Need for Speed World

Need for Speed World is a massively multiplayer action driving game for the PC where you can race with your friends or compete against thousands of other players in a seamless open world.

Quoted from world.needforspeed.com

The game was released last July 20, 2010 and officially launched as a free download from the Need For Speed World website, with players getting access to all races, pursuits and career progressions up to level ten (10).

After level ten (10), gamers will be asked to pay for a starter pack, which allows them to compete up to level 50 and access a range of power-ups and vehicles.

UPDATE!!!
The Need For Speed World is now completely FREE to PLAY! Please check out their site for more details.

Alien Swarm

Alien Swarm is a game and Source SDK release from a group of talented designers at Valve who were hired from the Mod community. Available free of charge, the game thrusts players into an epic bug hunt featuring a unique blend of co-op play and squad-level tactics. With your friends, form a squad of four distinct IAF Marine classes.

Quoted from www.alienswarm.com

I played it. I say it's a decent game. I just didn't have much fun with it. Not that it's bad it's just not my cup of tea.

Download from Alienswarm or Download Mirror

Gran Turismo 5

Gran Turismo 5 is the most anticipated PS3 exclusive driving simulator. Though I got tired of waiting and feared that it will never come, but Sony (again) finally announced a release date for the game. I'm glad that it will be out for sure this coming November, 2010. Watch out for it!



UPDATE!!!

Gran Turismo 5 has been released last November 24, 2010. Be sure to get a copy of it before it runs out!

ModNation Racers

The game is Sony's very own take on kart racing genre a genre which is dominated long enough by Nintendo. It may seem to look like a Mario Kart rip-off for some similarities but it's not.


ModNation Racers fully utilize the Play, Create, Share idea famously started by LittleBigPlanet as you can create racers, karts and tracks easily that you can then upload and share with other players around the world to play with. On the other hand, you can also download other people's work too.

The game will be out in the market this May 25, 2010. Watch out for it!

Super Street Fighter 4

Street Fighter 4 is back with an added expansion; more characters, new ultra combo's, improved online gameplay and more. It will undoubtedly be the best fighting game to date.


Coming this April 27, 2010. A must buy for fighting fans out there!

Playstation Move

Move and play the way you want! In High Definition, delivering the greatest game experience like no other; A motion controller for the PS3! The Playstation Move.


If you think this is a MS Natal and Wii motionplus ripoff, think again!

The Playstation Move will be available as the Move controller and Navigational controller which is sold separately. Starter bundle is also available which consist of PS eye, Move controller and a game titled Sports Champion.

The Playstation Move controller at 49.99USD (Must own a PSeye and a PSMove game).

Navigational controller at 29.99USD (Optional as a DualShock3 can be a substitute for this).

Starter bundle at 99.99USD

The devices will be available this coming September 19, 2010. I think it's time for us to save money for these devices.

God of War 3

Kratos, the ghost of sparta returns in its final installment of the God of War trilogy. Watch out! Coming this March 16, 2010.

ERROR: 8001050F

An error occurred. You have been signed out of Playstation Network.(8001050F)

This error is causing data and trophy problems and is affecting online gameplay and even some offline titles that has dynamic trophy support. This has lead panic and rage to all gamers worldwide!

Sony has responded via Twitter to the complaints and assures console owners that they are already looking into the problem:

"We’re aware that many of you are having problems connecting to PSN, and yes, we’re looking into it. Stay tuned for updates."

What is the cause of this error? I still have no concrete idea about this. But as what I have read from forums and blogs, it has something to do with the PS3's internal clock. It seems to be a leap year bug.

Who is affected? Older fat PS3's. SKU's below the latest 80Gb and 160Gb fat PS3's.

For now PS3 owners are advised to keep their PS3 systems off, until the bug has been fixed since the problem is also affecting systems are that offline. Let's just wait for the GMT clock to turn into March 2, 2010 and see what will happen while waiting for an official fix from Sony.

How to fix it? Though not an official fix, there are confirmations from gamers that a simple CMOS BATTERY RESET will work!

UPDATE!!! For those who waited for GMT clock to turn into March 2, 2010. This is good news! As there are confirmed reports of affected units that are now working.

ERROR: 8001050F famously known as The day of APOCALYPS3

PSN Philippines?

Official PSN support from Sony? This is a good news for Filipino gaming community! While their site is still under construction, we'll just wait and see what Sony's got in store for us.

According to their website, services will be available this coming March 26, 2010.

UPDATE: Now online! Enjoy!

Heavy Rain

How far are you prepared to go to save someone you love? This is the central question of Heavy Rain.


Heavy Rain is a very interesting game that is focused on drama and emotional response wherein a very unconventional control scheme is used. Onscreen prompts lets you press buttons in sequence, move the analog sticks in specific directions, shake the controller, and more to interact.


This is another PS3 exclusive game that is worth purchasing; however, my hands are already full of game backlogs at the moment. I will be getting this soon! (watch out!) This is a must buy for every PS3 owners.


Heavy Rain is now available for download through the PlayStation Network. Try it to believe.

Microsoft Surface

A revolutionary computer that responds to hand gestures and real world objects! This will be the future of computers. The newest product of Microsoft Surface.

Surface is a multi-touch surface computer that is also able to recognize physical objects (ex. digital camera, cellphones) and allows direct control of digital content such as photos, music, documents and maps through user(s) hand gestures.

This product is initialy intended for hospitals, military, retail establishments, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. However, I also find this very interesting for gaming use (There's only one game I know that fully utilize this technology R.U.S.E).

The product was launched preliminary last April 17, 2008. As what I have read this thing will cost $10,000 to $15,000. Want to own one?

Apple iPad

Apple's newest device is the most frequently discussed topic around the gadget blog, forums and the whole web. I did not see the device personally but have read reviews, blogs and articles about it. Thus, it is completely fair enough to show the readers what are my thoughts on this luxury.


Apple iPad features a larger screen 9.7″ display at 1024×768 pixels. A 16Gb to 64GB Flash Drive (prices vary according to storage size). A powerful 1GHz Apple A4 Chip (for better browsing and gaming experience). A WiFi 802.11n. A Bluetooth. A 3G and a 10 hours battery life. The iPad can run all iPhone applications out of the box. But, running it on full screen will be pixelated due to upscaling.

What's missing is a built in camera (I guess there will be a hardware add-on for this soon) No Flash support (so no YouTube and Flash videos) and NO MULTITASKING (what the.. c'mon it's already 2010). I know Apple can add/upgrade features later through a firmware update. (but why not include this feature during the release)

To me the iPad is a half-baked device as it lacks software and functionality. The idea maybe great but, there is no surprise here as it just looks like a larger and beefed-up iPod Touch.

UPDATE: iPad will be available in the US at $499 on April 3, 2010. With its high price I just hope that I can get my hands on this thing someday.

MAG

Massive Action Game (MAG) is an online multiplayer-only first person shooter game exclusive to the Playstation 3. This game is chaotically fun that it can accomodate 64 up to 256 players on a single map.


It's already out in the market and the only thing that is holding me back from purchasing is that it is quite expensive wherein it lacks single player mode. However, this is a must buy for FPS fans out there.

White Knight Chronicles

A JRPG PS3 exclusive game developed by Level5 and published by Sony. This was released in Japan last December 25, 2008 and will be releasing an International edition this coming February 2, 2010. This is so interesting that I got to rank it up on my PS3 game wishlist this 2010.

Watch out for more information when I get my hands on this game.

It only does EVERYTHING

Sony's new campaign for the Sony PlayStation 3 and the new tagline is: "It only does everything".

At $299 or about 14,000 Philippine peso think again!

With the release of their smaller, cheaper but improved version of their console. There's no reason why you shouldn't grab one. It's totally a steal, as the console can do quite a lot.

Weird thing is... It just can't play PS2 games.

PS3 DIY

PS3 DIY (do it yourself) a simple guide for anyone who dares to fix, clean and upgrade hard drives on their own.

Here's a teardown of a PS3 from ifixit.

• PS3 Classic

• PS3 Slim

15 Years of Playstation

Happy 15th Anniversary Playstation!

Playstations Released

+ December 3, 1994 - PS1
+ March 4, 2000 - PS2
+ July 7, 2000 - PSOne
+ November 3, 2004 - PS2 Slim
+ December 12, 2005 - PSP-1000
+ November 11, 2006 - PS3
+ September 20, 2007 - PSP-2000
+ October 16, 2008 - PSP-3000
+ September 3, 2009 - PS3 Slim
+ November 1, 2009 - PSP Go

Note: Japanese site! (links contains a little english language). SCEI (Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.) Japan.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

I have recently acquired a closed beta key for Battlefield:Bad Company 2 courtesy of Gamespot.

I have downloaded the game and played a couple of violent rounds. So far it has exceeded my expectations. Here's my initial impressions.

The online gameplay is great, lagless? (I'm not sure at the moment needs thorough testing). Graphics and sound is also good.

(Watch out for more soon)

This game will be available this March 2010.

God of War Collection

This game is a compilation of both God of War 1 and 2 in one Blu Ray disk remastered to work on Playstation3. The biggest changes on these games are on the graphics, now running on Hi-Def (It actually runs at 1080p on my HDTV). The game content, textures, models, animations and everything are still the same as the original releases.

Plus
++No need to have a backwards-compatible PS3 to play them as the collection.
++Increased resolution resulted in improvements on graphics area as it run on High Definition.
++Very smooth movements due to increased framerate (60fps).
++Full Playstation Network (PSN) trophy support.

Minus
--The cut scenes looked like an upscaled DVD.
--Button trigger graphics during boss battles/finishing moves is looks terrible.
--Black bars on all sides using full pixel settings (1:1 pixel mapping).

These games were the best titles in Playstation2 now made even better on the Playstation3.

Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion

The long wait is over and my copy's finally here. Now get ready for the next battle.

Tekken 6 is the latest installment of the Tekken series. This game features the largest game character roster to date! Master 40 (yes forty) different characters with each of its own unique fighting styles. Out of that massive roster 6 of it are brand new faces. In addition to it are character customization, with every imaginable detail, with endless possibilities.

GAMEPLAY
The gameplay mechanics are still the same as the previous series (I'm glad they stick to the formula). With added features to enhance gameplay experience one of it is the dynamic, interactive and destructible environments wherein stages go through dynamic changes and/or break holes through floors to open new battle area. Secondly, is the rage system which is giving characters more damage per hit when health bar is below a certain point giving them an edge for a comeback and lastly, is the bound system that will cause the opponent to bounce off the floor leaving them open for another juggle or combo (sweet!).

GRAPHICS
The graphics is fine but not that smooth it is only sub-High Definition which is contradictory to ("Advanced high definition graphics and 3D animation technologies create the most impressive HD visuals in Tekken history") what their site told us. I have not seen the arcade versions though, which according to reports is great.

SOUND
The sound is great! Although, I don't really care about the sound unless, it sounded weird and unpleasant.

OVERALL
Of all the fighting games this has the best and enjoyable gameplay mechanic that any fighting fan should get. But due to its major flaws graphically and online playability. it is still not the best fighting game around (which for me is SF4).

I think that Namco's move on going multi-platform have disappointed a lot of Tekken fans around the world due to bad porting between two different consoles. However, in exchange out of it they got more money in their purse.

UPDATE:

Tekken 6 version 1.02 patch is already out which address the online lag issue. The online gameplay has improved from ultimate lag to minimal/lagless but it depends on the distance and connection speed between the two players.

I have tried playing with friends with different ISP's [(Globe to PLDT),(Globe to any ISP)] and lag is still present. However, on the same ISP's (Globe to Globe) is just fine and if lag is present it's tolerable.