Ripten Videogame Blog » consoles

The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf officially “On Hold”

Sam Naylor — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:38:50 +0000

Remember when there was that rumour that the console version of The Witcher had been cancelled? It turns out it was partially true. WideScreen, the game’s developer, has confirmed that the game has been pushed back, thanks to CD Projekt (the owner of the IP) not having enough money.

Widescreen boss Olivier Masclef said that “I will try to find any solution for the fans. The Witcher on console is an extremely promising title that’s awaited by a lot of people. We have it running here, and I can tell you that if it hits the shelves one day it’s going to be great…” Oh, and don’t worry- no staff have been laid off.

Screens of Ryu and Ken’s Sensei in Street Fighter 4

Sean Mitchuson — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:51:08 +0000

Street Fighter 4, from what I understand, is not getting a legal arcade release in America (correct me if I’m wrong), but never fear! The US is getting the console version on both PS3 and Xbox 360, and a character that you may or may not have known was coming was Ryu and Ken’s teacher, referred to as Gouken.

In the arcades here in Japan, he is not a playable character but does show up from time to time if you’re playing right. I haven’t seen him or Akuma (Gouki) at all in the arcade game because I don’t play it all that much. He will, however, be playable on the home consoles, and his moves seem to be somewhat of a mix between Ryu, Ken, Akuma (Gouki), and a dash of something all his own.

From what I was told by buddies in school during the heyday of Street Fighter, Gouken had been killed by Akuma over some dispute between them — apparently that was false and he was just in hiding. Now he is back and ready to take out the other Street Fighters in the new incarnation.

I also remember back in high school, there was an April Fool’s joke where if you beat Street Fighter a certain way you got to fight this guy. Yeah, my friends and I worked on that a whole weekend once only to later realize it was a hoax. Those evil, evil men… Anyhow, this time it’s real and here are some screen shots to prove it.

If he is worth playing or not is yet to be seen. He is a very imposing man to say the least. I wouldn’t wanna fight him.

The console version releases around February 12th in Japan, followed shortly thereafter by the U.S. and UK releases on the 17th and 20th, respectively.

Source: Famitsu

Confirmed: GTA IV PS3 Is Not 630p…It’s 640p

Patrick Steen — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:19:40 +0000

It’s fun to compare consoles, especially when the comparison involves one of the biggest games of this generation. Grand Theft Auto IV has been littered with websites giving their opinions on which version looks best. Surprisingly, most had no inkling of each version’s native resolution.

Eurogamer are the first to speculate that GTA IV on the PS3 runs at 630p. When in fact, it doesn’t… It runs at 640p.

Yes, GTA IV on the PS3 is sub-HD. And if it couldn’t be any more ironic (the traditionally Playstation series runs at a lower resolution) it has the same resolution as Halo 3 on the Xbox 360 – perhaps the first game to receive the sub-HD back-lash.

The man who spilt the news? The now infamous Quaz51 of Beyond3d technical forums. PS3 GTA IV runs at 640p with 0xAA, in comparison to the Xbox 360 version at 720p with 2xAA.

Eurogamer, who base almost all their multi-platform comparisons on Quaz51’s findings, were using opinions from B3D’s technical wizard before he had received a reliable PS3 screenshot. In receipt of a high-res shot, Quaz51 had this to say:

Good news [...] it’s 1152×640p (and no AA) exactly like Halo 3, Perfect Dark [Zero] or Dark Sector PS3.

The resolution itself is unsurprising, but the side by side comparisons carried out by numerous websites tell a more complex story. For example, in IGN’s head to head, the PS3’s Anti-Aliasing is cited as being the better of the two versions, even though the Xbox 360 has 2xAA. This could be due to the upscaling and post-processing effects smoothing the edges on the PS3.

In their review, IGN continues to state that due to the PS3’s mandatory install there is less loading and less pop-in than on the Xbox 360:

For those wanting to know which version looks better, the edge goes to the PS3. The textures and framerate are comparable, but the PS3 has far less pop-in. The 360 has richer colors, but the PS3 has better anti-aliasing making it look a little cleaner. Because GTA IV can preload onto the PS3 hard drive, the in-game loads are faster. Don’t worry Xbox owners, the load times are rarely more than 30 seconds and don’t occur very often.

In another nod to differences between the two versions, EGM mentions that the “PS3 version looks slightly more vibrant and sharp.” You’d think the Xbox 360’s higher resolution would facilitate the sharper look.

Native resolution, thus, appears to have less of an impact than we might have first thought. At least, you are more likely to notice indirect differences, than the lower resolution itself. For example, upscaling on the PS3 appears to have some positive graphical results, which may explain why some websites say it looks better. Eurogamer’s Rich Leadbetter hypothesises:

It’s worth noting that due to the post-processing effects the game employs (there’s a serious amount of stuff being done to the raw frame), the PS3’s lower resolution serves to mask a lot of the nasty after effects.

For example, look at the dithering on the signs in the background on those shots. A bit ugly on Xbox 360, but smoothed and blurred away on PS3, presenting a generally nicer look.

In the end, what really matters is that both versions run extremely well and at an almost locked framerate. There are certainly differences on paper, but many will find it difficult to notice them in the game:

[gamevideo http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/18625]

Which version of GTA IV should you buy? Due to the game’s impressive multiplayer – buy the version where your friends reside, because you could potentially spend hundreds of hours duking it out online.

PS3/360 Cry Engine 2 to Look Near High Settings on PC

Patrick Steen — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:01:48 +0000

It almost sounds too good to be true. Almost? It is too good to be true. Could Cry Engine 2 on consoles really look any where near as good as Crysis on the PC? Crytek’s Engine Business Manager, Harald Seeley, states that they expect the console versions to “look like they’re running at high settings, or nearly high settings, on a PC.” *Shock.*

When asked what differences there would be between the PC and console versions of the Cry Engine 2, and whether the engine will be tailored to each platform, Seeley replies:

Yes, we definitely tailor the engine specifically to each platform. More than just the difference in CPU and video hardware capabilities of PCs and consoles is at play here. So are the much smaller memory budgets we must work with, the lack of a hard disk on some models, and the acceptance requirements of the hardware vendors themselves. All have an effect on how we approach each version of the engine.

The surprising thing has been how well the consoles can perform visually, once this tailoring is in place. We expect the final outcome will result in games that look like they’re running at high settings, or nearly high settings, on a PC. Actually, we found it as much or more challenging to address the memory limitations of the consoles when converting our current AI system, as we did while converting our rendering engine or physics system, which was not something you might have expected at the start.

As to the differences between Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 development, and the possibility of a Wii engine, Seeley states:

Well there is no doubt that porting our engine to the PlayStation 3 is the more challenging of our two ongoing conversion projects, but that works to our advantage in the end. We feel certain we have the ability to get the most that is possible out of that platform, and therefore PS3 games which run on our engine in the future will definitely stand significantly apart from other games that don’t.

We haven’t seen a great deal of demand for third party engines for the Wii, the limited complexity of games which can be developed for that console also limits the need for the kind of sophisticated tools and middleware which we are known for. So I doubt we will be providing any engine technology for that console in the near term.

Poor Wii, but bring out the parade for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3! For the rest of the interview, please visit IGN.

EA Sports Games Axed for PC, And It’s All Your Fault

Kev Lochun — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:06:45 +0000

Madden ‘09 is the first casualty of the cull, which is apparently because we love our consoles too much.

We had wondered whether last week’s decision not to ship Madden for PC might be an isolated incident, but not so. Speaking on his blog, EA Sports head Peter Moore said:

The PC presents some very serious business challenges to us in the sports category, particularly because so many of you all are playing your favourite sports games on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

He goes on to say a limited number of titles will be released on PC this year, but without an indication of which ones, and whether that means they’re slowly winding down or just keeping the few bestsellers.

Meanwhile, if you are at this moment spewing vitriol or letting the tears cascade down your face, at least there’s a caveat; PC appears to be getting a suspension rather than a lifelong ban.

Moore promises:

We do have ideas for how to revitalise the PC for sports games and the types of games that are best suited to the platform, and we’ll continue to explore those.

Of course he’s yet to respond to the outraged Madden community about whens and hows.

His comments are buried in this post over at EA

World of WarCraft Coming to Consoles!

Dan Landis — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:02:13 +0000

Blizzard announced today that its overly-popular MMO, World of WarCraft, is headed to consoles in a spin-off entitled “The Molten Core”. We here at Ripten are excited about the possibilities of this concept, and I’m putting my money down that this is going to be the best game ever created. Find out why.

One of the first things I heard that made me stiff in the pants was this:

“Blizzard got its start in console gaming, and we’ve always been excited about returning to this arena. Additionally, we’ve wanted to reintroduce the 40-player raid dungeon experience for some time. With World of Warcraft: The Molten Core, we’re able to do both.”

Those words are straight from the mouth of Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. Sounds neat, right? Well it looks even neater! Check this out!

Sorry, that was a very conveniently misplaced ad. Here is the real screenshot:

Awesome, I know. Blizzard rounds out the details by indicating that there will be different shapes and colors to represent the different classes in World of WarCraft. They also have a sweet teaser trailer. Check it out!

[youtube width="480" height="378"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXiQp7oW08U[/youtube]

World of WarCraft: The Molten Core will be available soon for the Atari 2600, with a planned release on other consoles depending on sales. Read more about the 2008 Game of the Year (yes, I’m calling it now) at Blizzard’s site, or check out an exclusive sneak peek at the game here.

Analysts Play With Crystal Ball: Foresee Wii Owners ‘Graduating’ To PS3

Kev Lochun — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:55:13 +0000

But for once it isn’t Michael Patcher sifting through the tea leaves. This time market researchers iSuppli have predicted that 2008 will be the turning point for PS3 – and if all goes to plan it will be the console Wii owners come running to.

More specifically, analyst Pamela Tufegdzic told Reuters:

We anticipate Sony will have another price slash on the PS3 this year, and come Christmas, consumers who originally bought the Wii will likely purchase the PS3.

The logic is that PS3’s production costs are going to fall so much it will create that most elusive of things – profit – so Sony can justify another price cut. This is linked to planned boosts to manufacturing efficiency and cheaper components becoming available, the latter of which is beginning to happen.

The PS3 is moving across to the smaller/more efficient 65nm Cell, and eventually 45nm – both of which will reduce costs. In addition, by stripping out PS2 backwards compatibility, Sony have been able to remove two chips out of the machine.

Most importantly, however, the expensive Blu-ray drive (rumoured to cost $200 on PS3’s launch) has dropped in price considerably, due to the Blu-ray diode having harsh cost cuts. Combine this with Blu-ray wining the format war, more manufacturing costs are sure to occur here.

Whether or not Sony would entertain another price-cut at this stage is anyone’s guess, especially since we didn’t expect such a move the first time round. While Tufegdzic is adamant (wrongly, I would suggest) that “the battle over consoles all boils down to price,” she readily adds that demand is going to spike in light of the Blu-ray victory and the appearance of key titles such as Gran Turismo 5 and Metal Gear Solid 4.

It’s an interesting proposition nonetheless, because it’s Microsoft who is actively chasing Nintendo’s audience and the Wii60 dream. Sony hasn’t batted an eyelid.

Gaming Trends Part 2: The State of PC Gaming

Roly Reyes — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:14:43 +0000

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been noticing quite a few themes that have been making their way through the industry. Throughout last week at GDC, many of these took center stage in a variety of forms. Today, we examine the state of PC Gaming.

Every year a multitude of publications come out proclaiming “PC gaming is dead! All units bail out!” It’s all getting to be a little ridiculous.

Now, let’s not be naive. PC gaming as we know it is in hot water and is very analogous to an arms race. Who’s going to be the first with a water-cooled, overclocked, dual-quad-SLi rig that can run Crysis at an insane resolution with every setting jacked to the point of no return? This is the disarray that Cliff Blizenski was speaking of when talking to Stephen Totilo of the MTV Multiplayer blog.

Arguably the biggest factor of the “disarray” that the PC is facing is piracy, which inadvertently causes more and more former big-time PC exclusive titles to make their way to consoles.

Go back two years, and I ‘m fairly certain that you’d be hard-pressed to find a hardcore PC gamer that wouldn’t scoff at the mere idea of Unreal Tournament or Command & Conquer making their way to a console.

This is the very reason that World of Warcraft and every Sims 2 expansion on the face of this earth has managed to stay at the top of the charts. Those are the games that are scaled back to the point that they will run on any computer released within the past 6 years, give or take a few.

The recent release of SteamWorks further solidifies Valve’s dedication to the PC as a viable platform and marks a milestone in PC gaming. SteamWorks consists of a wide variety of development tools that may be useful to developers of all sizes.

Fast-forward a few weeks and we’ll see Microsoft and Havok following suit. Microsoft unvieled the DreamSpark intiative, which makes a suite of Microsoft tools available for students. Not long after, Havok announced that they will be releasing Havok Complete, their solution to physics and animation in May 2008.

The big bullet point is that all of these companies have (or are in the process of) releasing these tools for free, effectively making it available and possible for anyone and everyone to make a game should they have the patience, drive, and dedication.

Through 2008, we may see PC gaming evolve into something we don’t recognize – and some of us may not like it.

For example, take Battlefield: Heroes. Although it’s very much an off-shoot of the Battlefield series as we know it, it makes a statement about the position that the PC market is in right now. For those that may not know, Battlefield: Heroes is a free-to-play online multiplayer FPS that will launch this summer.

The free-to-play model will work on two fronts, with advertising that EA is claiming wil be non-intrusive, along with content that may be paid for (nature of said content has yet to be revealed) that won’t severely cripple gamers that are playing for free.

The outcome of this ‘experiment’ may be indicative of the way that the PC gaming market will go in the forseeable future.

Far Cry 2 Officially Announced for PS3 and Xbox 360

Patrick Steen — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:59:16 +0000

After rampant rumours of Far Cry 2 coming to consoles, Ubisoft have finally announced the game for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

A predictable outcome for Ubisoft; a company that doesn’t like to keep all its eggs in one basket, as was seen in Assassin’s Creed reaching both consoles – and soon to be PC.

Whether the console iterations of Far Cry 2 will be as solid and impressive as the PC version that we’ve always been expecting, we’ll have to wait and see.

Here’s the press release, which is regrettably in French. Nothing against the language, but it’ll be foreign to the majority of you.

Ubisoft annonce aujourd’hui que Far Cry® 2 est actuellement en développement sur Xbox 360® de Microsoft et PLAYSTATION®3 de Sony. Far Cry 2 est un jeu de tir à la première personne développé par le studio d’Ubisoft Montréal.

Plus qu’une performance visuelle et technologique, Far Cry 2 constitue pour le joueur une expérience de jeu inédite, basée sur un moteur de jeu conçu spécifiquement pour l’occasion. Les joueurs seront plongés dans un univers de jeu totalement ouvert, au sein de somptueux paysages africains, grâce à la haute définition et à la technologie next-gen.

La sortie de Far Cry 2 est prévue pour l’année fiscale 2008-2009.

In way of a translation: Far Cry 2 is being developed for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, which will be released in the fiscal year 2008-09. Or there abouts.