Well, looks like The Getaway and 8 Days just got the axe. And Sony adds some salt to the wound by announcing Qore, their new pay to play subscription video podcast, demo and beta service.
Which leaves me wondering, what the heck is Sony first party doing anyways?
Let me get the Sony first party story straight: God of War is nowhere to be seen, Gran Turismo 5 is still not out, despite what their pay to play demo might have you think, The Getaway and 8 Days are newly canned, there's no sign of Afrika, no sign of Trico, and SOCOM, Wipeout and Warhawk have been confined to PSN. Not even going to bother bringing up Home. What the heck is going on over there?
Showing posts with label psn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label psn. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
What's wrong with PSN?
Something's rotten in the Playstation Network.
The latest snafu to hit the Playstation Network is thecancellation delay of Konami's Metal Gear Solid Online beta test for US and European testers. After a long weekend of signup server frustrations and confusion as to why two separate Konami IDs were required to be created (outside of a user's PSN account) to be able to play the game, Konami threw in the towel temporarily and stopped the Beta from going live mere minutes before its US debut.
Add this to the list of disappointments rapidly accruing with the Playstation Network and one has to wonder, what's going on at Sony?
Why are major developers like Konami being allowed to require the use of their own network IDs?
How could Gran Turismo 5 Prologue USA be launched without private rooms, no voice comm and poor network code?
Why did Little Big Planet become a Blu-Ray only SKU?
Where is Home?
How is it that after over a year of being on the market there is still no in-game XMB and all the associated conveniences that come with that (invites, friends lists, cross game chat)?
Why do independent developers seem to be powerless against game sharing?
And most importantly of all, why is Soul Calibur a XBLA exclusive title?
The latest snafu to hit the Playstation Network is the
Add this to the list of disappointments rapidly accruing with the Playstation Network and one has to wonder, what's going on at Sony?
Why are major developers like Konami being allowed to require the use of their own network IDs?
How could Gran Turismo 5 Prologue USA be launched without private rooms, no voice comm and poor network code?
Why did Little Big Planet become a Blu-Ray only SKU?
Where is Home?
How is it that after over a year of being on the market there is still no in-game XMB and all the associated conveniences that come with that (invites, friends lists, cross game chat)?
Why do independent developers seem to be powerless against game sharing?
And most importantly of all, why is Soul Calibur a XBLA exclusive title?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Rigidity of Play
My memory has always sucked. I can't memorize anything-- names, faces, numbers, events, it all goes in a fog. I was never any good at memorizing Capcom's long moves lists for their fighters, nor memorizing boss attack patterns to ready my parries in the right order. Heck, I still can't always remember with accuracy which element defeats which in Lost Odyssey. Was it wind vs earth or water? Last week while playing a particular level of PixelJunk Monsters I was reminded of why I tend to dislike games that rely on memorization and trial and error.
For those who haven't played PixelJunk Monsters or any tower defense game, the gameplay primarily consists of placing defensive structures around a home-base and the game testing your defenses by sending wave after wave of pillaging monsters against you.
The level that soured me was one where only four defensive placements were available, each had to be correctly configured for the particular variety of monster that it would face at any given time, which is intended to be a hectic experience for the player. What pained me about this level is the fact that not only is it unforgiving of mistakes, defensive towers have to match the monsters they're fighting, but the game itself is not very forthcoming about the particular variety of monster you will face. You may know the next monster will be shielded, but what type of shield and the best counter to their defense is only discovered through trial and error. This wouldn't be too annoying except for the fact that the more difficult monsters only arrive after around a dozen minutes have passed in gameplay, making each failure and restart an annoying process of wading through monsters you've already determined the method to defeat until you finally reach the wave that bested you last (there are 20 waves).
After a few attempts at this level I finally threw up my hands in disgust. Although basic memorization and pattern recognition in games are staples of the industry, personally I wish the days of memorization as a gameplay challenge would be long gone. Where is the skill in an long and aggravating loop of trial and error? Shouldn't a game be more clever in challenging me than resorting to methods of play from years past? I'm all for a tactical challenge, and limiting your defensive options definitely made the level fresh from an initial perspective, but the game itself should strive to allow players to break from any specific rigid solution and instead allow them to use their skills and creativity to beat the level in their own way, making the experience truly interactive and personal.
For those who haven't played PixelJunk Monsters or any tower defense game, the gameplay primarily consists of placing defensive structures around a home-base and the game testing your defenses by sending wave after wave of pillaging monsters against you.
The level that soured me was one where only four defensive placements were available, each had to be correctly configured for the particular variety of monster that it would face at any given time, which is intended to be a hectic experience for the player. What pained me about this level is the fact that not only is it unforgiving of mistakes, defensive towers have to match the monsters they're fighting, but the game itself is not very forthcoming about the particular variety of monster you will face. You may know the next monster will be shielded, but what type of shield and the best counter to their defense is only discovered through trial and error. This wouldn't be too annoying except for the fact that the more difficult monsters only arrive after around a dozen minutes have passed in gameplay, making each failure and restart an annoying process of wading through monsters you've already determined the method to defeat until you finally reach the wave that bested you last (there are 20 waves).
After a few attempts at this level I finally threw up my hands in disgust. Although basic memorization and pattern recognition in games are staples of the industry, personally I wish the days of memorization as a gameplay challenge would be long gone. Where is the skill in an long and aggravating loop of trial and error? Shouldn't a game be more clever in challenging me than resorting to methods of play from years past? I'm all for a tactical challenge, and limiting your defensive options definitely made the level fresh from an initial perspective, but the game itself should strive to allow players to break from any specific rigid solution and instead allow them to use their skills and creativity to beat the level in their own way, making the experience truly interactive and personal.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Top 10 selling PlayStation Network games
From Joystiq.
Sony Computer Entertainment America
Sony Computer Entertainment America
- flOw
- Mortal Kombat II
- Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
- PAIN
- Warhawk
- High Velocity Bowling
- Super Stardust HD
- Calling All Cars
- Aquatopia
- Everyday Shooter
- Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection
- Warhawk
- flOw
- LocoRoco Cocoreccho!
- Mortal Kombat II
- Super Rub a Dub
- Calling All Cars
- Gripshift
- Lemmings
- Super Stardust HD
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