Tag Archives: PlayStation

Suikoden II on PSN: Millions Rejoice They Don’t Need to Spend Millions…

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Suikoden IIWell, okay. A copy of Suikoden II doesn’t cost “millions” these days, but it’s not cheap at all. Some have paid close to $100 for the game disc alone, while mint condition to sealed copies can cost many times more. Of course, Konami hasn’t made a patina coated penny in profits from those sales. But starting tomorrow, all that changes when the game finally arrives on PSN as a PSOne Classic. It won’t cost much (hopefully under $20) and is still one of those deeper than it looks on the surface games that’s been generating desire since it went out of print.

Granted, it seems that it only got a single production run and until this point in time never got a western re-release. Now, (well, tomorrow) it’ll be in the hands of PS Vita and PS3/PS4 owners who can finally play what’s been called one of the greatest JRPGs ever made. Hmmmm… of course, now the BIG question remains will saves from this game also work with the Suikoden III, the PlayStation 2 follow-up that used the previous game’s files to grant players bonus content. Methinks Sony will need to tweak that Content Manager software the PS3, PS4 and Vita use to share that data when the time comes. I still have my physical copy of the third game, but I sold off my SII earlier this year because I needed the money. I bet the farm on Sony and Konami finally making things right and thankfully, that’s seemed to have paid off. Whee.

Sony’s 20th Anniversary Limited Edition PS4: Nifty Shades of Grey

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I should have figured that Sony would be going back to basics for their 20th anniversary, but seeing that familiar shade of grey on a new model PS4 made me chuckle a bit. I bet it’s not backward compatible at all, meaning some younger folks who buy it, might want one to add to their collection or just hate that color aren’t seeing the complete picture. I still have three of those old grey models here and they get trotted out from time to time, too. 20 years is a long time and I can still recall the initial skepticism some had about Sony jumping into the game console business with the PlayStation after a deal with Nintendo to co-create a game console fell through. How the gaming landscape would been had that arrangement not fallen through is anybody’s guess. Like them or not, you have to give Sony credit for making good on their initial promise to shake things up and continue doing it for so long despite some ups and downs over the years.


 

Anyway, Happy Anniversary, Sony – you’ve certainly earned a place in millions of lives since 1994. Here’s to (at least) 20 more years (provided we’re all still around)…

PlayStation Store Flash Sale Time: 60 Games and Movies Up For Grabs!

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PlayStation Store 

Amusingly enough, I actually forgot that there was a Heavenly Sword movie made well after the game made its PS3 debut. That said, seeing it in this latest PlayStation Store Flash Sale made me want to maybe check it out. Maybe. I kind of prefer owning physical media, so I may end up seeing if I can snag this on DVD for a song somewhere. As for the other stuff on that lone list? Well, here you go – take a look and maybe grab your self a deal this weekend – prices go back to normal on Monday (October 20) at noon:

GAMES
Title, Sale Price/Original Price
Battle Princess of Arcadias (PS3) $7.49/$29.99
Bayonetta (PS3) $7.99/$19.99
Beyond Good and Evil (PS3) $3.49/$9.99
BloodRayne: Betrayal (PS3) $2.49/$9.99
Fat Princess (PS3) $3.49/$14.99
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams Full Game Unlock (PS3) $3.49/$14.99
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva (PS Vita) $11.99/$29.99
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva (PS3) $19.99/$49.99
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (PS3) $7.49/$29.99
Knytt Underground (PS Vita) $2.49/$9.99
Knytt Underground (PS3) $2.49/$9.99
Mirror’s Edge (PS3) $2.25/$14.99
Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection (PS3) $2.49/$9.99
Portal 2 (PS3) $4.99 /$19.99
Remember Me (PS3) $11.99/$39.99
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PS3/PS Vita/PSP) $1.49/5.99
Resident Evil Code: Veronica X (PS3) $5.99/$19.99
Sacra Terra: Kiss of Death (PS3) $2.99/$11.99
Sanctum 2 (PS3) $3.49/$14.99
Scott Pilgrim Ultimate Edition (PS3) $3.49/$14.99
Skull Girls Encore (PS3) $4.99/$14.99
Time & Eternity (PS3) $6.99/$19.99

MOVIES
Title, SD Sale Price/SD Original Price – HD Sale Price/HD Original Price
All Cheerleaders Die SD $7.99/$12.99 HD $7.99/$16.99
An Empress and the Warriors SD $4.99/$9.99 HD $4.99/NA
Bedevilled SD $2.99/$9.99 HD $4.99/$12.99
Black Rock SD $5.99/$12.99 HD $6.99/$17.99
Boarding Gate SD $3.99/$5.00 HD $6.99/NA
Catwoman SD $7.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Colombiana SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Fast Girls SD $9.99/$12.99 HD $9.99/$16.99
Girlfight SD $7.99/$8.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Grindhouse: Death Proof SD $4.99/$9.99 HD $4.99 /$12.99
Grindhouse: Planet Terror SD $4.99/$9.99 HD $4.99/$12.99
Haywire SD $6.99/$14.99 HD $8.99/$19.99
Heavenly Sword SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $10.99/$12.99
Kill Bill Vol. 1 SD $6.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Kill Bill Vol. 2 SD $6.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Killshot SD $4.99/$9.99 HD $4.99/$13.99
La Femme Nikita SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/NA
Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life SD $6.99/$9.99 HD $10.99/$17.99
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider SD $6.99/$9.99 HD $10.99/$17.99
The Long Kiss Goodnight SD $7.99/$14.99 HD $9.99/$19.99
Million Dollar Baby SD $7.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/ $12.99
Painted Skin: The Resurrection SD $2.99/$9.99 HD $4.99/$12.99
Raging Phoenix SD $4.99/$9.99 HD $6.99/$12.99
Resident Evil SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99 /$12.99
Resident Evil: Afterlife SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Resident Evil: Apocalypse SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Resident Evil: Extinction SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Resident Evil: Retribution SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Salt SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
The Four SD $2.99/$9.99 HD $4.99/$12.99
This Girl Is Badass SD $4.99/$9.99 HD $6.99/$12.99
Ultraviolet SD $6.99 /$7.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Underworld (2003) SD $8.99/$9.99 $9.99/$12.99
Underworld Awakening SD $8.99/$9.99 $9.99/$12.99
Underworld Evolution SD $8.99/$9.99 $9.99/$12.99
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans SD $8.99/$9.99 HD $9.99/$12.99
Vanquisher SD $4.99/$9.99 HD $6.99/$12.99
Violet & Daisy SD $5.99/$9.99 HD $7.99/$12.99

And nope, you can’t watch and play everything here by Monday unless you’ve a time machine that works properly.

Coming Up for Air in Time for Some Vib-Ribbon News…

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Vibri PinupActually, I heard about this yesterday, but it was after a long day of poring over email and plotting out today’s Alien Isolation run, I was too tired and amused to post anything. Anyway, today on PSN, Sony is finally releasing the original PlayStation game Vib-Ribbon in North America, but not for that old console. This port is headed to the PS3 and Vita, with a future trip to the PS4 in the cards. I’ll let you boogie on over to the PlayStation Blog to read up on this wonderfully cool little game, which retains its ability to use music CD’s to generate random levels on the PS3. It seems that the Vita version loses this feature (unless it can work with MP3 files), but even without it, the game is still quite whimsical and still a ton of fun to play.

I still have my Japanese copy of the game and a PS1, but I’ll most likely grab this for my Vita because it’s one of those quirky little charmers that’s an excellent traveling companion. Okay, back to being scared half (plus) to death…

PSN Flash Sale: Race To Get These Racers Before They’re Gone!

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PSN Flash Sale Racers 

Like it or not, good racing games are evergreens in that they never go out of style. You can pick one or a few of a handful of some good to great third-party racers for the PSP, Vita and PS3 in this PSN Flash Sale. I’m ogling both those WRC games myself, as I don’t own them and I’m a huge fan of rally games. Yeah, yeah, they’re not a buck like some of the surprises in past PSN sales, but hey – the discounts of these digital drivers is more than reasonable as the usual prices are a bit “steep” by today’s standards of “give me everything old for nothing because it’s old and no one should pay close to retail for it” entitlement some think will keep a business afloat (it won’t). Anyway, poke around that sale page and score a couple of track burners for your own digital library!

Gamescom 2014: Hey, Sony! You Kind Of Forgot About The Vita, Huh?

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Hmmm. Well, not entirely, but you’d be hard pressed to find anything said about the small wonder at that huge event today. Freedom Wars looks like fun and a big buy this year, but nothing else was shown at that big deal media briefing meaning anyone who wanted to buy into the handheld looking for a showing at the show was probably left wondering if Sony even HAS a portable system. It’s kind of lame in a way because the system out-powers the 3DS by quite a bit and runs in a lovely HD widescreen Nintendo hasn’t yet realized on any of their handheld systems. Of course, it’s ALL about games at the end of the day and while the Vita does indeed have a number of solid must-play titles, there’s been s distinct lack of promotion of some of the non first-party titles that get kicked onto PSN and overlooked within a few days to weeks… Continue reading →

Collection Update: One WARP Mystery Solved, One Begun!

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WARP Duo

 

Well, now. I knew about the kooky Flopon World on the 3DO for years, but have never seen a copy until a few weeks back when someone pointed to one up for sale on eBay. I let it sit there for a while watching it and hoping the cover would scare the more prudish collectors who might have wanted it off (how you explain two near-naked dudes on the cover of a match-3 variant puzzle game is all up to you, folks!) and I guess it worked. I made an offer and grabbed this for less than I thought I’d be able to. One down and what I thought was the LAST game I needed in my WARP collection (well, except for that legendary Enemy Zero limited edition that I’ve NEVER seen an image of) other than whatever other demos the company produced for the Japanese 3DO magazine than what I have here.

I guess I was wrong, as a few days later I see Flopon P!, a PlayStation game not listed as part of WARP’s output on GameFaqs… which has the WRONG cover image for Flopon World, by the way. I have NO idea what game is pictured other than to say it’s on the Flopon World disc as one of at least four games, so perhaps it’s a demo disc I’ve never seen? Anyway, the PlayStation game was published by Asmik in 1995 and the serial number SLPS 00032 just may mean that not counting demo discs, it was the 32nd PlayStation game released in Japan. But I think that numbering system went off the rails at some point. While it doesn’t have the WARP logo on the package or in the manual (and I don’t have the spine card to check if it’s there), both WARP and Asmik have copyright info on the game and the late, great Kenji Eno’s name is in the manual’s credits page. Hmmmmm… perhaps this was a co-production and thus not an “official” WARP game? I need to find this out, as it’ll make those who collect the few games made by this defunct company run out and track this one down. I think this one only cost me about six dollars, so that’s a steal and a nice addition to the library.

Codemasters Gets Me Rally Longing For The Good Old Days…

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I think someone at Codemasters is psychic. Last week, I broke out both Colin McRae Rally and Colin McRae Rally 2.0 just to dive in for a bit and see if they still held up today and yes indeed, they do. While the series went through some big changes as the series moved to new platforms, there was always a solid sense of fun and challenge that made each installment thrilling to blaze through. When the series changed its name to DiRT and its direction to a “cooler” racer in order to rope in younger fans of the X Games or other extreme sports, things definitely slid a bit sideways. The last few installments are all great looking games, but to me, there’s something missing… a certain spirit, if you will. Granted, Colin McRae is no longer with us, so that’s probably the missing element those later games haven’t been able to capture. Seeing that intro video above and playing the game for a little while made me hope Codemasters will go back to the drawing board and deliver a rally game that’s as fun and wickedly addictive as the first few in the series. Strip it down, but make it rich with detail, lose the big social focus (or make it completely optional) and maybe even bring back the goofy bonuses from the older titles just because it’s great to see a surprise ride or three after a ton of hard work.

PSN Flash Sale MADNESS! Everything For A Buck? You’re Broke And You Didn’t Even Look Yet!

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PSN FLASH SALE 

WOW. Well, you thought it was going to be a QUIET weekend, huh? Nope. Sony is running an absolutely crazy FLASH SALE on PSN with a bunch of PSOne Classics, PSP and PS3 digital downloads, all for 99 cents EACH. Yaaaaaaah! I had to seriously restrain myself to only buying Wild Arms and Wild Arms 2 before caving in and picking up Legend of Dragoon because I’ve never actually owned my own copy. I have the other two games here on disc, but now that I can take them on the road on my PSP or Vita, I’m happier about not having to stay home to play them (and reconnect the PSOne to the TV, dig out a memory card with the right save files and so forth and so on). Anyway, there are a LOAD of awesome titles up for grabs, no PS Plus account necessary or any other shenanigans. Just DEALS galore this weekend for anyone smart enough to pop onto PSN or SEN and poke around. So stopp reading this and go get some games!

Kingdom Under Fire II Trailer, Slight Return Version. Still Looking Good And Worth Keeping An Eye On…

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Here’s a slightly reedited version of the Kingdom Under Fire II trailer from E3 that Blueside put together using all in-game engine footage. As someone who’s played the two previous tactical/action based Xbox games, I’m quite pleased that the developer is following the same style of troop movement and direct character control play from previous entries while adding new elements. Some people STILL don’t “get” how the game will flow thanks to those cut scenes that break into the gameplay and the lack of menus and such, but all will be explained soon enough, I’d bet. If the new game is like the old ones, there will be a map to navigate, waypoints to set and other things to manage before and during battles to keep you occupied. What’s here is just to tease you into keeping an eyeball peeled for anything else coming down the road…