Harley Quinn's Revenge Is Batman: Arkham City's Bad New Ending 
High Scores And Egos: There's Always A Bigger Doodle 
The Last Moments Of GAME 
How Bad User Interfaces Are Ruining Video Games And Other Wonderful Things 
She Tried To Make Good Video Games For Girls, Whatever That Meant 
The Story Of Doodle Jump: Brotherly Love And Digital Snacks You do. Doesn’t matter that the game’s not out yet, you’re already convinced both yourself and your 360 forum crew that it’s GOTY, so now you’re all raring to go spend some money on associated paraphernalia. First on your list, then, should be Hyperchild’s Commander Shephard statue (no pics yet), which will ship in December, stand 8″ tall and cost you…$US 90. That’s pretty steep, limited-run statue or not, so penny-pinchers may want to hold off and wait for next year’s inevitable “Hot Alien Girl-On-Girl” 2-figure + diorama playset. MASS EFFECT STATUE 1.0 [Highdome]
At TGS, we checked out We Love Golf. While the game looked nice, putting was a mess. At the Games Festa, we checked out the latest playable build. Since no one was waiting in line, the Capcom person at the demo kiosk told me I could play as long as I wanted. That, for me, was about twenty minutes or so — long enough to get a decent feel for the basic mechanics. The Capcom rep. was quick to point out that I should approach the game was playing actual golf, but rather, just a video game. So all natural instincts about using the Wii-mote to swing and smash golf balls went out the window.
If you want this (and want it bad), make sure you read this. Contest closes to entries November 12th at midnight EST. That’s TONIGHT. To all those who entered, good luck!
Here’s a thought. Why do we insist on associating games, or entire game series, with a single developer? Everyone does it, but just like in the movies, it’s all a bit silly. At best it’s generalising, at worst the right people aren’t getting the right credit. Look at Star Wars – it’s synonomous with George Lucas. Empire is acknowledged by all the cool kids as being the best of the six. But Lucas didn’t direct Empire. Irvin Kirschner did.
Over the weekend, I attended the Games Japan Festa in Osaka. The nice part about the Games Festa? Companies don’t have enormous booths, and the entire hall is wall-to-wall demo kiosks. So, if you actually want to play games, this is a good show to hit. For those who missed the Osaka show, the Festa rolls through Chiba at the end of the month.
The Konami booth had a MGS4 trailer and had folks fill out a questionnaire to receive a Metal Gear book The Konami questionnaire featured very basic questions: What’s your gender? How old are you? Where do you live? What consoles do you own? Blah, blah, blah. One question did jump right out at me. Here’s Q2. in English:
This is a question for those who do not own the PLAYSTATION 3. Do you have plans to purchase it? Why is that? 1). I will purchase it (Reason: 2). I won’t purchase it (Reason: 3). Undecided (Reason:
Hrm. Konami’s polling consumers on consumer PS3 demand to gauge, well, something.
Some of you may still be on the fence regarding the DualShock 3. You might be put off by the extortionate prices some importers are charging. You may find that, unlike the press shots which made it look lovely, in the flesh the white DS3 actually looks a bit…cheap. In other words, you need convincing! If this helps, know that the DualShock 3 has now been tested in the field of battle with PS2 games. How’d it do? Passed with flying colours. Dual Shock 3 — the pad we deserve — goes on sale in Japan [PSPSPS, thanks William!]
So, the DUALSHOCK 3 is available for purchase in Japan. Nagoya reader Ritchie sent us loads of pics, writing this:
It certainly feels a lot more heftier than the sixaxis and apart from that and the dual shock 3 text, it’s exactly the same. I have no idea how it handles, since my ps3 is in for repairs but at least the white looks snazzy.
Meanwhile, Kotakuite Bellamy offered up this opinion of the new controller:
I got a friend of mine to dig out his old DS2, and we placed the cable on top of the DS2 and tested the weight – the DS3 is heavier than a DS2+cable. We didn’t have a scale, so we don’t know the exact weight, but it seems like Sony took the whiners message to heart! “Don’t think the Sixaxis weighs enough do you? Take this! We added lead weights for good measure!”
Likely, it’s just a heavier battery plus a more sensitive rumble system (it feels like it has more levels than the DS2s light or heavy settings) that adds all the weight, but still, it’s a massive change over the Sixaxis.
Haven’t picked up the DS3 yet, but from what I remember at TGS, the controller was heavy — not necessarily a bad heavy, though. Glad some weight to it, because the SIXAXIS is light — and totally a bad light. Thoughts, impressions welcomed.
What a difference a year makes. When the PS3 launched on November 11, 2006, a frenzy ensued. The console was met with long lines fuelled by a strong demand. To mark the one year anniversary of the PLAYSTATION 3, Sony launched a cheaper 40GB model that does not support backwards compatibility. The DUALSHOCK 3, Ratchet and Clank Future and Dynasty Warriors 6 put on sale as well. Less frenzy and crap weather, the new console did get a fair enough turnout — though, nothing like the craziness of last year. (That’s to be expected!) At the Akihabara Yodobashi Camera Customers picked up the DS3 as well. We haven’t heard of any sellouts here, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of boost the 40GB model gave the PS3 in Japan. It could beat the Xbox 360 this week!
The Check Mii Out Channel (or as it’s called at my place, the Mii Contest Channel) is now up on the Wii. Things of note: only one Mii can represent your console, and the first contest is for “Mario Without A Cap”. Get busy.
Or a PlayStation 3, if you happen to swing that way.
Oz Kotakuite Chickenplucka reveals that GAME is currently accepting old Xbox and Playstation 2 consoles, along with ten games, in exchange for a healthy price cut on a brand new PS3 or Xbox 360.
The specific details from Chickenplucka himself:
A PS3 for $299 or the Xbox 360 Christmas Console Bundle (the one with HDMI output, the new chipset, Forza 2 and Viva Pinata) for $199.
I have to say, the 360 deal sounds pretty good. If I didn’t have one already, I’d seriously consider handing in my dust-riddled Xbox.
Thanks for the tip, CP!
