I’ve just received an email from Futuremark Publishing stating that the Official Playstation Magazine has been delayed until April 22 because they’ve managed to secure the first ever review of GTA4.
So mark your calenders! Make sure you purchase the magazine on 22nd April to be one of the first readers of the GTA4 review.
It almost sounds too good to be true. Almost? It is too good to be true. Could Cry Engine 2 on consoles really look any where near as good as Crysis on the PC? Crytek’s Engine Business Manager, Harald Seeley, states that they expect the console versions to “look like they’re running at high settings, or nearly high settings, on a PC.”
Yes, we definitely tailor the engine specifically to each platform. More than just the difference in CPU and video hardware capabilities of PCs and consoles is at play here. So are the much smaller memory budgets we must work with, the lack of a hard disk on some models, and the acceptance requirements of the hardware vendors themselves. All have an effect on how we approach each version of the engine.
The surprising thing has been how well the consoles can perform visually, once this tailoring is in place. We expect the final outcome will result in games that look like they’re running at high settings, or nearly high settings, on a PC. Actually, we found it as much or more challenging to address the memory limitations of the consoles when converting our current AI system, as we did while converting our rendering engine or physics system, which was not something you might have expected at the start.
Swedish retailer Webhallen has today revealed the first image of a new PlayStation 3 bundle which will be launching in Europe alongside Grand Theft Auto IV. The bundle includes the standard 40GB PlayStation 3 console and a copy of the game.
The price listed is 4499kr, which is the same as the Gran Turismo 5 bundle which launched just over a week ago. While availability in other countries has not been announced, this indicates that the GTA bundle should sell for £299.99 in the United Kingdom and €399.99 elsewhere.
In an interview with Gamepro, Steinberg talked about how their company hasn’t had the opportunity to have a keynote speech yet for this year. Even is this is currently the case, their victory of the format wars is good enough a reward.
Furthermore, Steinberg said that Sony will definitely keep the ball rolling this year with big titles on their way to gamers out there in the market. Now, this is something that would make people jump up for joy.
What’s notable about his interview is that he hinted that there might be movie and music download services in the feature. Also he mentioned the possibility of more downloadable PS1 and PS2 games on the PlayStation Store. Currently, the company has “on-going” sessions” to have more third-party games on the online store.
As for the Home Beta, Steinberg said that they don’t want the public to see it yet until it has reached the company’s standards. Well, all that waiting that you guys have been enduring might be worth it when it’s finally released.
It has just been confirmed that Gran Turismo 5 (and GT5 Prologue) will feature car deformation, most likely in the form of downloadable content.
The PSN’s senior director, Susan Panico, has told the Official PlayStation mag that Sony will be “opening up the Home beta to the public very soon“. Up until now Home’s only been accessible to a select few early beta testers, so this is welcome news for the rest of us, especially in the wake of Warhawk’s freshly-added Home content.
Frustrated with what what Capcom’s Devil May Cry 4 and Lost Planet: Extreme Condition had to make you go through just to play it? Well, it really is quite bothersome to install 5GB of a game to the hard disk and wait for 20 minutes for everything to finish. The reason behind this is the difference between the DVD and Blu-ray.
The issue here is that both discs are treated differently by the console through reading the data found within. DVD drives read discs at varying speeds, while Blu-ray discs are read at a specific speed. So if existing DVD formats are placed into the Blu-ray, do expect to wait awhile. Imagine the size of the DVD in a Blu-ray disc being read at a constant speed.
Now, in order to resolve this issue, installation has become key. If data is placed in the hard disk, it can be read at a faster rate. It does greatly reduce the amount needed for loading the game, but you have to wait out the installation process first.
Another solution found to be useful is to copy a game’s data on the disc over and over so that the drive has more areas to look for the same exact data. Bethesda Softworks executive producer Todd Howard confirmed the use of this technique for the upcoming title, Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC).
Well, what’s notable from this situation is that with Unreal Tournament 3, they have made the installation process entire optional. Even if Epic Games highly recommends doing it, they won’t order or require you to.
When the BBDC cleared GTA4 for release, they had to look at (then detail) everything the game had to offer, Like this:
During gameplay the character can pick up prostitutes… What follows is an un-detailed portrayal of masturbation, fellatio and intercourse. The character can also visit lap dancing clubs and request a private dance.
You can read more of the leaked BBFC report at the link below.
The release of SOCOM Confrontation via the PlayStation Network this fall may have the mass appeal to be a digitally distributed “killer app” for the PlayStation fan base, but Sony has plenty of unique offerings over the next few months, some of which we are already intimately familiar with. Echochrome and Wipeout HD haven’t been lacking in exposure, but MTV’s Stephen Totilo goes hands-on with two more PSN originals, Elefunk and PixelJunk Monsters Encore to get a handle on what’s next for the Store.
According to the report, it would appear that Echochrome may very well be opting for a download from the PC and PlayStation Stores. The hard copy release in Japan didn’t exactly light a fire under the PSP community.
- “Echochrome” — This is Sony’s hyped MC Escher-style puzzle game. I previewed it in December and now have a full PS3 build. This thing seems just about complete to me. More to come on it this afternoon. The game will be out in early May.
- “Elefunk” — From the title you might expect a music game starring elephants. I did. Instead, this game requires players to use a set number of struts, squares and other beam supports to build bridges for cute but gravity-prone chasms. If you’re smart enough, you can build a bridge that will support their efforts to traverse deep gaps. The game will be out in May.
- “PixelJunk Monsters: Encore” — This expansion to the tower-defense game “PixelJunk Monsters” adds the island of Toki to the original game’s island of Tiki. Looks like there are at least a dozen new levels, but I need to play more to learn more. Add-on pack will be out in late April
- “WipEout HD” — Even on standard-definition TVs this game looks like the slickest futuristic racer since “F-Zero GX.” I’ve asked Multiplayer “WipEout” aficionado Patrick Klepek to investigate this game. He’ll have impressions later today. The game will be out in late May or early June.
Who do you think won E3 08?
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