Showing posts with label Opinions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opinions. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

A Leipzig Disappointment

So, Leipzig is going on right now (which is sort of the European E3 from what I understand) and there was talk that Sony was going to unveil some really interesting information. Here is what I found out...
1. My new PSP is going to be outdated already as Sony is releasing a new version less than a year after the last new version. (Along with some cool bundles)
2. Sony is going to release a new PS3 bundle which would have been awesome had I not already owned a PS3.
3. LittleBigPlanet is still awesome and coming out October 29th in PAL territories.
4. That's pretty much it for us US folks.

So that was pretty underwhelming and considering what was rumored, I thought we'd see a whole lot more. I don't need a new PSP, or PS3, and I already know I'm getting LittleBigPlanet, so other than some specific game announcements, there really wasn't that much information to give out. I was hoping to hear something about Home, or a global LBP release date, or the shocking new revelation about LBP that they have been teasing. Oh well. Maybe TGS will give some more information.

Friday, August 15, 2008

LittleBigPlanet - New Gaming Obsession

So, ever since Sony and Media Molecule announced LittleBigPlanet was coming last year, I've been dying to have a chance to play it. Everything from screenshots to videos that I've seen have only cemented it in my mind as the game that will sell PS3's, and take over my life. Then, it got delayed, and delayed and I was really bummed out and stopped following it for a while.

But then, at E3, it appeared and reminded me why I was so entranced by it again. Now, with the release date a couple months away, I'm trying to get any information I can, and also trying to decide who I'm going to pre-order it from (there are five different offers but only two have been formally announced). I found a cool site that has a ton of info: LittleBigPlanet Central and since they have their official news site: LittleBigPlanet News I'm counting days until I can get this game.

For those who don't know, it's really hard to explain what is so cool about this game, which is essentially a platformer with a level design and share element. But it's the style, charm, and general fun of the game that make it so compelling. I've never heard anyone say anything negative about the game other than it hasn't come out yet. Nintendo tried to get it before Sony snatched it up, and for good reason. My wife is even interested in this game and that says volumes right there.

So, October 21st can't get here soon enough. All I have to do now is make my final decision on Kratos costume, Mini-Guide, or Pouch. :)

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

PS3 Trophies - Now I Get Achievements...

So, I had already sent a PSP game (Burnout Legends) back to Gamefly when I saw the news that Uncharted: Drakes Fortune had received it's patch for Trophy support. I immediately moved it to the top of my Queue, and just found out, that's what they are sending me next. So, now, I'll be able to go through the game again (which I commented earlier was one of my favorites this year) and get the new fun trophies... Someone has already sent out a list and they match the existing medals from the game which is cool.

I currently have three trophies from PixelJunk Eden (I'm only a 5th of the way through the game, so expect my review soon.. oops, here comes Uncharted to derail that idea..). And I finally realize why everyone wanted these and why Achievements on the 360 are so popular. There is a cool satisfaction with accomplishing something in a game and being rewarded for it. Even if it's just for you. There is also something that drives me to go back and complete games 100%. I did this with Burnout Paradise (at the moment I'm only 9 challenges away from 102%). The added fun is that you can compare your status to those on your friends lists which makes it kind of like a cool meta-game that 360 players have been playing for a while that we are beginning to enjoy. I only hope that the completion factor does not derail my enjoyment of the game.

So, now, I'm really wishing I had a few days off to play games cause I'm really wanting more trophies. I've even almost convinced myself to get Super Stardust HD just to get the trophies. (I almost bought Warhawk again for the same reason). So thanks Sony for the trophies... You've now added to my list of games to play again.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Future of the PSP

So, I have a White PSP Slim (The Darth Vader one), and I really like the design and capabilities of it, but lately I've found myself playing it less and less. I've got a few games that I'm still playing and a small list of games I want to get from Gamefly. But, there just aren't a lot of titles that I'm dying to play on it. Games I've really enjoyed include the Syphon Filter games, the Lego games, Daxter, Ratchet and Clank. So there has been cool content that was unique to the platform, but it seems that many studios are shying away from releasing content solely for the system.

I'm looking forward to Resistance Retribution, but other than that and Star Wars The Force Unleashed, there aren't a ton of must-play games coming out. It's not a new suggestion, but I think piracy is slowly killing the platform. Studios don't want to spend the development money when they know that a greater percentage of people are going to download the game illegally. The hardware sales have been climbing steadily, but eventually, there won't be any new games coming out for it other than ports of other games. I'm really concerned because I would hate to see my PSP just gathering dust. I've even toyed with selling it, but three things keep me from doing that:

1. Remote Play. This has been a really cool feature that I don't think has been properly utilized. There are a few games out there that should create a patch for playing via remote play. The Lego games would be awesome over remote play (although this would cannibalize the sales of that platform). I played PixelJunk Monsters via Remote Play, and other than a little lag here and there, it worked very well.
2. Exclusive games or content. The Resistance game, and the new content in Star Wars The Force Unleashed will hold my interest for now, but unless something else is coming out...
3. Online play with friends. So, really this is meant for me and one friend to play golf. That has been fun even though he killed me. But, the online experience with the PS3 is so much better, I wonder how long this will be of interest.

I hope that Sony pushes some good first party titles for the PSP, and I would love it if other studios followed suit. Maybe they need to focus on downloadable since that seems to be more secure, and would have the cost savings of digital distribution. I'm grasping because I'm concerned with the future of the PSP, and it's too cool a platform to just disappear.