REVIEW OF VIDEO GAMING E3 2008 SUMMIT
With new games and pricing, Sony to take on Xbox
A new, 80-GB PlayStation 3 will be the mainstay of Sony’s game-hardware lineup starting this month. And what’s more, it will be reasonably priced. That’s the big news from Sony at the recent 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit on video games (E3 2008) in Los Angeles
The 80-GB PS3 will offer all of the features and functionality of the 40-GB version that it is replacing — except with double the storage capacity, obviously — but remain at the same $399 price.
While this seems like a crowd-pleasing $100 price drop for the 80-GB unit (down from $499), it’s not. It’s more like a free upgrade to that 40-GB model, the “dumbed down” PlayStation 3 stripped of a few core features that Sony previously flouted as essential, like backward compatibility with PS2 games (gone), removable media-card slots (gone) and four USB ports (down to two).
Still, saving $100 on features that weren’t particularly important in the first place, plus doubling storage capacity and offering it all at that precious, sub-$400 price point, Sony has finally taken the gloves off — and perhaps forever shirked the blinders as well, to mix metaphors
TIPS OF THE WEEK
Here are some playing secrets to help you master your favorite games.
Although “Fatal Intertia EX” sports support for SixAxis motion- controlled driving, which seems a no-brainer for hovercraft piloting, it just doesn’t work as well as the good-ol’ analog thumbstick.
Just skip the hours of trial-and- error SixAxis sensitivity settings and go old school with your thumb. and is readying to go toe-to-toe with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in most areas that count.
As it happens, the added capacity coincides with a new video-delivery service at the online PlayStation Store. A new, PlayStation-centric video service allows users to rent or purchase and download full-length TV shows and movies to both their PS3 and PSP units.
However, of the movies being made available, most are demographic-specific, with titles such as “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Rocky” and “Cloverfield,” all of which have been available for rent at retail for weeks or months.
So while the PlayStation 3’s multimedia-entertainment capabilities are now similar to those offered to Xbox users through Xbox Live Marketplace — which, it should be noted, is now offering thousands of downloadable rentals through a new NetFlix partnership — there’s still a way to go before PlayStation matches content availability. But with a parent company named Sony, which owns a significant amount of the music and movies out there, the seeds of competition are well planted and heavily fertilized.
More important than all that, however, is the new and forthcoming crop of actual PlayStation games which combine two key assets previously unavailable at the same time: They are good and they are many.
During E3, Sony revealed a batch of new content for the PlayStation brand, including about 20 first-party PS3 software titles previously announced, plus 10 never-before-seen PS3 games. Of the 10, the most glorious was “God of War 3,” the next iteration of what is generally accepted as one of the best video-game franchises of all time, a sequel sure to sell multiple millions and likely will move a million or two PS3 consoles, too.
Sony’s E3 briefing also included an extensive look into “Resistance 2,” also an all-but-guaranteed blockbuster sequel to the PS3 title, “Resistance: Fall of Man,” a critical and commercial smash.
The quantity of quality continued. Other PS3 titles included the open-world adventure “inFamous” and “LittleBigPlanet,” which allows players to create, play and share entire game levels via PlayStation Network; some more wicked (and now tropical) racing action in “Motorstorm: Pacific Rift;” the much-anticipated “Killzone 2;” and “SOCOM: U. S. Navy SEALs Confrontation,” which promises an online, squad-based shooter experience with up to 32 players.
Sony also unveiled many new titles for PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation Network (downloadable “boutique” games), but it was the solid and varied product lineup of PlayStation 3 software and hardware that firmly — and finally — put Sony squarely back in the video-game game.
‘Fatal Inertia EX’
Koei; PlayStation 3/PlayStation Store; $29.99
ESRB Rating: Everyone (10+) (fantasy violence)
Score: ★★★★ out of 5
At $29.99, “Fatal Inertia EX” is the most expensive downloadable game at the PlayStation Store. And where most other such “boutique” titles are of general casual appeal, “Fatal Inertia EX” is not. It’s a sci-fiantigravity hovercar-combat racer that certainly looks expensive— i. e. great — but it’s actually a little tough to play.
It’s fast, tracks are thorny, and competitors are often brutal. But that’s a good thing if you’re into breakneck weapons-based racing; just not so good if you’re grabbing it for a casual round of racing with your non-gamer girlfriend, spouse, child or whatever.
Titles now half price for PS3 greatest hits Sony just launched the “PlayStation 3 Greatest Hits” program, a repackaging of titles at a reduced price of $29.99, down from $59.99 in most cases.
The “PS3 Greatest Hits” series currently includes “Warhawk,” “Motorstorm” and “Resistance: Fall of Man” from SCEA; “Call of Duty 3” (not 4) from Activision; “Need for Speed: Carbon” and “Fight Night Round 3” from Electronic Arts; “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,” from Bethesda Softworks; “Ninja Gaiden Sigma” from Tecmo; and Tom Clancy’s “Rainbow Six: Vegas” as well as “Assassin’s Creed,” both from Ubisoft.
Although more titles are expected, the titles available now are a good start; indicative of PlayStation3’s emerging game-play variety with samplings of driving, flying, shooting, role-playing and fighting games.
Ask the expert
Having troubles with your game? Post questions on Shaun Conlin’s message board at www.ageofplay.com/forum. Responses may also appear here in the coming weeks.
The ratings
5 stars = Excellent 4 stars = Very good 3 stars = Good 2 stars = Fair 1 star = Poor
