Sony Launching Interactive Video Mag on PSN

Starting Thursday, PS3 owners will have access to a new PSN service called Qore. What is Qore? Let me allow Veronica Belmont to explain:

From Crackle: Qore preview

So basically, it's the online equivalent of the now defunct Official PlayStation Magazine, complete with exclusive demos.

Yes, that's right, there will be demos for certain games that will only be made available through Qore, which I'm sure is not going to go over well in some quarters.

The first "issue" will be available sometime on Thursday for $2.99 and will give you access to the SOCOM: Confrontation Beta, whenever that begins. There is also an option to subscribe for a year (13 installments) at $24.99, which will also net you a copy of the PSN game Calling All Cars for a limited time.

I'm debating signing up; at worst I get Calling All Cars out of it (which I've always wanted to try anyway) and I just don't resubscribe next year. I also like that Veronica Belmont hosts the show as she's more than just a pretty face; she actually knows what she's talking about, which is more than you can say for anyone hosting a show on G4.

[via Kotaku]

Castle Crashers Development Wraps Up

The wait for Castle Crashers has been a long one. Originally scheduled to be released over a year ago, the game's developer, The Behemoth, decided to delay the game in order to take advantage of the 100MB of extra space Microsoft lovingly bestowed upon XBLA developers. So while the delay was painful, the end result should be a much bigger, deeper game. And now, the wait is almost over because the game is officially complete.

The Behemoth's Dan Paladin wrote on the Castle Crashers blog,

This game is undoubtedly the largest 360 XBLA game that has any kind of story; Large in scope, takes hours and hours to go through with your buddies. Lots of little treasures and secrets hiding around the levels, many unlockable characters all with a different feel

Unfortunately, due to the way XBLA works: certification, fitting the game into the release schedule etc., it could still be a couple months before the game is actually made available for purchase.

On the bright side though, what a summer this looks to be for XBLA: Penny Arcade Adventures, Bionic Commando ReArmed, Commando 3, Super Street Fighter II HD, Braid. Even with all the garbage that usually ends up released on a weekly basis, we shouldn't go more than a couple weeks without something really cool.

It's nice to see that the Big Three have all realized that their online services are the perfect venue to combat the annual summer drought. 360's got a great XBLA lineup, Nintendo just introduced WiiWare, with games like Alien Crush and Eternity's Child on tap for the Summer, and Sony has the intriguing looking PixelJunk Eden as well as the episodic Siren: Blood Curse coming to PSN.

I'm looking forward to most of these games more than anything that's coming out at retail until Too Human hits in late August and my excitement for that has dropped dramatically in the wake of the complete neutering the co-op has gone under.

4-player co-op lives on in Castle Crashers!


[via Joystiq]

First Set of Free echochrome Levels Available Tomorrow

It's only been two weeks since echochrome's surprise release but already it will be seeing the first of its promised download packs consisting of user-made levels.

Starting tomorrow you will be able to download the pack, which will add 20 levels to the game's freeform mode. The levels will only appear if the difficulty is set to 2 or 3.

Keep in mind that these levels will only be available until the next batch goes up, which will apparently be on May 22nd, so don't dawdle. No one likes a dawdler.

[via PlayStation Blog]

No Public Beta for LittleBigPlanet

After E3 last year, we knew a couple things about Little Big Planet, or at least we thought we did:

1. It was almost done.
2. There would be a public beta shortly before the game's release.

Since the game never made it out last year and isn't being released until 15 months after E3 2007, we all know the first one was clearly incorrect. The public beta on the other hand has always been in LBP-fans minds because no matter when the game was going to be released, they'd get a chance to play it a month or two before.

Unfortunately, like a 2007 release date, the Public Beta will not be coming to pass. There will still be a Beta, but access will likely be extremely limited and by invite only, much like the Beta for Home that has been going on for ages.

The good news is, there is still likely to be a demo for the game, the bad news is, by the time the demo hits the game will probably only be a couple weeks away anyway.

I'm very curious to know what exactly Little Big Planet will be like as a game, and not as software for creating your own game. The original plan for it was to release it on PSN and let the community "make the game"; after a while they would take the best of what the community had created and release that as a retail product. After a year of extra development time I would hope that the game will now feature its own significant single player campaign and will ship on a disc right off the bat.

[via PS3 Fanboy]

LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2 Dealt Delays

If you're looking forward to LittleBigPlanet or Killzone 2 (and let's face it, if you own a PS3 you probably are) your wait just got a little longer for the former and a lot longer for the latter. Both were previously targeting a September release but now LBP will make it out sometime in October and the new date you can expect Killzone 2 to be delayed from is February 2009. I don't honestly expect it until March at the earliest.

I never had any illusions about Killzone 2 actually seeing this side of 2008 anyway, it just didn't make any sense to release it so close to Resistance 2, and from hands-on reports with Killzone 2, it really needs the extra time if it is going to live up to the infamous target rendered trailer from 2005, which is kind of messed up when you think about it. This game was supposed to go toe-to-toe with Halo 3 and now Gears of War 2 will be old news by the time it hits.

[via 1up & Kotaku]

Siren Goes Episodic in Europe

Recently announced in Japan, Siren New Translation will be making its way west this Summer, not as a retail release but as 12 self-contained episodes under the name Siren Blood Curse.

As surprising as this may be, the evidence was really there all along. A leaked SCEE release list from back in March had the game scheduled for a July release, but the odd thing was that the release list was comprised entirely of PlayStation Store content. Furthermore, IGN mentioned in their write up of the Japanese announcement that "the game is now split into 12 episodes, each with an opening and ending sequence". Sounds perfect for an episodic game, no?

This announcement pertains to the European release of the game so there is no official word on whether the game will be released in the US in the same way, or even at all.

What makes this all interesting is that Blood Curse could very well be the first truly episodic game in the way we think of the term in regards to television shows. So far, episodic games have run the gamut from the Half-Life 2, every 18 months or so plan, to Sam and Max's roughly monthly installments. Never to my knowledge has a game been released episodically on a weekly basis, at least outside of Japan.

SCEE hasn't confirmed that episodes will be released on a weekly basis, but as it is, it would take 3 months to release the entire game. This would conveniently lead right up to Halloween, assuming a late July release date for the first episode. The full game goes on sale in Japan in late July, so this is very likely. It's possible that they could even do two episodes a week over 6 weeks. After all, 3 months is a long time to expect a gamer to wait for an ending to a game they'd normally beat in a couple days.

No pricing has been announced for the episodes, but if Sony is smart, they'll make the first couple of episodes free and then charge no more than $4.99 an episode for the remaining 10. $3.99 would be even better seeing as their profit margin on the game is much higher when they cut retail and production out of the equation.

They also face the problems of gamers who like having their games on disc avoiding the game altogether until the episodes are collected in disc form. That's not exactly the best way to breed goodwill among your fans.

[via PS3 Fanboy]

echochrome Getting Free Level Packs

Sony just keeps surprising me with echochrome; first they release it in the US for half the price of the Japanese version and now they announce that the game will get downloadable levels for free.

I fully expected level packs to be sold for $5-$10 but instead, the developers will be selecting the best of the user-created levels from amongst the echochrome community and releasing them periodically. It's another win-win situation because not only do players get new levels for free but level makers have more of an incentive to put effort into some ingenious levels.

The bad news is, each pack will only be available until the next one is up. Users are still free to trade levels amongst themselves though so I'm sure level archives will pop up around the net.

I guess we can look at echochrome as sort of a test run for what we'll be getting out of LittleBigPlanet in terms of user-created content later this year.

[via PlayStation.blog]

SURPRISE: Echochrome Available TODAY!

When I was glancing over IGN's PS3 page and saw the headline "echochrome On Its Way: Mind bending puzzler arrives soon", a big grin came across my face because I figured "soon" meant that the previously release date-less game would be hitting by the end of May. Up until then I had been expecting it to maybe hit in June.

Well, that grin practically ripped my head in half when I clicked the article and saw that the release date is actually today.

I've been playing games for far longer than I care to think about but I can't remember another instance where a game I was really looking forward to was simply released out of the blue, with no prior announcement. What a weird feeling. Of course, as of right now, (11:30a.m EDT) the game isn't up yet, but hell, I can handle a few hour wait.

The best part? The game is only $10 for both PSP and PS3, with 56 exclusive levels in each. The Japanese PS3 version was almost $20 for the same amount of levels. I fully expected it to cost $20 in the US, so I tip my Magic Hat to Sony for pricing the game so aggressively. It certainly makes having to purchase the PSP version separately a lot more appealing.

I had previously ranted about this and it's always nice when one's concerns are addressed. Not that Sony changed their pricing because of my bitching, but obviously they felt it was a concern as well.

In fact, I think their solution is even better than mine was. Rather than one $20 game that is playable on both the PS3 or PSP they have given us two $10 games and you can choose whether you want one or the other, or both. People who own only a PS3 or only a PSP aren't paying for a feature they can't use and people who want both are still only paying $20.

THAT, my friends, is a win-win situation.

Fatal Inertia to Crash Land on PSN

Koei's futuristic racer Fatal Inertia may just have a history that is more interesting than the game itself. Initially a PS3 exclusive launch title, Inertia was delayed and a 360 port announced. The 360 version would eventually stumble out--to much ambivalence from critics and gamers--but the PS3 version was still nowhere in sight, making the once PS3 exclusive suddenly a 360 exclusive.

Now, over half a year later, Koei has announced that Fatal Inertia will finally end its years long journey towards the PS3, not as a retail title, but as a PSN download.

In doing so it will actually become the first "intended-for-retail" PS3 game to be available only through PSN, since Warhawk and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue both had disc based editions.

Fatal Inertia EX will hit PSN in late May for $29.99.


[via MTV Multiplayer]

Bionic Commando ReArmed Almost Finished

Simon Viklund, Creative Director on Bionic Commando ReArmed announced today that the game is only a matter of weeks away from being submitted to Microsoft for certification, which means it could very well make it out by the end of May if all goes smoothly.

Viklund decribes the game as a "love letter to the entire sidescrolling genre and its fans, and the original Bionic Commando and its fans in particular" and that they've already started dreaming about what retro love letter they'd like to work on next.

I really hope the game does well enough for Capcom to continue to fund remakes like this because games like 1942: Joint Strike and Commando 3 just look too damn cool. I'm stingy with my virtual dollars, the last game I dropped any MS Points (or Wii Points, or PSN Dollars) on was Rez back in January but I'll be buying BCR day one for sure.

[via XBLArcade.com]

Capcom Reveals 1942: Joint Strike

Capcom is quickly becoming the leader in updating old (and damn near forgotten) franchises for next-gen systems. Most developers are content to just throw emulated versions of their classic games up on XBLA and charging $5-$10 for them. Not Capcom. Not only are they releasing the 3D remake of Bionic Commando in May as well as Commando 3 in April (the XBLA version of which will include a Ken v. Ryu beta of SSFIIHD no less!), they have now announced a remake/sequel to their classic WWII vertical shooter, 1942.

Subtitled Joint Strike, the game features 3D graphics and 2D gameplay in the same vein as Commando 3 and Bionic Commando ReArmed. The title refers to special attacks you and a partner can perform after powering up a special meter. Yes, the game will feature 2 player co-op play, both offline and online. IGN has a bunch of screens and some video if you hit up the link. They're well worth checking out. I wonder if the yashichi will make an appearance?

Hopefully Capcom will be able to make some profit on these productions so we can continue to get updates to old classics like this. Their 3D updates to Mega Man and Ghosts and Goblins on the PSP didn't perform all that well despite being awesome.

Having now busted out obscure classics like Commando, Bionic Commando, and 1942, you've got to wonder what Capcom could pull out of their hat next. Forgotten Worlds? Legendary Wings? Strider? More importantly, if they are successful with them perhaps other classic developers (Konami I'm looking at you) would consider doing similar updates to some of their franchises. Especially seeing as Contra and Super Contra both sucked ass on XBLA.

Could you imagine a 3D Salamander/Life Force remake/sequel? (Requel?)

[via IGN]

Microsoft Wises Up On SSFIIHD and Bionic Commando

I wrote last month about the development teams for Street Fighter II HD and Bionic Commando ReArmed having issues with Microsoft's 150MB limitation on XBLA games. In the case of Bionic Commando, the XBLA version would have to forgo high resolution textures found in the PS3 version in order to fall under the size limit. SFII would've seen extra content removed from the game due to its 1080p hand drawn graphics taking up too much room.

Thankfully, Microsoft has come to their senses and given the two games a pass on the arbitrary size limit, avoiding a situation in which the PSN versions would be superior. There's no word on how big each game will end up being since they are still in development but it should be safe to assume that MS will make sure that the XBLA versions are in no way inferior to their PSN counterparts.

While this is all well and good, the 150MB size limit is still obviously an issue. The Behemoth's long awaited (and bad-ass looking!) 4-player brawler, Castle Crashers, was delayed for a full year shortly after MS increased the size limit last time so it could take advantage of the tripled storage space. If Microsoft didn't have this pointless size limit, Castle Crashers would likely be closer to release, if not already out, and would probably be an even better game than it'll end up being.

Microsoft, stop stifling creativity and give developers whatever space they need to make the kind of games they want. XBLA has been a breeding ground for garbage for the last year or so with very few original titles being worthwhile. There's a reason Sony is getting better original content on PSN.

[via CVG]

echochrome First Impressions

echochrome is nearing its Japanese release date of March 19th and the pre-release demo is now available for PS3 (if you have a Japanese PSN account) and PSP, which you can get here.

Both demos start you off on a five stage tutorial that explains the basics of what you will be doing over the course of the game's many puzzles. The tutorial is over very quickly and then you are faced with three progressively more complicated puzzles where you put what you just learned into action.

The analog control for manipulating the stages work well enough, but could use a little tweaking for speed and smoothness. I'm surprised the PS3 version doesn't support Sixaxis motion control as the design of the game practically begs for it. The graphics being as spartan as they are look very similar on PS3 and PSP but still look surprisingly nice in HD on the big black box. On a bigger screen, the levels have a lot more substance, which is lost a bit on the PSP's small screen. What look like thin twigs on the PSP are thick girders on PS3 which really helps to convey the optical illusions that are the basis for the gameplay.

Unfortunately, the entire demo can be finished in less than 10 minutes. No sooner than you wrap your head around how the game works, you are stopped dead in your tracks, thanked for playing by the nice disembodied female voice, and requested to stop by the world of echochrome again.

It's definitely a great teaser demo as it gives you just enough to make you want more. Problem is, with a tentative US release date of Summer for the PS3 and no word on whether the PSP version will make it over here, it's going to be awhile before we get our chance without importing. There is very little text in the demo, so if the final game is the same I may do just that. echochrome is one of my most anticipated games of 2008 so I don't want to have to wait until the Summer to keep playing.

It's a shame Sony is distributing the game separately on both formats; they missed a great convergence opportunity here where you could buy the game for PS3 and transfer it for portable play on your PSP.