EDFIA review is in the works (my review copy arrived on Monday) and I’m dealing with some eBay/PayPal stupidity that might cost me some money if they don’t act fast in dealing with the idiot who tried to scam me (but failed miserably)… That’s all I’ll say about that, so good night (grrrr).
Back in a bit with an update from the Namco Bandai event. Inversion should be fun as well and of course, the new Ace Combat will have my stomach doing flips (in a good way)…
A friend who lived there for a while and made it through the earthquake sent me this from Japan – it basically says there’s more than enough electricity being produced even without nuclear power. As far as I know, these were whipped up to be worn during a demonstration a little while back and aren’t for sale. However, I’ll ask and see if more are available if anyone here is interested.
So the Supreme Court showed some actual common sense (mostly) in finally ruling that ALL video games (no matter the rating) are protected free speech as well as a form of entertainment and NOT “murder simulators” guaranteed to turn Little Johnny into Ed Gein within three seconds of picking up a controller. While it's unbelievable that it took so long, HOWEVER there's a new and more annoying issue that's cropped up. While the ruling DOES state that it's fine for minors to BUY M-rated video games, I HOPE that major retailers such as GameStop and others continue to enforce the ESRB ratings and ask for ID and.or refuse to sell ANY Mature-rated games to underage kids. Why? Pure common sense is the answer.Read more »
Yikes. You KNOW things are bad when you go to the Post Office and THEY’RE out of forms anyone can easily get online. Of course, by the time I realized I was running low on 2976-E’s and went to order some last week, the USPS online shop was down for the count for a day or two. Fortunately, I found a few spares in my scanner (of all places… I guess I need to use it more often, huh?), but those ran out yesterday. Amusingly enough, I’d forgotten to ask for a few when I dropped off some packages because a rather silly verbal battle broke out at the post office that involved a supervisor doing her job well and some really cranky people waiting on a really LONG line.
Of course, I was away when UPS dropped my PS3 copy off. Twice last week. Oops. Fortunately, I did get back in time today to grab it and will finally get some quality time with the man himself shortly. As I’m in the process of still winding down from E3 and need to pick up my prescription, I’m not settling down with the game ’til later when I can set up everything I need, ignore the phone and other distractions and dive in. Based on the notes from a few fellow editor-types who’ve already played a chunk of the single player (and my own hands-on time with earlier builds), I can already predict this one’s going to be a total blast, old-school warts and all… back in a bit with a review.
Yes, I’m exhausted and taking the weekend off – I’ll be compiling a ton of notes on the way back and will be running updates and trailers all next week along with a few reviews I started before the show. Expect some game of the show picks (Arkham City, Skyrim, Wii U, some indie stuff, Vita, blah, blah blah…)
Well, who DIDN’T think they weren’t going to blow minds at today’s conference? Showing off the new controller while not babbling about the console’s tech specs (or showing the console itself) was an excellent move that baffled some editor-types and online posters. YES, the unseen actual system does HD 1080p graphics and based on the slick teaser videos and live announcements, we’ll be seeing the same SKUS on the PS3 and 360 for some key upcoming titles with Wii U functionality.
I like the HUD moved to the tablet idea (more real estate on your TV screen for game action) in some titles, the sketchpad (yes!) and other cool things. Sure, the console’s price point (and additional tablet controllers) will be the wallet kicker for most folks, but we won’t get that information until sometime next year, I’m thinking. I’m sure it’s not going to be cheap, but Nintendo has a way with showing tech that has many consumers more than eager to pay up. Cue Miyamoto saying “ITEM GET!”, a live orchestra playing some Zelda music and people reaching for their wallets.
EA jumping on board so strongly is a big plus for sports fans (and maybe Dead Space 2 is headed to the console along with Mass Effect at some point) and seeing Ken Levine’s eyes twinkle means I bet there’s a Big Daddy or three coming to Nintendo’s new system at some point. As well as a LOT of other stuff to appease the hardcore, Nintendo die-hards and others. Skeptics beware… this is going to get REALLY interesting as developers start peeling back the covers on their Wii U projects over the coming months…
More later – I’ve got some more games to see…
Yeah, yeah, some of these are goofy or short enough to be tweets, but I'm old school (and low tech, as I'm still a poor bastard). In no particular order: AND after the jump, hah!Read more »
OK, so we all know Hideo Kojima is a genius. My question is: why the heck didn’t Sony think of this idea when the PSP was initially launched? As soon as I heard they were doing a portable unit, one of my top wishlist items was the ability to either link PS2/PS3 content to the unit for on the go action or have new games where portable versions had data that could be transferred back and forth between consoles. Anyway, now that “Transfarring” is not only a reality, but a new “word” gamers worldwide will be speaking whenever they hit the road with a Sony handheld, let’s hope it’s adopted by as many developers as possible as soon as possible.
Oh, and ANY sort of data transfer system NEEDS to be offline enabled as well just in case the PSN hacks never stop rolling out on a regular basis. Just a thought…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 