Archive for the Console Games category
March 13th, 2006
Well – My Blog appears to be atrophying to beyond the post-per-month status…
Here’s a quick update on my uninteresting life:
- Broken a life-time habit, and bought a Microsoft product – the XBox 360 – very impressive – most impressive part is ‘Live’ – especially the marketplace and the downloadable demos – currently very much enjoying ‘Geometry Wars’ and ‘The Outfit’ multiplayer demo….
- Meanwhile – in PS2-land – Loving ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ and ‘Black’ – both fine examples of farewell salutes to the platform…. Especially ‘Black’ – which has humourous mission objectives and Matrices-esque destructible pillars in large (soldier-filled) rooms.
- Became 30 – sigh…. on the upside – got an HDTV for my birthday – very nice – just need Sky to launch their HD service…
- If by any chance you are reading this because of my software – - – yes, a Universal Binary of ‘More Internet’ is forthcoming – soon…..
January 24th, 2005
From: BBC NEWS | Technology | Games firms ‘face tough future’
Jason Kingsley, chief executive of Rebellion, said the transition from the current generation of consoles to the new machines was difficult because “the production quality expected by consumers will be that much bigger”.
He added: “We have been through five technology transitions and survived so far.
“Each one has involved the death of some people.
Yikes!
November 30th, 2004
CentralStation – The PS2’s network gaming hub is now available on the web, or rather the Events and Player Reporting section is. The missing articles/features are basically marketing fluff anyway.
It’s good that Sony is beginning to realise that the PS2 should not be the exclusive access point for Central Station.
September 24th, 2004
Online dropped from Gran Turismo 4 so that it hits Christmas release.
Apparently there will be another version next year with Net Play….
Very disappointing – I suppose Sony’s Quarterly results rather depend on a GT game actually leaving the garage…
Meanwhile: Are they really going to put the monkeys from Ape Escape into Metal Gear Solid 3? – See here for hot monkey/snake shots.
September 21st, 2004
“While inheriting the basic functions and design philosophy of the current PlayStation 2, the internal design architecture has been completely overhauled, resulting in a slimmer and more lightweight design. Internal volume has been reduced by 75%, overall weight has been halved, and thickness trimmed down to 2.8 cm (thickness of current model is 7.8 cm). Its size is almost as small as a hardcover book, making it easier to carry around and enjoy games and DVD videos anytime, anywhere.
Equipped with an integrated Ethernet port for network gaming, the new PlayStation 2 sets new standards in the fusion of design and functionality. In North America, approximately 40% of the PlayStation 2 on-line game users connect their PlayStation 2 to the networks through analog modem and reflecting the American users’ preference, the North American model is equipped with both Ethernet and modem ports. The launch of the new network ready PlayStation 2 will further expand the universe of on-line gaming, as more and more on-line titles become available worldwide.”
(BBC News article states that it’ll be the same price as the current model (i.e. Ł99 / €150))
Interesting pics:
Flip-top Disc Lid:
External Power adapter:
Nice size comparison:
July 26th, 2004
MicroSoft has rather a nasty habit of trying to buy quality and talent.
They bought Bungie – and Halo went from a Mac game to the XBox game.
They Bought Connectix’s Virtual PC – and the new version is delayed (again) to October.
Then they bought Rare Games – who wrote the famously brilliant Goldeneye on N64.
Now it seems that the curse of being acquired by MS strikes again: Rumours of Walk-outs at Rare abound…
May 11th, 2004
Well – Sony have unveiled the PSP. It looks very much like the concept shot that came out a while ago.
Nice round-up of the details here.
Built-in 802.11b is interesting.
I can’t see myself buying one though – I simply don’t use portable games any more – I got a GameBoy as soon as they were available in the UK, and I loved it. I’ve got a GBA but never use it.
The PSP will apparently be available in the UK in 2005.
Great Slashdot comment:
My N-Gage just scuttled back into the comforting environment of my pocket. I think it’s crying.
Nintendo have also shown their upcoming mobile hardware:
Game & Watch 2004… um, I mean the Nintendo DS.
May 7th, 2004
New EyeToy Ad Campaign Cancelled.
Hey, Hey 16k.
I’m very angry with Royal Mail – Royal pain in the Arse more like. Post that doesn’t turn-up and a bag of other people’s post stuck through my door does not impress. Other people seem to be having the same experiences.
And now some real EyeToy news:
EyeToy Chat – is a video chatting app for the PS2 – Alas I can guess that it’s a proprietary protocol, wouldn’t it be nice if everyone just used open standards?
And while we’re on standards and interoperability – wouldn’t it be nice if I could use my existing (better quality than EyeToy) FireWire Cam with my PS2? Ditto for hard drives (even though you’d probably have to reformat the File System)
March 15th, 2004
Sorry, again I seem to be out of the blogging habit – I’m currently addicted to a PS2 game I’m testing for the Network Beta. Alas can’t mention anything about it (but it’s out soon). I’ve been finishing off Vice City too – wow that game is detailed.
Meanwhile here’s one of my bad-tempered rants about minor imperfections in life:
Why is it that some PS2 game developers are still making games that can only use the first memory card slot? It’s rather irritating, and when the game requires that the PS2 network config must be on the same card – it means duplicating your net settings on all cards.
Then you discover that the Net Config is Copy Protected – so you have to go through the whole IP set-up doo-dah again. Which is no fun, because entering IP addresses with a Dual-Shock controller is about as usable as Windows 3.1
Gah!
March 1st, 2004
GT:San Andreas is coming this autumn. Yikes! — I still haven’t finished Vice City…
in Totally Unrelated News: The London Underground is going to allow GSM operators to put their networks into the tube, cool. BBC London News Link.
March 1st, 2004
Microsoft XBox2 Dev kit – is a Mac. Apparently.
Some wag has already been busy in Photoshop:
(hehe)
February 20th, 2004
GT4 is delayed until Autumn. However Hard Disc support is apparently now going to be included. Interesting…
The US gets the HD add-on at the end of next month.
January 26th, 2004
It has a bountiful population of Skilled Cynical Photoshoppers:
January 21st, 2004
I read on Slashdot that Nintendo have announced a new handheld games device to be released later this year. The most notable feature seems to be the fact it has two screens…
Game and Watch is back!
December 4th, 2003
For those of you who simply can’t wait for GT4
Available now here. There’s a movie too.
or maybe just a GT4 Memory card perhaps:
December 3rd, 2003
I caved in last Friday and bough Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for the GameCube. Edge gave it a 5 out of 10. If you haven’t read Edge before – they have a harsh, but fair ratings system – they don’t give every game 8/10 like most gushing games mags.
It’s an accurate score – as long as you already know the other MK games. If you were twelve years old and had never played Mario Kart 64 it would be great. and it is a fun game – one I haven’t really taken full advantage of yet as I haven’t had the opportunity for a proper 4-way scrap so far. The multiplayer aspect has always been (to me at least) the most important part of Mario Karts – you get the most fun out of it when you are cursing your real-life opponents who are bearing down on you with an arsenal of red shells.
There are some clever tweaks to the game (the opportunity to carry two weapons for example) – but the missing parts outweigh them – it’s not fast enough, the tracks just don’t seem to have the flair of MK64 and I’m not a fan of the new kart handling.
It’s Mario Sunshine all over again: Technically improved – but lacking the coherence of the N64 version.
Now for the good news:
I needed some extra controllers for Mario Karts – so I got a couple. What I didn’t realise until I got to the counter was that one of them was a WaveBird wireless controller – bought it anyway and am very pleased with the result.
There are a few things I would change if I were in charge of version 2 though:
1 – Get rid of the AA Batteries – use a rechargeable one instead.
2 – Add a cord! Stay with me here – the cord would be unpluggable at the controller end and would allow recharging of the battery and continued play.
3 – Have an optional rumble. The current model has no rumble for battery life reasons. In tethered mode the rumble could be on – and when wireless the user could opt for rumble with a shorter battery life – It’s rechargeable.
4 – Use Bluetooth – then the controller could be used on other bluetooth devices.
November 17th, 2003
Yay – Head over Heels for Mac OS X (and other Platforms)
Get it here.
I have memories of the original on the ZX Spectrum (mid-eighties) being very clever – but very hard.
Excellent.
November 5th, 2003
The Reg has an article about Sony showing off conceptual pictures of their forthcoming handheld device – the PSP.
