rumor of the week: developers have supposedly been told the 2.40 firmware update will include
– in game messaging
– achievements/trophies
– ability to play your own mp3s during games
Basically, things certain other systems had long ago. Though, from reading the coverage, it’s not really clear if this means “these things will be now work on existing games” or “developers will be able to start integrating from this point forward, but you won’t see it until much later.” For instance, many of the PS3 games I’ve played, exclusive to the system or not, have had some sort of achievement deal, but I’m not sure if it’ll hook into the overall PS3 Trophy system when this comes out, or if at least patches will be required. This document also does not state when 2.40 would come out, though people are guessing June. I’d like to definitively say it will not come out in May.
on the shelves
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars [metacritic] – Yet Another FPS, this one’s a port of a PC game from last October, being released simultaneously on 360 and PS3. (360’s version is noted as better everywhere.) The game gets better reviews than Haze last week, but is really a different niche. Haze was built around the story mode, with multiplayer built in. Quake Wars has the very bare bones of a story and is more meant to be a multiplayer LAN party game. The reviews vary depending on how willing the reviewers are to write off single player mode – it’s a game to get if you like playing with random people online or you have 12 friends who are all going to buy at the same time, but not if you’re just playing it alone. Bizarrely, there’s no voice chat in this game, which is a necessity in this genre. There are generic voice commands, but that’s not quite the same.
Downloadable Games (none for 3 weeks)
PS1 Classics (none for 4 weeks)
Add on Content
– Rock Band {$2 singles, or $15 for the whole album}: all songs from The Cars
* “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”
* “My Best Friend’s Girl”
* “Moving in Stereo”
* “Just What I Needed”
* “I’m in Touch with Your World”
* “Good Times Roll”
* “Don’t Cha Stop”
* “Bye Bye Love”
* “All Mixed up”
Cut to $1 until 06/05
“Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
“Dirty Little Secret” by All-American Rejects
Game Demos (none for two weeks)
Game Videos
– Top Spin 3
– Battlefield Bad Company (2, dev diary, character blog)
– Project Origin (teaser)
– Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (2, game play video)
Movie/Blu-Ray Trailer
– Enchanted
– No Country for Old Men
PS3 Theme
PS3 Wallpaper
– Prince of Persia Prodigy (2)
over the horizon (last updated 05/30)
06/03: Grid (metacritic)
06/03: The Bourne Conspiracy (metacritic)
06/03: The Incredible Hulk (metacritic)
06/03: LEGO Indiana Jones (metacritic)
06/03: Kung Fu Panda (metacritic)
06/10: Dragonball Z: Burst Limit (metacritic)
06/10: NASCAR 09 (metacritic)
06/12: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (metacritic)
06/23: Battlefield: Bad Company (and Gold Edition) (metacritic)
06/24: Hellboy: The Science of Evil (metacritic)
06/24: Wall-E (metacritic)
06/24: Hail to the Chimp
06/24: Overlord: Raising Hell (metacritic)
06/23: Top Spin 3 (metacritic)
06/24: Heist (metacritic)
06/29: Guitar Hero Aerosmith and bundle
07/08: Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (metacritic)
07/08: Beijing Olympics 2008
07/08: Monster Madness: Grave Danger
07/15: NCAA Football ’09
07/25: WipeoutHD (download only)
07/29: Soulcalibur IV
08/04: Baja
08/05: Altered Species
08/12: Madden NFL 09 and (20th Anniversary Edition
08/19: Rapala Fishing Frenzy
09/02: TNA Impact!
09/09: Legendary: The Box