PS3 Firmware update 2.40 to be released July 2, 2008.

PS3 will get the much awaited Firmware 2.40 tomorrow. This latest update is different Firmware 2.36 (released last week) which improves "system stability when playing select PlayStation format software titles," but not mentioning which games.

With Firmware 2.40, SONY finally adds in-game XMB, custom soundtrack options and their own version of Xbox's Achievement system, known as Trophies.

The in-game XMB is a full scaled XMB, with new options to quit game, go online, access Playstation Store, change headset settings and even checking on which of your friends are online, all done without ever leaving the game. Note that the XMB will only work for PS3 games, so accessing the XMB by pressing the PS button on the controller while in a PSOne or PS2 game wont work.

Custom music option for games are also added to the XMB to play your own music, and SONY have added a control panel within the Music category with buttons to play, pause, skip and even to control the volume if its affects the game's audio effects. This feature needs to be added to the game, so it wont work on existing releases but it could be easily patched if the developer chooses to.

The biggest addition to Firmware 2.40 and to the PS3 itself is the Trophies system. Similar to Xbox360's Achievement system, PS3's Trophy system goes a few step further. Instead of points, different type of Bronze, Silver and Gold Trophies will be awarded for completing different tasks. Each game will also have one single Platinum Trophy is available for completing all Trophies in the game. You can then compare your Trophy collection with your friends, and the collection will also be added to you profile for all to see.

To make things more enticing, Sony have added a Level system to the Trophies. Gaining Trophies will level up your profile in PSN, giving gamers more incentive to collect as many Trophies they can find. This will definitely improve PS3's online community draw, as there are much more reason to getting Trophies as opposed to simply having Points to show.

All this and more will be available to PS3 users come tomorrow, so be ready to fully embrace SONY's new online community direction.

"PlayStation 3 the Best" budget titles for Japan.

A Japanese online retailer have revealed Sony latest marketing strategy, a line of budget titles for PS3. These budget titles started life on the PS1, moving on to PS2 and now caught up to PS3.

According to the retailer, PS3 owners in Japan will soon be able to pick up "PlayStation 3 the Best" versions of Resistance, FolksSoul (known as Folklore elsewhere), Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Gundam: Target in Sight, and Ridge Racer 7 for 3,800 yen each. That's a saving of 2,200 yen per title.

Expect to see them by March 19th, 2008.

Latest Game Titles available in MY stores.

Due to the excessive time from the previous update, the list of games out in MY stores is very long, and I have chosen to simply list the titles without the boxart. Fear not, boxarts will return very soon in the future.

Here's the long list, most of the big games of 2007 are now in stores, good luck in finding some of them.

PS3:
The Orange Box - (ASIAN) FPS
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men - (US) Action Shooter
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - (US) Action Shooter
Assasin's Creed - (US) Action
Time Crisis 4 (with Guncon3) - (ASIAN) Light Gun Shooter
Timeshift - (US) FPS
Soldier of Fortune: Payback - (US) FPS
Beowulf: The Game - (US) Action

Wii:
Wii Fit - (JPN) Fitness
Trauma Center: New Blood - (US) Medical Sim
Soul Calibur Legends - (US) Action
Geometry Wars: Galaxies - (US) Shooter
Ghost Squad - (US) Light Gun Shooter
Link's Crossnbow Training (without Zapper) - (US) Light Gun Shooter
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - (US) Light Gun Shooter
Tomb Raider Anniversary - (US) Action Shooter
Super Mario Galaxy - (US) Platformer

Xbox360:
Black Site: Area 51 - (US) FPS
Mass Effect - (US) Action
Soldier of Fortune: Payback - (US) FPS
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men - (US) Action Shooter
Beowulf: The Game - (US) Action
Assasin's Creed - (US) Action
Need For Speed: Prostreet - (US) Racing
Bioshock - (US) FPS

PS2:
Puzzle Quest - (US) Puzzle
Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots - (US) Action
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns - (US) Sports Sim
Need For Speed: Prostreet - (US) - Racing
Petz: Catz - (US) Pet Sim
Petz: Dogz - (US) Pet Sim

Dual Shock 3 out in Japan, is compatible with PS2 games.

Dual Shock 3 is out in Japan this week, retailing at Yen 5,500. Some PS3 games have rumble support out of the box (Ratchet and Clank Future, Uncharted), while some required updates (Resistance).

And its is rumble compatible with PS2 games too, guess now we know why Sony chose to use the older rumble technology as they rejected the new generation rumble technology from Immersion.

Good luck in finding one locally, but I won't give up hunting so soon. Else, you can import it as with all PS3 related stuff, its region free.

Pic from Engadget.

Latest Game Titles available in MY stores.

PS3:
Clive Barker's Jericho (US) - FPS

XBox360:

Assassin's Creed - (US) - Action

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (US) - Action

Wii:

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (US) - Sports

WWE Smackdown! VS Raw 2008 (EU) - Fighting

Victorious Boxers: Revolution (US) - Sports

Lego Star Wars : The Complete Saga (US) - Action

Asterix in the Olympic Games (EU) - Sports

PS2:

WWE Smackdown! VS Raw 2008 (EU) - Fighting

Asterix in the Olympic Games (EU) - Sports

Latest Game Titles available in MY stores.

Wii:

Super Mario Galaxy (JAP) - Action Platformer



The Simpsons Game (US) - Action

Ben 10: Protector of Earth (US) - Fighting

Bee Movie Game - (US) - Action

Namco Museum Remix - (US) - Retro Compilation





PS2:

Ben 10: Protector of Earth (US) - Fighting

Bee Movie Game (US) - Action

The Simpsons Game (US) - Action

Latest Game Titles available in MY stores.

PS3:

John Woo Presents: Stranglehold (US) - Shooter



John Woo Presents: Stranglehold Collectors Edition
- Inclusive of Hard Boiled blu-ray movie



The Simpsons Game (US) - Action




Xbox360:

TimeShift (US) - FPS



Naruto: Rise of Ninja (US) - Fighting



The Simpsons Game (US) - Action



Wii:

EA Playground (US) - Minigames Collection



Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal (US) - Action



The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Nights (US) - Platformer

PS2:

Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal (US) - Action

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Nights - Platformer

Guitar Heroes III's faulty guitar controller connections FIX-IT.

Some of the new Guitar Heroes III Les Paul guitar controller appear to have connection problems. The root cause seems to be at the connection point between the neck and the body of the guitar.

In order to save box space and mother earth (but it could be due to saving cost, but what do I know?), the Guitar Heroes III Les Paul guitar controller was "broken" into two parts, the neck and the body. These two parts are to be assembled to resemble a full guitar by connectors, and here is the problematic area.

It seems that the PCB board surface (on the neck) and the pin connectors (on the body) does not maintain contact very well. Several options were posted on the internet by ingenious users, and here are two ways.


The Simple FIX:



As per pix above, affix a 3M Utility Hook on the body and strap a rubber band onto the neck. This will improve the connection, but may not last too long (even if the 3M hooks do have very strong and lasting adhesive backs).


The complicated FIX:

By this method, you will need to loosen several screws on the neck, pry the fret part open, and re-position the PCB board. Its not as complicated as it sounds, but it does take some technical knowledge (using a Torx screw driver) and finesse touch (prying open a plasticky part). Click here to see the instructions and pictures.

Warning, do this at your own risk and success is not guaranteed. But if it helps to improve the connection, try ahead.

Note: The pix are of the Xbox360 controller, there are no information if the PS3, Wii or PS2 versions suffer similar problems, but as the controllers are built similarly, I suppose the problem may exist on Sony's or Nintendo's versions too.

Latest Game Titles available in MY stores.

Xbox360:

Guitar Heroes III (US - Game only) - Music Simulation

Clive Barker's Jericho (US) - FPS

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary (US) - Action

Wii:

Rockstar Table Tennis (US) - Sports Simulation

PS2:

Guitar Heroes III (US - Game only) - Music Simulation

Latest Game Titles available in MY stores.

Here's the list of games available in local MY stores for the past two weeks. Due to some games being released on multi platforms, I will feature the boxart only on the first format it appears (as they all share the same boxart except for the format header).

PS3:

Oblivion: Game of the Year Version (US) - RPG

(Inclusive Shivering Isle expansion pack)

FIFA 08 (US) - Sports Simulation

SEGA Rally Revo (US) - Driving

DiRT (US) - Driving

Xbox360:

Conan (US) - Action Adventure

The Orange Box (US) - FPS

(Half-Life 2, HL2: Episode 1, HL2: Episode 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2)

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (US) - Sports Simulation

FIFA 08 (US) - Sports Simulation

SEGA Rally Revo (US) - Driving

Crash of the Titans (US) - Action Platforming

Wii:

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (US) - Sports Simulation

FIFA 08 (US) - Sports Simulation

Crash of the Titans (US) - Action Platforming

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (US) - Racing

PS2:

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (US) - Sports Simulation

FIFA 08 (US) - Sports Simulation

Crash of the Titans (US) - Action Platforming

Juiced 2: Hot Imports Night (US) - Driving

CSI: 3Dimensions of Murder (US) - Adventure

Rock Band prices announced.

Rock Band, the game that will have you and two other friends making up a... errr... rock band, will be out on November 23rd in US, for a lower than expected price of USD$169.99 - for the PS3 and Xbox360 versions, while the PS2 version will be your for USD$159.99 come December 10th.

In the bundle will be the game disc, a guitar, a drum kit and a microphone, all the ingredients required for a jam session. Strangely, the Sony's PS3 and PS2 versions will get you a wireless guitar but not in the Xbox360 bundle.

Latest Game Titles available in MY stores.

It's beginning to be good for gamers in Malaysia, more and bigger games are arriving at our shores:



Wii:


MySims (US) - Social Simulation

Pool Party (US) - Sports Simulation

Xbox360:

Halo 3 (US) - FPS

PS2:

Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (US) - Action

Juiced 2: Hot Imports Night (US) - Racing

Digimon: Data Squad - RPG

Warriors Orochi (US) - Action

Latest Game Titles available in Malaysia.

I spotted the following titles in stores today:-

PS3:

DiRT (US) - Racing

Xbox360:

Bioshock (US) - FPS

PS2:

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core - 2D Fighting

Review: Manhunt 2 (Unrated) PS2

I was pleasantly surprised in finding copies Manhunt 2 for the PS2 in the local gaming stores. Upon closer inspection, the version available now is of the PAL variety, meaning its the European version. In anticipation that this is the said leaked Unrated version, I grabbed a copy. Here is my take on the game, without any story spoilers.

Booting up the game on PS2, you play Danny, a escapee from a mental institution. Assisted by Leo as a voice over in your head (which is strange as Leo is never seen around you while in game). In order to evade a "manhunt" on you and Leo, you resort to stealth, sneaking up to your hunters and pulling off one of three available "kills" with whatever weapon you can lay your hands on (ranges from syringes, glass shards to knifes).

To achieve this, you will need to target your hunter and holding the square or R1 button while the the target reticule changes color, from white to yellow and finally red. Releasing the held button will then trigger the "kill" animation, to which the level of violence and gore will depend on how long the buttons were held. For example, with a glass shard in hand, releasing the "kill" button when white will trigger a simple "stab in the neck" animation. But releasing the button when red will trigger a nastier "slash neck, followed with few thrusts in the stomach" animation.

All these animations come with blood sprays that splashes on the TV screen, everytime. Pulling off the highest level of "kill" animation is the pay off in Manhunt 2, and its really satisfying when you get it after slowly and painfully studying the victims movement for a few minutes.

From what I can see on screen, there is no blurness or darkening of the kill animations, which was what IGN reported in the revised M version. This has led me to believe the version I am playing is the AO version, with no cuts in it. I have not reached the infamous "pliers ripping hunter's testicles" part yet, so I cant verify that its indeed in this version I am playing now.

On the graphics side, Rockstar have added a layer of screen noise, which luckily you can turn off. Turning it off will give you a clearer and brighter screen, which is my preferred setting. Also, Rockstar have given the screen its own movement, that does shake even when Danny is standing still, making me rather nauseous. There is no option to stop this shake. Rockstar have included a 16:9 widescreen option, but no progressive scan. A strange graphical quirkiness is that the objects that Danny can pick up has a strange vibrating animation to it, which could represent Danny's state of mind, but it bugs the hell of me.

Danny controls well, but there is a very strange control setup Rockstar have implemented. You cant control the camera with the right analog stick, unlike the GTA series. I find this very strange as I have to resort to turning Danny to see whats on the sides, as opposed to using the right analog stick top pan the camera. While Rockstar have included a wall hug to peek over the walls (using the triangle button), the omission of camera control on the right analog stick is a very strange decision, given other Rockstar games does allow for it. I wont be able to verify if this will be in the M version of the game too (as this AO version could be a leaked, incomplete version).

All in all, Manhunt 2 lived up to its hype. With solid stealthy gameplay, satisfying payoff when pulling "kills", and very nice graphics for a last gen console, Manhunt 2 is one of the last AAA titles for the aging PS2. Its time to dust off your PS2 now.

Ratings: 9/10

Latest Game Titles available in Malaysia.

The following titles are available from most gaming stores in MY, as of this week:-

Nintendo Wii:
Carnival Games (US) - Minigames Collection
Cosmic Family (US) - Minigames Collection
Brunswick Pro Bowling (US) - Sports Simulation
Forever Blue (Jap) - Diving Simulation
Dewy's Adventure (Jap) - Platforming Action

PS3:
Lair (US) - Action

Xbox360:
Fatal Inertia (US) - Racing
John Woo presents Stranglehold (US) - Action
Medal Of Honor: Airborne (US) - WWII FPS

PS2:
Manhunt 2 (EU) - Action
.Hack//G.U. Vol. 3: Redemption (US) - RPG
Wild Arms 5 (US) - RPG
Brunswick Pro Bowling (US) - Sports Simulation
Tiger Woods 08 - Sports Simulation

Porcelain White PS2 in Singstar bundle for US

While we in the Asian region have the porcelain white PS2 since 2005, Sony US is giving US buyers a chance to own the white version come November 2007. Sold in a Singstar bundle, the package includes the Singstar game, a matching white controller and two microphones for you and a friend to sing your hearts to the 30 songs and 6 medleys within the Singstar game to.

The whole bundle will be available at US$150, for those few of you yet to land yourself the current world's most successful console.

In2Games to bring motion sensing games to PS2.

As Nintendo's Wii is poised to be the numero uno (number one) in worldwide sales very soon (currently 10.41million Wii sold versus 10.43million Xbox360 sold) , motion sensing controllers are the flavor of the year.

Sensing this (pun intended), In2Games have announced a whole set of games that rivals the Wii Sports/Wii Play, for the PS2! These games under the Realplay moniker, consisting of Golf, Tennis, Pool, Racing, Bowling, and Puzzlesphere (?). Each of these games will ship with a custom shell and a motion sensing controller, and is said to be priced at US$60 (RM207) per pop.

No pictures of the controller or the games have been released, and In2Games are said to be targeting existing PS2 owners who have not jumped on to Wii bandwagon yet.

I am not sure of how well these games/controllers will work as compared to the Wii, but if I were to get all 6 titles at US$60 a pop, that will cost me US$360 (RM1200) in total! With that much money required to get games for the aged PS2, I will be buying a Wii with Wii Sports instead.

New PS2 games

There were many games released for PS2 in MY the past week. Did not bother to jot down the entire list (yeah.... i was lazy), but will do that soon. Chose for myself 3 games from the bunch.

1) ATV Offroad Fury IV (SCE, Sony). The fourth installment (isn't it obvious from the title??) of Sony's own dirt racer. You can choose to race in an ATV (duh...), bikes, buggies and trucks. Offering many offroad tracks, stadium tracks, motocross tracks to race on, and you can even pull off tricks when your vehicle gets "air". Cool. Graphics is real smooth, and beautiful. The vehicles handles nicely, and the AI is good despite some rubber banding (where the games don't allow the AI racers to fall to far away from you).

Overall, a very fun racer. My rating: 7/10

2) Eragon (Vivendi Games). The game based on the soon to be out movie based on a fantasy novel. Now where have we hear of this before?? Yup, the LOTR games. This games follows the plot of the movie, and not directly from the book, the exact same setup as the LOTR games by EA. Players take control of Eragon, and repeated hacks and slashes (with very limited moves) the enemies that fill the screen to progress. Some jumping is required, but nothing too hard. Oh yeah, there are secret eggs on each level to be found too, so its not just blind hacking alone. Graphics is pretty enough and minor slowdown do occur when too many enemies fill up the screen. Dont worth much of your time, unless you are a HUGE Eragon fan.

Overall, its a boring game to hack thru, similar to the LOTR games before it. My rating: 3/10

3) Mercury Meltdown Remix (Ignition Entertainment). This is the PAL (Region 2 version) of the game. This puzzler game appeared originally on the PSP, and now we are getting the PS2 updated version. The game will have you maneuvering a blob of mercury from the start to the end point, with many obstacles in the way. U can physically change the condition of the mercury with several gates (heat - makes it easier to break and moves faster, cold - makes it slower but harder to break, solid - makes it solid like a ball, and even color gates to pass... uhhh.... matching colored gates). To complete the level, player have to tilt the mercury to the end gate, with the amount of mercury required as indicated by a gauge on the left of the screen. Lose the required amount of mercury and its game over. There is a timer too, but that's mainly for gathering more bonus points. Meaning you can still finish the level even as the timer runs out. Visually, the game is the same as the PSP version, so its very beautiful on the big screen as well.

Overall, a very addictive puzzler. My ratings: 8.5/10

PS2 SEGA Genesis Collection Review

Recently found in shops is "SEGA Genesis Collection" for the PS2. For those uninitiated, SEGA released this 16bit console at Japan in 1988 and Europe in 1990 under the brand "SEGA Mega Drive". It was launched in US in 1989 as "SEGA Genesis" due to name branding complications. This compilation is similar to Midway Arcade Treasures or Taito Legends, as they feature old style 16bit games by a certain publisher.

SEGA Genesis Collection for the PS2 contains many classic games such as Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2, Phantasy Star II, III, and IV, Ecco the Dolphin, Golden Axe I, II, and III, Kid Chameleon, Comix Zone and Vectorman. Included as well are Shinobi III and Virtua Fighter 2. Total Genesis games found in this collection is a whopping 32 (27 featured and 5 unlockable).

As old style 16 bit games goes, they feature dated graphics but still retain the excellent gameplay. Sonic feels as fast as I can remember, and Golden Axe is still as hackable as in the past. All graphics have been retouched to accommodate the latest LCD/Plasma screens, so even as they are in 16bits, they are not very badly pixelated (big ugly box pixel as the graphics is stretched to fit higher resolution screens).

Although the choice of featured games will not please everyone, there are many variety of games to suit most needs for classic gaming. I am very pleased that SEGA have included the excellent Phantasy Star IV, hugely considered as the best RPG for SEGA (they released PS2 Phantasy Star Unlimited recently) in this collection. There is also a puzzle game Columns thrown in for variety.

This is a budget title for the US market, retailing at USD19.99, and the presentation shows. The menu is simple but it accomplishes the task of allowing you to choose yr favorite game to play. Also included is a "museum" feature to showcase details of the games history, and some interviews too.

All in all, its a very good collection of games, and if you are a fan of the old Genesis console, this is one collection you wont want to miss.

My rating:

Presentation: 3/10 (bland menu)
Graphics : 6/10 (16bits retouched for HD TVs)
Gameplay: 9/10 (very good games collection)
Overall: 8/10

New PS2 titles over the weekend

Got my hands on some new PS2 games over the weekend. Did not spend too much time on the games (still playing much of Splinter Cell: Double Agent), so just a simple preview for now.

1) Call of Duty 3 (Activision)

The latest version of the First Person Shooter (FPS) is set during the World War 2's Normandy Breakout campaign, the one that liberated Paris from the Axis (Germany and its allies). This campaign starts on 6th June at Normandy, and finishes in Paris on 25th Aug 1944. The game allows players to play as American, British, Polish and Canadian armies during the 14 missions (the last 2 being the new addition). Great looking grapics, very accurate controls, good AI interaction, and impressive story telling.

2) SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Combined Assualt(Sony Computer Entertainment):

The latest in the best selling tactical assualt series, SOCOM, returns with a four player online cooperation mode, as first for the series. Pretty graphics, intelligent enemy AI but team mate AI is still not as good.

3) The History Channel's Civil War (Activision):

The original design of this game was supposed to be similar to the PC version, which is a Real Time Strategy (RTS). However, upon loading the game, to my surprise, its a First Person Shooter (FPS), complete with slow loading guns and loading animations and slow shooting enemies. This is was an era way before automatic weapons, but the animation is as cool. Graphics is very good, detailed and stable framerate.