Sims 3 Console E3 Interview June 27, 2010

EA has posted up an interesting interview about the upcoming console version of The Sims 3.  In it, the developer talks about the enhancements done from the PC version of the game, and makes a mention that the entire editor system from the PC version has been brought to consoles, making you Sims purists without PCs powerful enough to run Sims 3 very happy.

iPhone 4 Released June 24, 2010

The iPhone 4 is going to be released today at 9am at Apple Stores and corporate owned AT&T stores all over.

Make sure to check your store’s website for availability. Be aware the preorders sold out on these phones (before I could place mine). Supply is expected to be low.

Data Transfer Possible With 250GB Xbox 360 Slim June 24, 2010

Have an Xbox 360 already but want the new model slim?  Want all your existing data on the newer larger hard drive?  Upset the new slims don’t have a compatible socket for the existing hard drives?  Don’t worry one bit!

If you at any point purchased an individual 120GB Xbox 360 HD, you already have all the tools you need to transfer your data.  If you haven’t, you will be able to buy those tools soon.

For those who are unfamiliar with how to transfer data between two hard drives, I’ll break it down.  You must choose a hard drive of smaller storage capacity as the one to transfer the data from, and the hard drive of larger storage capacity to transfer data to.  Remove your old hard drive, and connect it to the Hard Drive Transfer Cable.  Install your new Hard Drive into your Xbox 360.  Plug the Transfer Cable into your rear USB socket, and insert the included transfer disc.  Then have a coke while the disc migrates your data from your old hard drive to your new one, then wipes your old one, allowing you to sell it to whomever you choose, or just put it into storage.

The Xbox 360 Slim does not use the “shoe” style Hard Drive of the previous Xbox 360s, instead opting like Sony does, to just use a regular hard drive of certain specifications, which can be swapped easily by hardware enthusiasts.  However, the procedure behind the cable is still sound.  Microsoft has promised that the slim is fully compatible with the HD Transfer cable and software, and the software itself (in theory) should work as long as your old hard drive has a lower capacity than 250GB.

If you do not currently have one of these cables and disc combos, Microsoft should have them on shelves soon.  They will NOT be included with Xbox 360 slims.

I would gladly record how this procedure worked with a video, but unfortunately since I make no income from the site (or anything else for that manner), I can’t afford a new Xbox 360 Slim, however I invite you to picture it in your mind now and if you do I promise not to sue you for violation of copyright.

Quantic Dream Unlikely to Continue DLC for Heavy Rain June 23, 2010

Heavy Rain was certainly the MUST-OWN PS3 game of this past February.  I was a huge fan of Indigo Prophecy and I waited four long years from their E3 2006 technical demo to play the final version of the game, and I was not disappointed one bit.

Quantic Dream is busy at work porting Heavy Rain to the Playstation Move.  When the Move becomes available, a free patch will be released for Heavy Rain which will allow you to play it with the Move controller.

However, it does mean that any subsequent episodes of the Heavy Rain Chronicles, the planned episodic post-release DLC for Heavy Rain, has been put on the back burner and might not be picked back up after the Move patch has been released.

I’m really disappointed about this, Heavy Rain was defiantly on a 2010 favorites list for me and I wanted to play more content.

Only one Heavy Rain Chronicle episode has been released, The Taxidermist, and it was given out for free with pre-orders.  It is still on the Playstation Store for purchase at $4.99 US.

Wii System Update 4.3 Released June 22, 2010

My Nintendo Wii has been blinking with a blue light for the past few hours indicating a message. The message was the notification of a Wii system update version 4.3.

Nintendo does not include release notes with their system updates. I have no idea what it does. I heard the previous version had a pretty buggy bootloader (never gave me problems but I’m not a pirate) maybe this fixes that? Really I have no idea what changed, but if you have a Wii, my advice is to perform a system update immediately.

Poets of the Fall Preparing an “Older” Song for Rock Band June 21, 2010

Poets of the Fall announced via their twitter account that they’re preparing an “older” song for Rock Band playback.  They do not specify which song is going to be released or when.

Rock Band’s official website does not list any Poets of the Fall songs this week, in fact this week is going to be dominated by five Miley Cyrus songs released as singles.

Obviously I’m a huge fan of the Poets, I hope they release more than just one!  Put a whole trackpack on there!

iOS4 Released for iPhones/iPod Touch June 21, 2010

Apple has released the new iOS4 to current hardware.  This is the same operating system that is going to power the upcoming iPhone 4.

The added bonuses of the new OS include things such as multitasking support, the ability to put all of your applications into folders, support for a background on your home screen, bluetooth keyboard support, an integrated game achievement system, tethering support (although you’ll have to pay an extra fee with your provider for that) and tons of bug fixes.  That’s just what I could remember!  Literally the changelist is longer than my arm.

iOS4 is compatable with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, and all second and third generation iPod Touch devices.  It is also compatable with iPhone 4 of course, but that phone will come with the OS preinstalled.

iPhone 4 is coming with iOS4 installed June 26th, 2010.

Konami Announces Metal Gear Solid Rising Story Details at their Confrence June 19, 2010

Konami announced via their webcast of their E3 press conference some interesting story and gameplay tidbits of Metal Gear Solid Rising.

The game will chronologically take place between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4.  (MGS3 took place before MGS1)  It will follow Raiden after the traumatic events that happened to him after Metal Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and explain how he got the cyborg armor he wears in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

They also announced gameplay information.  The gameplay will still be stealth oriented, but you will be able to do more, like hide on top of buildings like a superhero.  You will be able to manually control your precise cuts with your sword (as shown with the watermelon at the end of the E3 trailer) or have your sword automatically swing.  There will be plenty to swing at, you will be able to cut everything in the game at will.

Metal Gear Solid Rising will release for Xbox 360, PC and PS3.

Halo Reach Will Include Firefight with Matchmaking June 19, 2010

One of the biggest draws of Halo 3: ODST was it’s Firefight mode, enabling you and three friends to attack never ending waves of enemies with vehicles in large arenas for points and achievements.

Bungie has announced that they are bringing Firefight into Halo Reach, but they’re also bringing in the much needed matchmaking platform, enabling players to just bring players in through Xbox Live instead of resorting to manually having to invite friends.

The feature was heavily requested for Halo 3 ODST, but Bungie had announced because their multiplayer development team was working on Halo Reach at the time, they couldn’t spare the resources to add matchmaking into ODST.

Halo Reach will be released September 14th, 2010 for Xbox 360.

Rock Band 3 E3 2010 Trailer June 19, 2010

Here’s the trailer for the upcoming Rock Band 3.  The game will be a tremendous evolution over the current generation of music games, offering entirely new play styles, bringing players closer to playing actual instruments than ever before.

The game will also feature Band Challenges, first used in LEGO Rock Band, where your band will have to work together to complete a story driven challenge.  The ones in LEGO Rock Band were pretty campy to go with the game’s silly style (you had to play “Ghostbusters” to scare ghosts out of a mansion, or play “Tick Tick Boom” to demolish a building), it will be interesting to see if they’ll be going for more realistic challenges.

The game will also allow three player vocal harmonies, just like Beatles: Rock Band, where up to three singers (depending on song) can sing a song together for extra points.

This game is looking to be the perfect molding of everything Rock Band has offered in the past, and more!

Rock Band 3 will be released multiplatform Holiday 2010.