• 1Nov 09

  A bit late, but...

  Holy Invasion of Privacy has the potential of a UMD release. If it can garner 700 more preorders before November 13 NIS will consider having a limited North American release for direct sale. The UMDs are set to sell at $20 just like the digital version.

  Even if this fails at least I'll finally shut up about the damned game until its sequel is fully translated and released.

  Cho Aniki Zero is poised to be the first US release of the long-running series and is supposed to release as a downloadable PSN title. Hopefully it takes after its PCE forbearers rather than the (reported) disaster that was the PS2 game. Zero is a side-scrolling shooter in a series full of skimpily clothed muscle men and rife with utterly bizarre (and sometimes suggestive) bosses. Adon and Samson are set to return as weapon options this spring.

  Frankly I'm looking forward to it. Even if it's utter trash it's a nice break from busty women in improbable armor. The series also disturbs some of the less secure men in game journalism which is great fun to observe. They seem to think playing a title full of shirtless dudes will make them gay.

  • Posted Nov 1, 2009 6:07 am PT
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• 9Oct 09

  The PS3 is Okay and DLC Nonsense

  As a pseudo-birthday present combined with an unbeatable owner I am now in possession of a Playstation 3. It had been dumped unceremoniously in a local pawn shop by either an irate parent or a petty criminal due to discrepancies regarding its hard drive. At $180 a 2-usb port PS3 with an 80GB hard drive with a Dualshock 3 controller is pretty appealing. I am a damned softie for a good sale and with the assurance of a full refund if it was defective I figured it was a good opportunity.
  
  It turns out the system is a fully functional 160GB PS3. Even if its origins were slightly shady it is comforting to know that its owner was a typical male of poor taste lacking an internet connection. It had never known the warmth of an update, a trophy supporting game or even a theme change from the standard piss-yellow background. Now it gets to suffer through Katamari Forever, Lair and eventually Demon's Souls once I find a nice deal on it.
  
  The PS3 has a very competent web browser unlike the gimp edition utilized by the PSP. If my PC exploded the PS3 would provide a fairly suitable substitute. While something is configured incorrectly and the PSPs cannot connect directly to the PS3 they still can communicate using either the USB cable or the internet. While remote play doesn't actually let you play PS3 games in a hilarious butchered and laggy way it's worth using to access media servers around the house or away from home. The only minor irritant is that the PS3 can only stream content to a single PSP at a time.
  
  The only truly awful thing about the PS3 is how it handles downloadable data. Rather than just downloading a title and being able to play immediately on the 360 the PS3 uses a two-part system wherein it downloads an installation program and THEN installs the game. This was especially irritating when attempting to download a demo of Toy Home, having it install, installing an update and then not being able to play at all because some part of the process failed to function properly. I also dislike how either most downloadable games seem to lack a demo. I'm not spending money on Rampart if it isn't obvious what version it it! Most games install data to the hard drive but for the few titles I have it hasn't been excessive.
  
  As far as exclusive content the PS3 is decent. Lair is interesting once the basic controls are understood. I've been having a good time with Folklore. There is a fair amount of exclusive DLC though the only one which truly stood out to me was Soldner-X. I love shmups so it was a no-brainer. Zen Pinball is also awesome with its attention to physics and details like multi-layered table art.
  
  So far I'm quite happy with the system. The XBox 360 still enjoys its place as the primary console due to it most multi-platform titles being built to suit it. I was given The Orange Box to test the unit before I invested in games of my own and it was less than impressive. Both machines can produce impressive content but the PS3 tends to get the short end of the stick due to its more unique hardware. Shortcuts are usually taken and result in the PS3 games having lower resolution textures or other graphical anomalies.

  NIS recently had a sale on some of its downloadable titles including Holy Invasion of Privacy for half off. $10 is a much easier price to swallow for such a small game bereft of bonus materials. Interestingly a poll cropped up to gauge interest in a UMD release on Playstation Blog and NIS's website.With Badman 2 being localized shortly I have reconsidered my stance on the UMD issue in favor of a 'special edition' UMD with both games and possibly bonus filler like concept art. It could be justifiably sold at a higher price point and might still be of interest to those who downloaded the first title.

  • Posted Oct 9, 2009 1:26 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 5Aug 09

  Finally, a cure for sight!

  Rather than attempting to cure the blind, Sony has made measurable progress to give the gift of blindness to others. Witness Girlz Play Too. In an attempt to corner the market of girls with pea-sized brains Sony has unwittingly allowed said market to demonstrate their lack of design sense to the world. They're letting users create customized lilac PSP images from stock patterns and character pictures. It doesn't make much sense as the hideous designs can't be easily reproduced and stuck to an actual PSP unit.

  The titles recommended are pretty standard for the girly 'tween market- Hannah Montana and some movie about climbing spaghetti based on what may or may not be an animated film are the 'stars' of the show. Given the limited range of 'tweeny titles basing an entire campaign on that particular age and sex. Having Patapon 2 included seems a little odd. Patapon is cute but the original required quite a bit of grinding for rares and strategy for larger enemies that the chosen market segment may not accept or be able to grasp.

  In related PSP news I've still not yet gotten Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This?. Part of this is due to my car's driver's side window refusing to go up but part of it is because I'm still hoping for a proper UMD release of the game. If I spend the $20 on the downloadable version it is inevitable that a (possibly very limited) US UMD run may be released for $30. It's just idiotic that the UMD edition was canceled so close to the game's release. The PAL edition is currently on track for a UMD release although the cost of importing would bring the blasted thing close to $50. Japan has both the original game and its sequel available as UMDs. Patapon 2 had a similar treatment although at least you can buy a retail box with a manual for it.

  I don't give a damn about the downloadable versus material arguments that have been floating around the internet. Call me a sentimental old hag for wanting physical media. It costs more to produce a disc or cartridge but I'm fine with that. As long as the media is properly cared for it can last a lifetime. I don't trust Sony and their online presence enough to justify $20+ downloadable titles. This sounds hypocritical for one who buys heavily into XBox's Live Arcade but Microsoft has a better handle of what they're doing.

  While the PS2's online ability was nowhere near Gamecube levels it still had serious problems (like Resident Evil: Outbreak's mandatory split server for hard drive users) and many of the games lost functionality when publishers realized the cost of maintaining their own servers. A few XBox games have lost server-maintained features (like Steel Battalion: Line of Contact's campaign mode) but can still be played online even though the console is obsolete. While it's difficult to find random players on Burnout 2's servers it's still possible. There's also the point of cost and content- most Live Arcade titles are $15 or less and many would never have withstood a retail release. Who would buy Rush 'n Attack at retail even at $5? NIS is a well-known niche publisher and Invasion of Privacy could have found success from that little logo alone. Capcom still keeps publishing Monster hunter titles in the US despite its pitiful sales. FROM kept plugging away at King's Field titles despite its limited US following for years. Have some confidence in the game, NIS. A limited UMD release for direct sale would shut up the irritating bastards who want a physical game and avoid the hassle of retailers not stocking the game their representatives complained about. They already have a retail site set up so that is no barrier.

  Still, this comes from a female. I need to stick glitter and puppies on my red Kratos PSP and practice for training virtual puppies. Lord knows I would never be able to play Monster Hunter Freedom 2 and break a giant crab's legs apart with a chainsaw made from electric unicorn's horns. That would be uncivilized!

  ... I just thought, why the heck isn't Sony pushing that Brooktown High game? It's made for that market!

  • Posted Aug 5, 2009 8:46 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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