posted on 2009/10/14 BY KYLE WYNEN Tokyo Game Show 2009 may not have had the biggest scoops or as many surprise announcements as gamers were hoping, but there certainly wasn't a lack of great games on display. We've already covered every other platform in our TGS 2009 Awards, so it's time to round things off with the best PlayStation 3 game of TGS 2009. More »

	2  Wolfenstein Fails In Its Sales Quest Posted on 2009/09/10 BY SHAWN In mid-August, Raven Software designer Manveer Heir stated that if the new next-gen Wolfenstein title outsold Madden NFL 10 during August, he would reimburse everyone who had kept their receipt and had bought the game before the end of the month. More »

0  Racing Gamers Spoiled For Choice This Fall Posted on 2009/08/23 BY JAMIE COURTS It's almost that time of the year again, and there's another hectic fall season of games just around the corner. For the shooter fan, this is great news considering there's a whole slew coming out just as there is every year. One big feature of this year however, is the unreal amount of high calibur racing titles coming out at once all around the same time. More »

7  Amazing Resistance 2 Marksman Recreated by Fan Posted on 2009/07/12 BY KYLE WYNEN Gaming Union forum member Hyokenseisou has recreated the much loved Marksman rifle from Insomniac Games' Resistance 2. The gun is to-scale, measures in at 37 inches long, and took "roughly 100 hours" over the course of five days to make. Highly detailed, Hyokenseisou's Marksman features a working scope, detachable ammo clip, an ammo counter that lights up, and a laser guide. Check her own photos of the Marksman below. More »

0  The Future of the MMORPG Genre Posted on 2009/06/16 BY NELSON In the previous articles, we looked at the MMORPGs currently sitting on the top of the pile, while also looking at those which are close to launch. However, the MMORPG genre is still expanding, and there are a lot of MMORPGs further in the future which are attempting to find their own niches in the market. Are games like World of Warcraft safe from possible dethronement in the short term? The answer is probably yes, but the real question is... for how long? This article hopes to uncover the methods that some companies are now looking toward implementing in order to keep the genre original and fresh. More »

0  Forza 3 Was 'Definitive'...For a Day Posted on 2009/06/03 BY JAMIE COURTS It was stated in Microsoft's E3 2009 press conference that Forza 3 will be the 'definitive racing game of this generation', and for a brief moment in time their claims were actually true; no other racing game this generation really come close to their game. However, the guys over at Polyphony Digital didn't let them bathe in their glory for long as Gran Turismo 5 came out with some nice subtle announcements at Sony's Press Conference. More »

2  Sony Looking To Regain Momentum Posted on 2009/05/25 BY DARRYL Sony's showing at E3 2008 didn't exactly set the world alight, but it certainly wasn't lacking impact. They announced a few new games and a few new bundles for their existing systems, while trying to stress what they'd achieved since the PlayStation 3 had launched. However, since then, their sales momentum has actually shifted the other way and this year's E3 is extremely important for them to regain that momentum moving forwards. More »

2  Top 10 Upcoming MMORPGs Posted on 2009/05/23 BY NELSON MMORPGs have become quite popular over the years, and some, like World of Warcraft have found a place in popular culture. However, that's the now and they won't last forever. We mentioned a fortnight ago, five of the biggest MMORPGs at the moment, but what's around the corner that will be able to dethrone those currently flying high? Should Blizzard be concerned about some of the upcoming titles? Most of the titles up for discussion in this article are in the late stages of development and are running their beta testing phases. There are quite a few of notable merit and a fair few that are targeting specific niches, for example fanatical sci-fi groups. This is our top ten -- in no particular order -- of the titles we expect to make quite a bit of noise amongst gamers when they finally surface and that MMORPG players should definitely keep on their radar. More »