@D-Sovereignty: That sound freakin awesome!

DeathBeforeDishonor

@LittleBigPlaneteer: Agreed, but I have to say that I'm a little disappointed that the "game" isn't going to be more. I wanted an epic story. It wold be nice if they made it an adventure game. Not JUST a photo simulator.

DeathBeforeDishonor

@okenny :): @LittleBigPlaneteer:

You guys are really getting into this game with all your ideas haha.

Would you like it to also simulate a lion ripping your chest open and eating your guts and doing god knows what with your carcass afterwards?...You know that actually sounds kinda cool!

hooray hardcore simulation!

D-Sovereignty

@ShirtGuyDom: You are technically shooting things... so there :)

zoesch

@okenny :):

I'd love for Afrika to be a "stealth photograhy survival" game. Do a little running and hiding to evade that looming cheetah. Climb up a tree and put your night goggles on to see Hyenas going back and forth around you, and knowing when to make a move. It'd be groundbreaking stuff!

Along with that, it'd be cool if you could unlock things, like say an updated camera, or extra Zoom lens, things like that. Plus there should be some skill involved with taking the pictures. Like measuring the shot properly and so forth so it's actually difficult to get "picture perfect" images. You should have to adjust for the lighting of the day, the movement of the animals, their distance, etc....

I doubt I'll see any of that though.

LittleBigPlaneteer

@okenny :): Oh, don't worry, I do the same thing. . . in real life.

enigma89

@D-Sovereignty:

I doubt their sales expectations are that high for such a game. It may have been hyped years ago, but details have been so sparse, and now that we finally know it's predominantly a photography "game" I doubt it will attract a huge crowd. I'm personally sold on it though, but I'm not your typical gamer.

As for Far Cry 2. That game is going to be amazing from the looks of it. I'm boldly predicting it'll be in Top 5 for the best game of the year

LittleBigPlaneteer

@ShirtGuyDom: I would love to actually see Sony release some specs on Afrika like the number of unique species of animals there are in the game, square mileage, things like that. If it was a total simulation the it would be more amazing. Imagine being able to alter the echo systems. Watching the day and night cylces change and also having an accelerated growth pattern for animals and plants.

You can play a photographer or a poacher and have either animal photos in your PS Home trophy room or the actual animal taxidermy if you're a poacher. Peta can also break into your PS Home trophy room and splash red paint on everything.

I love simulations :3

okenny :)

@okenny :): Hah, your comment made my day :).

Monkeez

If it allows you to go Rhino tipping, it may be worth a purchase.

DugDawg

@okenny :): I do something very similar when i play the Sims

Rurik

Woah way to much $$. I'll stick with PSN gardening.

Rurik

@ShirtGuyDom: I'm being very serious when I say this. I hope in FarCry 2 that the animals have local damage. because I want to try something. I want to shoot a gazelle on the leg and paralyze it. Then I want to set a fire around it and then look at its face as the fire surrounds it and burns it alive as I take screen shots. Now that's emergent game play. Don't judge me! You would have done the same. I'm just man enough to admit it!

I feel dirty :(

okenny :)

I'm not sure who I feel bad for more...Europe or that Zebra :(

This game is probably going to flop in a lot of places but it still looks like a lot of casual fun.

D-Sovereignty

@okenny :): I'm more looking for some leopard on cheetah action.

ShirtGuyDom

@LittleBigPlaneteer: Yeah but in FarCry 2 you get to shoot them. Like, with a gun, not a camera. 'Cause, you know, "shoot" can go both ways...

...ahh this got too drawn out for a joke.

ShirtGuyDom

@ShirtGuyDom: I'm not kidding when I say rhino sex will make me buy this game. Don't look at me with that condescending eyes... have you seen the ass on those sexy beasts o_O?? BABIE GOT BACK!!

okenny :)

@banana-3:

Zebras + A1 = Win

LittleBigPlaneteer

@cringer8: naw... I'm sure there's already made datasets for animals with textures and all out there... there's probably extensive research on kinetics of animal movements. I guess what I'm trying to say is because it's rooted in reality, there source material was probably cheaper then making everything from scratch. Just a guess though.

okenny :)

I will only pay full price for this if I can shoot something, dammit!

Sarcasm, of course. The game looks cool. I might pick it up.

ShirtGuyDom

@cringer8: The only thing i like learning about animals is how they taste with A1 sauce.

banana-3

@Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic:

It is coming out on disc. Luke is just saying it should have been a PSN title.

I think this is much to expansive a game to be a PSN only game. I mean we're talking about traversing across the African Safari with beautifully rendered (abeit not super realistic) animals and their surrounding. Sure the gameplay is probably simple, but haven't there been other games that have had simple mechanics but still deserved the retail treatment? Just look at a Katamari game for instance.

LittleBigPlaneteer

Maybe it will be like an interactive discovery chanel.

Stikasasn

If it's what I think it is, isn't a bit to large to be on PSN? I mean, all that animation, texture, models, terrain, sound, and FMV... it's a bit to much to ask for from a download title. I have no evidence that this is a Bluray title that won't be available on PSN but I suppose this is larger then 3 GB of data.

okenny :)

Also, this doesn't look like it was cheap to make...

cringer8

Well, depending on how extensive the Encyclopedia that's included ends up being, it could be worth the price tag.

I like learning about animals.

cringer8

Huh. I always just assumed this would be a disc-based title. Hopefully it'll find its way to a physical medium by the time it reaches the States.

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

I say the game will be like Pokemon Snap. *shrug*

Eddy666

If it has a library of HD pics & -> HD video <- along w/ an encyclopedia of wildlife it will be worth it.

string_theory

This game could have a subtle appeal and turn out to be a great title. Pokemon snap was GREAT...in a sense that Podracer was GREAT.

PsycheE

@okenny :): I won't claim to not want to try this after hearing you say it, but I will claim that I don't have a mind depraved enough to come up with something that...disturbing.

Psycho.

@okenny :): Everything you said in that post is awesome. One thing though: if I decide to be a poacher, can I shoot the PETA people when they break into my apartment and destroy my property? I have my rights!

ShirtGuyDom

considering the budget and time from this game, looks like a lot of time and effort was done, should be a decent price. i think people expect from a PSN game are less than 40... i was hoping this game would be 40.

darktorns

Looks like high production values to me. Provided the game delivers some cool gameplay and lots of "book larnin'" I reckon it might be worth a purchase.

billnabors65

If you can actually get eaten/trampled, I'd say it'll be a very scary game to play.

Jamie_W

I wonder if this is going to be the "From Dusk 'Till Dawn" of video games? One minute you are snapping hippos while tucking into your packed lunch, and suddenly you are swamped by vampires or aliens with nothing to fight them off with but a bacon sandwich!

I'm counting on it!

IronsUK

Yea, I'd rather watch Animal Planet and for the most part get the same experience without having to twiddle my thumbs to take pictures of them. And if there was more to the game than that, I'd still rather watch Animal Planet, just not my type of game.

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

I was expecting a full game. I'm still picking this up!
Animals better get their make up on, I'm coming to afrika!

everybest

@IronsUK: God I love that movie! =)

Hey it's still a different game right? At least they're trying. Could be fun though. At least the kids can do something with the games other than shooting someone.

Though wait for JT to say that the PS3 is now an animal-murder-simulator. Or something to that effect.

excaliburps

@Captain Impulse: You're telling me! I'm waiting for my daughter to grow up a bit more (literally) So I can teach her to use the 360 controller. Okay baby-steps the Wiimote first then the fragging starts...=D

excaliburps

@excaliburps: What? Not shooting things = fun? Heresy! I'd also like to bolster my statement with a quote from one of my favorite movies:

Cisco: "Well ain't that a bitch... All I wanted to do was to sail my boat, man, you know? Navigate by the stars, see dolphins race alongside, you know, maybe even kill a few of them."

;)

Captain Impulse

there are games and then there are killer apps. Afrika looks like a killer app.

Hell, the less Afrika is a cheesy "game" the better. Who really wants to sneak up on a family of gazelle only to stumble upon a floating, spinning cheeseburger powerup?

This could be more "sandbox" than GTA4.

rainofwalrus

If it has a really good photography lessons built in the game I'll buy it for $20-$30. I need more practice with my DSLR.

Kinburn

Interesting pricing, hopefully there'll be more to the game than real life pokemanz.

artofwar420

@ShirtGuyDom:

I hate to spoil your fantasy but the animals in Far Cry 2 are invincible, shoot all you want, they wont feel a thing, hows that for realism?

Wolf_Dog

@Kinburn: doubtful you'll be able to adjust aperture or choose a fixed focal length lens with 8-blades for killer bokeh. the photography mechanics must appeal to lamest of lame ducks.

rainofwalrus

Think of it as a shooting game, but it doesn't blow up or spew blood or make a bang. It just captures the object(image). I think I can buy something like this at a game price. We'll have to see how extensive the animals are...and of course it's educational...what is the price of education?

karateka

't'll be out on August 28, and will cost ¥5980 (USD$56), which is a bit of a worry. I'd presumed this would be a neat little addition to the PSN's lineup. A different way to blow $15-$20. But that price has it pegged as a, well, proper game. And what they've shown thus far doesn't look like it has the legs/meat of a proper game at all.'

Theres some hating there.

Point 1 - Most Ps3 games in Japan retail around the $75 mark not $60 like in the US. So this is faily cheap (for example MGS4 has an RRP of 8,800yen in Japan compared to the 5980yen Afrika has)

Point 2 - Was Pokemon Snap was a full game which i spent hours on? (the answer is Yes) and this looks to have a alot more depth.

Still what im more worried about is what you think is a proper game?

jip100

This game looks awesome ... day and night photography, free roaming, lots of stuff to unlock about the animals ... how doesn't it seem like a full game?

jayntampa

i hope it's dynamic enough to suspend disbelief. i don't want to venture into Afrika and be surrounded by swarms of "decorative" animals. I want there to be days where I don't see a single animal! Just like IRL (and Spaceballs).

Dark Helmet: Found anything yet?
Henchmen: Nothing sir!

Dark Helmet: How bout you?
Henchmen: Not a thing sir!

Dark Helmet: What about you guys?
Henchmen: Man, we ain't found shit!

rainofwalrus

I love how people complain that game types aren't diverse enough, and then complain that a game isn't worth full price because its not what they're used to.

I would love a quality safari simulator... and this is the type of game that could catch the mainstream in a big way.

Astrofox

If they put in enough features to capture a reasonably accurate "feel" of exploring an African savannah, then it'll be well worth it.

I'm wondering if you hold up the Dualshock to your face when taking pictures.

boopadoo

If Warhawk is still $40 on the PSN, why should Afrika be any cheaper? Also, if this game is anything like Endless Ocean in terms of attention to detail and the vastness of the world, $40 or $50 doesn't seem expensive at all.

Kain-Xavier

What is the point of having a safari sim? This is the dumbest idea for a game, because I would actually buy the gardening one.

michaelleung

this game should be advertised solely on the fact that when you look through the viewfinder, you can see the shutter speed and aperture.

johnjohnbmx

Depends on how deep the game is. Pokemon Snap was worth the price, even though this is probably like double its original worth.

What would save this game's price-tag is if it had multiplayer co-op, different interesting missions (like take a picture of a lioness feeding on a wildebeest. Take a picture of hyenas getting into a fight with a pride of lions at night without disturbing them. Get a picture of a rare bird's nest without scaring off the mother.), missions like that, where it would make you come back to the game each time with something fresh and challenging to do, not just "hay take a pic of a hippo...the hippo 10 ft in front of you, MISSION COMPLETE!" you know? It better have an extensive encyclopedia and a variety in animals and landscapes, otherwise it's probably not worth $60.

Ryuk