Playstation 3

Digital High Episode 14

Rumor: PlayStation 4 Projects Underway

With many sources claiming the next Xbox will be out by Christmas 2013, it makes perfect sense Sony would also be prepping for the next console cycle.

While there hasn’t been much in the way of rumors regarding PlayStation 4, aside from it likely be released in 2014 rather than 2013, it is a safe bet that the prototype hardware is already in the hands of several developers as games being developed for the device are already well underway, according to a well-respected source via develop-online.net.  Of the sixteen first party studios owned by Sony, none have come out and said “yes we are making a new game” naturally, but the source claims many are in fact being developed already.  With developers such as Cliff Belinski saying Unreal Engine 4 will be ready some time in 2013 along with his team’s first next-gen title and studios such as Ubisoft already talking at length about their interests in better hardware, it’s pretty obvious that 2012 will be the final year in which we see PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 being the focus of the industry. 

Would you like to Touch My Katamari?

Remember back to the Tokyo Game Show when Namco announced a new Katamari
game was going to be coming to the Vita?  The game only had a working
title at the time but no more.  Touch My Katamari has been announced as the official title in the U.S. on the PlayStation Blog by Namco’s community manager Rich Bantegui.

Battlefield 3: DICE Breaks Down the Beta

Tommy Rydling, Jr. Product Manager at DICE, posted on the PlayStation Blog today, thanking PS3 players for their participation in the open Battlefield 3 beta.  DICE used the beta to test its network load and work on matchmaking.  Large open betas can provide invaluable information to developers and DICE was not short on beta participation.  The numbers are in and the run-down is pretty impressive!

Vita’s Genesis

An interesting video has been posted on the PlayStation blogabout the creation of the PlayStation Vita.

John Koller, Director of Hardware and Marketing, seems quite pleased with the company’s accomplishments in regards to Vita, though of course one would expect any head of a company to be excited about their next product

Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One Review

Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One is a dismal mess of failure.  It ignores what makes the series great, does a terrible job of incorporating the touted new feature and overall is just an unrefined, repetitive and dull entry in a previously brilliant series.

Gone are all the creative and interesting weapons that these games are known for, replaced instead by a much smaller arsenal where nothing stands out and only two or three of the weapons you ultimately unlock proove useful in most circumstances.  In single player, you feel like you are playing a shallow, less-compelling version of what was previously established that constantly reminds you this is a co-op game and playing solo was an afterthought on the designer’s part.  You would be forgiven for thinking the co-op mode of All 4 One is the best way to play, but it isn’t, which is downright strange and shocking. Between the excessive visual clutter, randomly broken platforming, terribly unforgiving ammo and health system and a camera so useless it actually clips through the game world regularly, you would have to be a master of self-control to not go into a spiralling rage from the many different ways this game will frustrate, annoy or just plain bore you.  

Dead Rising 2 Off the Record Review

Off the Record is an example of something that you really don’t see a whole lot of in the world of game releases, in a nut shell this is a tweaked version of last year’s Dead Rising 2. While that game did offer fans more of what they wanted from a sequel, it also came with everything you didn’t like about the first game as well as some problems of its own. Off the Record seems to be an attempt at addressing those flaws, and reintroducing Frank West as the protagonist this time to try and claw back in anyone that didn’t warm to Chuck Green for whatever reason. In many ways, Off the Record is successful in removing a lot of the flaws that this franchise has become known for, but it also brings into realisation what is still lacking from the game after so many iterations.