"Too much coffee man" was totally on to something with his comparison of PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, we're about to go through the looking glass here people, so pull your socks up, this could get dangerous!
Right ladies and gentlemen, lets get down to the nitty gritty! Comparing the 360 and PS3 Versions!

First up!





See, if you look really close, I mean REALLY close you can totally see a difference between the versions, now lets keep looking.



Right, hmm.



See I uh... right there look anti.... where was I?



Ah look right there, in the middle, see that haziness that's what you'll get with PS3! But on this next one you'll see 360 problems too!



Um, yeaaahh....



Same here, looks good upclose but zoom in and;



.....



Finally a woman with fully covered boobies, maybe I can concentrate! Right lets zoom in for a closer look;



See totally different on both consoles!



Lets check out vader.



Goddamn that's hot.


- Andy H

Once upon a time a gamer would be able to go to their favourite games store, to buy the games of their gaming desires and play a game that was a game they wanted. That game would be exactly as was promised, excellent, fulfilling, a master piece in the eyes of the faithful customer that it appealed to.

Unfortunately "once upon a time" is a phrase usually reserved for fairy tales, and sadly for us gamers, the likelihood of a game being complete when we purchase it, might as well be compared to the frequency we encounter wolves who can talk and have a fetish for following little girls dressed in red.
Many of us know a game, I bet you've already had one come to mind, where we snapped open the box, thrust the game into our disk drives sweating with excitement only to realise we were playing a game that had been kicked out of the door quicker than shit flies from a shovel.

It's about time games were complete when they separate us from our hard earned and hopeful cash, instead of being like the new experience of Battlefield which on occasion lives up to DICE's choice of name "Bad Company".
Indeed they are a bad company, a company which without reservation or sympathy has unleashed upon it's customers a game with such amazing graphics, amazing sound and promising game-play, only to take a dump upon it from such a massive height as to not only ruin it before it got off the ground but bury it in a crater akin to those artillery makes in the game.

The gripes many of its players have are extensive and multiple, with the usual suspects tossed in such as lag, bad hit detection, a ridiculous party mode and faulty game mechanics. But the real kicker is that this will all be fixed at a later date, with patches, new game modes, promised fixes and updates full of things the gamers want such as private rooms, bigger squads and improved servers.

For example, my experience thus far of BF:BC has been one of mixed enthusiasm, packed with moments of awesomeness such as walls exploding, tank shells and bullets whizzing overhead, but all of that is often ruined because the game is interspersed with horrific examples of bad design such as my shots seeming to be in-effective, terrible lag and horrible features. You may be wondering if I am simply bad at the game, my answer would be possibly, but it is also possible that the game is just bad. Ask yourself this, when you shoot someone with something close to 50 bullets in the chest, yet they continue to run directly at you and thrust a knife into your screaming mouth, what is wrong with that situation? When you are shooting at someone and they suddenly teleport 20 feet to the other side of a field, is that my fault? I think you'll realise the answer to both of these is quite obvious.
That is the problem with this game, it promised so much and at first it seems to deliver, it is entertaining, shockingly realistic at times, but you are often taken out of the immersion and your experienced tarnished because of the inability for DICE/EA to publish a game which is appropriately completed.

The question is "Why?", why were these things not included from the very beginning? Why didn't DICE realise that many of these things are staple to what is expected from FPS games? Why did I eat so much at dinner time?
So here commenceth the vitriolic rambling. We are quickly becoming the beta testers for games, QA and testing is obviously quite an expensive endeavour for companies to get involved in, so logically, why would they pay for something they can get for free? Instead they are pushing these games out to the early adopters who will pre-order and purchase on release day knowing that they will play excessively while costing nothing to the companies that created them, in order to quickly discover the problems and then spend the minimum amount of time fixing it for those that take time to buy their products. After all, they've already got our money (the game fanatics), so our opinions whilst being worthless, are also helpful to them so they can fix the game for the casual gamers that come after.

There are multiple reasons companies release their games without properly polishing them, promised release dates, financial reasons or wanting to cash in during a certain fiscal quarter. But they know we will buy these games anyway, no matter how annoying and frustrating they may be to us. But the companies need to realise that people will prefer to splash out on games they know are pristine and perfect, exactly as promised instead of being forced to wait for patch's and their inherent laziness to catch up with the investment we make by buying them. I actually find the games introduction quite apt;


What DICE/EA is doing with your money.

Now I'm not suggesting that DICE is for one minute a soul grinding, faceless hate machine, but in actual fact they are just a bunch of people with wives, children and friends who also have a passion for gaming, trying to make a product, but they need to understand what is and is not acceptable from something which many people spend a small fortune on.

You may exclaim; "What can I do about this you penis? I want these games! I don't have any control over the companies!?"
Correct, we want these games, we want them to work, we expect all of that and we certainly don't have any say in what they do, but what we can do is make our voices heard, post in their official forums, write to them, inundate them with complaints until they realise that they should supply us with what we pay for.
Whilst this may be unrealistic and ultimately a moot point, at least it will make you feel like you are getting something done, but if they get enough evidence that there is a problem it could help fix the problem.

With this in mind I've sent this write up to the PR managers at DICE and EA to see what response I might get.

Stay tuned and stay gorgeous Destructoid.

Andy H.

With the other two consoles' press conferences finished, it was up to Sony to bring us home, literally.
It began with announcements of figures and features and strangely entered into the area of PlayStation 2, which mentioned that there will be 130 Titles coming to PS2 in 2008. With the ninth year of the PS2's life cycle already underway it amazing that development is still going on such an old system, especially since better consoles are currently on the market.

However Sony Computer Entertainment of America CEO Jack Tretton describes the Playstation 2 as a "perfect entry level gaming system", mentioning that the "PS2 will keep going strong" as it is a perfect family friendly gaming console, adding to this he introduced the new Batman PS2 bundle, which will come packaged with the Lego Batman game and the animated film Justice League which will price at around US$149 this fall.

When the Sony conference got underway with the its "flagship product" the PS3, Tretton exclaimed that "2008 is year of the PS3" and that this "year we will set in motion things that will define industry in 2008 and beyond".

After making these somewhat over-confident remarks, Resistance 2 is previewed with help From Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games. After seeing the impressive in-game footage, viewers were treated to the knowledge that there will 8 player online Co-op and 60 player competitive gaming available to consumers.





Upon continuing we were briefed that "The word we most often use [at Insomniac] to describe it is, Scale, scale describes single player bosses like you just saw, expansive environments, giant Chimeran warships, epic battles, single player, coop and competitive online experiences." According to him, Resistance also "offers more than any shooter in 2008."
Towards the end of the segment for Resistance, the audience is shown "Twin Falls Idaho" trailer;



Little Big planet also made an appearance in the conference, a game Tretton presents as being made by "mad geniuses" at Media Molecule. It is through the use of the ever lovable SackBoy that the figures for Sony are revealed, including the sales for all 3 sets of hardware, as well as revenues generated by Sony for themselves and others.

According to the presentation, in the year to date, 1.8million PS3's have been sold in the United States alone, 1.6mil PSP's and 1.5mil PS2's which of course totals over 5 million units shifted by Sony since June 2007. They go on to include figures that Sony has helped generate US$6.6 Billion in 5 months and that Sony is at the "forefront of our industries expansion", citing sources that suggest US$23 Billion is expected to be made in 2008 from the lucrative video gaming sector while also mentioning that since 1995, Playstation alone has generated US$50 Billion at retail.

For those that cry at the wall of text and numbers above and were unable to make it through without falling asleep, here it is instead, shown through the cuteness that is SackBoy;





Video of SackBoy presentation available on KamikazeTutor's Dtoid Blog.

The next segment highlighted the Playstation Network, or PSN, that Tretton suggests is perfect as "for many next gen consumers, being connected is all they've ever known", in return for the next-gen consumer loyalty, they are prepared to work at making PSN the "best online gaming experience in the industry". As such it is noted that PSN is a popular download facility, bringing 20 million downloads to consumers last month taking the total since November 2006 (PS3 Launch) to 180million downloads.

"What's an E3 press conference without a few surprises?" was uttered next, which was a lead into the upcoming game "Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty". Now no offence Sony, but a surprise to me is either being hit by a car, or being greeted by a naked woman I don't know in my living room when I get home, which is apt since I have my own "quest for booty" continuously going on.



The story will be "a continuation of the Ratchet and Clank feature" in which the last part Clank was mysteriously abducted, much like the strange naked woman I may or may not have found in my living room, and the game will be focused more on exploration and platforming, whilst "making gamers think".

Once Tretton was finally wheeled back on, he mentioned that at Sony they're "not interested in filling up our stores so we can say we have the most games". OH YOU BITCH! This meany mean comment, which is clearly a blatant jab at Microsoft, has some truth to it, since we all must to agree that Live Arcade does have some seriously appalling games, but oh dear Sony, that was rather harsh!



GRAN TURISMO TV was announced, which is to be part of the Gran Turismo 5: Prologue package, which includes "Worldwide TV features and a wide variety of content" from Polyphony Digital, these will be free and pay-per-view licensed such as Nuburgring, a Ferrari show, the Super GT, D1 Grand Prix Series and everyone's favourite show featuring a hamster and a moaning old man, Top Gear from the BBC.



Next up was the new achievements, sorry, Trophies system that will have an impact on the community experience of PSN, so that users can "compete, share and brag" (XBOX RIP OFF COUGH COUGH COUGH). Followed up by the quote "PSN is providing game play and community that is defining this industry", now that's a funny suggestion since I could have sworn Microsoft came up with the achievements system.

However PSN also has innocent similarities to Xbox Live in the form of entertainment, while it doesn't have the deal with Netflix, some could say it outdoes Microsoft by having so many movie companies signed up to publish it's content online, these companies include; Sony Pictures, Fox TV and Movies, MGM, Lionsgate, Warner and Disney.



The pricing of the content is also attractive, TV episodes will be $1.99 and above each, movies from $2.99 to $5.99 as rentals, or $9.99-$14.99 to buy. Compare this to Xbox Live and it works out as a little cheaper, except you also have the option to purchase movies, instead of paying extortionate prices just to keep them for 24 hours after watching. These are also available from PSN right now.



PS3's Home was also involved in the press conference, some simple screens below to illustrate, since everyone pretty much knows everything already.



PSP's also got a pat on the back, with Tretton being "pleased to announce this fall, a new entertainment pack, targeted at a younger demographic and family friendly audience will feature Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters, including a
Silver PSP Slim, a UMD of National Treasures 2, a 1 gig memory stick and a PSN Voucher all for $199."

Other announcements for PSP revolved around Resistance Retribution a way to literally have the fate of the world in your hands, which is based in a post apocalyptic version of the UK still battling after all of Europe has already been lost, typical, it's up to dear old England to save Europe from destruction once again.




The Force Unleashed will also make a debut on behalf of Light saber wielding on the PSP as well.



Perhaps the most exciting part of the PS3 conference for me was the piece about MAG, AKA "Massive Action Game" which is a humongous new IP from Zipper, just how massive you may ask? "MAG will support battles with 256 players" in "sweeping battle experiences using only real players" made up of "8 player squads" which are "lead by those proven to be strong players".



A system for "character growth provides players long term goals" such as upgrading your online persona with guns, skills and other equipment that will better enable you to have a chance in hell of holding off 128 other players while everyone else goes for dinner. MAG appears to be a persistent game, with "faction based campaigns" so you'll need to check every day to see where the battle lines are and what is happening in the game world.




To me this looks like an amazing concept, perhaps one not too far off on 360, due to the merger of Activision and Blizzard, it is just a matter of time until Call of Duty: World at War really means just that, instead of just a bad name for a most likely bad game made by Treyarch.

The conference ended with Tretton asking the audience to "imagine year 3 and beyond" and believe me, if games like MAG and The Agency keep getting made, I might just have to invest in a PS3 to snuggle alongside my 360 like a fan-boy hated Yin and Yang.

Andy H

(Edited images to fix this article for my beloved IE7 users, even though they're ugly.)

Been watching E3 2008 live? If not here's the latest from the Microsoft Press Conference.

According to them $1billion has been spent on xbox live since november 2005 by the millions of members that have now amounted to 12mil people, there is now a new member every 5 seconds joining Xbox Live. What does this mean? Well it means that one more racist, screaming child is joining to ruin your LIVE experience every 5 seconds.

Other news is that they have mentioned that 10,000 movies and tv shows will be available, including their partnership with Netflix flourishing meaning new and exclusive content for the 360.
Whilst this news is of course excellent for 360 owners, one has to ponder whether this is (as is most likely) just Americans that will recieve this abundance of content, whereas the rest of the world will be left behind as per usual.

One thing that is for sure is that NBC Universal will be for US audiences only, but MGM and Constantine Films will be supplying marketplace content for Europeans as well as our brothers across the pond.

After these announcements were issued there was a statement from John Chappert the Live Software and Services Dev, who mentioned that Xbox is apparently "Improving the experience through the MAGIC of software!" After reiterating the 12million members number, he then exclaimed they would be asking "what's next?".

Perhaps the most exciting segment begins, with the new system update being revealed to be a fully 3D experience with many new and exciting options available.





Avatars were among the most mentioned innovations, with you being able to create your own personality online via Xbox Live. Screens Below;



This will also involve the Community feature showing friends avatars.



The TV game show 1 vs 100 is also scheduled to make an appearance on 360 mentioning that all members of Xbox Live will be able to take part in the game, which will feature live hosts and real prizes. This all being part of the "Primetime" feature.

Geometry Wars 2 from Activision and bizarre that "should occupy a place in every nostalgic gamers heart" was also revealed, which seemed to incorporate a 4 player coop mode from one part of the video, it looks much more graphically enhanced than it's predecessors and most certainly will be a seriously good coop game.

Last on my monumental list of things I've seen so far is Portal: Still Alive, which is going to be exclusive to Xbox 360, no more was mentioned from what the laggy streaming video showed but I will put money on this being a smash hit for gamers and Microsoft alike.

That's all for now.

Andy H (The Duke)

Article from IGN.COM
New 60 GB Xbox 360 Announced
The new model will replace the discounted Pro.
by Ryan Geddes

US, July 13, 2008 - It's official. The Xbox 360 Pro model is now $299 and is being phased out in favor of a new SKU with more storage space, according to a news release sent out by Microsoft today.

Rumors of a price cut have been flying all week, and Target made it official from a retailing standpoint earlier today. But today's Microsoft press release is the first confirmation we've heard about a new SKU.

The 60 GB model will retail for $349, which the Pro model previously sold for. The Elite model, which comes with a 120 GB hard drive, remains at $449, and the Arcade SKU, which has no hard drive, is still $279.

"We know consumers need more and more space to store the amazing digital content Xbox 360 offers, and we're giving it to them at no extra charge," said Albert Penello, Xbox director of product management at Microsoft. "No one device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver, and now you'll have three times the storage to manage all that great content."

The new 60 GB model will be available in early August, Microsoft said, and the discounted Pro will only be available "while supplies last."

Okay, I'm completely on board with the price cuts, god knows we could use some over here in the UK, oh, what's that Microsoft? You don't care what Britain wants? You just expect us to keep paying twice as much as the US as we do for everything else? Ah okay.
Irregardless, I often wonder what the point in having a larger HDD for my 360 would actually be.
I download the odd movie on marketplace, every week or so a new demo, but I usually delete movies due to the laughable 24 hour timer on movies once you've watched them and demos usally suffer the same fate because once you've played them, they're pretty much useless to keep around.
Perhaps the real reason we're seeing an upgrade to 60gigs is because the PS3 has been offering more HDD space this entire time and MS want to get on the horse as well.

But perhaps instead of releasing yet another version of the 360, they look at the hardware problems still plaguing the current ones, red-rings, broken disk drives etc and stop lying to us that new hardware is any different from the last.
One suggestion to Microsoft would be to stop pretending. Yes I bought your console, yes I love it, it's a great laugh and a nice piece of machinery, but cut the nonsense Microsoft, give me a damn break.
Cut the prices of your 360's in the UK, give me some cheaper MS points so I can buy the crap you release on marketplace without worrying I'm going to go over my graduate overdraft to get the latest DLC. And for christ sakes fix the goddamn hardware issues in the current models before bringing out new ones that will probably end up being chucked out the window because you forgot to fix the problems that have been there all along.

Andy H