Gran Turismo 5 Coming November 24th November 16, 2010

I might have mentioned Gran Turismo 5’s release date in the past…yeah it didn’t happen.  Gran Turismo 5, the long awaited and much delayed PS3 racing game has been delayed until a bit later this month.

On a side note, the game is fully compatable with 3D HDTVs, if you have such a system in place.  Pre-ordering the game at various retailers will score you an exclusive DLC car, and for each retailer it will be a different one.  Also, the previously mentioned Gran Turismo 5 Collector’s Edition will still be sold for $100US.

Gran Turismo 5 is coming November 24th, 2010 exlcusive to the Playstation 3.

A Look at Remedy November 11, 2010

While you’re probably waiting for YouTube to stop twiddling its thumbs and render my Playstation Move video (the first of a series), you might want to check out this article I caught online of an industry insider who got to take a look at the offices of Remedy Entertainment, makers of Alan Wake and Max Payne.  He also believes he’s found the source of their power!  No spoilers here, you’ll have to read the article here to see what that is.

Would Remedy like to extend me an invitation to visit?  They’re welcome to!

Rage iPhone News November 9, 2010

There has been a lot of news recently to hit the web about the upcoming Rage iPhone game being made by John Carmack at id Software.  The game is going to be called “Mutant Bash TV” (although Rage will still be in the title somewhere) and is going to have two versions at release.  There will be an SD version for earlier iPhones which will be at 30FPS and cost .99 US and an HD version which will be at 60FPS for iPhone 4 and iPad.

The game’s code was originally based on the Rage engine, but there was compatibility problems on the older iPhones with it, so the game is using some of Doom Resurrection’s code.  The game was designed from the ground up to run on iOS, but a Droid release is possible.  Windows 7 Phone is not, since it does not support C++.

No release date is available yet.

Kinect is Live November 4, 2010

The Xbox Kinect, formally known as Project Natal, is one of the biggest releases of the year and should be officially in stores today.  The unit allows three dimentional motion capture for up to two people, allowing you to play your specially designed games without a controller.

You can buy a Kinect standalone (which requires the November update) to use on your current Xbox 360 or Slim for $150US, and there are two bundles offered.  If you’re looking for a new Xbox 360 or just looking to upgrade your existing one, you can buy a Kinect with a hard-drive free 4GB Xbox Slim for $299US or with a Xbox 360 with a 250GB hard drive for $399US.

Downloadable content is avalible for anyone who pre-ordered a Kinect, regardless of bundle option.

God of War DLC Content Now on Playstation Network November 3, 2010

After spending most of yesterday playing through God of War: Ghost of Sparta and also spending all day waiting for the promised downloadable content to be redeemable in the Playstation Store, I can finally inform people that not only can those who pre-ordered God of War: Ghost of Sparta now be able to redeem their pre-order codes (including the pre-order pack and for some of you the Deimos Skin for God of War III) but also that all of the content for God of War III that was previously only avalible through codes from pre-ordering or buying the Ultimate Edition of the game is now avaliable for purchase.

The various pre-order skins for God of War III are $0.99US a skin, and there are four individual ones.  Each skin gives you a special ability but disables obtaining trophies..  The extra content to turn your regular edition of God of War III into a UE (which adds a special skin and a whole new set of trials) is $2.99 but free to Playstation Plus subscribers.

The system will notify you which content you’ve already redeemed through codes to prevent you from purchasing content you already have.

Level Cap in Halo Reach Lifted November 3, 2010

Bungie has announced that as of yesterday the level caps in Halo Reach have been lifted.  Originally put into place to discover any methods found after release to fraud their system, up until yesterday no player could progress past rank of Lt. Col Grade 3 or buy any items past that rank.

Since the community has met the challenge of achieving 117 million daily and weekly challenges in the game, the cap has been lifted and progression can continue.  Any points accumulated past the cap will count towards leveling up for anyone who reached it as well as new armor in the armory to dress your Spartan.

Playstation Rewards Beta Test Launches November 1, 2010

Sony has sent out their emails to the inital round of testers (mostly Playstation Plus and former members of their Gamer Advisory Panel (like me) ) to test out their new Rewards program.  Not many details are included with the beta membership, just access to select contests including a trip to CES (Consumer Electronics Show).  The system will be three tier, with rankings like Select and Pro but no details are provided as to how to rank up or what to do to rank up.  The only advice given is “just keep doing what you love”.

It’s the first rewards program I’ve ever seen that keeps the details a secret.  Usually they tell you “buy things” or “play things” to get the rewards but Sony just doesn’t seem to be doing that.  All in all, it’s a free program, if I get rewarded for anything I’ll be sure to post it up.

Microsoft Launches Xbox Live November Update November 1, 2010

The November update for the Xbox 360 is being sent through Xbox Live to all Xbox 360s that log in today and every day past that.  The new desktop update brings an overhaul to the Xbox 360’s Graphic User Interface and brings support for the Xbox Kinect perphial which is coming out Friday.  The update is required to access Xbox Live.

The November Update requires three different download procedures, none of which should take more than 5 minutes each to download and install.  You will also need to agree to a NEW Xbox Live terms of service before logging back in to play online.

With the update also comes the new ESPN software which is free to download and weighs in at about 40MB.  You will also need to download a new version of the Zune Marketplace which weighs in at about 35MB.  I haven’t tested if a lot of the other software requires an update as well but I do know the Halo Waypoint is continuing on it’s current version without need of an update.

Also since it is November 1st, today is the first day of the 10 dollar rate hike of the yearly Live subscription, anyone wishing to renew their Xbox Live account for another year will now have to pay $60US instead of the previous $50 US.

No More Heroes Coming to the PS3 and Move October 27, 2010

My favorite game series on the Wii is making the move to the Playstation 3 and it’s getting HD graphics in the settlement.  The first game of the series is being ported to the Playstation 3 with full Move Support, HD graphics, and extra features like a Cutscene Viewer (my favorite special feature games can have) and a seperate boss fight mode.  I am curious if they’re going to keep the mode in the Japanese release which puts all the female characters in sexy(er) outfits, but there’s no mention of that.

No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise is coming to the Playstation 3 in 2011.

PSP Go Drops Price in US to $199 October 25, 2010

The PSP Go, considered by many internationally as a complete failure, has gotten a price drop in the US from the original $250US launch price to $199US, putting the PSP Go at the same price as a PSP-3000 bundled with a game and memory stick.

The PSP Go was really a bad idea all around, however some good did come of it.  The reason why the PSP Go did not do so well is likely because of the price premium and the incompatabilty with PSP games that came on discs (which was the whole PSP AAA market pre-Go).  People didn’t want to pay an extra-fifty dollars for a PSP that wouldn’t run most games, regardless of how “cool” it looked.  They also knew that current PSPs, as long as you had a high enough capacity Memory Stick Pro Duo, would be able to run any games downloaded off the Playstation Network just as well as a Go would, making the higher price a complete waste.

That said, it is nice that a lot of games that are no longer manufactered on UMD format have migrated to digital versions for download on the Playstation Network, allowing me to play a lot of games on my regular PSP that are no longer on store shelves like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.  I wish Infected would make the jump to the digital platform as that is still my favorite PSP game and it’s so unfortunate most people have not been able to play Planet Moon Studio’s masterpiece since the game has been out of print for a few years.