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http://ps2.ign.com/articles/370/370990p1.html
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/424/424746p1.html

3d Realms. Used to be Apogee.

Off-topic funny side-note: The CEO of 3d Realms (while being entirely out of touch with the market after 37,413 years of NOT releasing Duke Nukem Forever) determined that he was in touch enough with the market to predict that Nintendo was going to lose the console war with the Revolution and that it may be the last console Nintendo makes. Full (albeit tiny) story here.

Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, pot. You two get along now.

There is ingame chat actually, via the mic. http://ds.ign.com/articles/697/697307p2.html For more information. Cheers.

Does everything have a stupid lens bloom (the new lens flare)

Eh, the MS paying bit might just be "Internet Theory," but that's beside the point. Ubisoft's Shanghai studio developed both the PS2 and Gamecube versions. Check the credits for proof of that. If that's not good enough, here's an interview that, aside from the usual preview BS, shows that Shanghai worked on those versions, with the PS2 version having a three month lead on the GC version.

As for porting, a side by side comparison of all versions immediately shows that the level designs are identical between the PS2 and Gamecube versions and between the Xbox and PC versions. It took a while, but I finally found the comparison screenshots that prove this: 1,2,3,4,5. The second and fifth ones make it especially obvious that the PS2 and GC versions are the same game, and different from the PC and Xbox versions.

Once again, if you look at the graphics in games designed to take advantage of the Gamecube hardware, it's pretty clear that Splinter Cell and its sequels could look much better than they do. They don't because Ubisoft went cheap on the Gamecube.

Eh, the MS paying bit might just be "Internet Theory," but that's beside the point. Ubisoft's Shanghai studio developed both the PS2 and Gamecube versions. Check the credits for proof of that. If that's not good enough, here's an interview that, aside from the usual preview BS, shows that Shanghai worked on those versions, with the PS2 version having a three month lead on the GC version.

As for porting, a side by side comparison of all versions immediately shows that the level designs are identical between the PS2 and Gamecube versions and between the Xbox and PC versions. It took a while, but I finally found the comparison screenshots that prove this: 1,2,3,4,5. The second and fifth ones make it especially obvious that the PS2 and GC versions are the same game, and different from the PC and Xbox versions.

Once again, if you look at the graphics in games designed to take advantage of the Gamecube hardware, it's pretty clear that Splinter Cell and its sequels could look much better than they do. They don't because Ubisoft went cheap on the Gamecube.

Eh, the MS paying bit might just be "Internet Theory," but that's beside the point. Ubisoft's Shanghai studio developed both the PS2 and Gamecube versions. Check the credits for proof of that. If that's not good enough, here's an interview that, aside from the usual preview BS, shows that Shanghai worked on those versions, with the PS2 version having a three month lead on the GC version.

As for porting, a side by side comparison of all versions immediately shows that the level designs are identical between the PS2 and Gamecube versions and between the Xbox and PC versions. It took a while, but I finally found the comparison screenshots that prove this: 1,2,3,4,5. The second and fifth ones make it especially obvious that the PS2 and GC versions are the same game, and different from the PC and Xbox versions.

Once again, if you look at the graphics in games designed to take advantage of the Gamecube hardware, it's pretty clear that Splinter Cell and its sequels could look much better than they do. They don't because Ubisoft went cheap on the Gamecube.

Eh, the MS paying bit might just be "Internet Theory," but that's beside the point. Ubisoft's Shanghai studio developed both the PS2 and Gamecube versions. Check the credits for proof of that. If that's not good enough, here's an interview that, aside from the usual preview BS, shows that Shanghai worked on those versions, with the PS2 version having a three month lead on the GC version.

As for porting, a side by side comparison of all versions immediately shows that the level designs are identical between the PS2 and Gamecube versions and between the Xbox and PC versions. It took a while, but I finally found the comparison screenshots that prove this: 1,2,3,4,5. The second and fifth ones make it especially obvious that the PS2 and GC versions are the same game, and different from the PC and Xbox versions.

Once again, if you look at the graphics in games designed to take advantage of the Gamecube hardware, it's pretty clear that Splinter Cell and its sequels could look much better than they do. They don't because Ubisoft went cheap on the Gamecube.

Eh, the MS paying bit might just be "Internet Theory," but that's beside the point. Ubisoft's Shanghai studio developed both the PS2 and Gamecube versions. Check the credits for proof of that. If that's not good enough, here's an interview that, aside from the usual preview BS, shows that Shanghai worked on those versions, with the PS2 version having a three month lead on the GC version.

As for porting, a side by side comparison of all versions immediately shows that the level designs are identical between the PS2 and Gamecube versions and between the Xbox and PC versions. It took a while, but I finally found the comparison screenshots that prove this: 1,2,3,4,5. The second and fifth ones make it especially obvious that the PS2 and GC versions are the same game, and different from the PC and Xbox versions.

Once again, if you look at the graphics in games designed to take advantage of the Gamecube hardware, it's pretty clear that Splinter Cell and its sequels could look much better than they do. They don't because Ubisoft went cheap on the Gamecube.

Although more of a realtime strategy game than a proper RPG, Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive would fit the bill nicely. ;-)

"If there was one thing to say I hate about TES4:Oblivion is the faces of characters. They fall right at the bottom of Uncanny Valley."

Actually, I remember that. The story was that import restrictions on computers left the Iraq regime strapped for computing resources, and an easy way to get around that was to buy PS2's and use them to crunch numbers. Here's 1 link: http://ps2.ign.com/articles/089/089251p1.html

Behold the ugly baton!

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/694/694785p1.ht ml

http://media.revolution.ign.com/articles/694/69478 5/img_3445353.html

Behold the ugly baton!

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/694/694785p1.ht ml

http://media.revolution.ign.com/articles/694/69478 5/img_3445353.html

GT4 had 1080i output on the PS2.

This includes 16:9 mode.

Actually, Revolution will be quite capable of 16:9, as is the current GameCube hardware:

Matt responds: Certainly the capability for progressive-scan and 16:9 widescreen games will be there on Revolution. You can do that on GameCube now.

Source

• official site;
• TotalPlaystation preview and review;
• IGN hands-on; and
• Gametrailers.com video

Valve licensed a Popular physics engine right off the shelf. Many companies do write their own Physics engine from scratch, but Valve didn't, so I find it funny they talked about this, shouldn't Havok have spoken instead?

http://media.revolution.ign.com/articles/697/69773 3/img_3480757.html

While the shell hasn't been released, you can tell by looking at the controller in the picture above that the guide slot is already there and ready, which implies the shell is ready. I would imagine that they will show the shell in action at E3.

And it will also allow for other attachments as well. Some fanboy mockups have included a steering wheel, a pistol, and a shot gun.

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/697/697733p1.ht ml

Been on display at GDC.

Of course, if you are talking games, Iwata implied, and possibly flat out said (can't remember right this moment) that there would be playable games at E3 this year. Which, of course, is pretty obvious if they are planning to launch later this year.

According to the Q&A session, covered on IGN, etc, Phil Harrison could NOT confirm that a 60G HD would be standard.

Harrison answered that it will undoubtedly be a key component of the system and that developers should program titles assuming that the drive is there, but being that his role is more software-oriented than hardware, he couldn't give a definitive answer as to whether or not it will be in the box. He says that we, and even he, should know for sure at this year's E3.
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/697/697725p1.html

I don't think it was mentioned in the review, but if you're wondering what GDC is (like I was), it's the Game Developers Conference.

It boggles my mind why the wouldn't have links to BANG! Howdy! or reviews of it.

I think the low sales of the 360 in Japan really has to do with the lack of Japanese RPGs on the system. Anything with the name "Final Fantasy" and "Dragon Quest" are usually big sellers. I imagine MS has been working with Square-Enix on getting more titles to the 360. They've already started with FFXI, but that's been out for years and I can't really see it being a big seller. But its a start. Having Mistwalker Studios on board though, could be big. We'll just have to see how those games turn out.

They're still going after City of Heroes for other trademark reasons. Sheesh. Pretty soon, a man with a nice-looking body won't be able to dress up in spandex without violating some law.

BG2 was unquestionably the better RPG if you just bought them and wanted to play through them. However, BG2 inspired, as the poster said, the urge to "play through it over and over again". But NWN was never meant just as a single player game, and honestly, I believe that the reason NWN's single player campaign was disappointing was just that SO many man hours were put into developing the engine and tools and assets and scripting that there wasn't enough time to create a BG2-like experience.

That said, if you were willing to look beyond the official campaign, NWN becomes more competitive. There have been a lot of fan-created, really great modules. At the top of my favorites is Adam Miller's Dreamcatcher series. Some people swear by Stefan Gagne's work (which is prolific). Almost everyone agrees that Rick Burton's Twilight/Midnight modules are fantastic. I'm really fond of the Aielund saga.

Go here: http://nwvault.ign.com/fms/TopRated.php?content=mo dules

If you have NWN installed. And play some of the top rated modules that sound appealing. There's some great stuff, stuff that you may well enjoy a lot more than the original NWN.

Bioware, for their part, got their act together a bit for their expansion, Hordes of the Underdark. It had a much more enjoyable single player campaign. Even the developers said that by this time they'd really gotten better with their own tools, the engine was refined, and lots of important art assets (robes, for example) were in the engine.

Meanwhile, the expandability of this game may never be matched. There is literally tens if not hundreds of gigabytes worth of custom content - tilesets, weapons, icons, creature models (with animations), to say nothing of actual modules. People have hacked in ridable horses. It's amazing.

Right now you can pick up the NWN Diamond edition in stores and it comes with the original game plus both expansion packs PLUS some of Bio's "premium modules" they sell now.

Meanwhile, online, you can play with others in a way you never could play BG2. Since the game has a DM client, there are a ton of people running bona fide campaigns. Neverwinterconnections.com is a matching service to hook up people to play together. There's also a list of "persistent worlds" a mile long, some of which actual merit being played; they're like mini-MMOs (or graphical MUDs, perhaps) where 20-60 players will play all hours of the day and you can return and keep playing the same character.

One ambitious project even attempted to create a huge set of servers which connected the Forgotten Realms all togther (ALFA, although it's sad that enthusiasm and competence don't always go hand in hand, although the Roleplay level there is pretty amazing).

So all in all, Baldur's Gate 2 for someone who just wanted to buy a game off the shelf and play it was certainly a better game, in my opinion, especially for its time. But NWN quite literallly broke new ground. For those who were willing to go out and look for fresh content and people to play with, it continued to pay dividends. NWN, if you got into it, is probably pound for pound the best value any game has ever delivered. I probably played all the way through BG2 at least a half dozen times, maybe more - there are some good addons for it, including David Gaider's hacks that make some of the "big" fights a lot more difficult, add NPCs and quests, etc. But even still, that amount of time and fun is dwarfed by the play of NWN because of the fact that I can always go grab something fresh. I think you really have to be a fan of that TYPE of game to fall in love with NWN, but if you are, I think it's unmatched on the whole.

Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is the current "Killer App" for the 360, although Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion may give it a run for it's money when it comes out next week.

Check out the response from the development company (NetDevil) on how the ads will be integrated into the game.
Of particular interest:

"One thing I always felt was missing from AA was the remnants of modern real world culture, which if you take a look around any urban center, is oversaturated with ads, billboards, posters, etc. It's a fact of the landscape. For example, why wouldn't you find an old rusted out Coke can in this world?"

"We get total artistic control over which ads go into the game so nothing would ever go into the game that does anything but add to the fact that this is a post apocalyptic earth. Each ad is custom made by Massive to add to our worlds existing look and feel. All the ads would be from old earth companies no longer around, not modern ads as if the companies existed on earth during the time period of Auto Assault."

They have a valid point. Real world brands shown destroyed and decrepit in a post-apocalyptic environment could add a sense
of realism to the game. The real question is implementation. If they get one ad buyer and all you see if Nike ads, it really won't matter how well they are integrated into the environment.

yes, but the japanese government announced yesterday that hi-def movie players [the ps3 included] will be forced to support analog output until the end of the decade. so HDTV owners arent going to be the only ones able to utilize a blu ray or hd dvd drive. since the new blu ray spec places the us and japan in the same region code, the us will most likely be immune to the drm and hdcp-only fears and able to use their blu ray player on any form of tv [provided they have the correct cables] for a few years as well.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/695/695919p1.html

His two cents are odd considering that everything I've seen indicates a worldwide launch in November: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/696/696054p1.html

Just in:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/696/696054p1.html

All you can do is wait and see if this occurs however if they push back again then they (Sony) are in trouble.

Consider this: Despite the fact that nobody outside of sony has even seen a game run, the PS3 gets more headline coverage than Xbox360, which can be bought today.

I guess nobody went to E3 in May of 2005 and saw the PS3 Unreal demo: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/614/614712p1.html

When it comes to PS3, You obviously don't know what you're talking about. Plenty of people outside of Sony have seen code running on a PS3. There were hundreds of developers at PS3 devcon a couple months ago and we've had PS3 devkits for months before that as well. Sony will also be showing PS3 demos and tutorials for those people going to GDC in San Jose next week. Go there and see a PS3 in action for yourself. You can still sign up at http://www.gdconf.com/

The 2005 E3 Demo info, the PS3 devcon, the release of devkits, and the upcoming GDC talks have all been publicly mentioned on a variety of game-related websites. Maybe you should check the facts before you say no one else has seen code run on the PS3.

From the summary:
Within 2 minutes, I had to stop and step away from the computer

Silent Hill 3 for PC review.

btw, your usename and UID seem a bit weirdly familiar...

IGN has a much better write up, with better photos: http://ds.ign.com/articles/695/695157p1.html

I always rate the credibility of a game reviewer on the INVERSE of their score for the game Master of Orion III, which was widely acknowledged to be an awful title.

Yet you'll find reviewers who give it quite a good score "4.3/5". And they'll wax poetic about some of the worst and repetitive features of the game. "I always turn up the speakers when I've gotten a diplomatic message to hear the wonderful alien voices."

Compare/Contrast the following reviews. Who would YOU go to for the truth next time?
#1: http://www.stratosgroup.com/reviews/games.php?sele cted=0303moo3 "4.3 out of 5"
#2: http://pc.ign.com/articles/386/386281p6.html "9.2 out of 10 and Editor's Choice Award"
#3: http://www.avault.com/reviews/review_temp.asp?game =moo3&page=3 "3 out of 5"
#4: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/masteroforion3 /review.html?q=master%20of%20orion
"6.7 out of 10"

You sound in desperate need of Painkiller.

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/painkiller_012904_ 003.jpg
To
http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/painkiller_012904_ 005.jpg

In just a few easy shotgun blasts.

Not once since Doom has slaughtering everything that moves been quite so fun.

You sound in desperate need of Painkiller.

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/painkiller_012904_ 003.jpg
To
http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/painkiller_012904_ 005.jpg

In just a few easy shotgun blasts.

Not once since Doom has slaughtering everything that moves been quite so fun.

(By the way, I see both the titles you identify are not only sequels, but sequels of sequels of sequels. Any news on whether there'll be anything new for the PS3?)

Lair and Warhawk both look interesting, at least to me, and it looks like both of those titles may be launch or near-launch titles in the US. But, of course, humorously, since they aren't sequels, we don't know if they'll actually be any good and nobody really cares about them.

(By the way, I see both the titles you identify are not only sequels, but sequels of sequels of sequels. Any news on whether there'll be anything new for the PS3?)

Lair and Warhawk both look interesting, at least to me, and it looks like both of those titles may be launch or near-launch titles in the US. But, of course, humorously, since they aren't sequels, we don't know if they'll actually be any good and nobody really cares about them.

As far as I am aware Sony never actually announced a spring release for America.

But more to the point, it's not that Sony isn't hitting their announced ship date, it's that the ship date is so long after the 360 ship date. Until the PS3 ships, the entire console gaming market can't decide if they should (a) get a 360, (b) get a PS3, or (c) stick with what they got. And if you don't know what console you'll have in a year, you're not going to buy any games.

PS2 games absolutely can and will continue to sell briskly right up to the PS3 release...

Human Hean went on to create, among other games, Rune, Dead Man's Hand and the upcoming Prey.

March 12, 2002 - Prey, its very name is the definition of vaporware, and is even perhaps responsible for a lot of the Duke Nukem nay saying.

This has been reviewed on IGN and G4TV, among others... way back in 2005.

And it's not your average game. More like math and reading "brain teasers" (no Mario involved).

8 out of 10, actually.

Since they technically own the rights of the Ogre series too :)

Linkage right here. Surprised to see no other comments have picked up on this yet.

All hail our Square Enix overlords.

Nothing's for sure until the reviews come out, but these previews are positive: http://ps2.ign.com/articles/686/686719p1.html http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/tombraidervii/n ews.html?sid=6143861

Don't give up just yet... there are good things coming. Sure a load of tripe as well (cough cough EA's Black cough) but it just says you might have to search a little to find the goodness.

Start here:
http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/651/651334/vid_ 1260570.html
Could be fun and they're not even showing any game graphics.

The big N is not the only one, try this:
http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/748/748484/vid_1196 815.html
Though, we'll see if they deliver.

And from MS, well there is always Live! where you can voice chat with other hardcor... Zzzzzz...
(just kidding)

Point is, there is an upsurge right now on new ideas... just not from MS and unfotunately the same ol' crap gets the most media $$ / attention.

Don't fret and support new game ideas by buying the games you like!

Don't give up just yet... there are good things coming. Sure a load of tripe as well (cough cough EA's Black cough) but it just says you might have to search a little to find the goodness.

Start here:
http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/651/651334/vid_ 1260570.html
Could be fun and they're not even showing any game graphics.

The big N is not the only one, try this:
http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/748/748484/vid_1196 815.html
Though, we'll see if they deliver.

And from MS, well there is always Live! where you can voice chat with other hardcor... Zzzzzz...
(just kidding)

Point is, there is an upsurge right now on new ideas... just not from MS and unfotunately the same ol' crap gets the most media $$ / attention.

Don't fret and support new game ideas by buying the games you like!

Yeah, I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you: http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Gameworld.Lis t

Don't get me wrong, there are disadvantages, but, the point is, it can work. A true MMPORPG can't get away with this because it works a little differently relying on large volumes of users as a key part of the environment, however, these communities are alive and kicking and some are doing quite well and rather fun to play on.

They're working on tying in Eyetoy and some kind of controller similar to the Revolution controller.

WTF? This isn't really suprising or news. Surely someone remembers the EyeToy demo from E32k5. This was news then (and long before the Revolution controller was announced).

What Nintendo should be wary of at this point is relying on a special, possibly expensive, controller to sell their system. The EyeToy can do the same basic things, using an entirely different approach. In fact, it may be able to handle more, as (looking at the demo) one can control two (and probably more) cups using one EyeToy, but you'd need a separate controller for the Rev.

This isn't to say Nintendo won't have awesome and innovative games that take advantage of the controller. Given the DS, they undoubtedly will. The point though is marketing... Sony can say "oh, we can do that too", and they lose their edge.

dead rising is where it's at

You, a mall, thousands of zombies, plenty of things to hit them with. No rules :)

I apologize for linking to ign, but the gameplay video is insanely awesome:
http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/748/748396/vids _1.html

I mean, what game can you take traffic cones and stick them over the heads of zombies? Or take shower heads from a hardware store and stick them into the zombie's heads and get an instant blood shower? Or use a giant cactus to fight them with?

Another good upcoming Xbox 360 game: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (16 player online co-op). 4 player offline splitscreen.

For what it's worth, Matt Casamassina from IGN seems to be hearing similar things, as he's posted on his blog. He is a Nintendo-focused journalist, but he's far from a Nintendo fanboy, and IGN has strong ties with the industry. I think it's safe to say that the reports of developer interest are indeed accurate.

"Nintendo itself has not yet commented on a Revolution price point, except to confirm that it would sell for less than $299. However, if the price of Revolution development hardware is any indication, the system could be very cheap indeed. Studios tell IGN that Revolution SDKs sell for about $2,000, which is thousands of dollars cheaper than a PSP SDK, let alone an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 one."

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/690/690730p1.ht ml