Crisis averted - Thanks Internet!

And just like that, Sony joins Microsoft in pulling a 180 thanks to the entire Internet kicking up a stink.

Now just wait until they remove all offline features from the game :D Or is that just way too cynical?

Sony announces DRIVECLUB PS+ Edition; Is Evil Sony back?

Well that didn't take long now did it? After their massive smackdown of Microsoft and Xbox One at the last E3 Conference, it looks like Evil, $600 PS3 get-a-second-job Sony is slowly starting to creep back.

Now that DRIVECLUB is finally back from the dead, Sony has started building the hype and releasing information leading up to the October 8th release date. Check out the first info dump trailer below.


Hidden in among all the nice fluffy stuff like getting a whole bunch of content for free, and being able to get a Platinum trophy in the PS+ edition, is the little chestnut which has lit the flame of the Internet:

"If you’re an active PlayStation Plus subscriber and have been playing the PlayStation Plus Edition, but decide you want the full DRIVECLUB experience, you can purchase a one-time upgrade for €49.99/$49.99/£42.99. This will give you access to all five locations, 55 tracks, 50 cars and all 50 tour events, as long as your PlayStation Plus subscription remains active."

What. The. Fuck?

Is this the same champion of the people Sony which emerged at the last E3?

The Playstation Plus service has been built on offering gamers value for money through free and discounted content. The "free" content has always been clearly only "free" while the subscription remained active. This was known and accepted. What was also always clear and known, and explicitly defined by Sony was that any content purchased with a PS+ discount was yours to keep regardless of subscription status. 

This is a game changer.

Now various Internet zones, NeoGAF, Reddit, even the Playstation Blog have blown up. But Sony seems to be sticking firm. Sure, we got this Tweet

but to me this is like Chief Wiggum typing it up on his imaginary typewriter. What the fuck is there to clarify? Who exactly is he going to speak to? This isn't some accident or mis-communication. This is the plan, clear and simple, right there in black and white. Sure you can buy the full physical copy, but this seems sneaky, manipulative and downright shady.

You just knew Sony had to turn the screw at some point. You thought you were going to keep getting Tomb Raiders and Borderlands and Bioshocks free forever? Sony gots to get paid yo. Looks like it didn't take long for Sony to go from David to Goliath.

First look at the new Batman game from Rocksteady

Here's your first look at the all new, next-gen only Batman title from Rocksteady. Featuring the Batmobile!

I have to say I'm actually pretty excited. This is looking pretty awesome.

Your thoughts?

The Order: 1886 - First gameplay footage finally revealed!

Finally we get to feast on one of the most hyped and anticipated, yet barely known about titles for the PS4. Does the fact it's a cover based shooter make you any more or less excited? I still think it looks great and very promising, enough the keep the hype train going for now at least.

Belated Top 10s - Games

Well now that Top 10 lists are back in fashion (did they ever go out of fashion? -- Ed) it's time for our, rather belated we must admit, top 10 lists. Today we start of with games. 2013 wasn't the greatest year for gaming, with the current-gen consoles winding down with the lead up to next-gen, and the next-gen launch being rather mediocre. Yet at the same time, it feels like there was more content this year than any other, with seemingly more indies, downloadables and free-to-play titles than ever before. So without further adieu, let's take a look at our top 10.

10. Lego Marvel Super Heroes (PS4) - You wouldn't find too many people admitting to this, or any Lego game for that matter, being one of their favourites, but I'm only being honest. I love all the Lego games, add dozens and dozens of Marvel heroes and you have yourself a winner. There's really not much else to say other than you already know whether you like this game or not.

9. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (PC) - The Call of Juarez games have been a mixed bunch over the years, with the franchise seemingly losing it's way, only to make a resounding come back with this title. It's easy to take people by surprise when nobody really expects much from you and this is certainly what CoJ: Gunslinger did. But you still have to give the crew at Techland props for getting it so right with this title. A great story, and novel storytelling, combine with fun and exciting gameplay, and great graphics and level design. The duel mechanics are a unique aspect that is executed perfectly and altogether this is a great little game.

8. Rogue Legacy (PC) - You might call it rogue-lite. You might scoff that it's "too easy". For me, this game is the logical iteration on the roguelike formula because it gives the rest of us a chance. Not everyone can deal with the amount of abuse and punishment a true roguelike dishes out, and this game gives you a reward for all the time and effort you put in. Does that diminish the feeling when you do complete it? I don't think so. This game is still a challenge, but a relatively fair one. The controls are super tight, the graphics hark back to the good old days and the unique twist on the repeated deaths is more than just a gimmick. This is a great platformer that manages to brilliantly straddle the line between challenge and frustration.

7. Dust: An Elysian Tail (PC) - It's hard to believe that this game was created almost entirely by one person. With sumptuous hand drawn graphics, fun combat and enough RPG elements to make progression fun and rewarding, this is a great Metroidvania-lite, in a year with some other great entries to the genre. I say lite, because the difficulty isn't overly punishing, but the story, characters, art style and combat make this game great fun to go through.

6. The Swapper (PC) - A unique spin on puzzle games with a clever mechanic and some real head scratching scenarios, set within a beautiful backdrop that oozes an eerie sort of tranquility. The ability to move on to a different puzzle if one has you dumbfounded allowing you to return later and solve it instantly means you're never stuck for too long, and leaves you slapping yourself once you see just how, seemingly, easy the solution was all along.

5. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PC) - We were a little late to get on the Brothers bandwagon, but with the game available for a nice price during the recent Steam sale, we couldn't fight the hype and praise any longer, we had to see it for ourselves. This is a fantastic game. Without any (coherent) dialogue, a beautiful story unfolds and delivers some real emotional punch. The art style is wonderful, taking on a darker tone at times while retaining the fairy-tale feel, and then of course there is the unique control scheme which some may find a little harder to grasp than others. This is a game to be played in one sitting, and will leave you feeling happy, sad and everything in between by the end.

4. Tomb Raider (PC) - Talk about a comeback. Lara Croft rises from the dead with a bang. Gone are the oversized polygon breasts and clunky mechanics. Welcome to the 21st Century Lara. While this game may owe a lot to titles like Uncharted, and, well, Uncharted 2, it does more than just copy, it forges it's own path and creates an entry that more than stands on it's own. The graphics in this game are amazing. Truly next-gen, well before the console next-gen even thought about getting started. The gameplay mechanics are simple but executed perfectly. The combination of exploration, adventuring and combat is perfect, and the story, while not brilliant, is still very good.

3. Bioshock Infinite (PC) - Will this be the last Bioshock? If so, what a way to go out. While I will admit the combat in this game lacked a little something compared to the original Bioshock, it more than made up for it with the brilliant mind fuck story which demanded you keep playing. The art style, and the brilliant contrast between the picturesque and tranquil world of Columbia and the extreme violence you carry out within it made for a compelling experience.

2. DmC: Devil May Cry (PC) - For all the kicking and screaming from the Internet about their beloved franchise, it turned out to be in vain. This is such a great game and a great entry in the Devil May Cry franchise. With a perfect and deceptively simple control scheme and combo system, the combat in this game was so much fun. Easy to pickup, just the right amount of difficult to master. The insane level and enemy design and the story with just enough real world parallels and video game crazy are a perfect match for Dante. He is the ultimate anti-hero after all. Sumptuous graphics and art direction, all running at a buttery smooth 60fps without needing a beastly PC. Forget the haters, this is a brilliant game and props to Ninja Theory for sticking to their guns and delivering their vision with aplomb.

1. The Last of Us (PS3) - It just had to be, didn't it? There's a reason this game has garnered so much attention and praise. Simply put, it's amazing. Naughty Dog are at the absolute peak of their powers and this game proves it. The unflinching story and it's brilliant delivery, the the amazing cinematic set-pieces, the absolute immersion and tension you feel in this game are unparalleled. So much of the brilliance in this game is from the things that aren't the main focus. All the small details that went into creating such a realistic world, the eeriness you feel as you walk through the desolate world and try to piece together what once was, as you scour every nook and cranny trying to scavenge every little bit you can find, as you try to survive at any cost.

Early reports of faulty PS4 consoles

You just knew it had to happen, right? After the unprecedented amount of hype and positive coverage of the PS4, you just always felt in the back of your mind, "Don't fuck it up Sony." 

And that's not to say they have. A few reports have surfaced of dead PS4s, and since a couple of the sources include IGN and Kotaku, you know they're legit. What we don't know is what is the source of the problem, and how many are affected? 

Obviously there are plenty of working PS4s out there, and so far there are only a handful of reports of failures, but let's be cynical for a while. At least a couple of the failures appear to be a simple manufacturing defect, the HDMI port. Either this is a problem throughout all units or limited to a batch, but it's a pretty bad fuck up from a quality control point of view. The other units appeared to have failed randomly or after the firmware update. Either way, it's a little worrying.

On the other hand, if this was a genuine problem of a catastrophic nature, this would be blowing up the Internet by now. The way broken TVs from the Wii or Red Ring of Death for the Xbox 360 became a phenomenon, the PS4 situation would too, in no time. Now, the official launch is still a day or so away for the USA but I'm calling this as nothing to worry about, for now.

Captain's (Back) Log: Deadpool (PC)

Title: Deadpool

Platform: PC

Difficulty Played: Ultra-Violence!

Time Played: 15hrs

Achievements Earned: 35/50

Rating: 7/10




Well that certainly escalated. What was meant to be a short little time waster ended up with me still playing the game after beating it on the hardest difficulty to get more achievements. Make no mistake, this isn't a great game, or even a very good one, but if you're a fan of button mashers, or the Deadpool character, it's worth a look. 

The game provides a decent challenge on the hardest difficulty, so you'll at least get a little longevity out of it this way, if you just want to see Deadpool, breeze through it on easy. There's a few achievements which ask you to play levels in a certain way which also adds to the replay value but it's really gonna come down to how much of the combat you can stomach.

This is a button masher through and through, and not with a lot of depth. You get three melee weapons, four shooting weapons, a few types of grenades and four special moves which also differ depending which weapons you have equipped. It's easy to string together long combos that can be quite stylish, violent and fun to execute. However, you will quickly see everything and tire of the limited enemy types and bland environments. 

The boss battles can be a bit tense on the hardest difficulty, but the gameplay never differs from shooting and slicing all the time. The game has a few little glitches but is overall very solid in execution. Though my game did develop a glitch toward the end where it restarted itself after every few deaths which got a little annoying.

The Deadpool character himself is executed well. The voice acting is very good, the one-liners and humour is mostly decent, there's token appearances from X-Men like Cable, Wolverine and Rogue and overall it maintains the theme of the comic book character. 

The game is developed by High Moon who are gaining a reputation for solid licensed games after their two Transformers efforts and this is a decent title too. It lacks depth though and still has a little bit of cash-in feel. I feel this is more to do with the publisher than the developer but it certainly holds this title back.

Coming up Next: 

- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Ultimate Edition (PC)
- Call of Juarez Gunslinger (PC)
- Sleeping Dogs (PC)
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3)

I'm leaning toward Call of Juarez since I heard it was short and sweet, but I've been wanting to play Castlevania for a long time now and the sequel will be out soon. Stay tuned....

Best. Unboxing. Ever

Since when is Shuhei Yoshida such a god damn bad ass? For us Australians who are waiting until the 29th November to get our grubby little hands on this beauty, this is only enhancing the agony.

Confirmed: Titanfall permanent exclusive for PC/360/X1

Finally the speculation can come to an end. Since being announced and generating a shitload of buzz, it has been assumed that Titanfall was a launch exclusive for the Xbox and PC platform and that it would come to PS4 eventually. Now all has been revealed by none other than Vince Zampella from Respawn in a series of Tweets.

These Tweets seem to suggest that Respawn had focused on Xbox One so as not to stretch themselves seeing as this is their first game, and that a PS4 version would be released eventually. In stepped Microsoft and a deal was done with EA for total exclusivity.

This sets a very interesting scene for the upcoming next-gen console/shooter war.

Firstly, there's the elephant in the room in Call of Duty. Despite being multiplat, it's essentially a defacto Xbox exclusive. However, it's next-gen buzz seems weak, and the gameplay footage being shown is very underwhelming. But how will Activision react if MS start pushing Titanfall as the next big thing on Xbox One? Not just because it's a rival to CoD, but also because of the bad blood between Zampella and Activision. Will this push CoD toward the PS platform? Already the early buzz is that the PS4 version of Ghosts is the better one, so it's possible. Or will Call of Duty fail to transfer it's fanbase to the next-gen and lose it's spot as the king of the hill?

The bigger issue however, is that whichever way you look at this, it seems like Respawn are being fucked over big time. EA has seemingly denied them the opportunity to build a big multiplat fan base for a new IP whilst pocketing a shitload of cash for themselves. Whether any of the exclusivity deal cash even goes to Respawn is not clear. Even if does, I'm sure Respawn would prefer the additional sales which would grow tenfold for the sequels. Now the fact that EA also have Battlefield 4 and are pushing it hard gives rise to a little conspiracy thinking. EA pocket huge cash from MS and keep Titanfall from competing with Battlefield 4 on PS4. Win win for EA and big time lose for Respawn. Didn't they leave Activision to get away from this?

Rumor: Call of Duty Ghosts 720p on X1, 1080p on PS4

IGN is now reporting on rumours that the Xbox One version of Call of Duty Ghosts will run at a native resolution of 720p and upscaled to 1080p, while the PS4 versions runs in 1080p native. Now, this may be true, and it certainly looks like it is, adding just another nail in the Xbox One coffin, when their de facto exclusive, as Michael Pachter put it, runs better on the competition. 

The saving grace here for Microsoft is that at least in the case of Ghosts, this looks to be more of a case of development issues rather than performance of the box. Having seem some footage of Ghosts and being wholly unimpressed, that is to say it looks terrible and with rumors of problems on the PS4 version as well,  it's clear this is more a combination of developers working on new hardware and rushed tools by console makers in order to meet deadline. So we can assume the next version of CoD will surely look as good on X1 as PS4. That is unless Activision decide to finally change up the engine which could put Xbox One on the backfoot again. 

Nevertheless, the real lesson here is that whereas on the last console launch Call of Duty 2 landed with a thump and continued to dominate the entire generation, the Call of Duty release for the next gen looks decidedly burnt out. The fact it runs a little worse on Xbox One is not the knockout blow Sony fans want.

PS4 Firmware reveal - More questions than answers

Since Sony announced the approximately 300MB day one patch for the PS4, there's been a lot of speculation and conjecture and not a lot of response from Sony. Is this a misfire for Sony? Having had all of the good press since the now infamous E3 day of press conferences, there's a few questions here and how Sony answer them will be crucial.

Let's take a look at some of the queries and their likelihood.

Will the patch be available for download on PC? I'm really not fazed by this one that much, in much the same I really wasn't that fazed about the whole Xbox One "always on" thing. My Internet isn't even that good, but I'm always on with all my devices. But will Sony force you to connect it to PSN to get the update will go a long way to showing Sony's approach to this generation. 9/10

When will other options be available for background music? - Music Unlimited only for background music? This looks like a huge greedy decision by Sony, and since they're trying to be the people's champ that is not a good thing. I'm guessing background music from local disk or network shares will come in a future update, surely Sony aren't that dumb. 9/10 (next patch)

Can you upload video footage to YouTube? Now this one looks the toughest to answer. There's a lot of speculation right now in this space apart from the PS4 perspective and since the answer from at least this firmware update says there's something going on. However, the wording on the patch notes at least leaves open the possibility that other services will be added in the future, so I'll remain cautiously optimistic this arrives in the next update. 5/10

Are entire game discs copied to the HDD? Recent screenshots point to approximately 50GB of disk space being needed for Call of Duty Ghosts and Killzone Shadofall. Does this mean the entire blu-ray disc is being copied to the hard drive? Again, I'm not bothered by this in and of itself, but when you think about it more, the PS4 having a 500GB hard drive, minus space lost to formatting, the OS and the apps, there's not a lot of room for games. Maybe they will allow adding external drives for additional storage. In any case, this ones looking true. 8/10

The fact there is a day one patch really is no bother for me, and it shouldn't be for anyone who's dedicated enough to get a launch console.. It's to be expected in this cycle where it really looks like a rush from both sides to be first out the door, and with the time delay from manufacturing the console to release day, why not work on an update. There are a few questions to be answered but I'm prepared to give Sony the benefit of the doubt for now. This update will be a good test of Sony's all new PSN, with a proverbial fuck load of gamers all pulling down the patch, Resogun and hammering the network in general. Hopefully it withstands the pressure and we all bask in the greatness of next-gen.

E3 Observations

Microsoft

So I stayed up past midnight, awaiting the live stream of the Microsoft conference, and boy did I regret it the next day when I had to front up to work dead tired. The MS conference was disappointing, and despite being a long time fan of both the original Xbox and Xbox 360, I have to say that the wheels have truly come off for Microsoft. Speaking from personal experience only, I've almost completely moved from 360 to the PS3. I don't like having to pay for Live, and regardless, my 360 is one of the old ones with no WI-FI. MS made a gamble to get the 360 out first but for the early adopters, would you rather buy another 360 to update it or just go for the PS3 with Blu-Ray, a larger HDD, built-in WI-FI and free online. Surely there's quite a few hard core gamers who went for the PS3 once it showed what it can do. So the message of this year's press conference was that all the 3rd party games will be on 360, there's a lot of media content on 360 and that Kinect exists. So like I said, my 360 doesn't have WI-FI so I'm not interested in the media, all those games will be on PS3 as well and the voice control in Mass Effect 3 doesn't interest me in the slightest. Gears of War 3 obviously looks great, and I know it will be as brilliant as both it's predecessors were, but the predictable Halo reveals, really didn't stir me up at all, and when you look at Sony's exclusives coming this year, and the massive Nintendo news, and it really looks like MS is running last in this race now, at least for me.

Sony

I'm loving my PS3 more every year and 2011 and early 2012 are shaping up as the best for the Sony system. Uncharted 3, probably the best series of this generation, as well as Resistance 3, Infamous 2, Twisted Metal and others just re-emphasized Sony's superiority over Microsoft in the software department. And the pricing of their new portable system the Vita would have made a lot of people happy. I love my PSP. I'll admit that the great games for it were few and far between but the good ones did deliver, and the multimedia capabilities are still far superior to most portable devices. Expandable storage and a brilliant and large screen means the PSP is a blessing for me on holiday. So they don't really need a ton of games coming out, just a few must haves like the Uncharted they've been showing off, and I'm pretty much sold. Now the fact it may also allow the PS3 to leverage the same capabilities as the new Wii U and you can see why Microsoft are up against it. 

Nintendo 

I've never been much of a Nintendo fan. I was a Sega kid all the way in the 8 and 16-bit wars and  then a Sony and Xbox fan. But the new Wii U has me super excited. Finally you can play all the big 3rd party games, in a unique way to boot as well as hopefully numerous exclusives. The big question is how long will Nintendo's power dominance last as MS and Sony prepare their next generation of machines. Nevertheless, Nintendo are counting on building a sizeable lead by then. If the price is reasonable and the launch titles strong, I will be itching to get it, and from a non-Nintendo fan I think that's a pretty strong backing. Nintendo's worry should be that the 3DS is waning with weak launch titles, little to discern itself from the everlasting DS/i/XL and little reason for many people to get it. Now that the Sony Vita has been announced at the same price as the 3DS I would say Nintendo should be feeling threatened for the first time in a long time in the handheld market. But the wow factor of the Wii U overshadowed this and gave gamers a lot to look forward to, as well as Microsoft and Sony. 

The Games - 

There were a lot of big titles shown at E3, including stage demos of Gears of War 3, Mass Effect 3, Modern Warfare 3(!) and a ton of others. But I was really impressed by Rage which seems like a blend of Bioshock and Borderlands, but with brilliant graphics, and seemingly a lot of variety and a ton of gameplay. 

Bioshock 3 also has me super excited. The first one was one of the greatest of this generation and this looks to be an awesome re-imagining of the Bioshock genre. The multiplayer FPS battle will be fascinating this time around as Battlefield 3 has been absolutely dazzling with what's been shown so far and with the MW3 team having a lot pressure on them Still, what was seen of MW3 also looked superb. I've always been a CoD fan but Black Ops was lackluster and I've been waiting for Battlefield to deliver for a long time. This might be their turn.

Bring on next years E3.