It’s priced at R$799, which works out to be about $500. So, yes, it’s expensive to buy video games in Brazil. Our man Pedro tells us that with a nine-year-old console only just launching, there obviously isn’t an official PS3 presence, though he says Sony do sell some older PS3 games. For R$199 ($125).

Ever wanted to know why piracy was rife in South America? Those prices might get you in the right direction.

Sony traz PlayStation e jogos oficialmente para o Brasil. Não comemore [Gizmodo BR]

Bitmob sat down, screengrabber at the ready and found out, posting a ton of shots directly comparing the two versions. As you can see, the PS2 version looks a little, I don’t know, warmer, but the texture clarity on the PS3 remakes is certainly an improvement.

For reference in the shot below, the top pic is the PS2 version running on a PS3, while the bottom pic is the PS3 version running on the… PS3.

Graphics Comparison (part two): God of War 2 vs. God of War Collection [Bitmob]

“This decrease,” states Sony, “was mainly due to lower VAIO PC and game sales.” According to Sony, lower PS2 hardware and software sales as well as the appreciation of the yen negatively impacted business.

During the quarter, Sony sold three million PSP units, down from the 3.2 million units sold during the same period last year. PS2 sales dropped from 2.5 million units sold during this period in 2008 to 1.9 million units sold in the same period this year. PS3 sales, however, were up: 3.2 million units were sold during the period, compared with 2.4 million units some during the same time last year.

“An operating loss of ¥58.8 billion ($719 million) was recorded,” states Sony, “a deterioration of ¥18.2 billion ($222.5 million) year-on-year, mainly due to a deterioration in profitability in VAIO PCs and the game business.”

But can a video game capture the essence of a toy made popular by it’s ability to physical transform from ball to creature?

Loved
Essence of Bakugan: The popularity of the collectible card game is driven by the nature of the little marble-like Bakugan. These balls, when rolled across a metal card, pop open to reveal a tiny monster inside. Each creature has points, which can be modified with cards. The Bakugan with the highest point count at the end wins.

The video game does an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of these tiny creatures and the way the spring to life. While the battles animate the Bakugan, everything leading up to that moment feels like the real-world game. The marbles roll around an arena responding the shape of the playing field and the tilt of your controller. And if a ball lands on a card it springs open, just like the Bakugan you may have in your home. Cards are still used to modify points. The only real difference is how the winner is determined, with mini-games modifying the final point count for each creature.

Throw and Control: To play the game, both on a console or in the real world, players take turns throwing their balled Bakugan across an arena, trying to land it on a card. In the Wii version of the game, you do this by first selecting a Bakugan with your remote, then determining if you want a standard or power throw. Finally you aim and throw the ball with your remote. Once in motion, you can guide the ball around the arena by tilting the controller. If you run out of energy before landing on a card the ball returns to your hand and it’s the other player’s turn. The object of each battle is to win three cards either in battle or by lading two of your Bakugan on a card. The responsive controls of the Wii remote, while the Bakugan is in motion, makes the game surprisingly fun and adds a level of skill to what could have been a game of pure numbers.

Arenas: Taking advantage of the video game medium, the developers created a number of themed arenas packed with power-ups and cards. Instead of just throwing your Bakugan at a card, players are tempted into exploring the arena on the hunt for powerful items that can be used in battle. But if you run out of energy before making it to a card you lose everything you collected.

In the Game: While there aren’t a ton of ways to customise the look of your character, there are enough to make him or her look sort of like you. And once you’ve created your character he or she will show up in every animated cut-scene for the game, right there along side all of the characters from the cartoon. It’s pretty neat.

Multiplayer: While the single-player campaign may test your skills as a Bakugan Brawler, the multiplayer, which allows up to four players to battle at a time, is where you’ll likely have the most fun. It’s here that the game will be most played.

Special Shots and Sphere Attacks: Another neat addition to the basic Bakugan play is the ability to rack up enough power over time to do special shots when you throw a Bakugan. You can also use shots to smack into an opponent’s opened Bakugan to damage it before a battle starts. Both of these abilities add a bit more tactical action to the game.

Hated
Touchy Remote: While the controls work flawlessly when controlling the Bakugan in motion, the time spent leading up to your throw can be very frustrating. In particular, grabbing a Bakugan and then deciding what sort of shot you want can often be problematic, with the controller deciding for you because of the way the game is designed.

Plot: Unlike a game like Pokemon, where the battles with other characters are neatly woven into the framework of the story, Bakugan’s story comes as an aside to gameplay. All of your gaming, with the exception of the forced training done in the park, comes during tournaments which are almost completely story free. It would have been nice to see the game presented in a bit more cohesive manner.

Limited Mini-Games: There are only three mini-games in Bakugan Battle Brawlers. Three games used to decide who wins in a match-up. Players will shoot symbols, tap buttons in a rhythm game or shake the controller. While each of these mini-games have a number of difficulty settings, they can become tedious over time because every single match up has to include one of them. It would have been nice if the developers had included a half-dozen or even dozen mini-games instead. Three is just too little.

Bakugan Battle Brawlers does a better job of laying out the basic rules of playing the game than the actual card and marble game you can buy in a store. It’s an impressive feat to manage to outdo the source material and in many ways that’s just what this video game does.

Will Bakugan Battle Brawlers usurp Pokemon’s throne? No, not by a long shot, at least not yet. To do that the game will have to spend a lot more time on the story and building up both the characters and the creatures they collect, but I found the basic mechanic of battle much more engaging than I’ve ever found Pokemon to be.

Bakugan Battle Brawlers isn’t without its flaws, but there’s something very engaging about playing the game. The physical nature of controlling your throws, exploring the arenas and then watching your Bakugan spring to life all had me coming back for more.

Bakugan Battle Brawler was developed by NOW Production and published by Activision for the DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 on Oct. 20 in North America and Oct. 28 in Australia. Retails for $US49.99/$AU79.95. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played the campaign mode for six hours and multiple multiplayer matches on the Wii.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

This is the first I’ve heard of Jurassic: The Hunted, Activision’s budget dinosaur hunting game, outside of a brief mention as “Jurassic Hunter” in Nintendo’s holiday lineup listing. Players take on the role of survival and weapons expert Craig Dylan, pulled back in time through the Bermuda Triangle to find himself face-to-face with the deadliest predators the world has ever seen.

“Get ready to be the hunted,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “In Jurassic: The Hunted players will experience nonstop, vicious dinosaur attacks coming from all directions — and these are massive beasts that don’t go down with a single rifle shot.”

The game will feature arena style fights, sieges, survival modes and suitably large boss fights with an adrenalin mechanic that allows the player to target the enemy’s weak spots in slow motion.

And that’s all we’ve got. Jurassic: The Hunted comes out November 3 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii, priced to potentially move at $US39.99, with a PlayStation 2 version also on sale for $US10 cheaper.

So, who’s up for blindly buying a title not many people have heard of? Anyone?

According to game site Siliconera, this is Square Enix’s last PS2 title.

As the PS3 picks up more steam, the PS2 era is slowing drawing to a close. The PlayStation 2 has had an incredible run — kinda sad to see it gradually end!

We are following up with Square Enix for confirmation.

Square Enix’s Final PlayStation 2 Game // Siliconera [Siliconera]

The October 17 event will give players a chance to check out the game, due out on on October 20 for the DS, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. Attendees will also get a chance to try their hand at the “Maxus Challenge” where they can compete for a chance to receive ability cards and other prizes.

Gotta get them… oh, wrong one!

And that date is someday in February of 2010, according to an update on the matter from Eurogamer. Since Konami hasn’t responded to requests for clarification, we’ll mentally prepare ourselves for the psychological impact of a similar release time frame.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for Feb [Eurogamer]

According to listings from GameFly and GameStop—typically the quickest retailers to react to delays — the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PSP game has been moved back about a month. There’s some disagreement about exactly when the game’s various incarnations are due.

GameStop says every version hits December 8, originally scheduling it for a November 3 release. GameFly says the Wii version arrives November 26, but puts a more ominous December 31 on the PS2 and PSP versions. Walmart.com’s release dates for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories are closer to GameFly’s, with the PlayStation versions arriving Christmas Day.

Maybe Konami feels the horror game could capitalise on a bit more Christmas cheer or it’s finding new awards to paste onto the game’s cover. Regardless of their reasons, we’ve asked about the slipping date, but have not yet heard back.

Thanks to Manuel for the tip off.

They’re back, and they look mighty pissed, at least in that screenshot above, posted on the PlayStation Blog along with news of the game’s November 3rd release date. While I’ve not personally heard good things about the dynamic duo’s latest adventure, AJ seemed to get a kick out of it, and Totilo really enjoyed the flying levels, so perhaps there is hope yet.

Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Hitting Shelves November 3 on PSP and PS2 [PlayStation Blog]