I got rid of my PSP a while ago because the library was pretty lackluster, and even though it’s expanding more with the inclusion of the PSPgo, I don’t really care for the system. But that’s not to say I’m excited to see how LittleBigPlanet for the PSP turns out. I guess I’ll be able to find out November 17th, when the game hits stateside.

We haven’t heard much about the game since it was announced in February, but it’s shaping up to be a rather solid PSP title. Sony didn’t add multiplayer, but they have promised DLC and the inclusion of British humorist, Stephen Fry, which frankly, is good enough for me. How many of you are planning to pick up the game?

Eurogamer have managed to get hold of a trailer for the upcoming Gran Turismo PSP that not only shows of the game’s (astounding) graphical prowess, but runs at a full 60 frames per second. You’re probably best to download the video if the video is choppy.

Although GTPSP looks great, I’m not sure that it’s worth me getting a PSP for. I was thinking about it, with there being a lot of decent games on the system now, but with Gran Turismo 5 within sight I might just go straight for that instead. What do you think? Is the PSP worth getting?

While nothing official has been announced, it looks like Swedish Heavy Metal band Opeth may have spilled the beans on an upcoming Saints Row PSP game.

Opeth gave the go ahead for their song The Lotus Eater to be featured in the game, saying:

“We may not like playing videogames all that much but we do like it when our music is featured on them! Makes us a bit proud even when it’s a game as big as Saints Row for the PSP… So if you love playing videogames: the game is expected to hit the streets around March 2010.”

We’ll let you know when an official announcement is made.

Gamer Center Online

The new SoulCalibur game for the Sony PlayStation Portable, SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny, will feature the God of War protagonist, Kratos, as a playable character.

Joystiq reports that the classic PS1 title Metal Gear Solid is coming to the PlayStation Network as a downloadable title. The game will be coming to the North American PSN on June 18 for just $9.99, but there’s no word on the European release just yet. Since Metal Gear Solid is pretty much the best game that was ever released for the PS1, this is a great chance for those of us who foolishly sold their MGS1 disc in their naive youth. Of course, that doesn’t apply to me. I live in Europe.

[Post updated with a better quality video of the June 2009 episode of Qore. The audio's off, but you can still get the gist of what's occuring.]

I’m sure that Sony won’t be too happy about this, but it seems that their video news service, Qore, has accidentally leaked the PSP Go only days before it was supposed to be shown at E3. Someone over at the Gaming Console Network managed to get their hands on the June episode of Qore, where Veronica Belmont and John Koller talk about the new handheld.

A couple of tidbits from the video – slide out controls, 16GB of internal memory & a memory card slot for more, no UMD, release in Fall 2009, and it won’t replace the current PSPs, they’ll be sold simultaneously. The video also announced LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo, and Metal Gear for the PSP Go, and said that we’d see GTPSP at E3, which is exciting for those of us that have been waiting upwards of 4 years for it.

Of course, many of us saw this coming, since we’ve been hearing rumors about the PSP Go for about a year now, name and all. Hit the jump for a gallery of 19 images of the PSP Go.

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Gamezine have dug up a forum post by an allegedly trustworthy member of the GTPlanet community, a large Gran Turismo forum and website. There are some cryptic whisperings on the forum post which you can see after the jump, as well as their interpretations, which include such things as a 2009 release, a track editor, and over 600 cars and 90+ tracks.

Forum post:

There are many winds blowing in the air right now, and every one of them is telling its own tale.

First wind whispers that final reunion will happen thirty nights before twelve months pass and that all winds from the whole world will reunite in the same moment for the first time.

Second wind says there will be more than half of dozen hundreds birds flying in the beginning of the reunion on almost eight dozen of skypaths, and some of the birds will come from the past reunion just resembling the looks of the newborn birds.

Third tale says that for the first time ever skypaths will not be just solid and already known but that new skypaths will be built by birdtamers from the parts of existing skypaths.

Fourth wind is talking that birdtamers will reunite in numbers greater than ever and will be granted with ability to talk to each other, make guilds and alliances with undisputed freedom.

Fifth wind says that reunion will happen in two forms, one greater than other and birdtamers will have freedom to decide which reunion they will attend. Greater reunion will ask for great sacrifice to be made in order to get all present and future treasures without new sacrifices needed, while smaller reunion will come in form already known, asking for more sacrifices if future treasures catches the eyes of the birdtamers.

Sixth wind is telling the tale about different reunion but almost the same as known one, smaller only for the eyes of those who do not want to see it in its whole glory. That different reunion will not happen in the realm same as the known one, but in the different realm which still has not been uncovered to the birdtamers. That realm will resemble realm already known but it will be divine new and made in the image of it.

All those birds, skypaths and birdtamers from all realms will unite for the Feast. And as it is already known, it will be the Feast of the Gods.

What it might mean:

# Worldwide release within the next 12 months, possibly December 1st 2009.
# 600+ cars, 96 tracks with remakes from GT4.
# Track editor splicing routes from existing tracks.
# Voice chat, party mode, clan support.
# Two releases, one SKU which gives you access to all future DLC, and another cheaper option that will let you purchase DLC separately.
# GT mobile on PSP (or PC).

Since E3 2005, there have been rumors of Devil May Cry 3 being ported to the PSP, but we have never heard anything substantial about it. The closest we ever got was when Sony accidentally listed Devil May Cry on a list of games supported by third-party companies, but they never bothered to comment on that- which is why I find it weird that a “non-existant” game just got cancelled.

In the new issue of Famitsu, a PSP version of Devil May Cry as being cancelled, even though it had never been confirmed. When contacted for questioning, Capcom said, “Devil May Cry was once listed in a long string of titles in potential development for the PSP when the system was first announced.” Turns out that the game ddi exist, it just wasn’t public. Bad news for all of the DMC fans out there, but do you think it would’ve worked? Would you have enjoyed a Devil May Cry game for the PSP?

I decided after getting my Japanese stimulus check that I should use it for something good, like video games.  I chose to pick up another new PSP and the games Final Fantasy: Dissidia, and another secret game that I will review at another time.  Dissidia turned out to be more than I thought it was, which was great.  The game looks beautiful, plays pretty well, has a mediocre story, and lots of extras to keep the player interested.

The Basics

Dissidia lets you control one of ten characters from the first ten Final Fantasy games.  Some are main characters and some are not.  There are a couple secret characters as well but I won’t be dropping any hints and ruining it, so if you wanna know who they are, sorry!  As you complete the game you can unlock the ability to play the bad guys that are also a big part of the game.  All in all, though, there are 22 characters to choose from, so it’s a pretty decent selection.

The story is a pretty standard affair.  Good, evil, crystals, and fighting.  There really isn’t too much to say about it, it’s really just there to keep the game rolling instead of moving constantly from fight to fight for no reason.

The Fighting

The battle system in Dissidia is very action orientated.  This is very different from the RPG games that the characters involved in the game are used to, but if you have played Kingdom Hearts or Crisis Core you will pick up on the combat really quick.  Combat can become repetitive if you just feel like winning as opposed to trying different things with your character. 

As you level up you unlock and master abilities.  You can completely change the play style of each character from how they act when you start with them, but it takes so long to get into the interesting abilities, you have already programmed you’re muscle memory to a certain play style so it may make you feel weaker to change it up a lot.

Each character has two modes in battle. One is your regular look which you will see most often.  As you beat on your opponent, though, they lose small crystal flashes or something which you collect to fill your EX gauge.  When that gauge fills, you can go into “EX mode” which is a buffed version of your character with a different outfit (which is usually a lot flashier).  Also, your special attacks get much more interesting in this mode. 

Square really thought about its fans with the EX attack.  Each character has their own cut scene-style special attack — you participate in this attack which reminds me of the limit break attacks.  You either do a combination button press, or a button mash, etc. to try and get a perfect attack.  Those of us that aren’t very good at these sorts of situations, have no fear — there is an ability the characters learn at later levels that does this automatically for you, but as another neat little thing thrown in by Square, until you master the ability, the character can screw up the limit break.

You also get the ability to equip armor and weapons on the characters along with rings that make the character stronger throughout the game.  Something I didn’t like about this was nothing changes on the character when you equip new stuff.  Something I really liked in FF7 and beyond was seeing a new weapon in the characters hands when I upgraded, not a big deal but it would have been nice to see.

The characters to me are very unbalanced.  This is honestly not a con to me.  It just means that I will have an unfair advantage against some characters and others will have an unfair advantage against me.  This may ruin the multiplayer mode for a lot of people, but really that mode isn’t the point of the game or even really focused.  It does make the story mode annoying sometimes when you get stuck on a character that you aren’t good against and they just mash you into the ground for hours at at time.

Some characters are able to easily tear through the game.  Onion Knight, for instance, has moves that really don’t require you to get near the enemy if you don’t feel like it, thus winning every match for you easily.  Characters like Squall and Cloud seem really weakened and are expected to get in rather close to fight their opponents.  Their specials are nice, but working up the combo takes a lot of work.  The characters can level up to 99 which I thought would take a very very long time. Luckily, as you level the stuff the character can do scales up so you are always gaining large amounts of experience for them.  I took Warrior of Light from level 45 to 89 in about two hours on a lazy Saturday.

Graphics, Music, and Other

The graphics are superb in this game.  Models look a little sharp and jagged but as this is a PSP game, this is to be expected.  Otherwise the game has very well done cut-scenes and character design in general is rather pretty.  The music is all songs taken from the games and some wonderful vocal tracks for important boss battles.  Honestly, though, if I have to hear that choir sing about Sephiroth one more time I’ll probably smash the game.

The main point of the game, it seems, is to play until you unlock everything.  One of the first things you do when you start the game is tell it what day you will play the most often and how often in general you will play.  This will help you get through the game faster and help you unlock more items in the catalog.

The PP catalog is where you unlock all of the goodies that come with the game after you finish the story mode.  You can unlock all the “evil” characters to play with them in quick battles, unlock items for the calendar, unlock icons to decorate your multiplayer card, etc.  There is a ton of things to unlock, and of course after you unlock a bunch of different things, you unlock the ability to unlock more stuff, so you need to play the game more to pay for the rest of the stuff.

All in all this is a really good game.  It is a bit repetitive, though.  You fight the same battles over and over for ten stories with five chapters each.  I think the average amount of fights per “chapter” is around five so that is 25 fights a story, at 10 basic stories that is 250 fights.  Those ten stories, though, aren’t the end of the game, and you have a few more modes to go through to clear all the fights.  To even begin to unlock everything, you better be ready to play well more than 1000 matches.

On the Ripten scale I give this an 8.  It’s easy to pick up and play whenever, and you get a lot of fan appreciation.  It can get boring, but it is just a fighting game, the only reason there is a story seems only to force you into taking a break every few minutes.

Sure, we already knew it was coming thanks to the leaked cover of May’s Nintendo Power, but today Konami sent out the press release for the newest Silent Hill game- the first for the Wii- Shattered Memories.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories seems to be more centered on puzzles this time around, as according to Destructoid, it has absolutely no combat. Nope- you just run away from enemies. On the plus side, it won’t have any load times. On the “I don’t know if this is good, bad, or just really stupid” side, the Wiimote will act as a cell phone anytime you get a call.

I’m sure this will excite many fans of the horror genre, or even just the Silent Hill franchise, but as Ripten’s resident scaredy cat (I still jump whenever I find the flashlight in the Highlights magazine search) I will staying far away from this game. Have fun with that game guys, I’ll be over here in the corner watching Noddy’s Toyland Adventure reruns. Hit the jump for the press release.

Konami Announces Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for Wii™, PlayStation®2 System and PSP® System

Popular Survival Horror Series Resurrects True Terror With
Debut on Wii

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – April 6, 2009 - Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. today unveiled the latest iteration in the popular Silent Hill franchise scheduled to launch this fall on Wii™,  PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. Featuring an interactive user interface, improved puzzle system, and a psych profile that changes the experience based on the players’ gameplay choices, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories conveys the most fluid and realistic gameplay of the series to date.

“Silent Hill: Shattered Memories returns to its roots in this re-imagining of the original Silent Hill with the most interactive and frightening installment of the decade-old series,” said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. “With a deep storyline, eerie music and a psych profile that watches its players and evolves to expose their innermost fears throughout the game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is sure to evoke fear in both franchise newcomers and longtime survival horror fans.”

In this terrifying survival horror experience with an all-new soundtrack by acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka, players follow Harry Mason, the maladroit protagonist who is searching for his missing daughter, Cheryl. While Harry wanders the snowy streets of Silent Hill searching for clues of her disappearance, he must face twisted creatures from the depths of his frozen nightmares.

In the Wii™ version, players will be drawn into the mysterious town using the Wii Remote™ as a flashlight and cell phone as they search for clues. The cell phone can also be used by players as a user interface which acts as a story telling device, map, camera and much more, providing seamless flow with no interruption in gameplay. Additionally, through a very unique feature in the game, an advanced psych profile watches and adapts to players’ actions to acclimatize Harry and the people he meets, the places he visits, and the enemies he encounters to create an intense and gripping experience like never before.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is scheduled to launch this fall for the Wii™ video game system from Nintendo, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system.

The Playstation blog announced today that High Impact Games are in the process of developing a brand new Jak and Daxter game for the PS2 and PSP. Called ‘Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier’, the game takes the player to “the edge of the world.” There you’ll fight “air pirates and sinister creatures in [your] quest to find a cure for the world’s eco shortage”. The game will release later this year.

I’m going to go ahead and assume the screenshots given are from the PSP version- even the first Jak and Daxter game looked better than that on the PS2. The developers are the ones behind the well-recieved Secret Agent Clank, so I expect this to at least be a decent PSP platformer, and probably a mediocre PS2 one.

One of Capcom’s best selling games of all time, Monster Hunter, is having its fifth anniversary party this May, and Capcom knows how to show respect for a game tha’s sold millions of copies on the PSP alone.

Set the date people!  May 6th, Tokyo; be there or be square.  That is the date for the 5th anniversary party of the Monster Hunter series.  After recently releasing the number of copies sold, Capcom wishes to show it’s respect to the title, and its fans.  The venue looks to be big just like last year.  There will be a music, wining, and dining.

I presume the music will comprise of the Monster Hunter soundtrack performed by a local orchestra: you can see pictures of their previous concert at Famitsu.

The food is the selling point for me.  Almost all dishes and drinks at the event are styled after food and drink found in game.  From Hot Meat to those wonderful health potions that keep your hunter alive.

Tickets for the event go on sale tomorrow at 10am and range in price from around 78 US dollars to 58.  Time is going be a factor, as I wouldn’t expect tickets to last much longer than the 14th.  I would love to go but I don’t see myself making it.  If you are going to be in Tokyo and have a way to get a ticket tomorrow.  I suggest you do so.

It also seems they are going to be showing off some Monster Hunter Tri(3) stuff as well, but the food people the food!

Source:  Famitsu

Video Games Blogger reports that Sony Computer Entertainment Benelux (In case you don’t know, that’s Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) have put put a release list for the first quarter of 2009. The list shows that Wipeout Pulse (originally a PSP game) is being released on PS2, and that Flower and Fat Princess are releasing in February and March respectively.

For PSP fans, Patapon 2 is releasing on the 13th of February, and Resistance Retribution is set for a March release. Personally, I’m most looking forward to Fat Princess. It looks like a cross between Team Fortress 2 and Animal Crossing. See the full release list after the jump.

FEBRUARY 2009

PlayStation 2:
Wipeout Pulse
PSP:
(13th) Patapon 2
PlayStation Network:
SOCOM Confrontation
Ragdoll KungFu
(19th) Flower
PlayStation 3:
SOCOM Confrontation bundle (+ headset)
(27th) Killzone 2

MARCH 2009

PlayStation 2:
Buzz! The Smartest of (insert your country)
SingStar Queen
PSP:
Buzz! The Smartest of (insert your country)
Resistance Retribution
PlayStation Network:
Fat princess
PlayStation 3:
Buzz! The Smartest of (insert your country)
SingStar Queen

If you’ve ever enjoyed a battling trading card game you should give Neverland Card Battles a try, even if it has nothing to do with Peter Pan or Michael Jackson.

Concept:  Magic the Gathering on a game board.

1.  I’m Bringing Board Games Back

First of all, I know that you play Mall Madness by yourself in between rounds of Gears 2, so you understand how cool it is that Neverland Card Battles utilizes a game board.  Accumulating territory by using your protagonist, Galahad, to walk over squares on the game map, produces the power (or mana if you’re a Magic: the Gathering fan) to cast spells like summoning monsters or hurling lightning.

Walk over your opponents land to steal it from him!

The Mall Madness level coolness comes when you figure out how use the game board to your advantage by blocking off thin paths with your monsters, summoning bases that give out bonuses to adjacent creatures or stealing your opponents land.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to Magic: the Gathering without missing the element of strategy that moving my units on a game board brought.

2.  More Creatures than Noah’s Ark

I like how NCB isn’t tied down to any type of continuity when it comes to monster cards.  Monster cards, therefore, can run a wide range of sweetness, from samurai to robots or the fearsome Dogman you see below.

The fearsome Dogman.
Here’s a not at all real conversation I had with the game’s developer:

Jon: Hey Idea Factory, how ’bout you throw in some werewolves and some penguins…

Idea Factory:  how about a 9mm pistol toting penguin and Were-lions?

Jon:  I like where you’re going with this…

The variety of creatures, abilities and game board strategies make for some interesting decks, which you can all name.  Like me, my deck is named, “Zungre” which is short for: “Zungre Kicks Your Penis In.”  It’s comprised of fast creatures that steal my opponent’s land so they can’t even cast one damn spell, while I laugh heartily on my train ride to work, not attracting any women.

The whimsical Frog Ninja.

3.  Beat Up the Rich and Annoying!

Yuke’s knows how to create dislike for your opponents.  Their personalities can be boiled down into 3 loathsome chactagories: Egomaniac, Delusional, and Annoying Girl.  The combination of the script and voice acting help to get you somewhat invested in taking out your opponent.  But if you’re like me you’ll still find yourself saying, “Wait, am I fighting a little girl right now?”

Get away girl!

1.  Grinding for Cards is the New Grinding for Levels

Getting new cards by defeating rival Dominators is fantastic and wonderfully addicting.  However, I resented the fact that i had to play through a bunch of previous Dominators I had already whooped in order to compete with a new Dominator’s dramatic jump in difficulty, both in their base stats and in the amazingly powerful cards they owned.

This screen is what makes the game worth playing: earning all those new cards.

This is especially annoying when the “new” Dominators are stronger versions of Dominators you already beat.  I wish Yuke’s would had taken a little extra time to make a few more Dominators for me to fight.  Which leads me to my next request…

2.  More RPG, please

I would have liked to see my character’s abilities and base stats progress a little bit through the course of the game.  It seemed that everyone I defeated in the game came back stronger, but I somehow stayed at the same level.

By the time you have to face Hellgaia, you’ll probably be wishing you could have leveled up a bit.

And while where on the topic of characters, Galahad is okay, but I would have really liked the option to modify his stats, or better yet, create my own Dominator with a unique look and special abilities.  Even something as simple as Puzzle Quest’s different classes would have been nice.

3.  Galahad, Stop Talking

You know what’s worse than getting beat up?  Getting beat up and then getting preached at.  NCB’s protagonist Galahad doesn’t understand this.  He always takes time to break down why each of his opponents’ life philosophies suck after he crushes them in a card battle.  You know it’s bad when you’re the one giving the beat down, and you want your character to shut up.

That’s the satisfied smile of a man who just talked down on another man’s worldview.

I was also annoyed by the fact that I could use kill spells on my own creatures, damaging spells on myself and wasn’t prevented from using a spell on a creature it would have no effect on.  Just little things like this can make the learning process quite frustrating and maybe, cost a player a battle. 

If you didn’t read the review, scrolled down to the review score, and consider it a courtesy that you’re even reading this concluding paragraph, I want you to know a couple things:

Firstly, don’t feel condemned. I do it too.

Secondly, Neverland Card Battles is an enjoyable game.  If you’re a fan of Magic: the Gathering, Yu-gi-oh, or any other collectible card game, you shouldn’t let this title escape your notice.

Reading the video game news this morning before work, and it seems Monster Hunter 2nd G, one of the PSP’s best selling games in Japan, is getting a new monster today at around one in the afternoon.

Famijutsu has a short blurb about it which basically states:

“Capcom’s PSP software Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G is getting a new downloadable quest.  What’s inside is two Raajian at the same time!  The quest comes out on October 30th, 2008 at 1pm.”

A caption below the picture reads “Can this quest be cleared solo?”

Source : Famijutsu

Being that this is the internet, a bunch of rumours pass across the Ripten tipline in the span of a single day, and for the most part, we try to post as many as we can. Though the cries of a thousand deluded forumgoers screaming “Crysis upgraded for mobile phones!” will always be ignored, one tip piqued my interest, coming straight out of the November issue of EGM.

According to a NeoGAF member that recieved their issue early, Quartermann’s monthly rumour section held some pretty surprising information, namely that Sony’s 1st-party blockbuster LittleBigPlanet would have Disney-related DLC, as well as other third-party characters. Of course, this single piece of news wouldn’t suffice to fill Quartermann’s rumour section as a whole, so hit the jump to read the full list of rumours.

• Devil May Cry style Strider game
• Lucas Arts handing Rogue Squadron rights to new publisher. All games released on one Wii disk with enhanced visuals and Wii controls.
• Kojima wants to make a FPS game. Has been seen talking to Infinity Ward, Guerilla Games, and Treyarch
• Fast domestic release of the Disgaea side scroller
• non-Sony property LittleBigPlanet DLC coming very soon including Disney and characters from 3rd party games
• Every single 2009 PSP game will also be offered as a download

Sony’s CEO Jack Tretton recently gave news that PSP and Playstation 3 sales are up 30% from their projected targets. While this news comes as a welcome surprise, it’s also bittersweet. Mr. Tretton went on to say that because of the high sales numbers of the PSP and PS3, he anticipates manufacturing shortages on both consoles later this year.

Mr. Tretton, in an interview with Reuters, was quoted as saying:

“We are tracking at 100 percent up over last year… About 30 percent ahead of where we should be. So sales could slow down and we will still hit our number.

“I’d say we are able to meet somewhere between 80-90 percent demand, based on how things are trending,” he said, adding that any product shortages wouldn’t be “drastic”.

Source:CVG

Dig Magic the Gathering?  Awesome, I love it too.  Dig Yu-gi-oh? Cool…i guess.  I mean, you are about 10 years old right? You’re 61? Ok, well you play with your grand kids, I’m sure. You play against your reflection in the mirror?! That’s kinda creepy. I mean, uh, that’s fine… ok, ok, don’t get mad! Ok, listen, don’t shake your Oldsmobile keys at me, old man!

I was just trying to say that if you like either of those games you may want to click this blue “read more” button thingy and check out Neverland Card Battles for the PSP. Just sayin’.

Sometimes evil gods of chaos break out of their magical cages and, sometimes, you gets summoned with other good guys to lock the bastard back up again. Rarely, however, do you need to beat the crap out of the other good guys to earn the right to fight the evil god. In Neverland Card Battles, only the last man standing gets the right to fight evil god Hellgaia and his monloging ways. And sometimes games with Neverland in the title have nothing to do with Peter Pan or Michael Jackson.

Neverland Card Battles reminds me trading card juggernaut, Magic the Gathering. You gather manna, summon creatures and use spells to kick your opponent right in his year-one-at-Hogwarts face. (Hogwarts not actually featured.)

The biggest difference between the two card based games is that NCB takes place on a grid map and manna accumulation doesn’t come from land cards in your deck but rather from owning spaces on the grid map. Another difference is that you as the spellcaster and the creatures are both represented on the map, and both of you can attack and travel around the map to capture grid spaces. Want to cast the hot-as-fire angel chick? You’d better own 13 squares on the map, so walk over some of your opponents and steal them.

One of the hurdles I had getting my friends into Magic the Gathering is that it takes a bit of time to learn the stages of gameplay and when you can play certain spells. Honestly, if you don’t have someone around that knows the rules completely then you could be playing wrong without ever knowing it.

The gridded game maps and an interface that walk you through each phase of gameplay eliminate these problems from Neverland Card Battles, and seem to cut the learning curve from MTG’s “quite long” to “not so long at all, really” (about 15 minutes). Accessible equals sexy.

As a footnote, I’m used to Magic’s sword and sorcery theme, so when I saw one of the 200 NCB cards called the Scientist pull out a 9 millimeter pistol and cap me, i was quite surprised. Happy surprised.

From what I saw, NCB’s single player and ad hoc multiplayer has enough sweetness to justify a captivated stare from card battling aficionados.  It’ll cap you right in your chest for 29.99 on October 28th.

Media Molecule are weeks away from shipping the quite possibly biggest PS3 game of the year (sorry MGS4), but they’re not resting on their laurels quite yet. Talking to Eurogamer, Media Molecule co-founder Mark Healy remarked on the possibility of a PSP version of the game:

There’s definitely scope for a PSP version. We’ve had discussions and talks…nothing concrete at the moment.

He’s even got the perfect idea for what it could be like – hit the jump to find out what LittleBigPlanetPortable could be.

It’d be great to make, for the people who are really into the Create side, some kind of companion products that allow you to create things while you’re on the train. One thing that I’d love to add is the ability to create your own music, for example, that you can import into the game. That seems like an obvious one to do and it’d be quite easy really.

Healy seemed to suggest that development wouldn’t be in-house, saying that Media Molecule likes to keep its team a tightly-knit group.

Source: Eurogamer via Shacknews

Sony has released new details on their new PSP model, currently coined the PSP 3000.

The device (shown above) is said to have anti-reflection technology, better on-screen contrast, and deeper, more vibrant color. Additionally, the new PSP will come with a built in microphone catering to multiplayer gaming and in-game Skype calls.

In addition to being available as part of the “Ratchet & Clank Size Matters Entertainment Pack”, announced at E3, it will also be available as part of a $199 “PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack”, containing the updated unit, a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, and a PSN voucher to download Everyday Shooter for the system.

The PSP 3000, bundled with Ratchet & Clank Size Matters for $199, is slated for US release on October 14th, with the Memory Entertainment Pack scheduled for release in November at the same price. Those looking to purchase the system alone will get their chance later in the year via the “Core Pack”, at$169.99.

Official press release available after the jump.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces North American Availability of Updated PSP(R) (Playstation(R)Portable) System

Updated PSP – Featuring New LCD Screen and Built-in Microphone – Will Be Included in Ratchet & Clank(R) PSP Entertainment Pack and PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ — In conjunction with a global announcement by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced the North American availability of the updated PSP(R)(PlayStation(R)Portable) system (PSP-3000). Available on October 14 in the previously announced Ratchet & Clank(R): Size Matters(TM) PSP Entertainment Pack, the updated PSP will feature a new LCD screen with a wider color gamut and anti-reflection technology, as well as a built-in microphone to enhance both multi-player gaming and Skype(TM) calls. The form factor and overall functionality of the current, slimmed-down PSP-2000 will remain the same with the updated PSP system. SCEA today also announced the PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack ($199.99 MSRP), which will include the updated PSP, a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo(TM) and a PLAYSTATION(R)Network voucher to download Everyday Shooter for PSP system. In addition to the bundles, the updated PSP will be available as a stand-alone product later this year.

“As we head into the holiday shopping season, both of these new Entertainment Packs represent a significant value for gift-givers, combining the updated PSP and its enhanced screen with content that showcases the PSP’s gaming and entertainment functionality,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president, marketing and PLAYSTATION Network, SCEA. “The 4GB Memory bundle is geared toward the digital entertainment enthusiast who likes to bring their media files on-the-go and download content from the PLAYSTATION Network. The Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters bundle is a great family-friendly option centered on one of the most beloved PlayStation franchises.”

As announced at the E3 Media & Business Summit, the Ratchet & Clank PSP Entertainment Pack will be available for $199.99 (MSRP) on October 14. The Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters PSP Entertainment Pack includes:

— Updated Mystic Silver PSP system; the first updated PSP available on store shelves

— Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters — In this PSP Greatest Hits title, Ratchet and Clank go back to the franchise’s roots with classic Ratchet & Clank(R) gameplay. While on a much needed vacation, Ratchet and Clank’s rest and relaxation time is suddenly cut short as they soon find themselves lured into a mysterious quest.

— “National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets” UMD(R) video — Join Nicolas Cage on a heart-pounding adventure that will have you on the edge of your seat in a race to find the Lost City of Gold. Grounded in history, imbued with myth and mystery, Disney’s “National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets” takes you on a globe-trotting quest full of adrenaline-pumping twists and turns — all leading to the final clue in a mysterious and highly guarded book containing centuries of secrets.

— echochrome(TM) PLAYSTATION Network voucher* — Featuring an elegant black and white art design, echochrome is a puzzle game unlike any other. With gameplay based on optical illusions, players must utilize five simple laws of perspective to join walkways, hide dangers, and create new paths to reach the “echos,” or shadow guides. Download echochrome for PSP from PLAYSTATION(R)Store (http://store.playstation.com) to your Memory Stick PRO Duo with the included voucher.

— 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo — Store your photos, music, videos, downloadable games and game saves.

The PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack will be the first bundle to feature a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, offering plenty of storage for saving movies and TV shows downloaded from the recently launched PLAYSTATION Network video delivery service. The bundle will be available in November for $199.99 (MSRP).

The PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack includes:

— Updated Piano Black PSP system

— 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo — Store more photos, music, videos,downloadable games and game saves.

— Everyday Shooter PLAYSTATION Network voucher* — A colorful and music-driven arcade shooter, Everyday Shooter won three awards at the Independent Gaming Festival at the 2007 Game Developers Conference. Unlike traditional arcade shooters, in Everyday Shooter each on-screen interaction is a note, chord, or riff that plays in harmony with each level’s unique music track. The title is available for PLAYSTATION(R)3 and will be making its debut for PSP. Download Everyday Shooter for PSP from PLAYSTATION Store to your Memory Stick PRO Duo with the included voucher.

In addition to the new PSP Entertainment Packs, an updated PSP in Piano Black will be available later this year as part of the PSP Core Pack, which includes an AC adaptor and battery pack for $169.99 (MSRP).

About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation(R) and PS one(R) game console, the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the PSP(R) (PlayStation(R) Portable) handheld entertainment system, and the ground-breaking PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system and its online and network services PLAYSTATION(R) Network and PLAYSTATION(R) Store.

Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets, and distributes software for the PS one game console, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the PSP system and the PS3 system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif. Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

I know, lots of ladies are going to be upset, but it looks like Destroy all Humans: Big Willy Unleashed for the PSP has been canceled.

A THQ Representative told IGN:

Basically, the PSP version was canceled because of control issues. DAH! Big Willy Unleashed was designed by [a] Wii developer specifically for the Wii. When it was ported over to the PSP, the controls simply didn’t translate well, and instead of pushing out the product with translated controls, it was canceled.

So I’m taking this as a sign that the Wii will eventually dominate the gaming market, at least for the next several generations.  I mean, if they’re the only ones that can move shit around the screen, then we’re all pretty much screwed.  I guess I could be wrong, having never played the game, what what could there be in a DAH! game that can’t be converted over to standard controls?

Source: IGN

Perhaps the most oddly named gaming event of all time, SquareEnix’s DKS3713 is also the same event that’s ringing with a ton of news. Day 1 is over and with it came the expected and not so expected.

First of all, we should probably break down what the damn name, DKS3713, actually means. Sure, it’s not so catchy, but it makes sense. I’ll break it down and list the associated platforms known prior to the event’s revelations.

D – Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)

K – Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS), Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (PSP)

S – Sigma Harmonics (DS)

3 – The 3rd Birthday (Mobile)

7 – Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete (Blu-Ray)

13 – Final Fantasy XIII (PS3), Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3), Final Fantasy Agito XIII (Mobile)

The event is exclusively about Tetsuya Nomura’s simultaneous projects. For convenience, I’ll use the above order to describe how the titles were shown and the announcements given. Also note; any release dates are for Japan.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy – Playable and footage; any attendees who took a PSP to the event were able to download an exclusive theme. Dissidia based bundle confirmed. Announced for release in December 2008.

Kingdom Hearts 358/12 – Playable and footage; announced for release “This winter”

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep – Playable and footage; announced for release in 2009.

Sigma Harmonics – Playable and footage; nothing of note announced.

The 3rd Birthday – Footage; will release on PSP as well as mobile, releases in 2009.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete – Footage; will include playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII (PS3). Releases in March 2009.

Final Fantasy XIII – Footage; Playable demo will be included on Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete in March 2009. No release date announced. FFVII:ACC PS3 bundle incoming.

Final Fantasy Agito XIII – Footage; will release on PSP as well as mobile, no release date announced.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII – Footage; trailer reaffirms exclusivity: “Playstation 3 only Worldwide”

Squenix sure was showing a Sony love between PSP announcements and the PS3 exclusive Final Fantasy XIII demo. The only game that didn’t see much attention was Sigma Harmonics, but we’ll hopefully hear more about that in the coming days.

Brave Story: New Traveler is easily one of the prettiest games on the PSP. That alone would be reason to take a chance on it, but it also happens to be a well thought out take on the fantasy RPG cliche. Interesting characters, smooth battle sequences and a rich story make it one of the PSP’s most-own RPGs.

The star is Tatsuya, an 11 year old boy from our world. One day his best friend and him were out, and she passed out. She was quickly admitted to the hospital, where the protagonist and her family were informed that she was dying.

There’s one way for her life to be saved – a mysterious frog appears before Tatsuya when he is visiting and says that there is a goddess that grants wishes in the parallel world of Vision. If he enters that world as a Traveller and meets the Goddess of Fortune, he can wish for his friend’s health.

Tatsuya’s choice is clear, and he quickly heads to the world of Vision, where he meets strange personalities and helps individuals of that world.

The story in Brave Story: New Traveler is simple on the surface, but still engaging enough to keep you playing. With the help of characters like cat-girl Yuno and aligator-man Sogreth, Tatsuya travels the world. Story sequences tend to focus in on the characters (with decent English voice acting) and show off the rich designs. The combat as well features great character models.

The battles also offer standard RPG practices. There are union attacks with other characters, where two or three characters can execute an attack together on an opponent. There are also special attacks (activated with brave points) for each character, but sadly the main character doesn’t receive any until he’s reached the game’s third town.

The standards are accompanied by two elements which keep gameplay fresh – extra attacks and brave point regeneration. If a character deals the KO hit to an enemy, then he or she may get to attack again. Also, brave points regenerate with every standard attack.

Like all RPGs, there is a some-what gimmicky mini-game involving birds. Players can catch birds in special forests, and then use them in battles or to barter for items. It is Brave Story: New Traveler’s only failing. Birdcatching and collecting is fun for perhaps a few hours, but fails to entertain in the long run.

There is one catch – veteran RPG fans may find themselves bored with the game. While it looks great and does have a few twists, it offers little in the way of challenges or unexpected twists and turns. You won’t find any shocking revelations, here. Brave Story: New Traveler is more of a casual RPG. Despite the urgent tone imparted by the need to find the Goddess of Fortune before Tatsuya’s friend dies, the game seems to maintain a leisurely tone.

Since the PSP is basically a handheld for RPG fans, Brave Story: New Traveller is a wonderful addition to the system. The fresh storyline and beautiful visuals combine to create an adventure that players of any skill level can enjoy.

Also – if you enjoy the game, you may want to check out the novel. Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe, the inspiration for Brave Story: New Traveller, has been translated to English and is available in most major bookstores. In fact, Wataru, the star of Brave Story, appears in Brave Story: New Traveller.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

A Resistance spin-off has been announced for the PSP, developed by Sony’s Bend Studio (who?).

Even with Resistance 2 making a great showing, Sony has decided to go beyond with the series by including it’s portable system in the Resistance universe.

Resistance Retribution will take place within the Resistance 1 time-line, having you investigate what actually happened to the world during World War II. The game looks fantastic and is a great addition to the PSP.

Sony Computer Entertainment America today announced the Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack. This bundle will feature a limited-edition “Metallic Blue” PSP system with the Madden NFL 09 game, “NFL: In Just One Play” UMD Video from NFL Films, a voucher to download the PSN exclusive title Beats rhythm game, and a 1GB Memory Stick.

The “NFL: In Just One Play” UMD is hosted by current Cincinnati Bengal’s wide receiver, Chad Johnson, and features a close look inside the NFL and some of its most explosive players.

“Sports games are one of the most popular types of games among PSP owners, and it was only natural to make our next PSP Entertainment Pack a sports-themed bundle,” said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president of product marketing for SCEA. “PSP continues to have great momentum in the marketplace. We expect that the Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack will capitalize on this momentum and strengthen PlayStation’s presence in the sports genre.”

The Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack will be available August 12 for $199.99.

Source: Joystiq

Echochrome is one of the most interesting puzzle games to come out for some time. Both due to its amazing sense of style and insane level of difficulty.  Although each version of the monochrome puzzler (it’s on both the PS3 and PSP) sports 56 unique levels, Sony has announced more is on the way.  The best part? They will be free.

The game will periodically (Sony has not confirmed how often as of yet) prompt the player to download new content, which will consist of a batch of new levels.  Since the game allows you to create your own levels, the developers have decided to pick the best of the best and make them available to all. Unfortunately, downloaded levels will only be playable until the new batch of content arrives.

While the time restriction is unfortunate, it’s still great to see echochrome being supported with fresh, new, and free content.  Let’s just hope there’s plenty of time to finish the levels before the next batch arrives.  No word on when the updates will begin, but we’ll keep you informed.

Source: PlayStation Blog

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Today’s PlayStation Store update includes the release of both the PS3 and PSP versions of Echochrome. If you’ve been awaiting this charming and mysterious little title, that’s probably all you need to know, but the versions differ slightly, so check out the details.

The PSP version of Echochrome will not be receiving a retail release as it did in Japan. It will only be available for download from the PlayStation PC store, as the PS3 version will be from the PS Network. The upside to this is a lower price.

Echochrome will cost $9.99 on both platforms and will consist of 112 unique levels, 56 of which are included in the PS3 version and 56 of which are included in the PSP version.

Aside from the various play modes, Canvas mode will also be included. Canvas allows users to create their own puzzles to play and share with others. The PS3 version will have the ability to download the top user-made levels each week for free.

If you’re not sure Echochrome is for you, the demo is still available.

Source: Playstation Blog

Last week we said that Monster Hunter Portable G would probably skew this week’s hardware rankings in favor of the PSP. In retrospect, that might have been an understatement. 

With the PSP pushing well over 100,000 units this week (more than all other consoles/handhelds combined), the low murmur that the DS might be past its peak has picked up a bit, to be silenced again when Dragon Quest IX hits Japan.

1. PSP – 129,986
2. Nintendo DS – 58,916
3. Wii – 48,785
4. PlayStation 3 – 11,206PlayStation 2 – 10,296
5. Xbox 360 – 1,547

Bonus: Japanese Software Rankings

As you probably imagined, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G has grabbed the top spot by a pretty substantial margin compared to its nearest rivals. Take a moment to meditate on these numbers, then ponder what exactly the Japanese see in this series that Westerners don’t.

1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP) – 880,000
2. Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage (DS) – 106,000 / 348,000
3. Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (DS) – 49,000
4. Wii Fit (Wii) – 42,000 / 1,794,000
5. Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch – Lost Colors (PSP) – 34,000
6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) – 34,000 / 1,524,000
7. Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch – Lost Colors (PS2) – 30,000
8. Deca Sports (Wii) – 29,000 / 94,000
9. SimCity DS 2: Kodaikara Mirai e Tsudzukumachi (DS) – 25,000 / 74,000
10. Crayon Shin-Chan: Arashi o Yobu Cinema Land (DS) – 19,000 / 54,00011.

Soucre: Media Create

If you’re wondering whether or not you should pick up God of War: Chains of Olympus for the Playstation Portable, ask yourself these simple questions:

1. Did you play either of the first two God of War games?
2. Did you enjoy them?

If you answered “yes” to both these questions, go out and get yourself a copy of Kratos’s latest adventure. Go on! The internet will still be here when you get back. For those uninitiated into the world of hacking, slashing, gouging, piercing and general fatal maiming, hit the jump for more.

I was concerned about how well the game would translate from the Playstation 2 to the PSP, but have no fear. The game isn’t a port, but a draught of awesome, wrought from the same essence of excellence that made the first two games so unforgettable.

All the familiar parts are there, albiet in a miniturized form, which is both good and bad. Good, because if you take awesome and condense it, it should still be awesome. Bad, because there must be some sort of God of War playbook which the makers copy meticulously. But we’ll get to that.

Perfect for the sadist in you.

The fast-paced, savage combat– the backbone of the series’ success — returns in fine form for another round. And, in a stroke of genius, the enemy’s weapons light up before attacking, which is a huge help when trying to figure out when to block and when to roll on the small screen. It doesn’t feel cheap – only helpful. You still have to get out of the way of that giant yak’s ten-foot sword yourself.

A few control tweaks have been made to make the game work on the PSP, such as rolling requiring use of both shoulder buttons and the analog stick, but adjusting to these minor differences shouldn’t take more than the first level.

The timed button presses are back, keeping players on their toes and the action blood pumping. However, executing analog button prompts requires some aggressive thumb work, and I’d still like to be able to watch the kill animations without having to look out for buttons, especially on boss fights. Maybe in God of War III.

Speaking of boss fights, the trend to include an absurd number of unique and badass bosses that started in God of War II has fallen a little. The list of Greek legends for Kratos to kill must be getting short. It seems that they couldn’t pack quite as much ancient Greek ass-kickery into the PSP version, but the bosses that do show up are not slouches, and will require some serious finger dexterity to dispatch.

Kratos doesn’t need as many Gorgon Eyes or Phoenix Feathers to upgrade his health this time around (plus they’re ridiculously easy to find) and there are fewer abilities to gain along the way, meaning players need less experience to max out all the elite skills. But don’t think Kratos can sit back and let it all come to him either.

The game only takes about 5-6 hours to complete, depending on personal play style and difficulty level. It’s certainly not a very sizable game, but then the PSP isn’t exactly big either. So it works.

The first two God of Wars managed to bring breathtaking visuals and killer action together like some kind of homemade napalm that just brightens up your day. The PSP obviously doesn’t have the system resources to accomplish what God of War II did, but for a PSP game the environments are plenty impressive.

Only once or twice while I was playing did I notice the graphics and think, “Oh yea. PSP.” Now, this may seem odd, but playing Chains of Olympus essentially felt like playing on a tiny PS2, and its not hard to see that the developers really know how to work the hardware.

All the staple ingredients are in the mix, so why does this God of War have a faint taste of stale? Because Chains of Olympus doesn’t offer anything new. For any veteran of the series, every puzzle will be easy, every enemy’s attack pattern won’t take long to figure out, and every treasure will be in plain sight.

The two major differences in Chains of Olympus are the plot and the secondary weapon. Yes, weapon. You only get one. And this is one of the points where this game actually outshines previous iterations. In God of War II the three secondary weapons never compared to the Blades of Chaos in usefulness or fun, and thus never saw much use in battle.

The Gauntlet of Zues, Chains of Olympus’ secondary weapon, is a smashing good time. It allows Kratos to introduce a giant godly fist into opponents’ faces – a love tap that sends baddies careening across the screen in a flash of blue light and a crunch of bone. Beautiful.

It’s the most satisfying (and useful, pouring on thick helpings of whupass) weapon in the game’s history aside from the standard blades. Here’s hoping it makes another appearance in God of War III.

The plot plays out pretty much the same as in Kratos’s other adventures, but with a twist. It’s a prequel, setting up the events that lead to Kratos’s decision to kill the Gods rather than serve them. Of course, another member of the Pantheon dies in the end, but I won’t spoil who.

The story also ties in neatly with God of War II for those who are uber nerds like me and felt they were missing something in the little chat Kratos has with Atlas in the underworld. Well, never fear. Questions shall be answered.

God of War: Chains of Olympus is the perfect little appetizer to whet one’s appetite for the upcoming God of War III on the Playstation 3. It takes all the best parts of the series and brings them together into a miniature, portable version.

Like a cup of soup to go, except instead of broth and vegetables you get blood, mayhem, upgradeable weapons and killer… well, kill sequences. It’s Cream of Kratos soup, and it always goes down smooth.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

Looks like Kat was right. Since its Japanese release on March 28, Monster Hunter Freedom 2G has sold more than a million units in just under a week. A day under a week to be exact.

Capcom and the development team behind Monster Hunter are most assuredly pleased at the result, especially when this brings the total sales of the Monster Hunter series to 6.3 million. That is an insane number.

And what blows me away further is that I’ve never really heard of it. Is it a Japanese thing? I’ve heard the title brought up on message boards and podcasts, but I’ve never really heard a ton of praise for it. Anybody wanna explain exactly what this is all about?

Press release:

Capcom is pleased to announce that “Monster Hunter Freedom 2G” for the PlayStation®Portable (PSP®) has shipped over 1 million units in Japan.

The “Monster Hunter” series is a hunting action game centered on epic battles with giant monsters in the grandeur of the great outdoors. Since the release of the first Monster Hunter title in 2004 for the PlayStation®2, the series has sold a total of 6.3 million units (as of April 1, 2008) and is one of our most valued titles.

“Monster Hunter Freedom 2G”, the long awaited sequel to the ‘#1-selling game for the PSP®’, was released in Japan on March 27, 2008. The overwhelming success and popularity of the Monster Hunter franchise together with a renewed focus on co-operative play has gained this title tremendous support.

Also, in addition to new regions and monsters, the introduction of the Felyne Comrade System along with the ability to transfer data over from “Monster Hunter Freedom 2″ has been very well-received. This has resulted in more a million units being moved in only 6 days since the game’s release. We anticipate that this title will be a long-seller, as have all of the games in the Monster Hunter franchise.

As always, we at Capcom will continue to strive to develop new and original games that appeal to a broad audience around the world while expanding our properties for multiple platforms. We believe that by bringing the “Monster Hunter” series to multiple platforms, it will help the franchise reach an even greater number of users eager for its unique gameplay.