Crossbar
10-20-2006, 02:12 PM
We spent most of yesterday evening playing PlayStation 3 games ranging from the genuinely superb to the humdrum-but-still-impressive. It’s fair to say that, despite our extensive coverage of Sony’s bumbling difficulties these last few months, we’re finally prepared to run around the room, arms waving, squealing in delight. Read our impressions…
They cut the games off for rapper Ludacris at the tail end of Sony’s big PlayStation 3 press event. The crowd, by then maybe some 250 or so strong, filtered down from the second and third floors of the San Francisco studios Sony had chosen to host the venue, for equal parts free food, alcoholic libations, and hip-hop. And although the music was suitably rocking, everyone wanted the games turned back on.
Sony and its third-party allies showed off some 20 or so titles at yesterday’s event, offering playable versions of the sublime (Resistance: Fall of Man) to the gorgeous but ultimately plebian (Marvel Ultimate Alliance). And Next-Gen was there to separate wheat from chaff.
Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac Games, Sony)—A gorgeous first-person shooter, Resistance: Fall of Man puts a series of vaguely futuristic weapons in players’ hands for an all-out war against space invaders in what would have been the post World War II era had that conflict been fought. These aliens want shooting with, say, the sniper rifle that can slow time for brief periods, or the gun that can lock on to a target and blast it with bullets even when the gun’s pointed in another direction. Multiplayer action supports 40 players at one time, and if this is mankind’s last stand, man it’s going to be a sweet, sweet apocalypse.
Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega, Sega)—The Queen Mother of all 3D fighting games makes its triumphant next-generation debut on PlayStation 3 with 17 brawlers. The game’s roster includes old favorites such as Sarah Bryant, Akira, and Kage-Maru, and adds two new fighters to the mix: the masked wrestler El Blaze and the monkey kung-fu artist Eileen. In addition to smooth 3D brawling, Virtua Fighter 5 also offers a wealth of character customization options allowing players to, say, deck their chosen warrior out with jewelry, tattoos, glasses, and the like.
Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts, Electronic Arts)—Boxers can be introduced, time and again, to their new best friend pain in the reworked Fight Night Round 3. The game was decidedly excellent when it saw release for Xbox 360, and now it’s been improved with a split-screen mode with a first-person view. Electronic Arts has also altered the graphics so the boxers don’t appear as sweaty plastic robotoids, but rather humans (or a decent representation thereof) who glisten when they sweat and look absolutely hideous when they take 50 too many to the face.
MotorStorm (Evolution Studios, Sony)—In MotorStorm, riders don’t just wipe out. They make an art form of it, rocketing off their bikes and spinning, twisting, tumbling, and rolling in slow-motion close-ups. The first- and third-person off-road racing here is stunning, and comes complete with picturesque dirt and sand-stages, as well as vehicles that shatter, rocketing parts off in destructive sprays. Players can drive a variety of vehicles here, including big rigs, motorcycles, buggies, and ATVs, with each having its own particular strengths and weaknesses in terms of how it moves and navigates through the tracks.
Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch, Activision)—Uncle Adolf takes it on the chin here, as the Allies storm the beach at Normandy and liberate France in the year of our lord 1944 A.D. Players take the role of four different heroes in the first-person perspective as they shoot Nazis, blow Nazis up with grenades, and drive vehicles with the intent to kill Nazis. The game’s cut-scenes serve as load times, allowing Call of Duty to feature almost seamless play, and the new developer Treyarch has created this game specifically for next-generation platforms.
Lair (Factor 5, Sony)—The unfriendly skies are best flown on a killer dragon’s back. Lair lets players control a huge, fire-breathing beast of burden simply by tilting the Sixaxis or thrusting it forward to perform dragon-to-dragon attacks. It happened to be good, very good to have eyes to witness, say, a huge dragon landing on one of Lair’s battlefields and tearing into enemy troops with tooth, claw, and flames while its scaly brown hide was penetrated by thousands of spears and arrows.
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega, Sega)—Sonic, Silver, and Shadow form, if you will, what historians will someday refer to as the hedgehog holy trinity. All three characters were playable at Sony’s event, but the true star proved to be the new character, Silver. Silver possesses telekinetic abilities which allow him to levitate for short times, arrest enemy projectiles in mid-air and hurl them back at their sender, and wreck the holy hell out of the game’s environments to get to new areas. Oh, and the game’s sharp, bright, colorful stages are visual cotton candy to be greedily gobbled as the game whips along at a hyper-kinetic pace.
Virtua Tennis (Sega, Sega)—Ah, courtly love. Sega’s Virtua Tennis offers real-world racketeers such as Martina Hingis, Roger Federer, and Venus and Serena Williams. The game is remarkably smooth and fluid, and its control system is accommodating enough that even novice players can take to the courts with some confidence. Anything but simple, well-meant praise would seem hyperbolic; Tennis has balls aplenty, pardon the boorishness.
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)—It is entirely possible to dress up a pig. Blazing Angels was a mediocre World War II flight-combat game on Xbox 360. Spit, polish, and Sixaxis-tilt controls have transformed the game into something playable, and certainly something that warrants inclusion on this list for its surprising metamorphosis. Players manuever their fighters with simple, subtle movements of the Sixaxis controller, and it just feels right. In the words of eminent sage Prince, color us peach and black, color us taken aback.
Blast Factor (Sony, Sony)—A Geometry Wars-style shoot-’em-up available via download, Blast Factor proved to be one of Sony’s pleasant gamer’s day surprises. The goal is to blast a series of whatsits ad nauseam, but the neat twist is that the Sixaxis can be used to flip the trippy, pulsing, and colorful game worlds in order to give players a better shot at certain targets. Sony promises the game is smart enough to adjust its difficulty to match players’ performances.
next-gen (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4053&Itemid=2)
Great news!!!!
They cut the games off for rapper Ludacris at the tail end of Sony’s big PlayStation 3 press event. The crowd, by then maybe some 250 or so strong, filtered down from the second and third floors of the San Francisco studios Sony had chosen to host the venue, for equal parts free food, alcoholic libations, and hip-hop. And although the music was suitably rocking, everyone wanted the games turned back on.
Sony and its third-party allies showed off some 20 or so titles at yesterday’s event, offering playable versions of the sublime (Resistance: Fall of Man) to the gorgeous but ultimately plebian (Marvel Ultimate Alliance). And Next-Gen was there to separate wheat from chaff.
Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac Games, Sony)—A gorgeous first-person shooter, Resistance: Fall of Man puts a series of vaguely futuristic weapons in players’ hands for an all-out war against space invaders in what would have been the post World War II era had that conflict been fought. These aliens want shooting with, say, the sniper rifle that can slow time for brief periods, or the gun that can lock on to a target and blast it with bullets even when the gun’s pointed in another direction. Multiplayer action supports 40 players at one time, and if this is mankind’s last stand, man it’s going to be a sweet, sweet apocalypse.
Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega, Sega)—The Queen Mother of all 3D fighting games makes its triumphant next-generation debut on PlayStation 3 with 17 brawlers. The game’s roster includes old favorites such as Sarah Bryant, Akira, and Kage-Maru, and adds two new fighters to the mix: the masked wrestler El Blaze and the monkey kung-fu artist Eileen. In addition to smooth 3D brawling, Virtua Fighter 5 also offers a wealth of character customization options allowing players to, say, deck their chosen warrior out with jewelry, tattoos, glasses, and the like.
Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts, Electronic Arts)—Boxers can be introduced, time and again, to their new best friend pain in the reworked Fight Night Round 3. The game was decidedly excellent when it saw release for Xbox 360, and now it’s been improved with a split-screen mode with a first-person view. Electronic Arts has also altered the graphics so the boxers don’t appear as sweaty plastic robotoids, but rather humans (or a decent representation thereof) who glisten when they sweat and look absolutely hideous when they take 50 too many to the face.
MotorStorm (Evolution Studios, Sony)—In MotorStorm, riders don’t just wipe out. They make an art form of it, rocketing off their bikes and spinning, twisting, tumbling, and rolling in slow-motion close-ups. The first- and third-person off-road racing here is stunning, and comes complete with picturesque dirt and sand-stages, as well as vehicles that shatter, rocketing parts off in destructive sprays. Players can drive a variety of vehicles here, including big rigs, motorcycles, buggies, and ATVs, with each having its own particular strengths and weaknesses in terms of how it moves and navigates through the tracks.
Call of Duty 3 (Treyarch, Activision)—Uncle Adolf takes it on the chin here, as the Allies storm the beach at Normandy and liberate France in the year of our lord 1944 A.D. Players take the role of four different heroes in the first-person perspective as they shoot Nazis, blow Nazis up with grenades, and drive vehicles with the intent to kill Nazis. The game’s cut-scenes serve as load times, allowing Call of Duty to feature almost seamless play, and the new developer Treyarch has created this game specifically for next-generation platforms.
Lair (Factor 5, Sony)—The unfriendly skies are best flown on a killer dragon’s back. Lair lets players control a huge, fire-breathing beast of burden simply by tilting the Sixaxis or thrusting it forward to perform dragon-to-dragon attacks. It happened to be good, very good to have eyes to witness, say, a huge dragon landing on one of Lair’s battlefields and tearing into enemy troops with tooth, claw, and flames while its scaly brown hide was penetrated by thousands of spears and arrows.
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega, Sega)—Sonic, Silver, and Shadow form, if you will, what historians will someday refer to as the hedgehog holy trinity. All three characters were playable at Sony’s event, but the true star proved to be the new character, Silver. Silver possesses telekinetic abilities which allow him to levitate for short times, arrest enemy projectiles in mid-air and hurl them back at their sender, and wreck the holy hell out of the game’s environments to get to new areas. Oh, and the game’s sharp, bright, colorful stages are visual cotton candy to be greedily gobbled as the game whips along at a hyper-kinetic pace.
Virtua Tennis (Sega, Sega)—Ah, courtly love. Sega’s Virtua Tennis offers real-world racketeers such as Martina Hingis, Roger Federer, and Venus and Serena Williams. The game is remarkably smooth and fluid, and its control system is accommodating enough that even novice players can take to the courts with some confidence. Anything but simple, well-meant praise would seem hyperbolic; Tennis has balls aplenty, pardon the boorishness.
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)—It is entirely possible to dress up a pig. Blazing Angels was a mediocre World War II flight-combat game on Xbox 360. Spit, polish, and Sixaxis-tilt controls have transformed the game into something playable, and certainly something that warrants inclusion on this list for its surprising metamorphosis. Players manuever their fighters with simple, subtle movements of the Sixaxis controller, and it just feels right. In the words of eminent sage Prince, color us peach and black, color us taken aback.
Blast Factor (Sony, Sony)—A Geometry Wars-style shoot-’em-up available via download, Blast Factor proved to be one of Sony’s pleasant gamer’s day surprises. The goal is to blast a series of whatsits ad nauseam, but the neat twist is that the Sixaxis can be used to flip the trippy, pulsing, and colorful game worlds in order to give players a better shot at certain targets. Sony promises the game is smart enough to adjust its difficulty to match players’ performances.
next-gen (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4053&Itemid=2)
Great news!!!!