The Last of Us Story Trailers: The World Ends With (or Without) You…

Posted on February 26, 2013 by geelw

To some folks out there, Naughty Dog’s upcoming PS3 exclusive begs the question “Do we really need a new console?” To which Sony, industry analysts and plenty of other folks will say “well, mmmmaayyyybe…” While they’re spinning and scratching like an old LP being tickled by an epileptic DJ, I say sure, why not. Now to go rob a bank so I can pre-order one before the mad early adopter crush of crazed “gotta have it yesterday!” superfans and “Ooh, Im’a make a fortune on eBay” losers grab every available system for three months. As to the game proper (which arrives on June 14, 2013), it does look mighty spectacular for this late in the PS3’s lifespan, but you’re looking at work from one of Sony’s not-so secret weapon first-party studios…

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God of War Ascension: Sony Bets There’s a Three Way In Your Future…

Posted on February 26, 2013 by geelw

No, no… not THAT type of three way (and you’ll only get that joke anyway if you’ve played the other games in the series) As in, there are three ways to get the game, you perverts (get those eyebrows at least ABOVE the gutter. This is a family show!). As the latest trailer just dropped earlier today and interest in the game is soaring thanks to some of the other footage from this upcoming action epic, this could indeed be the best game in the franchise to date. That said, methinks it’s time for Kratos to either call it a day after this game or go the open-world RPG route, as I personally feel he’s too confined to linear pathways and puzzles when he needs to bust through those invisible walls, QTE’s and cinematic camera angles and get into doing what he does best (which is whatever the hell he wants to, usually). We shall see, I suppose, but I think the big lug NEEDS the space to breathe and Sony Santa Monica can help him out quite nicely indeed while expanding upon the multiplayer mode they’ve cooked up.

PS4 Reveal Event (Full Version)

Posted on February 21, 2013 by geelw

Put on a pot of whatever and pull up a seat. Here’s the full press event I didn’t get to see live, so whee, we get to watch it together! Hey, it’s NOT a rerun if you’ve never seen it, right? Hmmm. this brings back memories, though. I need to interview Mark Cerny at some point, as he’s been missed for a while on the gaming scene. KNACK looks like a classic PSOne platformer remade with amazing physics and I can’t wait to see more. Amusingly enough, I haven’t seen Dave Perry in years (he’s something like seven feet tall in person), but I remember a chat we had about Shiny’s development on The Matrix: Path of Neo and some other fun stuff a few years back at a loud Atari event. Enjoy the ride, folks… Sony’s just getting started.

Below the jump is the official press release (I fixed a silly spelling error I caught), as I’m too busy to edit the darn thing down, you get to pore over every official word and hold Sony to the fire if they don’t deliver the goods…

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More PS4 News? OK: The Witcher 3 Will Be A System Seller For Some.

Posted on February 21, 2013 by geelw

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is confirmed as coming to the PS4 (as I figured as soon as I read the initial press release a few weeks back), so FINALLY, Sony fans get to play a CD Projekt RED game and see what they’ve been missing. Hopefully this also means we’ll see The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings or even better, ALL The Witcher games get some love on the new console, as together they make up one of the best written and best looking fantasy/RPG games you’ll play, bar none. I don’t know what’s in the water or food there, but the team at CDPR is made up of some truly talented and smart folks who get it done and get it done right. I can’t wait…

All I need now are some trailers and screens to keep me dreaming of misty woods, crumbling castle and creepy beasties to avoid (or dice up like a sack of carrots if they get too hostile) and I’m good…

Watch_Dogs & Watch The Future Arrive on PS4

Posted on February 21, 2013 by geelw

That’s almost it for the PS4,
some cool tech on the way
A new controller, camera too,
and some new games to play.

I’ll post more vids later to-day
I’m just about to drop
Expect more Sony stuff to see
(your eyes, they just may pop!)

Diablo III Is PS3, PS4-Bound (Let The Whine Pour Anew!)

Posted on February 20, 2013 by geelw

Video stolen from GameTrailers. I’d have my OWN vid to post, if Sony would have let me in. Grrrr.

Oh, I can see the PC forums blowing up worldwide thanks to this news (I think I heard the explosions on the way home on the subway), but it’ll be good for those who may have wanted to play the game but didn’t have the PCs to run it or were hoping they’d see another Diablo come to consoles after far too long. Anyway, press release below the jump and the TRUE test of if this is all going to work will kick off next month at PAX East in Boston (March 22-24, 2013), so make sure to boogie on out thatway if you can. Press release below the jump – some cheese with your whine, sir or madam? Me, I just want to be able to play the darn game OFFLINE. By myself. No help from “friends” i don’t know and will never, ever meet in real life. You know, OLD SCHOOL gaming. We’ll see, I guess…

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PS4 Coming This Year (and Some Games, Too!), Annoyed Version

Posted on February 20, 2013 by geelw

Hokay, so I got disrespected BIG time (I’ve never NOT gotten into a press event I went to in 15 years or writing so a big NO thanks to whomever is sucking hard at PR at SCEA these days). 1200 seats in that theater and there certainly were NOT 1200 press people there. Next time, dears, put a damn tale off to the side where you can at LEAST check out business cards and websites to see if they have content that helps sell your games. Having some wide-eyed nameless peon simply smile and say “I’m sorry” before turning me away doesn’t do a damn thing (nor any good at all) for my coverage of your products. Anyway, it’s no big secret anymore that we’re getting a new console. Above and below, a pair of videos with more to come, as I update away. Stay tuned. Pissed off though I am, I still need to be slightly professional here… grrrr.

VGA 101: Evolution of PlayStation: Gaming (The Missing Link LIVES)…

Posted on February 19, 2013 by geelw

Oops. I should have guessed Sony would be trumpeting its first party studios and their assorted innovations in the game space in this “final” nostalgia trip before the new era they’re about to step out and be a part of begins. So silly of me to NOT think they’d have nothing to say about THAT part of their history, given it’s so important). Still, it’s too bad some offbeat titles are missing that didn’t get the love and sales they needed at the time (Omega Boost, for one). And it’s also too bad we never got to see certain other expensive to produce titles localized for the US such as Kowloon’s Gate (an amazing 4-disc game that might have done really well thanks to it being so fresh and visually stunning for an early PSOne release), Panekit and many others…

Oh well… it looks like tomorrow we’ll be seeing the future on a few fronts and like many of you Sony fans (and yes, the haters peering over the fence, tomatoes at the ready) good, bad or otherwise, I can’t wait…

Update! Here’s the Japanese version (of course, it goes up after I’m offline. Ah well…)

Gallery: WRC 3 FIA World Rally (PS3/Vita)

Posted on February 18, 2013 by geelw

Finally headed to North America courtesy of Namco Bandai, Milestone’s rally racer looks to catapult itself (and its cars) onto retail shelves and as a PSN download this spring. As a big fan of the previous Evolution Studios-developed games in the series on the PS2, I’m interested in seeing how a new developer also known primarily for racing games handles this franchise. I’ve played a few of Milestone’s racers in the past, so I’m liking what I’m seeing here and in gameplay videos so far. Of course, I go into every game I play with no expectations of perfection (which makes for more accurate reviewing, folks), so I’ll be playing and judging based on whatever merits it has before I pounce on any major flaws (with constructive criticism, as always). As an actual release date has yet to be announced, my engine is idling until then, but once I hear of an update, you’ll be the first to know…

More screens below the jump.

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Video Game Appreciation 101: Evolution of PlayStation (US/Japanese): Where We Are Today (Until Wednesday, At Least)…

Posted on February 17, 2013 by geelw

And so… here we are and you KNOW there’s going to be a fourth part to this series, right? It starts on Wednesday (Sshhh! Keep it a secret!), so hopefully Sony can do what they’ve done previously in getting those of us who like what they do (well, most of it) as thrilled as we were back in 1995. As always, we shall see…