A savePoint at storpi.com

This past two months have been, perhaps, the most productive gaming months I’ve ever had, seeing the completion of six games: Bioshock, Lair, Heavenly Sword, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, Halo 3, and Saints Row. It got me thinking that it might be cool to have progress bars on my blog to show a percentage of how far I am into the games I’m currently playing. Trouble is, how will I know how close I am to finishing so that I can figure out a percentage? Next games up though, probably Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Tomb Raider Anniversary, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Metroid Prime 3. That’s a lot to get through before the end of the month, and I haven’t even opened half of these.

While it’s only October (and still pretty warm, until today…) the holiday season is practically upon us. This month’ll see the releases of many pretty anticipated titles. We already got Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, (well, not me. More on that later), Folklore comes out tomorrow, and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction comes in at the end of the month. Some other titles I’m looking forward to: The Simpsons Game and Clive Barker’s Jericho.

Those last two are probably a bit off the radar for most people, one being licensed and the other being just another shooter in the post Halo 3 era of really awesome multiplayer features. They were certainly off my radar until I played the demos that were released on PSN. The Simpsons Game was actually pretty solid and the humor that they’ve got is appropriately and unmistakably Simpsons brand. I’m seeing a lot of people giving the demo fives out of ten, which I suspect come from the “Everyone’s a Critic”- mentality, but if you’re a Simpsons fan, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The Jericho demo was pretty short and didn’t really let me get a good feel for what the game would be like. There is this really neat timed button presses / interactive cutscene near the end in which a hideous monster plops down on top of you and you have to hit the right buttons to block his attacks and knock him off. I think that part is probably the best indicator for the mood of the game. You can sense the fear and anexiety in your character, something that could so easily have been lost given how heavily armed your seven man team is. I think I’ll probably rent this one first to see if I can get into it.

Is it weird for me to want a family of PSP’s?

I mean, between me and my girlfriend, we already have two, a launch piano black and an imported pink. Then, last week she tells me that she no longer likes the pink one and thinks that we should get the Slim & Lites. Black ones, since the other colors seem kind of cheap. (Plus, I’m not sure I want a Darth Vader imprinted forever onto the back of my PSP) I like all of the new and improved features, but for some reason, I don’t want to just have my old PSP put out into the wild if I trade it in.

On the other hand, if I keep all of the PSP’s and end up with four, what the heck am I going to do with them? Is there anything I can do with them? When are they going to firmware in some features for the ridiculously rich, or the hopelessly sentimental people, who are going to end up with these families of PSP’s?

By the way, has anyone seen these Slim & Lite Core Packs out in the wild?

Hey, been a while since I wrote.  I’ve been working on a number of different things the past couple of weeks.  One of the most exciting has been my entry into the Unlock XBOX game concept design contest from Doritos and Microsoft.  I’ve finally gotten my idea submitted and you guys can check it out here.  Personally, I think it’d be a really fun game, but that’s not too surprising.  My greatest worry, though is that I didn’t explain it clearly enough.  Looks like I’ll have to wait till August 20th to find out.  Not too long.

In the mean time, I still have Super Stardust HD to play (now up to 78 million points!  100 million, here I come!).  The Heavenly Sword demo is really awesome, if you don’t mash the buttons, which will get it done, but it won’t look as cool.  Just yesterday, I missed the last “square” on the run over to the tower so I could fight the tougher axe guy and perfectly countered his orange attack in R1 power stance, taking him out in one blow.  It was cool.

Also on the menu, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, yet to be opened, Tomb Raider Anniversary, ditto, and Odin’s Sphere, long, yet to be finished.  Plus, Lair will be out before then, and my girlfriend just bought me a Wii for my birthday (THANK YOU!!  Other than that, speechless).  Not really sure what to do with it, the Wii, seeing as I didn’t plan to have all three consoles so early in the current gen…  At least I’m ready for Smash Bros.

And I thought the news and announcements were pretty much over for the month. Not true. Sony just had a Playstation Premiere event in Tokyo and we’ve got more stuff to be excited about.

[Update] Guess what? I can read Japanese, and there’s a live blog on the things going down in Tokyo here.

1. Last week, creator of Metal Gear, Hideo Kojima said that in the interests of time, he would only be showing a trailer for the new MGS4 at E3. But, he did invite us to see a live demo of the game in Tokyo on the 17th, which is today. So while we wait for impressions of that from…
2. No Katamari for PS3. Sad, but PS3 owners are getting a brand new game from the man who brought us Katamari Damacy called Nobi Nobi Boy, which roughly translated is “Extend Extend Boy.” From the few screen shots out over at IGN, it seems like this might be like Snake (not of the Solid or Liquid variety). Hopefully we’ll see more soon.
3. Locoroco is coming to PS3, officially, under the name: Buu Buu Cocoreccho! Locoroco. The report on it from IGN is kinda vague, saying it’s 95% complete, but “It’s Locoroco, but it’s not — a peculiar extra chapter.” There’s also mention of it playing itself when you’re not playing it(?) I don’t know, but since it’s almost done, I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
4. GT5:Prologue is looking really nice. The most recently trailer from today’s event shows some… stuff. Okay, I’m not a car nut, but I do recognize that the graphics are on par with the pre-rendered intro from GT4. Plus, the number of cars in a race is at least 12 and the Volkswagon GTI is in the game. GT5:Prologue is set to hit the PS Store in October. VW in da house!
5. [UPDATE] The number of cars in a race is 16. When the game starts, instead of going to a title screen, it loads up a “My Page” which lets you change users and access the Garage functions. This is to facilitate quick access to online play. For clarification, the Prologue is coming out at the end of October, and the game will show up at the Motor Show (again, not a car nut, so I don’t know which show they’re talking about).
6. [UDPATE] White Knight Story from Level 5, which missed E3, was shown. Unique features of this game include the main character’s ability to transforming into a giant, white knight in shining armor, and while in this mode, you still have the ability to control the other members of your party, who are now tiny in comparison. Another thing shown off is the character customization feature, which appears to be quite robust. Level 5 plans to have the game playable at Tokyo Game Show this year in September.
7. [UPDATE] Namco Bandai Games showed off four of their upcoming PS3 games: Tekken 6, which will arrive in arcades, in Japan, in November, and within a year of that on PS3; Time Crisis 4, arriving this year; and Soul Calibur 4, arriving in 2008. While nothing from Nobi Nobi Boy was shown, they did demonstrate the PS3’s ability to simulate a pudding type substances behavior in real time. More to come, as they say.From the Bandai side of the company, “Ninja, fighting, and robot anime games are in development.”
8. [UPDATE] Sega announced a new game, on stage wearing traditional Japanes-looking garments. It’s called Valkyrie of the Battlefield and it’s set in 1935 on the European stage of WWII. Not much was reported where I’m reading, but the game apparently has a very water color painted visual style and is being developed by the people who made Sakura Wars. Sega also has two other games in development, but since they’re not ready to be shown yet, they ask us to look for them at TGS this year. The costumes they’re wearing are a hint as to what one of the games will be about.
9. [UPDATE] Impressions on MGS4 later, but for now, there will be online play, similar to that of MGS3: Subsistence. MGS: Portable Ops will also be getting an expansion pack with new characters and a new single player mission, though the focus is online play. More as it comes, but the pack is scheduled to be released with the PSP Slim & Lite on September 20th.
10. [UPDATE] New Dynasty Warriors. 6.
11. [UPDATE] Square Enix hopes to add the upcoming The Last Remenant, running on Unreal Engine 3, to their staple of RPGs. And while there’s nothing new on FFXIII or Versus right now, they will be showing new footage at TGS and are aiming to show it in playable form in 2008. Guess they’re still a ways off. A Crisis Core : FFVII Special Edition of the new PSP will be released a week before the launch of the new PSP in Japan, with only 77,777 to be made. It’s come packaged with the game of course. September 9th. Woot!
12. They leave us with “To Be Continued at TGS”

So, what do you want? It’s going to be a good year.

I just learned a couple of weeks ago that the PS3 browser does have the ability to download video files directly to the hard drive.  So, Storpi.com presents downloadable PS Store Supplements.

This past week of E307 news was really exciting, as you can see below.  One of the new things they showed off was Home.  You’ve all seen what the place looks like before.  See what it’ll look like when it comes out!

New Locations in Home (click to download onto PS3)

Just so you know, this video doesn’t appear to have sound, but still, the open feeling of the square is great improvement over the biosphere type feeling of the original.  The game room at the bowling alley also have a lot nicer atmosphere.  I had my doubts about Home, but I think it’s actually going to be pretty cool.

Yesterday was fun. E307 continues today, though I don’t really expect too much big news to come out of the show. Still, I’ll let you know about anything that catches my eye.

1. According to PS3 Fanboy, a rumbling SIXAXIS, (which they’re calling Rumblaxis) will be released in September. However, their source, a release from Immersion, makes no mention of Sony releasing these controllers, and instead states that a company called Katana is the one releasing rumbling controllers for the PS3 for North America in that month. I think PS3 Fanboy just misread the release. After all, Logitech recently released rumbling controllers for PS3 as well. Still, an employee of SCEA did confirm to a writer at Kotaku that a rumbling SIXAXIS is coming. We just don’t know when yet.
2. Gametrailers.com is now hosting a whole bunch of developer walkthrough and other gameplay footage. The look at Killzone 2 from the SCE press conference is up, offering a little better look at the game. I might have to get that one up for download directly onto PS3’s later today. In addition, Rock Band, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Army of Two, Medal of Honor Airborne, and more!
3. An addition, make sure to watch the first Heavenly Sword gameplay video. Simply amazing graphics. The second video shows a bit of something that I think is a major improvement since the game was last shown, impact. It’s important that in an action game, your attacks feel like they have impact. In previous videos, the blades just seemed to cut right through and never looked like they were making contact. I can’t wait for this game.
4. I missed this one yesterday, but they announced Silent Hill V for Xbox 360 and PS3. Not really any details on the game except that a western developer is making it. Just like Silent Hill Origins for the PSP, which looks pretty good. In the end, it’s the music that counts.
5. Ooo, Burnout Paradise has some interesting features I haven’t read about yet. It’s kinda like Test Drive Unlimited, in that all the races and such take place in one big city, and there are other players online, up to 8, that can drive around in the city with you. Another neat thing is that whenever you takedown another player, that person’s PS3 or 360 webcam will take a picture of him or her at that moment and plaster your screen with it. It’s a neat idea, but… this game is rated Teen, right?
6. A reminder I just saw, Entertainment Tonight is going to be airing the first public trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for PS3 and 360 tonight at 7:00pm EST. The Force is strong in this one. Really strong. Joystiq has heard that not only will you Force push people into walls, you’ll push them through walls. One of the earlier concept arts actually shows what appears to be the aftermath of a Star Destroyer going up against a Force user down on a planet. (The Star Destroyer loses.) It’s Force powers, TO THE MAX!!
7. Sorry about the Killzone 2 hyping, but I just think that, like the Halo 3 trailer, the Killzone 2 trailer jumped a bit too much to really get a good look at it, so here’s another gameplay segment over at IGN.
8. One thing Wii fans have been hoping for since Red Steel was shown is some sort of one to one directly controlled sword fighting game. IGN’s interview with Shigeru Miyamoto suggests that something like that might already be in the works. In fact, it might be part of Mario & Sonic At the Olympic Games, coming out at the end of the year, in the form of a fencing game. There’s a couple links over there too with other points of interest from the interview, including the possibility that Twilight Princess will be the only Zelda game for the Wii and the possible return of Pikmin.
9. Coool. Want the music from the E307 Halo3 trailer? Here you go, courtesy of Marty O`Donnell and Bungie. There’s been some buzz on spotting new grenades and equipment and stuff from the trailer, but to that I just say, “Well, of course. They’ve never shown the single player before.” Yeah, not really into pulling trailers apart myself, but I do like to watch the fruits of someone else’s labors.
10. A video interview with Codemasters on Dirt, over at Gamespot UK, claims that the PS3 version will be the best version. Better graphics and 7.1 channel uncompressed sound. Is this 7.1 thing the future? Do I need a new receiver? Well, it’s certainly nice to see some good ports coming, like the upcoming port of Virtua Fighter 5 for 360 including better graphics and online play.
11. By the way, a demo of Dirt will be up before the game comes out for PS3 in September. Yay, demo!
12. New music for Rock Band every week? Single track, multiple tracks, and full albums? So says Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos (from Xbox 360 Fanboy). Sweeeeet, but I don’t want to get nickeled and dimed to death.
13. The Halo 3 edition, I’m sorry, Special Edition 360 is actually kinda cool. I guess it was just less than people were expecting when the “gray 360″ rumors first started. Here, it says that it’ll have a 20GB harddrive, but it’ll also have the HDMI port. Not bad.
14. Co-op in the Wii version of Geometry Wars.
15. A Ratchet & Clank demo coming to PSN! [unconfirmed by me, yet]

Well, that’s it from me for today. Work is letting out, so you can probably find your own news. Go, surf. I might see you later.

Anyone notice that the speaker holes are on the front now, instead of the bottom? Why weren’t those there in the first place? Geez…

Anyways, new details on the improved PSP, apparently called “PSP Slim & Lite,” have surfaced on the Threespeech blog. [UPDATE] Joystiq’s gotten a hands-on. Their writer, Andrew Yoon, says it’s a big improvement and, “a significantly better system,” that shouldn’t be written off. Here’s the rundown:

1. In addition to “Piano Black,” “Ice Silver,” and “Ceramic White,” it seems that in the EU there’ll also be “Felicia Blue,” “Lavender Purple,” and “Rose Pink” in what is being called the “Blume Series.” Mmm, flowers.
2. Some of the peripherals that will be available include composite, S-video, and component output cables for the new video output capabilities that allow one to play UMD games and movies, as well as photos and video stored on the Memory Stick, on a TV.
3. A new feature that allows temporary storage of UMD game data on a Memory Stick is what allows the PSP S&L to load games faster. [UPDATE] The S&L also has more RAM!
4. The PSP S&L can be charged via USB from a PS3 or PC during data transfers. Nice.
5. [UPDATE] S&L is even glossier than the original and looks really nice. What I want to know, is it more scratch resistant? Coat that sucker with the stuff they use on Blu-ray discs!
6. [UPDATE] The IR port, which didn’t have any offical use, is gone. With it, the Wifi switch was moved to the top and the Memory Stick slot is now on the right side. The UMD drive is now latched shut making it more secure, even when you drop the system.
7. [UPDATE] The headphone jack is slightly different now, utilizing a new pin system that makes the video out possible. Games will be limited to component output only, but everything goes for videos, both UMD and not. How’s it look? Not bad, they say. UMD moves are in 480p, so that’s the same as DVD.
8. [UPDATE] The buttons are improved, with a more tactile feel. The analog nub? Unchanged.
9. [UPDATE] Battery life has been extended to eight to ten hours, from the original six to eight. Apparently the power management is just more efficient now.
10. If PSP Slim & Lite is what this new PSP is called, what’s the old one going to be? PSP Thick & Heavy?

Mentioned everywhere but this blog, the new PSP will come in “Piano Black” and come out in September for presumably the same price as the current PSP, $169.99. In additon, Sony will also be releasing two other packs: the Limited Edition Daxter Entertainment Pack, which includes a “Ice Silver” PSP, Daxter, Family Guy: Freakin` Sweet on UMD, and a 1 GB memory stick; and the Limited Edition Star Wars: Battlefront Entertainment Pack, which includes a “Ceramic White” PSP with an image of Darth Vader on the back, 1GB Memory Stick, and the PSP exclusive, Star Wars: Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. Both the special pack will retail for $199.99.

Was it the huge PSP redesign everyone wanted? No, but I do think video output sweetens the deal. A lot of people disliked the idea of being forced to buy a movie on a medium that they could only play on one device that only had a 4.3 in screen. Plus, if Sony ever gets that content store for PSP ready, being able to play that content on a TV would be really nice. PSP still isn’t going to beat the DS, well… ever, but judging from the fact that already I know two more people who want one now, I think the PSP will be just fine. Picture of the new PSP packs from the Playstation Blog.

Okay, now I have a video for the very interesting looking echochrome, and I can save the effort of coming up with a good way to describe it. Check it out in the PSStore Supplements page links to the top right. I believe this game is coming to PS3 and PSP, if I recall correctly. Way to go PS team Japan!

While I’m here, a quick E307 snack that I’m sure at least one person will appreciate.  Silent Hill 5 has been announced for PS3 and Xbox 360.  First screens at IGN.