PS3 General Discussion

[harrytuttle]

My point is: I can go out and buy any game I want because I budget myself some disposable income, but if waiting a month or two, or three means saving $50-$60 then I will do it. Of course, the fact that big boy toys are getting more expensive with the growing HD market could explain why many Christmas totals have been down the last few years.

Someone should do a study on this.

No study needed. Sales are generally "down" because people are no longer waiting for the holidays to do their high expense buying. That once-a-year peak was killing large stores (as good as it might have been for small shops), so they tried to spread it out. Noticed any good Christmas TV ads during Halloween last year? I know I did. Large-scale retailers spent the last 10 years trying to get people to buy sooner and more often in the hopes that they'd still come for a lighter holiday rush. On top of that, the HD/DVD/blah-blah market is still experiencing explosive growth; sales are higher than ever despite razor-thin margins. So far it's working well for them: small business across the country are closing faster than whoopee cushions at a fat farm and chains like Macy's have returned from bankruptcy. Score one for the little guy! 👍

I say screw it. Make the companies wait. What you want will still be there even years from now. Be patient, save your money, and have a nice holiday. And what did you do to your in-laws to make them hate you so much?

 

[FoolKiller]

And what did you do to your in-laws to make them hate you so much?

They work and socialize in political circles and if I'm not at work I don't dress snazzy enough for their group. I also don't have white Bill Clinton hair and my wife doesn't have a Hillary hair cut. I'm a nice guy and well-behaved without a criminal record (aside from speeding) and I have a good solid mid-management job, so I look good on paper but when I show up in a World Beer Tour or Body By Playstation T-shirt the image doesn't match my profile.

So, they keep thinking that if they buy me clothes that aren't the kind I usually wear that I will get the hint and dress more like they do. I'm sorry, but slacks and a button-down shirt is not football watching clothing to me. A football jersey and jeans is.

So far I have gotten a bright yellow v-neck sweatshirt a button-down that was a size too small and a dry-clean only sweater. The sweater was actually nice but as it is the second thing I have that is dry-clean I haven't had it cleaned since January, hence I've worn it once. The next time I need to get my suit cleaned I'll take it in too.

Basically, they are image conscious Democrats whose lifestyle holds no appeal to me, which is something they just can't understand.

 

[Jedi2016]

Yeah, that's how I am. Although I'm not management (yet), I typically wear a shirt and tie to work every day, carry a beeper and a cellphone, shiny shoes, the whole nine yards. At home, I'm unshaven, and walk around barefoot in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. Jeans and tennis shoes if I go out somewhere, but the Hawaiian shirt always stays, I've got a dozen of 'em.

 

[G.T]

I just downloaded the latest trailer for the "Wagan" series of car game from the Japanese PS Store. A lot of it looks like a high-res Xbox game... Burnout Revenge comes to mind, but with better lighting.

 

[DuckRacer]

Looks like the Wipeout franchise will get the Gran Turismo treatment.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160551

During the last few weeks, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has been showcasing Wipeout Pulse the European gaming press at it's PlayStation-branded loft in London. While the PSP sequel was the focus of the event, questions about Wipeout PlayStation 3 were inevitable -- Sony's Liverpool studio director Clemens Wangerin confirmed the game in a recent issue of Develop magazine -- so we asked Game Director Tony Buckley for more details.
Understandably, Buckley wasn't too forthcoming, but confirmed the Liverpool based team wants to quickly release an iteration in the form of Wipeout HD, which should be officially announced in August or even earlier at E3. 1UP learned Wipeout HD is simply the first step, with a "major" Wipeout release penciled in for sometime in 2008. Wipeout HD will feature a online multiplayer mode and, while unconfirmed, likely HD-enabled tracks from Wipeout Pulse, as well.

Wipeout HD should arrive on the PlayStation Network before the end of the year.

 

[harrytuttle]

They work and socialize in political circles and if I'm not at work I don't dress snazzy enough for their group. I also don't have white Bill Clinton hair and my wife doesn't have a Hillary hair cut. I'm a nice guy and well-behaved without a criminal record (aside from speeding) and I have a good solid mid-management job, so I look good on paper but when I show up in a World Beer Tour or Body By Playstation T-shirt the image doesn't match my profile.

In other words, they could make their own diamonds if you give them enough coal to sit on? I still suggest waiting, if only for a little while. Don't be the sheep you seem to resent. I wouldn't hold my breath for anything from the in-laws; be Santa for yourself after New Year's.

 

[DuckRacer]

Well, Rainbow Six shipped today and will be available tomorrow. Looks like the PS3 game drought is over.

So who's getting it?

 

[Solid Lifters]

Well, Rainbow Six shipped today and will be available tomorrow. Looks like the PS3 game drought is over.

So who's getting it?

I want it. But, I think I would like to try a demo first. I just hope the controls aren't as horrible as RFOM. That's the reason why I never got that game.

I'll rent it, one day. Then decide to purchase it, or not.

 

[V1P3R]

I dunno why I'd waste my time with RSV since I already have it on the 360. Even if it is a better version than on the 360. I say this because surprisingly the orig. xbox and ps2 versions were really different for Lockdown and preferred the Ps2 version.

 

[Eric.]

My cousin and I are going to rent RSV, we need some co-op action.

 

[DuckRacer]

I dunno why I'd waste my time with RSV since I already have it on the 360. Even if it is a better version than on the 360. I say this because surprisingly the orig. xbox and ps2 versions were really different for Lockdown and preferred the Ps2 version.

RS:V for PS3 has 10 extra multiplayer maps, slightly less draw distance, and no bloom-ish lighting. With the lighting, it could be good inside buildings as you don't have a splotch of light "overshadowing" (for a lack of a better phrase) facial features in some cases, but it's also bad when you're in a helicopter or fighting in the streets as Vegas doesn't look nearly as vibrant.

This video explains what I'm talking about.

So in summary: good for PS3 owners so they can enjoy one of the best games of last year that's not a crap port, meh for everyone else.

EDIT: Firmware 1.82 coming in a few days:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/06/26/firmware-182-coming-soon/

Hey everyone, you told us you wanted to hear about updates a few days in advance, so here’s a quick heads up that we have a PS3 firmware update in the works. Scheduled for release in the next few days, firmware 1.82 is an update that enables the playback of AVC High Profile (H.264/MPEG-4) files. As most of you know, these are high quality files that you’ll now be able to play on your PS3. Hopefully this update is moving us closer to the audio playback features many of you commented about in my post the other week. We’re continuing to evaluate and improve things across the board, including PS2 software compatibility. I’ll chime in here quickly with an update once the firmware is live and ready. Thanks for all of your support and feedback, keep it coming!

For something this minor, they should've put this in the 1.9 update. But meh.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Minor? No, I wouldn't say that considering what MPEG-4 Part 10 offers...

H.264/AVC/MPEG-4 Part 10 contains a number of new features that allow it to compress video much more effectively than older standards and to provide more flexibility for application to a wide variety of network environments. In particular, some such key features include:

Multi-picture inter-picture prediction including the following features:
Using previously-encoded pictures as references in a much more flexible way than in past standards, allowing up to 32 reference pictures to be used in some cases (unlike in prior standards, where the limit was typically one or, in the case of conventional "B pictures", two). This particular feature usually allows modest improvements in bit rate and quality in most scenes. But in certain types of scenes, for example scenes with rapid repetitive flashing or back-and-forth scene cuts or uncovered background areas, it allows a very significant reduction in bit rate while maintaining clarity.

Variable block-size motion compensation (VBSMC) with block sizes as large as 16×16 and as small as 4×4, enabling very precise segmentation of moving regions.
Six-tap filtering for derivation of half-pel luma sample predictions, in order to lessen the aliasing and eventually provide sharper images.

Quarter-pixel precision for motion compensation, enabling very precise description of the displacements of moving areas. For chroma the resolution is typically halved both vertically and horizontally (see 4:2:0) therefore the motion compensation of chroma uses one-eighth chroma pixel grid units.

Weighted prediction, allowing an encoder to specify the use of a scaling and offset when performing motion compensation, and providing a significant benefit in performance in special cases—such as fade-to-black, fade-in, and cross-fade transitions.

Spatial prediction from the edges of neighboring blocks for "intra"coding (rather than the "DC"-only prediction found in MPEG-2 Part 2 and the transform coefficient prediction found in H.263v2 and MPEG-4 Part 2).

Lossless macroblock coding features including:
A lossless PCM macroblock representation mode in which video data samples are represented directly, allowing perfect representation of specific regions and allowing a strict limit to be placed on the quantity of coded data for each macroblock.

An enhanced lossless macroblock representation mode allowing perfect representation of specific regions while ordinarily using substantially fewer bits than the PCM mode (not supported in all profiles).
Flexible interlaced-scan video coding features (not supported in all profiles), including:

Macroblock-adaptive frame-field (MBAFF) coding, using a macroblock pair structure for pictures coded as frames, allowing 16x16 macroblocks in field mode (vs. 16x8 half-macroblocks in MPEG-2).

Picture-adaptive frame-field coding (PAFF or PicAFF) allowing a freely-selected mixture of pictures coded as MBAFF frames with pictures coded as individual single fields (half frames) of interlaced video.

New transform design features, including:
An exact-match integer 4×4 spatial block transform (conceptually similar to the well-known DCT design, but simplified and made to provide exactly-specified decoding), allowing precise placement of residual signals with little of the "ringing" often found with prior codec designs.

An exact-match integer 8×8 spatial block transform (conceptually similar to the well-known DCT design, but simplified and made to provide exactly-specified decoding, not supported in all profiles), allowing highly correlated regions to be compressed more efficiently than with the 4×4 transform.

Adaptive encoder selection between the 4×4 and 8×8 transform block sizes for the integer transform operation (not supported in all profiles).

A secondary Hadamard transform performed on "DC" coefficients of the primary spatial transform (for chroma DC coefficients and also luma in one special case) to obtain even more compression in smooth regions.

A quantization design including:
Logarithmic step size control for easier bit rate management by encoders and simplified inverse-quantization scaling.

Frequency-customized quantization scaling matrices selected by the encoder for perceptual-based quantization optimization (not supported in all profiles).

An in-loop deblocking filter which helps prevent the blocking artifacts common to other DCT-based image compression techniques.

An entropy coding design including:
Context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC), an algorithm to losslessly compress syntax elements in the video stream knowing the probabilities of syntax elements in a given context (not supported in all profiles). CABAC compresses data more efficiently than CAVLC but requires considerably more processing to decode.

Context-adaptive variable-length coding (CAVLC), which is a lower-complexity alternative to CABAC for the coding of quantized transform coefficient values. Although lower complexity than CABAC, CAVLC is more elaborate and more efficient than the methods typically used to code coefficients in other prior designs.

A common simple and highly structured variable length coding (VLC) technique for many of the syntax elements not coded by CABAC or CAVLC, referred to as Exponential-Golomb coding (or just Exp-Golomb).

Loss resilience features including:
A network abstraction layer (NAL) definition allowing the same video syntax to be used in many network environments, including features such as sequence parameter sets (SPSs) and picture parameter sets (PPSs) that provide more robustness and flexibility than provided in prior designs.

Flexible macroblock ordering (FMO, also known as slice groups and not supported in all profiles) and arbitrary slice ordering (ASO), which are techniques for restructuring the ordering of the representation of the fundamental regions (called macroblocks) in pictures. Typically considered an error/loss robustness feature, FMO and ASO can also be used for other purposes.

Data partitioning (DP), a feature providing the ability to separate more important and less important syntax elements into different packets of data, enabling the application of unequal error protection (UEP) and other types of improvement of error/loss robustness (not supported in all profiles).

Redundant slices (RS), an error/loss robustness feature allowing an encoder to send an extra representation of a picture region (typically at lower fidelity) that can be used if the primary representation is corrupted or lost (not supported in all profiles).

Frame numbering, a feature that allows the creation of "sub-sequences" (enabling temporal scalability by optional inclusion of extra pictures between other pictures), and the detection and concealment of losses of entire pictures (which can occur due to network packet losses or channel errors).

Switching slices (called SP and SI slices and not supported in all profiles), features that allow an encoder to direct a decoder to jump into an ongoing video stream for such purposes as video streaming bit rate switching and "trick mode" operation. When a decoder jumps into the middle of a video stream using the SP/SI feature, it can get an exact match to the decoded pictures at that location in the video stream despite using different pictures (or no pictures at all) as references prior to the switch.

A simple automatic process for preventing the accidental emulation of start codes, which are special sequences of bits in the coded data that allow random access into the bitstream and recovery of byte alignment in systems that can lose byte synchronization.

Supplemental enhancement information (SEI) and video usability information (VUI), which are extra information that can be inserted into the bitstream to enhance the use of the video for a wide variety of purposes.

Auxiliary pictures, which can be used for such purposes as alpha compositing.

Support of Monochrome, 4:2:0, 4:2:2, and 4:4:4 color sampling structures (depending on the selected profile).

Support of sample bit depth precision ranging from 8 to 14 bits per sample (depending on the selected profile).

The ability to encode individual color planes as distinct pictures with their own slice structures, macroblock modes, motion vectors, etc., allowing encoders to be designed with a simple parallelization structure (supported only in the three 4:4:4-capable profiles)
Picture order count, a feature that serves to keep the ordering of the pictures and the values of samples in the decoded pictures isolated from timing information (allowing timing information to be carried and controlled/changed separately by a system without affecting decoded picture content).

These techniques, along with several others, help H.264 to perform significantly better than any prior standard can, under a wide variety of circumstances in a wide variety of application environments. H.264 can often perform radically better than MPEG-2 video—typically obtaining the same quality at half of the bit rate or less.

Like other ISO/IEC MPEG video standards, H.264/AVC has a reference software implementation that can be freely downloaded. Its main purpose is to give examples of H.264/AVC features, rather than being a useful application per se. Some reference hardware design work is also under way in MPEG.

 

[Solid Fro]

Has anyone downloaded the Playstation Network showcase video from the Europe store? There are some games I haven't seen before. Aqua Vita, a fish tank simulator (?) and Sky Blue, a free-form flying game (?).

 

[Robin]

Well, Rainbow Six shipped today and will be available tomorrow. Looks like the PS3 game drought is over.

So who's getting it?

You mean Vegas right?

I was seriously looking foreward to that game when I first heard it was comming to PS3 but because of the constant delays and lack of interesting info I lost interest espeically as it seemed like an old game because it had been out on xbox 360 for ages. I may look into it but if its got nothing special then I dont think its going to be a purchase for me....

COD-MW is attracting me alot more now! Looks amazing, its reminds me of End War but playable!!! not just a strategy game.

Robin

Has anyone downloaded the Playstation Network showcase video from the Europe store? There are some games I haven't seen before. Aqua Vita, a fish tank simulator (?) and Sky Blue, a free-form flying game (?).

Sounds interesting but these things are just more filler mini games whist there is a dry spell of PS3 games... thats not to say they arnt good, flow is really cool but this was not really what the PS3 was designed to handle.

 

[Jeremy Ricci]

Vegas was delayed to next week I thought?

I picked up the Darkness, very awesome buy, you should all check it out.

 

[DuckRacer]

Has anyone downloaded the Playstation Network showcase video from the Europe store? There are some games I haven't seen before. Aqua Vita, a fish tank simulator (?) and Sky Blue, a free-form flying game (?).

They're probably Eyetoy games.

Vegas was delayed to next week I thought?

I picked up the Darkness, very awesome buy, you should all check it out.

GameStop temporarily had the ship date for this Friday instead of yesterday, but now they're saying it's backordered, so I'm guessing there weren't any shipping problems.

For the Darkness, I'm waiting for both demos in a few weeks. The reviews have been a little mixed, and the game itself seems to be a little too demonic for me. But I'm interested.

 

[Touring Mars]

After all my whining about the games available on the PS3, I elected to download something from the PS Store and ended up getting Crash Bandicoot (PS1 game!) last night... great game! Great being able to just download stuff like that straight to the console 👍 Still not sure about the other games, like Rampart, Joust, Calling All Cars etc. Are they any good or a complete waste of cash?

 

[FoolKiller]

After all my whining about the games available on the PS3, I elected to download something from the PS Store and ended up getting Crash Bandicoot (PS1 game!) last night... great game! Great being able to just download stuff like that straight to the console 👍 Still not sure about the other games, like Rampart, Joust, Calling All Cars etc. Are they any good or a complete waste of cash?

I don't have the PS3 version, but I have played Joust on various different formats since I was young, young kid. You ride on a Pegasus and poke the eyes out on dragons/bird things.

And then you....no wait, that's basically it. Even as a kid I didn't see what was so great about it, but everyone else loved it and it has been considered a great classic ever since. You can probably find a java version online somewhere to see if you will like the game itself.

I prefer Q-Bert, which I bought. I actually reviewed four PSN download games in the review thread.

I have found some gameplya videos on You Tube of various games that have given me a better feel for them. It convinced me I don't want Rampart and that I should seriously consider Calling All Cars. It also made me very curious about Gripshift.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

After all my whining about the games available on the PS3, I elected to download something from the PS Store and ended up getting Crash Bandicoot (PS1 game!) last night... great game! Great being able to just download stuff like that straight to the console 👍

I have yet to download any of the PS1 games so thanks for the rec.

Still not sure about the other games, like Rampart, Joust, Calling All Cars etc. Are they any good or a complete waste of cash?

These are the PSN games I have bought so far:

• Blast Factor
• Calling All Cars
• Cash Guns Chaos
• flOw
• GripShift
• Joust
• Lemmings
• Q*Bert
• Rampage World Tour
• Super Rub 'a' Dub

I have not bought Gauntlet II, Mortal Kombat II, and Rampart, as I never liked any of these in the arcades. I also didn't buy Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection as I am not much of a fan of these kinds of fighting games, and compared to some of these $5-$10 games, at $20 it didn't seem worth it. After all, I pay as much tax on a regular PS3 game as it costs to get most of these PSN games, but at $20 that makes it less of an impulse purchase.

When I get the chance I'll post my reviews of the games I have so far in FoolKiller's Game Review Thread, but as for Joust...

I was a big arcade gamer in the early 80's and loved playing Joust in the arcades, but just like playing emulated arcade games on your PC, paying them on a console loses part of what made arcade games so much fun, and that is the wonderful cabinet designs and the buttons and controls that are designed specifically for these games. In this case Joust on the PS3 is better than on a PC as you have stick control and a good button reaction for flapping the wings, but it still doesn't match the fine control the arcade button allowed.

One of my favorite arcade games was Tempest, but that has never played well through emulation without a good quality spinner control, which so far I have yet to find one that performs like the original arcade version had.

I've been thinking about making my own Mame Arcade cabinet, something similar to these, but again the problem becomes how do you design the control unit for so many different arcade games that used many different types of controls and different layouts on the panel itself.

Still, for $5, its hard to find fault the PS3's emulation of Joust, and it certainly is an authentic emulation of the original... but I tell you, without that fine control over the flapping of the wings, it makes it harder to time your attacks, especially against those pesky dragon!


As for the others...

Blast Factor
This is a lot of fun... sort of like asteroids on an LSD trip, but Super Stardust HD looks like a very similar, but much better looking game and I think it is coming out very soon (tomorrow?).

Calling All Cars
I have not played it very much and am still trying to get past the learning curve for its controls... which was frustrating at first to get used to, but the visuals, sounds, and humor are very impressive, so I hope to log some more time with it soon.

Cash Guns Chaos
This is actually pretty fun. It's as if Quentin Tarantino was asked to remake Midway's classic 80's arcade game, Robotron.

flOw
It was fun the first few times, and my wife still loves it, but it makes me drowsy when I play it.

GripShift
This is actually quite fun and addictive, definitely worth the $5!

Lemmings
I have not yet played this. Like many of these PSN games I downloaded it for my nephews... (my kids are still a little too young). They seem to enjoy it.

Q*Bert
Like Joust, this was another classic arcade game that I loved playing in the arcades, and its plays perfectly on the PS3. I will say though, I wish they had added options for changing controls from the stick to the D-pad, because the stick is free moving, unlike the arcade stick, so unless you are careful you'll sometimes go the wrong direction if the postion of the stick is off a little... still great fun that brings back memories.

Rampage World Tour
Like these other classic arcade games, this is also a lot of fun to play, especially with a bunch of friends.

Super Rub 'a' Dub
I seriously did not expect to like this much, but I'm hooked! This is also a game that at least with a few of the starting levels, that my kids (ages 3 & 5) not only enjoy playing but do it quite well! They get a real kick out of using the sixaxis motion control, and my daughter, the youngest, especially gets a serious case of the giggles every time she makes the ducks bounce by and the wind-up sharks flip over on their bellies when she jumps with the controller. I'm going to have to make a home movie of it as its sooooo adorable to watch her play this game!

But even taking the game seriously, both my wife and I really like playing it, and with the multiple ways of scoring and timing, we can get VERY competitive against each other when playing - which is always fun!


So for me at least, all of these have more than made up for their minimal costs. 👍👍

You can probably find a java version online somewhere to see if you will like the game itself.

Midway even has shockwave versions of some of their classic arcade games here, but to really get a feel for them at no cost, I'd highly recommend you download some emulation mame software. This will give you access to thousands of arcade games and will play just as they did in the arcade... but again, without the specific type and layout of the controls that the original had. Just watch out, they can being back memories if you also played them in your youth at your local arcades, and can become once again addictive... only this time you don’t have to have a roll of quarters.

 

[Sprite]

After all my whining about the games available on the PS3, I elected to download something from the PS Store and ended up getting Crash Bandicoot (PS1 game!) last night... great game! Great being able to just download stuff like that straight to the console 👍 Still not sure about the other games, like Rampart, Joust, Calling All Cars etc. Are they any good or a complete waste of cash?

So far we have:

Super Rub a Dub: ***/*****
Mortal Combat 2: **/*****
Tekken Dark Resurrection: ****/*****
Q-bert: */*****
Calling all cars: **/*****
Gripshift: */*****
Flow: ***/*****
Blast Factor: ****/*****
Crash Bandicoot: ***/*****
Wipeout: ***/*****
Jumping Flash: ****/*****

I really like the ability of being able to put the PS1 games onto the psp for mobile fun. all the scores above are my opinion of course, and im not going to purchase joust, rampart, rampage, or any others until super stardust.

 

[FoolKiller]

Lemmings
I have not yet played this. Like many of these PSN games I downloaded it for my nephews... (my kids are still a little too young). They seem to enjoy it.

You should definitely try it out. Lemmings isn't something you can't outgrow. Action puzzlers tend to always stretch across generations and the PSN version has added some stuff to create more creativity.

only this time you don’t have to have a roll of quarters.

I was just a hair too young to catch onto the arcade days of yore. At most I was the kid at the local Chuck E Cheese playing Star Wars in the tall stool. However, that didn't prevent me from knowing how to work a Commodore 64. I played all the same games, only I didn't need the quarters. Of course, I didn't realize I was pirating and all the legal implications that would come with it 20 years later.

Since every system used the same kind of serial port I was able to use the Intellivision number pad controller, the Atari paddle, and the one button joystick, so most controls were adaptable to the ported versions.

You know, you may be able to build yourself an arcade machine since they are rebuilding some of those Atari-style controllers for people, like me, who still have their working unit (Not many consoles today have that kind of reliability).

 

[DuckRacer]

+rep D-N, great post.

I'll add in my thoughts on some of the games:

Blast Factor
This is a lot of fun... sort of like asteroids on an LSD trip, but Super Stardust HD looks like a very similar, but much better looking game and I think it is coming out very soon (tomorrow?).

Personally, I don't like Blast Factor at all. My problem with it is that the flow of the game is always disrupted every time you advance to a different "level". You always start off with the dippy pea shooter weapon, and in the few times you're able to use some of the cooler weapons, you kill everything within seconds and you're back to where you began a stage later.

Not to mention that I got burned on buying that $3 multiplayer pack when it didn't even offer online play! Just local play crap. It also doesn't help that whenever I try to jolt the controller in a direction to make a wave to overturn the metal things, it hardly works, and even when it does it goes in the opposite direction.

So IMO, that was $11 badly spent.

Calling All Cars
I have not played it very much and am still trying to get past the learning curve for its controls... which was frustrating at first to get used to, but the visuals, sounds, and humor are very impressive, so I hope to log some more time with it soon.

You're complaining about the controls? Pansy. You use the analog sticks for movement, R2 for nitro, X for boost, and R1 for using your weapon. Can't get simpler than that.

For me, I personally like it, it's one of the more fun downloadable games I've played out there. Yeah, it doesn't make me want to play it for longer than 5 minutes, but still. I'll probably be playing it now and then months from now. Is it worth the $10? I'm not sure. Ask me in October.

flOw
It was fun the first few times, and my wife still loves it, but it makes me drowsy when I play it.

This was the game that made me to boycott PSN games that don't have demos. Utterly boring, no replay value, etc. Total waste of $7 IMO. It looks pretty, but that's all it has going for it.

Funnily enough, the game I like the most is the one everyone spits at: Super Rub a Dub. Everyone thinks it's for people with ADD, I don't have ADD. Everyone thinks that the motion control is crap, I think it's one of the few games (actually, only, if you don't count shaking off Chimera in Resistance) that actually use it. And I don't like motion sensing. It's $6, so I might get it... if Super Stardust has a demo and I like it.

Personally, I think the PSN offering is a bit weak right now, but dammit Warhawk is f'ing awesome. If that thing is $30 or less, I'm on that like a fly on hot, steamy, soft crap.

---

EDIT: Lair delayed to August 14th.

At least there's some cool 720p videos up.

http://fp.scea.com/Content/Movies/16258/Videos/1/movie720p.mp4

http://fp.scea.com/Content/Movies/16259/Videos/1/movie720p.mp4

http://fp.scea.com/Content/Movies/16260/Videos/1/movie720p.mp4

 

[SRV2LOW4ME]

EDIT: Lair delayed to August 14th.

Damn, I was already counting down the days for that one too.

 

[Solid Lifters]

PLAYSTATION 3 RELEASE DATES (SCEE)

Singstar Next Gen: 8 - 22
Warhawk: 8 -29
Heavenly Sword: 9 - 12
Lair: 9 -26
Folklore: 10 -10
Eye of Judgment: 10 - 24
Ratchet & Clank: 11 - 7
Time Crisis 4 & GunCon 3: 11 -18
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: 11 - 21
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune: 11 - 28

 

[Solid Fro]

Blah! Solid Lifters beat me to it!

Official European release dates:

PS3:

Singstar Next Gen: 8/22
Warhawk: 8/29
Heavenly Sword: 9/12
Lair: 9/26
Folklore: 10/10
Eye of Judgment: 10/24
Ratchet & Clank: 11/7
Time Crisis 4 & GunCon 3: 11/18
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: 11/21
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune: 11/28

http://kotaku.com/gaming/final-countdown/europe-gets-sony-release-dates-272900.php

 

[Eric.]

The posters at that link have no idea what Prologue is...One thinks it may be a video.

 

[Touring Mars]

21st November for GT5, eh? Well that's Christmas ruined then

Helpful info FK, D-N and Sprite re the downloadable games 👍 Unfortunately I hadn't seen Sprite's post before I ordered Q*bert, but it's only £2 here and I ended up playing it for about 2 hours last night, getting a score of 21175 eventually! Is it just me or does he say "Oh S***!" sometimes when he dies?

 

[Solid Lifters]

21st November for GT5, eh? Well that's Christmas ruined then

Helpful info FK, D-N and Sprite re the downloadable games 👍 Unfortunately I hadn't seen Sprite's post before I ordered Q*bert, but it's only £2 here and I ended up playing it for about 2 hours last night, getting a score of 21175 eventually! Is it just me or does he say "Oh S***!" sometimes when he dies?

And, it's the day before Thanksgiving. That's ruined, too.

I was going to smoke a turkey this year. It's an all day chore the day before and on Thanksgiving. There goes that plan. Besides, deep fried turkey is good too and it only takes 90 minutes.

 

[FoolKiller]

EDIT: Lair delayed to August 14th.

How did Lair get put between crap and crap (that's a crack at EA, not NASCAR or football)?

Time Crisis 4 & GunCon 3: 11/18

I am very excited about this. I like the Time Crisis games and haven't been able to use my Guncon since I got my projection screen. Guncon 3 is supposed to work more like the Wii Remote with sensors on the TV, so it will work on any kind of television. I'm just afraid the price will be outrageous for the game and gun package.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: 11/21

All that needs to be said here is: Does the US get this one?

http://kotaku.com/gaming/final-countdown/europe-gets-sony-release-dates-272900.php

The comments about GT5: Prologue here are exactly why I sometimes hate people, yes all of them. I think Google would have given them an idea of what they were talking about in roughly 30 seconds. Hang on, let me test.

OK, so it took 45 seconds to find this link.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/02/13/gran-turismo-5-prologue-in-late-2007/ Not overly informative, but enough to tell you it is not a video.

And that still talks about Europe, but not a mention of the US. They should really throw the states a bone. Oh well, if it is downloadable I guess I will be creating a European account. You would think that since we have all found a way around the regional thing on the PSN they would just give the downloadable gaming content to everyone, with maybe only language constraints keeping some things regional. The trailers and whatnot would obviously be regional due to dates and small content changes.

Unfortunately I hadn't seen Sprite's post before I ordered Q*bert, but it's only £2 here and I ended up playing it for about 2 hours last night, getting a score of 21175 eventually!

Welcome to my childhood.

I would be interested in knowing why Sprite didn't like it actually. Sprite? It could just be the old schoolness of it. Some people don't like that while others do. It is obvious that DN and I love reliving our childhoods. Things were so much simpler then.

Is it just me or does he say "Oh S***!" sometimes when he dies?

Well, it is very pre-8 bit digitized sound, so what he actually says is hard to determine, and I don't know if you have a different version than America, but when you die a dialogue bubble pops up that has something like "@#*&%!" in it. So he is definitely cussing, but to the best of my knowledge the actual wording has never been revealed. I always assumed it was Oh S- or the F-bomb.

Apparently Nosers (what Q-Bert is) are notorious for bad language. Kind of like sailors, only orange.

I always liked that aspect of the game though, because it gave a 2D cartoon character that just jumped around on some blocks personality. Considering it was pre-Nintendo they didn't have much more at their disposal.

 

[DuckRacer]

PLAYSTATION 3 RELEASE DATES (SCEE)

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Blah! Solid Lifters beat me to it!

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I beat both of you by, oh, 7 hours.