Battlefield: Bad Company

Some of you may have heard about EA's upcoming entry in the Battlefield franchise, while others are wondering what I'm talking about, and when I'll get to the point. For the second group, here you go: 90% destructible environments with today's weaponry and technology, and you're AWOL American soldiers after "gold and revenge". If this were Hollywood, it'd be a less-than-promising action flick in the making. But as a video game for PS3 and Xbox 360 (possible PC and PSP releases later on) slated for release on August 1st of this year, it's gets a reaction that's a little (lot) different from us. This should be a change of pace from both the old-school Battlefield ('42, Vietnam, BF2), and the newer 2142-style of structure and gameplay, while still retaining that Battlefield element, with a strong touch of dark humor thrown in. Check out the teaser video that was released today on Xbox Live below, and view it at higher resolutions here.

- Glock

Sony won't cut the price of the PS3 anytime soon

Says Phil Harrison, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President. He comments that he is in no hurry to cut the price of the PS3, a move which many analysts believe could give the sales department over at Sony a boost. He also gives a brief comparisson of the Playstation and Wii platforms,

"I think Nintendo, although I am very respectful of the innovation in Wii, and I think everybody should be respectful of it, I'm not sure that it has the technology base to propel that platform in the long-term. So I think their platform lifecycle is inherently going to be shorter, so they could have learned from us in terms of the high technology approach."

Ironically he says this about Microsofts Xbox 360,

"Microsoft's approach I thinkis far too built around a single game IP, one IP, and they could learn the benefits of a killer catalog rather than a killer application. And having the broad software support in multiple genres, in multiple categories, in multiple age groups is what really propels a platform for the long-term. So I think those are the differences that we see between the platforms."

this is coming from a company that had one of the worst launch line up's in a long time. Could this be a denial stage for Sony? I say that only when the PS3 catches up in sale numbers to the Xbox and the Wii will I listen to their criticism of other platforms.

Read the rest here.

European Gamers: Don't Get Rid of Your PS2

So there you sit, eagerly awaiting the PS3's release on March 23rd. Cash in hand (copious amounts), bated breath, the whole bit. Just be sure to bring along enough cash to buy a few games for your newly-acquired PS3, as well. Oh, you figured you'd get a single game, and just play your old PS2 titles alongside it until you could afford more next(new?)-gen-only games? Good luck, because Sony's cutting newly-mended corners. Sony's decided to replace some of the chips in the console with software "components", specifically those dealing with PS2 backwards-compatibility functions. This decision was caused by a desperate need to cut production costs, since Sony loses money on every new console it sells. Said a Sony spokesman,

"The backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as the U.S. and Japan models."

With buyers in the UK (for example) paying £425 (about $830USD vs. our $599USD price) for the console, that's going to hurt. Yes, we're all very excited about the pretty new games, but a lot of people are going to be unhappy that they have to use their old console to play the games they already own. Especially those gamers who are helping fund their venture into the new-gen gaming world by, say, selling their PS2 on eBay. I doubt that enough people are stuck in that scenario to seriously hurt PS3 sales, but it's not going to help them.

Analyst Alex Kwiatowski from British market research group Vertical Market Technologies says that those "nostalgic" gamers concerned with backwards-compatibility have "steely hearts", and just need to learn to enjoy the latest games, because they are exceedingly pretty. Well, not exactly, but that's the gist of it. It's not that any of us have cardiovascular organs comprised of iron-based alloys...it's that we are even more broke than Sony is. Bookmark this page and check it on March 23 or later to see which of your old games will be compatible with the new Playstation.

- Glock

Wii takes the lead, Mercenaries 2 to other platforms

Take a look at some of these sales figures that were released by the NPD Group.

"The Wii sold around 436K units, easily beating the 360's 294K units and the PS3's 244K units. And the PS2 also continues to outperform the PS3; Sony's six-year-old system sold 299K units."

More and more, the future of the PS3 looks even less hopeful.


In other news, Mercenaries 2 will be heading to the Xbox 360, PC, and the PS2 this year. The game started life as an exclusive for the PS3, however the CEO of Pandemic Studios, Andrew Goldman, commented that it was developed

"from the beginning [as] an experience that accentuates their [platforms'] different strengths."

Everything looks better on the big screen!

Some guys hooked up their Wii up to a movie theater screen, and the results look very impressive; now if only we could get that to fit in our living rooms.

Stupidity Silenced in Halo 3

If you've ever played with someone like this (warning: very strong language), then you'll appreciate Bungie's decision to include what they are calling the "A-hole Button". They've mapped the back button on the controller with this colorful moniker, and when used in conjunction with the right stick, a player may bring up the scoreboard and select the offending mouth to silence. Players' responses to the news have been varied, with one constant. Some think that it should be a kick feature, not a mute feature. Some think that there should be a visual representation on the scoreboard denoting mutes given to an offensive player. Others think that a rating system for players being muted would be a no-brainer addition to the feature (think Slashdot's post moderation scheme, especially the "threshold" aspect). I think that's a brilliant idea, personally. Still others think that the feature is long overdue, as many multiplayer games with comm features have had this feature for years now. Regardless of any side input such as these, everyone agrees: 'tis a good thing. For those of you that are wondering, the A-hole Button won't conflict with any of your XBL account settings:

Any muted player you have selected in your Xbox Live account overrides Halo 3’s new system, but that should actually enhance the choice of maroons you’re editing out of your gameplay. Best of all, it means fewer wasted or frustrating gameplay sessions. We’re doing our best to come up with lots of smart solutions for stuff like this, but honestly, we can’t be parents to some of these poltroons. We’re much more concerned with giving you guys the tools you need to silence them.

Never met the guy, but you have to love someone who uses words like "maroon" (throwback to old Bugs Bunny cartoons), and "poltroons" (just a fun word).

- Glock

Xbox Zephyr on May 1st, and 1 in 45,000 chance of asteroid striking in 2036

The first news is of a new Xbox 360 codenamed "Zephyr" which is supposedly coming out on May 1st. Some of the rumored upgrades are a new cooler core, HDMI input, quieter DVD-rom and an extra 100GB of space. All sounds great, and it looks like its aimed to compete directly with the PS3 with a price of $479.00.


Also in other news, astronomers have presented the possibility of an asteroid-Earth collision to the UN, which claims that we have a 1 in 45,000 chance of getting hit in the year 2036. Although the odds are pretty low, the risk is very, very high. I think this is a good time to start and update or develop a global network for asteroid tracking.

Gears of War to PC, plus new HD S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video!

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be that soon, however when TeamXbox interviewed Epic's VP, Mark Rein, he had this to say:

"People ask me, “Are you going to do it on PC?” Yeah, eventually…I don’t think that’s any great secret that we would like to do it on PC, but for now it’s a 360 game. Eventually we’ll get around to a PC version. I just don’t know when."

Finally PC gamers will get a chance to experience what all the hype was about. It also goes on to mention a possible sequel, a pretty obvious decision considering its popularity. Read the rest here.


There is also a great HD-quality video of the much anticipated game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. here in 720p. It looks like the developers have kept their promises and the game is looking very polished.