PS3 Fanboy

PS3 Fanboy review: PlayTV

Jem Alexander — 2008-10-06T10:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

The PS3 has firmly entrenched itself as not only a games console, but a fully fledged multimedia device. It features blu-ray, media streaming, a web browser and image viewing and printing. Now, with PlayTV, the PS3 adds television to its repertoire. Sony could easily have released a simple TV tuner with only the most essential features, but instead they've developed a product that's incredibly feature rich and integrates itself into the PS3 experience seamlessly.

Setting up your surprisingly light PlayTV box is simple and painless and requires nothing more than plugging an aerial in one end and a USB cable, connected to your PS3, into the other. Once this is done you need only load up the accompanying disc software, which will install the PlayTV client onto your XMB and guide you through the simple setup. After this, you'll have a new "TV" section on the XMB. PlayTV takes advantage of Freeview in the UK, a set of free TV channels and radio stations. Load up the client and you're off.

The emphasis has clearly been placed on being user friendly. The first time you enter any section of the software a splash screen will show you the controls. These can be reviewed again in the help section, along with more in-depth guides. If you'd rather use a remote control than a SIXAXIS controller, your Blu-ray remote will work just fine and PlayTV even comes with an overlay which can be stuck on top to show which buttons do what.

Anyone who's ever used a DVR will be perfectly at home here.There's a guide, which pops up at the touch of the square button and gives you an overview of what's on now and what's coming up on all the different channels. From here you can switch to any channel or set a program to record by simply pressing select. You can easily see how much space you have left on your hard drive and PlayTV will keep you updated via notifications at the top-right of the screen. With a thirty minute video needing up to a gigabyte of free space, you'll want to keep your hard drive free from clutter. No wonder Sony is releasing a 160GB PS3.

PlayTV has many standard DVR features, such as allowing you to pause and rewind live TV, or to record one channel whilst watching another. If you suspect you'd rather control PlayTV using a remote, rather than the PS3 controller, the device comes packaged with a remote control sticker overlay. This can be placed on the official PS3 Bluetooth remote and tells you what each button does when inside the PlayTV client.

While PlayTV is great at turning your PS3 into a digital video recorder, the highlights of the device come from its extra features. For example, videos recorded in the PlayTV client can be exported to the XMB, DRM free, and copied to any other device in MPEG2 format. This means backing up your video collection is much easier, allowing you to save hard drive space.

PlayTV also fully supports remote play. Left the house without remembering to set your PS3 to tape something? Remote play in and set it up from anywhere with an access point. Alternatively, you can use your PS3 as a video streaming drive, allowing you to view all your recorded videos from anywhere with WIFI with your PSP.

Another great extra feature allows for background recording during gameplay. After all, your PS3 is a games console, right? PlayTV will happily record the latest episode of Doctor Who while you're busy painting your friend green in LittleBigPlanet. Simply set it to record and then quit the client and start playing. You'll never have to watch the clock in case you miss your favourite TV program whilst gaming again.

Our favorite feature, however, is definitely the XMB integration. Even whilst watching TV you will receive online/offline and message notifications, meaning you're never disconnected from the PSN. Obviously, some people might not see this as a good thing, but the simple solution is to sign out of the PSN before launching (or from within the in-game XMB). The reason we enjoy this feature so much is that you can send messages back whilst watching telly. Simply call up the XMB and it will overlay on top of whatever program you're watching. You'll still be able to hear it (and see a faint outline) whilst typing out a message.

Imagine, you're watching TV and your buddy messages you asking if you fancy a game of Warhawk. You're notified as you watch the program and reply, telling them you'll be right there. With a press of the select button, the rest of the program is being recorded to your hard drive. You then jump straight into Warhawk from the in-game XMB and are playing within minutes.

Dare we say that if Sony implements cross-game voice chat in the future, this feature could become even cooler. The PlayTV box promises it will be constantly updated via the PSN, so new features could appear at any time. Until then, the smart wee box is already worth the £60 for those of you who enjoy watching TV and playing your PS3. Even at the same time.

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PS3 Fanboy review: Buzz! Quiz TV

Andrew Yoon — 2008-09-29T09:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

It's amazing to see how far Buzz! has come. The popular PS2 quiz game makes an incredible leap onto the PS3, with great success, in Buzz! Quiz TV. Quiz enthusiasts and newcomers alike will find a lot to appreciate about Buzz's first outing on the PS3. The intelligent organization of topics, new online functionality, quickened pace and very easy-to-use wireless buzzers all make Buzz! feel like a new game in the "next gen."

In preparation for the PS3 game, we familiarized ourselves with the earlier PS2 versions of the game. While they were fun party games, we hated the frustrating process of detangling all the wires from our PS2 buzzers. Thankfully, we're able to get rid of those tacky peripherals with this new package. Simply open the Buzz! box, insert the wireless dongle into the system and put AA batteries (not included) into your buzzers. What we really appreciated was how quick the installation process was. The buzzers are already synced to the system, making it quite possible to start a game within just a minute or two of opening the box. When you want to jump into a party game, that kind of speed is quite important.

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But, that's not the only thing that's been hastened about Buzz!. The developers at Relentless Software have made a product that's much more streamlined, and much more fast. Players won't be able to choose the length of the game in this iteration, but that's perfectly okay. In the PS2 games, even the shortest games felt a little too long. The PS3 version goes by much faster, and the time reductions come from getting rid of the lengthy explanations found in the PS2 original. The Buzz! games are pretty intuitive, and all it takes is a single sentence or two to really explain how each round will work. An example of smart design: the host of the show, Buzz, will tell players to answer questions as quickly as possible at the beginning of the Pie Fight round. He'll then explain what the pie does once someone has possession of it. There's no reason to sit around and wait to find out about every rule in that round: they come as you need them.

The general pace of the single and multiplayer experiences has become much livelier. Single player only offers one gameplay mode: Fastest Finger, which awards points based on how quickly a player can answer. There isn't much else single player can do, but this mode is enhanced by the presence of smartly designed XMB Trophies. There are awards based on score, and getting a Gold can be quite challenging, if you're not an expert at a particular subject. Getting the Lightning Reactions Trophy is also quite tricky.

We're really impressd by the presentation of the game. There's no real reason why a trivia game should look so good -- but Quiz TV does. Every character model is very detailed and well animated. You can see the tiny wrinkles in a character's clothes, and you can see the small animations that add life to each character. More than ever, Buzz! feels like a real game show, and its lovable cast of characters really adds so much personality to the experience. The voiceovers are as hilarious as ever. Our favorite moment? When you choose the extreme sports category. We won't ruin the surprise, but let's just say Buzz's response is quite spectacular.

The new categories added to the game add a jolt of much-needed variety to the game. Our personal favorites? Toons and Food & Drink. Quiz TV adds a feature, which lets you customize the categories you see in the game. Don't like 80s Music? You can disable that category in games. Only interested in tech questions? You can create a game that only features pertinent questions. This kind of flexibility should be commended.

If for some reason, Quiz TV doesn't offer enough questions, you can always turn to MyBuzz, one of the online features of the game. In this mode, players can go to the MyBuzz website and actually create their own quizzes for use in the game. It's a bit primitive, but it's surprisingly fun trying to create quizzes that appeal to the masses. In the game, you'll be able to browse and play through others' quizzes -- you can even rate them too. You're limited to creating multiple-choice quizzes of eight questions only. Some may complain about the length, but we found it just right.

The other online mode, Sofa Vs. Sofa, has also earned some criticism with its early release in Europe. It's true that you can only use one buzzer per team. However, most of the question types in Sofa Vs. Sofa encourage collaboration. Most questions aren't time-based, giving teams a chance to talk to each other before inputting their answers. If there's one complaint about this mode, it's that the final round takes a bit too long -- and is the only real decisive round in the entire game.

There's almost no reason to put as much effort into a quiz game as Buzz! Quiz TV has -- the casual audience doesn't need online functionality, or complex visuals. Regardless, the team at Relentless has crafted a quiz game that easily outclasses their previous efforts and becomes the de-facto standard in the genre. With great presentation, an impressive amount of content, and easy to use buzzers, Quiz TV is an easy recommendation for anyone interested in the genre.

PS3 Fanboy review: 8.5

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PS3 Fanboy review: WipEout HD

Andrew Yoon — 2008-09-23T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews, e-Distribution Games

There's been a lot of buzz around WipEout HD. The headlines of the game's epilepsy-inducing delay, combined with its genuinely good looks have created the perfect environment for hype to thrive. The long-delayed futuristic racer is the PlayStation franchise's first foray into the current generation, and it looks absolutely stunning. The bargain basement price point of $20 makes it an easy purchase, especially for those on the fence.

However, we wonder who WipEout HD is trying to target. There are three types of people in this world: those that love WipEout, those that are horrible at it, and those that simply haven't tried it yet. For those that love the franchise (us included), WipEout HD is perhaps, a bit too familiar. True devotees of the franchise have already played the sublime PSP games, Pure and Pulse. To find that every single track and every single song in the game comes from these two titles is a little disappointing. They're certainly great choices, but the wondrous effect of nostalgia doesn't kick in so soon -- Pulse came out less than a year ago. Instead, we're left with the feeling of "haven't we been here before?"

The second group of people -- those that are horrible at futuristic racing games -- won't find WipEout HD any different than previous iterations of the franchise. And the third group of people -- those that haven't ever played a WipEout game -- may very well find themselves displaced to the second group once they get their hands on this ferociously fast and relentlessly difficult racer. Sure, the new Pilot Assist feature will help beginner players steer away from the walls, but without the honed reflexes of a veteran, the game's learning curve is surprisingly steep.

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Perhaps that's why the game is priced so low. The game's incredible production values (beautiful 1080p, 60fps graphics and a stellar licensed soundtrack) certainly give the game a level of sheen unheard of for a downloadable game. At $20, it's easy to tell WipEout Purists to come back "one more time." However, at such a low price point, it becomes even easier to lure in those that somehow missed WipEout's trek onto the PSP. These are the ones, nerves untested, that will most want to fork over the money to see what they've been missing. It's a $20 experiment to see if newbies can not only survive, but enjoy, the futuristic racing WipEout has always been known for.

While 6 of the game's 8 tracks come from Pure, the progression system comes from the more recent Pulse. The campaign mode offers various grids for players to challenge. Each grid features a number of tasks to complete, and players will want to complete as many challenges to the best of their capabilities to progress forward. There are the self-explanatory Time Trial, Speed Lap, Single Race and Tournament challenges. In any of the time-based modes, players must simply beat the posted time to earn various medals. To earn points from races against the AI, players must simply place as high as they can.

One of the more forgiving aspects of the grid system is that it allows players to avoid challenges they may not be skilled at. Time Trial and Speed Lap challenges are, for the most part, very easy to clear. Getting enough gold medals in these events should minimize how many actual races players must compete in to unlock new tracks and new grids. To make things even easier, the AI Difficulty can be set before each race. Just like in WipEout Pulse, the AI difficulty and speed class aren't linked together.

However, even with the adjustable difficulty, the game may still be too challenging for casual players. Even on the easiest difficulty, we found players new to the series struggling to finish races. What makes the game's AI so hard to deal with (especially at the harder difficulties), is the game's rubberbanding system. Games like Mario Kart are notorious for their over-generous rubberbanding, which makes it easy for someone in last place to make it to the front of the pack (use a Lightning Bolt, a Blue Shell, etc). However, WipEout has the exact opposite phenomenon. Perhaps it's more realistic, but those that are in first place tend to lead the pack more and more. If you're behind by 3 seconds in the first lap, it won't be uncommon to drop to 7 seconds the next, and then 15 seconds the next. Posting continuously improving lap times won't even help.

Unfortunately, the game's weapons system is so fierce that many races become a fight away from last place. Opponent racers are constantly fighting, creating a virtual wall of carnage that players must surpass. Essentially, 3rd-8th positions will be in a persistent state of disarray, as the weapons hinder anyone in the back from progressing onwards. If you manage to make it in front of the mayhem, expect relatively smooth sailing.

This isn't to say the game is impossible. Rather, it just causes for some controller-throwing frustration. Perhaps that's exactly what veterans need, to compensate for the familiarity of these tracks. However, we do believe that even Easy difficulty isn't forgiving enough for series newcomers.

One of the best features of WipEout Pure makes a comeback in HD, and we're glad to say it's as fun as ever. The critically acclaimed Zone mode is back, and it works just like it did in previous iterations of the franchise. In Zone mode, players are strapped down in a vehicle that is constantly moving forward, constantly getting faster. The goal of Zone mode is to simply survive: as the vehicle reaches ridiculous speeds, reflexes must become incredibly well-honed to survive even the simplest of turns. What makes Zone mode even more special in this PS3 iteration is how much faster it can go. While the PSP games were limited to Phantom levels of speed, there are speeds well beyond that in the PS3 version. Just when you hit Zen, you'll realize that there's another class of speed above that. Already at that point, you won't be able to blink.

The color-changing tracks still pulsate to the beat of the music, although in a much more subdued fashion. It may have been changed to meet the requirements of epilepsy testing, but it's still undeniably beautiful. The incredibly stylized look of Zone mode is easily WipEout HD's most memorable -- and this is the one mode that everyone will be talking about once the game releases this week.

While Zone has made a glorious return, we're sad to say that another one of our favorite modes, Elimination, has not made the cut in WipEout HD. Featured in Pulse, this mode gave racers an enhanced set of weapons, limited shield rechargability, and a directive: kill as many other racers as you can. It was an incredibly fun mode, which changed up the gameplay quite a bit. It's omission is disappointing, and makes the game's feature set feel a little less substantial.

We're also sad to see the vehicle customizations of Pulse removed entirely as well. In the PSP games, players were able to create skins for their crafts online, and then download them into the game. It's strange that this PS3 version is missing two key features that we took for granted in the PSP game.

Yet, thanks to smart pricing on Sony's part, these omissions, repetitions, and flaws seem much more forgivable. At $20, it's hard to pass up. Ultimately, if you're part of the group that loves WipEout, you're going to buy HD, simply to experience the game in high-definition PS3 wonder. Yes, it's leaner and shorter than the PSP games -- but our PSPs were never pumping out 1080p graphics. Those that have never played a WipEout game will find HD a very exciting, eye-opening experience. The sublime presentation, the collectible Trophies, and the unforgettable Zone mode, make this an easy $20 purchase. But, when you're crying after an 8th place loss on Moa Therma, don't say we didn't tell you so.

PS3 Fanboy score: 8.0

See also:
PSP Fanboy review: Wipeout Pure
PSP Fanboy review: Wipeout Pulse

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PS3 Fanboy review: Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty

Andrew Yoon — 2008-08-19T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews, e-Distribution Games

We have to applaud the fine folks at Insomniac for trying something new on the PSN. Somehow, they've managed to bring out a brand new Ratchet game, just one year after the release of the first PS3 incarnation, Tools of Destruction. Quest for Booty is a direct continuation of the previous game, but can be played without any experience with the franchise at all. The developers have promised 3-4 hours of gameplay, at a budget price of $15. However, is Quest for Booty worth your hard earned cash? Depends on how much you like the Ratchet franchise.

Although it may have a budget price, the presentation easily matches any full-priced console game. The visuals of Quest for Booty are actually superior to the ones found in last year's game. The water, for example, looks far more captivating in this installment. The lighting seems to be enhanced, and the lush color palette found for most of the game really looks quite stunning in HD. The voice actors all make their return, and Ratchet and friends are animated just as sharply as they always have been.

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There's almost no indication that this is a low-budget affair -- at least, in the beginning. The game immediately follows the story of Tools of Destruction, leaving Ratchet on a quest to find clues about Clank's mysterious disappearance. While it's not necessary to have played previous Ratchet games, this one is definitely for the fans, as it primarily focuses on ancillary characters found in the previous installment. It is strange to have Clank so absent in the game -- and unfortunately, the always-lovable Captain Qwark is completely missing in this installment. Regardless, the fully narrated cinematic sequences really bring the story and setting to life.

Immediately, the game thrusts the player into some frantic battles aboard a flying pirate ship. Quest for Booty undeniably starts with a bang. In fact, the first half of the game contains some of the finest moments in the series history so far. The first two levels are incredibly well done, and show how refined the platforming design of Insomniac has come over the years. Even the grind rail sequences are interesting in this installment, thanks to a few clever puzzles that the team has crafted. The primary objective for Ratchet in these early areas is to restore power to five generators, and in order to do so, some gravity defying Mario Galaxy-esque sequences must be completed. They are an absolute blast.

The new gameplay mechanics all feel great, and make you wonder "why didn't they do this before?" Ratchet's ability to finally pick things up is much appreciated, and well used. Even better, a new device allows Ratchet to move platforms, doors and objects at a distance with a wrench. Certainly, this tool is integrated into puzzles in more interesting ways than any of the devices found in Tools of Destruction.

Platforming is definitely the best aspect of Quest for Booty. However, once the game shifts gears in the second half, it certainly feels a bit underwhelming. The beautiful design of the first two levels is abandoned in the final two levels, with dark, dreary colors that are simply boring to look at. There are a few great set pieces, but strangely, they bring the framerate to a noticeable chug, as the combination of real-time lighting, particle effects and number of characters on screen seemingly demand a bit too much from the PS3. Once the game becomes mostly oriented with combat, its shortcomings become increasingly obvious. The weapons are all taken from Tools of Destruction -- and only a small sampling are available. Even iconic weapons, such as the Groovitron, don't make an appearance in this game. The lack of weapon variety, and the limited customization options remove the tactical fun of previous Ratchet & Clank games. With no new weapons, and such an abbreviated list of options, one can't help but notice how shallow Quest for Booty's combat feels.

To make things worse, the already-short game revisits the first two levels once again at the end, instead of offering players new places to visit. With only four areas in the game total, the apparent lack of variety may have players feel short-changed. Instead of adding more clever platforming sequences and puzzles into these levels, they're turned into more grinding combat challenges.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about Quest for Booty is that once the adventure feels like it's just about to begin, it very abruptly ends. While Insomniac says the game offers 3-4 hours of gameplay, it's probably closer to 2-3 hours. (There are multiple difficulties, though.) Fans of the franchise that were looking for answers to Clank's mysterious disappearance really won't find answers here. While a little more information is teased, it's clear that most players can skip Quest for Booty and continue to the next iteration without missing any crucial storytelling. The lack of revelations shouldn't detract from the excellent quality of the script, however -- once again, the team at Insomniac has crafted a cute, fun adventure that features a number of funny moments. (The best part? When Ratchet gets bleeped out for cursing. Watch for it!)

While we're disappointed Quest for Booty ends so abruptly, we still think it's a rather commendable effort -- one that Insomniac should be applauded for. While this short expansion episode has its flaws, it's still an incredible value at $15. The visuals are still beautiful, and the presentation is equal to any other retail game. The new gameplay mechanics work well, and the platforming, albeit short, is some of the best in the franchise so far. While it may only be a stopgap between the next "real" Ratchet & Clank game -- one we hope will actually have Clank in it -- it's still a recommended purchase for fans of the franchise. For newcomers, we'd still recommend Tools of Destruction for a far more satisfying experience, but for those that really can't wait for a new Ratchet game, this should more than do the trick.

PS3 Fanboy score: 7.5

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Metareview: Metal Gear Solid 4

Andrew Yoon — 2008-06-13T08:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

Watch your head. You may get hit by one of the many 10s Metal Gear Solid 4 has earned from the critics. Here are a selection of reviews for Kojima's latest. We're not half-way done with the year, and already there's two incredible GOTY contenders on PS3.

1UP (A-) - "It is, in short, precisely what the grand finale of a legendary franchise should be: grand, final, and thoroughly steeped in its own lore."
Game Informer (100/100) - "With the series' last breath, Hideo Kojima's defining opus does more than just surpass the previous Metal Gear titles - it creates a landmark gaming experience that continually astounds with its variety, depth, and intelligence. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a masterpiece."
GameDaily (80/100) - "This is one of the most important games in history and you'll dig its cool boss battles, at times witty dialogue and unrivaled sneaking mechanics. Just be sure to keep a magazine handy when those cut scenes get ridiculous."
GamePro (100/100) - "This is video game storytelling at its absolute best, and represents a new high watermark for the craft, easily surpassing the superb BioShock and the subversive Grand Theft Auto IV."
IGN (100/100) - "Is it possible to give a game an 11? If so, this would be the game that would merit that score. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a title that exceeds all of the hype that was attached to the title."

Excuse us, while we go back to playing the game.

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PS3 Fanboy review: Haze

Jem Alexander — 2008-05-28T12:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

Developed by Free Radical, the ex-Rare employees responsible for the excellent Timesplitters series, Haze has been a long time coming. The game has suffered from multiple delays as well as exclusivity confusion over the last year. Haze promised to deliver an immersive story, balanced multiplayer and seamless online and offline co-op play. It was also backed up by some excellent live-action trailers.

Unfortunately, it becomes apparent whilst playing the game that, while the team at Free Radical may have reached for excellence, they have either fallen short or made some bad decisions with regards to the execution of many aspects of the title. Haze isn't a bad game and, despite some shortcomings, can be enjoyable and thought provoking. But is it as good as the hype suggested? Frankly, no. Read on to find out why.

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Haze was pegged as a story-based first-person shooter that would deliver a clever, satirical story that showed war from both sides. A live-action trailer gave would-be players a taste of what was to come and demonstrated the overall story of the game. As a child, Sergeant Shane Carpenter's parents were killed and so he commits himself to Mantel's private army. Armed with the performance enhancing drug Nectar, Shane was transformed into an elite soldier, until the day he got ambushed by Rebels and is "reborn."

A great premise, I'm sure you'll agree. Unfortunately, very little of this narrative makes it into the game itself. We hear almost nothing about Shane's life pre-Mantel and we care very little for him as a result. The moment Shane changes sides is also very different than is advertised in the trailer. In fact, Haze marketing is permeated with the image of a smashed Mantel helmet. An excellent piece of symbolism that's used in the trailer as a metaphor for the moment of Shane's "rebirth". Unfortunately, that too is missing from the game.

The story continues to suffer throughout as brilliant premises make way for lackluster or cop-out implementation and resolution. There's a big reveal half way through the game which fails to leave much of an impression for several reasons. The biggest of which is that, due to the lack of narration or exposition scenes, a sense of scale and geography is lost. The game feels like it takes place within a bubble with the rest of the world oblivious to what's going on. With some nice cutscenes or some clever narrative implementation the story could have had a far greater impact.

Moving on to gameplay, Free Radical Design know what they're doing when it comes to first-person shooters. The Timesplitters series has shown us that. As a result Haze controls nicely and the on-foot sections are sufficiently enjoyable. Level design varies in quality throughout and it seems to improve as the game goes on. Early sections of the game are middling, with later parts (the bridge and the hotel, in particular) ramping up the adrenaline and feeling much more fun.

There are a few vehicle sections in the game which are sadly lacking. Poor driving mechanics coupled with dull environments and confusing level design leave you looking forward to the next on-foot section. Thankfully, there are only a handful of these sections scattered throughout the game. Later you'll come across a couple of short sections involving shooting a load of Mantel troopers from a helicopter with a minigun. These sections are far more fun and, in my opinion, should have been longer and more numerous.

Graphically, Haze looks pretty good with a distinct lack of jaggies. Character models (particularly Mantel soldiers) and animations are great. Environments range from "pretty drab" to "quite decent", with the driving sections particularly dull and gray/brown. Unfortunately, there are graphical glitches that pop up later in the game. These are most apparent while sniping, when you will see strobing textures. In no way is this a deal breaker, though.

The hook of the game is obviously the Nectar and the Rebel skills. Giving you two sets of abilities makes it feel a bit like two different games. As a Mantel soldier you'll be using Nectar a lot. Mostly because there's no reason not to. The same can not be said for the Rebel skills, however. Nectar grenades are handy, as is dodging, but most others aren't worth the hassle. The problem is that against AI, they're pretty useless -- particularly playing dead.

Which brings me to my main gameplay qualm. Mantel troopers, who were super tough and powerful when you are on their side, become really easy to kill once you're a Rebel. Also, enemies will rarely use their skills against your team. Mantel soldiers visibly top up on Nectar, but it doesn't seem to make them much tougher and Rebels very rarely use nectar grenades or play dead. No matter which side you're on, the enemies feel the same -- they just look different.

The skills really come into their own during the multiplayer modes, however. Abilities that weren't very useful against AI suddenly become quite potent against human players. The multiplayer (the gem in the Timesplitters series' crown) is good fun and well implemented in Haze. The assault multiplayer mode, in particular, is great fun and allows you to play through small story missions from either side of the conflict. These missions are separate from those in the single player game, but tie into the main storyline. Sadly, there aren't quite as many maps as we'd like. There's potential for some good DLC there.

Speaking of multiplayer, I really wanted to get some co-op play in with a buddy or two before writing this review. One of the game's main selling points was its four-player online co-op, so it seemed like an important aspect to address. Unforunately, there are some crippling problems with the online system which meant that all attempts made at co-op play with people I knew failed dismally. When accepting friend requests from those on my PSN list an error message asked me to install the latest patch to continue. Naturally, there is no such patch. Yet.

It seems that the online Haze community is split into two groups arbitrarily. A cyberspace divide separates them, meaning they can't interact within the game or see the same server lists for online matches. Neither FRD nor Ubisoft has addressed this problem yet, but with an official tournament getting underway soon, we hope it gets sorted quickly. The fact that one of the game's main features is gimped is unforgivable. Co-op with random people , however, was fun and smooth, allowing for easy voice communication. We suspect it's even more fun with people you know -- if you can connect to each other, that is.

Overall, each aspect of Haze can be summed up the same way. "Solid, but not groundbreaking." There's plenty of room for improvement here. Bluntly, Free Radical should stick to what they do best: wacky, arcade first-person shooters with plenty of unlockables and polished multiplayer modes. Bring on Timesplitters 4.

PS3 Fanboy score: 6.5

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Haze initial reviews are not promising

Andrew Yoon — 2008-05-20T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

Many PS3 gamers are excited for Haze, the PS3 "exclusive" FPS from Free Radical. Since the launch of the playable demo, opinions have been mixed: some loved the instant-action multiplayer offerings, while others were underwhelmed by the core gameplay mechanics of the game. While these initial reviews aren't necessarily representative of the critical mass, they do point towards a less-than-favorable outcome for this anticipated game.

IGN (45/100) - "While their previous work was quite excellent, Haze is anything but, coming across as a middling, generic first-person shooter with bland visuals, a weak plot and laughable characters."
GamersHell (65/100) - "Haze is still sitting in the wake of Call of Duty 4, and falls into that category of being just another FPS. The game tries to include different content with Nectar abilities and rebel dynamics, but a confused story, lacking gameplay elements and technical bugs bog the game down from being a stellar PS3 exclusive."
The A.V. Club (C+) - "More narratively cohesive than the Halo trilogy, but less inventive and compelling than Resistance: Fall Of Man ... too bad it's paired with one of the more pedestrian FPS games to come along in recent years."

[Thanks, blank!]

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PS3 Fanboy review: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

Majed Athab — 2008-04-28T19:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

Click for high-resolution image.

Editor's Note: This review was published earlier, before the reviewer completed all the license tests. We pulled the review, acknowledging it was an inaccurate representation of the game. The reviewer has completed all the license tests and has provided a new, edited review.

Before gamers ever really got to play it, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was already slapped in the face with accusations of being nothing more than a glorified demo. Branded with such a stigma, many gamers had turned away from Prologue and decided to wait out until next year when the "real" GT5 races out. Are these people vindicated in their racing abstinence? Or are they missing out?

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue does continue the tradition of maintaining the most realistic driving sim out on the market. It does this with stunningly gorgeous visuals while at the same time playing like a charm. A rigid online mode does drag the title down a bit, but overall, Prologue will leave you well satisfied. This is one PS3 exclusive that'll definitely make you proud to be a PS3 owner.

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The first thing gamers will notice after having popped in their disc (or installed their download) is the radiant attention to detail on cars and environments. The cars are so sleek and flawlessly designed that there are no visible jaggies ever to be found on any model. The race courses are also well-detailed, but will not stun gamers as much as the drool-worthy automobiles. The most stand out race course (as far as looks go) would definitely be the London stage. It's so accurately depicted, right down to street signs, corners, and the famous Piccadilly Circus -- a place which anyone who's been there would instantly recognize.

Pretty pixels aside, what about the gameplay? In short, it's solid. DualShock 3 and SIXAXIS controllers all work great. The DS3's rumble feedback is a nice addition, though it's rarely felt unless you're crashing into a wall -- something you should not be doing. The officially supported racing wheels each have their own menu, so you can customize your racing wheels with ease. As far as actual driving goes, the learning curve bends with each car. Each of the 67 cars available from the start have a unique feel when driving them; well, at least the ones we've bought certainly do.

While being in the driver's seat of each car exudes a unique feel, the ability to fine tune cars to one's liking makes things even more personal. Making its way into Prologue through the Quick Tuning option, players will be able to customize their car's specs and save up to three different versions of their pimped out rides. This feature is only unlocked once all A class events are completed, which means you need to be a pretty good driver to attain it. Considering that Quick Tuning is rather a complex system, placing it after A class completion is actually a choice. Gamers who can't reach that far don't really have the need for the option because they probably haven't gained enough experience to understand what all the customizable parts will do. Meanwhile, GT experts who would know exactly what to do, would easily get to this point and will have the option ready for them to abuse.

To find the Quick Tuning menu, you need to have already chosen your course and car, then you'll see the option added to your before-race menu. The tuning options are usually regulated by "Performance Points" which gauge how powerful your custom beast is. The rating you receive will then be used to check if you qualify for specific races. For example, the tuned online time trials have both 600 PP and below races as well as 700 PP and below races. What's good about this is that cars can be tweaked while fairness is held intact.

The online mode tends to do a good job in sorting out the colloquial noob from the rally champions. For the online mode, there's a set number of races with preset conditions and rules. Most of the intermediate and expert levels are locked until the player clears all ten "A class" events. This is nice as it ensures that gamers with similar expertise are playing one another, but it also means that if one does not earn an A class license, then the majority of online play with be inexcusably restricted.

More on the online mode, the game auto-matches you to opponents looking to enter the same race type as you. Finding racers doesn't take long -- not more than three minutes. Races are usually capped at 12 to 16 racers, but if there's not enough people wanting to play, the match will automatically start with whoever is around.

Gran Turismo experts and novices alike can find a challenge with each of the six race courses in the game. Each course has their own varying difficulty which focuses on drawing out different driving expertise from the player. Each one also has a variant which ultimately adds another six tracks to race on. With 30 dealerships and over 70 cars to collect, car enthusiast will no doubt enjoy filling up their virtual garage with a new beauty every time they win a few races.

About events, each one has ten races to complete. The difficulty level between A through C classes has an excellent curve and adds a balanced progression from each one. When a class is cleared, you'll earn yourself a gift vehicle. When an A class license is earned, you'll unlock not only the previously mentioned Quick Tuning mode, but also the ultra difficult bonus S class events. This is where the bulk of your Quick Tuning will be used. Elsewhere, the two-player split screen is also a great feature. In this mode, two players can race each other. Both players can only choose cars that are currently available in the garage.

Arcade mode lets gamers play any course and take a time or drift trial. The fastest laps on the time trials and drift trials can be recorded for online ranking. Online ranking can be sorted out by car, course, or driving physics. Meanwhile, GT TV is a feature that is hard to review so early in its life cycle. GT TV is a feature that allows gamers to download exclusive racing-related videos; it only received its first update last week. Hopefully it can maintain regular updates.

One thing that may seem unimportant is the lack of BGM selection. Songs play randomly and don't even display information on the playing track. It's strange that Prologue would tout the inclusion of Weezer and Mars Volta songs with TV spots and press releases, but then ultimately not make mention of them at all in the game. If you license music for a game, there needs to be supporting options -- how and when to play them. It's sad to say this, but this is a tip of the hat to how EA does things. Also, a lot of the time, music won't even play while racing. Again, the option for this needs to be given.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is, overall, a great game. It is a complete game -- not a demo. There are a few nitpicky areas that we've mentioned, but in general, most of these complaints can be easily fixed in future patches. Given how Prologue will be supported up until GT5's eventual release, those desired changes have a good chance of becoming reality. At a discounted $40 price, Prologue is a good deal. You're getting a great driving sim and one of the most realistic looking games ever.

PS3 Fanboy review score: 8.5

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Metareview: Grand Theft Auto IV

Andrew Yoon — 2008-04-27T14:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

With Grand Theft Auto IV hitting store shelves this week, the reviews have finally started to pour in. We haven't seen such universal acclaim for a title this generation. From the looks of things, no matter which version you get (PS3 or Xbox 360), you're in for quite a ride:

IGN (100/100) - " For those wanting to know which version looks better, the edge goes to the PS3 ... Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best games we've ever seen ... The only thing you need to know is that you have to play this game. Period."
1UP (100/100) - "The PS3 version has the slightest visual edge, plus motion-control support ... Liberty City is no longer just a place you explore outdoors, looking for stunt jumps or the thrill of a six-star wanted level after riling up the LCPD during missions. I spent hours of my week-long review session checking out the game's indoor attractions."
GameTrailers (98/100) - "Rockstar always has a knack for choosing just the right songs to set the tone of its games, and once again it's hit a homerun with Grand Theft Auto IV."

So which game are you picking up this week?

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PS3 Fanboy review: Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds

Majed Athab — 2008-03-17T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

The game of golf is all about precision, patience, and looking swank in plaid. Unquestionably, this checklist of golfing requirements was on the developers' minds when they started designing Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds. If we take those three terms and translate them into the context of videogames, it would sound something like this: precision comes in the form of an intuitive yet complex gameplay; patience describes the progressive difficulty and the game's longevity; and lastly, plaid symbolizes a stylish design. Well okay, plaid isn't that stylish, but you get the point right?

As Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds introduces a new style of play, it still is more or less true to its roots. We've enjoyed the game immensely and we've got to clap our hands together for Clap Hanz. Nice shotto!

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The biggest difference between Out of Bounds and other Hot Shots Golf games is the addition of a new way to play the game. Called "advanced shot," this play style makes the golfing experience feel more authentic; it's more about actually swinging the club and getting the feel of a swing, rather than monitoring a gauge like in the traditional style. While the first few tries with the advance shot feel awkward, it's not too long before it becomes second nature to play with. The advance mode is such a better way to play, we ended up using it for 88% of our total playtime according to our in-game stats.

While the traditional shot requires players to keep an eye on a guage at the bottom of the screen to adjust power and accuracy, the advance shot needs players to carefully watch their characters. As a character draws their club back, he/she is charging energy for their swing. To make sure you know how much kick goes into the swing, keep an eye on the yellow and red flashes (50% and 100% power respectively), then adjust as you so desire. After the power is set, it's time for accuracy. In advance shot, a circle will appear and continue to shrink until it's the size of the golf ball. To hit absolutely accurate shots, players will have to press x at the point when the circle is the smallest and right on the golf ball itself. Hit too early or too late and you'll face some disastrous consequences. This might sound tough, but it's not; it's really quite easy to get a hang of. It's also a whole lot of fun.

The single player "challenge mode" is the core of the game. It's here where you sign-up for tournaments and advance your rank. When you win a challenge, you can net yourself a prize. The prize is chosen by the player from a set of six mystery cards; only one card can be chosen. Oddly enough, multiple prizes can be given out if you've met certain other requirements at the same time, like say finishing ten challenges will bag you a new character. One annoying thing about this though is that prizes are not always unique and can repeat. It becomes annoying because winning a tourney should always be rewarded, it's lame not to get something new each time. It becomes slightly more of an irritation knowing that you're unrewarded for coming in second. The Prizes themselves range from: new courses, characters, caddies, color palettes, clubs, golf balls, and lobby parts for your online avatar.

To unlock certain characters, you'll need to face-off with them in special matches in challenge mode. You'll have to qualify for these matches though; to do this you need to finish a certain number of challenges depending on your rank. When you finally reach these versus matches, they play out using the "match play" rules. This means that instead of tallying your total score of birdies and pars, you're scored separately by how many holes you've won. It's completely possible to win way before reaching the ninth green, if you keep a consistently better record than your opponent. When you've beaten the character, you will also move up to the next rank. These versus battles come off feeling like "boss battles" in a sense; they're also a really great way to mix things up.

If the challenges are not your cup of tea, then there's always room for the training and stroke modes. The training mode obviously lets players play around with taking shots; shots can be retaken over and over again in order to get it just right, and the wind can be adjusted to test out other conditions that will affect play. Stroke mode is basically just playing a round of golf at one's own leisure.

The game is not overly difficult. There is no optional adjustment for difficulty, instead the game just gets progressively more difficult as you move up in rank. The courses get harder as there's more and more water hazards, out of bounds areas, physical obstructions, and dastardly-placed sand traps. In the earlier stages, it's possible to get by only making par a few times and fumbling bogeys every now and then. By the intermediate stages, it's about the right time to start cranking in some birdies. Indirectly tied to the difficulty, one complaint about the courses is that they are so few and spread far apart. There are only six in total and this means that you'll be playing the same course multiple times before getting to a new one. This can make things feel a bit repetitious, especially in the beginning.

As golf gear is unlocked, you'll have a treasure trove of clubs and golf balls to use. These tools will modify a character's stats, so it's important to choose the right gear that will bring out a character's strength. As you continue to win challenges, you won't only unlock prizes, but will also increase in player's level which unlocks the use of special skills like the "Super Top Spin." Also, as you continue to play as a specific character, their loyalty level goes up; with every level increase, the character will get an added bonus such as an extra special shot allowance as there is a limited number of uses of these specials.

Other factors that affect the outcome of a match include weather conditions like the appearance of the rain, or the intensity and direction of the wind. The angle of a slope while putting is another; getting caught in a sand trap or finding yourself in the rough can make things difficult to get to where you want to be. Also, you can add a spin to a shot by tapping the d-pad while a shot is powering up. These elements are nothing new to the series, but are still worth mentioning because they add such a complexity to the title and make the experience so enjoyable.

The multi-player mode supports up to four players. There are only two ways to play multi-player: stroke (a regular match) and match play (similar to the boss battles in challenge mode). You can adjust HSG rules in stroke mode adding special conditions like having a bigger cup than the standard size, or including stroke penalties. Also, a fun little part of multi-player that's not possible in the single player or online modes is that you can taunt your opponents while they putt. Use a different direction on the d-pad to execute unique taunts.

Now the reason why taunts are not possible in online play is because you won't wait and watch your opponents take their turns. Instead, everyone plays simultaneously and under time pressure to complete a hole. When a hole is over, you'll be taken to a status screen displaying everyone's position. At this time, it's possible to make comments about the previous match until another timer runs out and the next match starts. The tourney we were in had about four players, though the maximum allowance was around eight. You can make a customizable avatar to meet up with buddies; you can edit the head, face, body, and two accessories with items unlocked from the single player challenge mode. There are around 20 lobbies, each with a different theme -- everything from an African safari to Japanese onsen. A disappointing part, however, is that your lobby avatar is not usable in actual golfing matches. It's a minor complaint, but it's one that does make the customization of an online character a bit moot.

The graphics in the game are great. They're sure not pushing the PS3 hardware though, and that's fine. The anime-ish bright atmosphere is always a pretty sight to look at it. The environments aren't particularly stunning but they have enough charisma to warrant interest in seeing the same scenery again and again. The music, however, does tend to get boring pretty quick. Some of the spectator comments can get on one's nerves, too. Hearing some bloke continuously mouth off "hit it over there pal," at the beginning of a shot is all it takes to get hot and bothered. Often times, we'll end up turning the music off and listening to our own.

Another excellent feature of the game is that it automatically records your unbelievably amazing chip-ins and putts. It's a huge boost to the ego, especially now that you can show off to friends about that hole-in-one. These recording also take up a negligible amount of space on the hard drive as they're included in the regular save file. However, on the note of HDD space, there is a 3.6GB mandatory install. While this may sound like another blow to gigabyte conservatives, it's a well spent install. To sum everything up, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds is a worthy game to add to one's collection and definitely an experience that shouldn't be passed up.

PS3 Fanboy score: 8.5

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PS3 Fanboy review: Rocketmen: Axis of Evil

Andrew Yoon — 2008-03-12T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews, e-Distribution Games

At one point in Rocketmen: Axis of Evil, the main character sighs, shaking his head, wondering "why do I have to do this?" At that one moment, I drop my controller -- it was then that I felt like the game had starting talking to me. Yes, you're right, game! Why do I have to play you? Why must I struggle through level after level of insipid, uninspired game design? How long will it take for me to finish you, so I can write a review and inform our PS3 Fanboy readers to avoid this at all costs?

Paying $10 for a game like Rocketmen is an insult. You're essentially paying for a student project -- however, college professors get paid thousands of dollars to play and critique such amateur work. This is no joke: but at one point, I actually fell asleep while playing the game.

There are a number of things Rocketmen does wrong -- impressive, considering how simple the genre of the dual-analog shooter is.

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Many of the design choices in Rocketmen clearly come from good intentions. For example, the shooter tries to incorporate RPG elements, with customizable characters and a leveling up system. However, both of these features are rather flawed: the customization options are rather limited, allowing players to create rather generic looking characters. Worse are the RPG elements, which take much too long to power up. It's not that the game doesn't reward the player with plenty of XP; rather, it makes each upgrade so painfully small. Each incremental rise of the character stats is barely noticeable ... unless you're counting pixels. Even after hours of playing, it's hard to notice any real effects of leveling up. The addictive nature of experience systems comes from a good rewards system: Rocketmen fails to understand that basic gameplay tenement.

A story attempts to drive the game forward, but the low production values hinder any ability to become engaged or engrossed. Voice acting is present in the game, but we wonder why they even bothered. There's no animation during the awkwardly paced comic book scenes. Worse still, there are no sound effects, and music is a rarity. It feels haphazardly constructed, and one wonders why the story was even bothered.

Gameplay doesn't do much to alleviate the cheap incomplete feel of the overall experience. The controls are fine: it's hard to mess up a dual-analog shooter. However, almost everything else is broken. The semi-automatic rails camera is frustrating: it allows player freedom, but takes it away randomly. There are invisible walls everywhere, which limits player movement, and can make much-needed power-ups that much harder to reach.

The power-ups aren't very fun to use, either. Instead of using an ammo-based system, the developers decided to use a time-based one. Unfortunately, this doesn't work very well in the actual gameplay. Too often will players find themselves ill-equipped for the endless stream of enemies at hand. Unlike Super Stardust HD, there's no strategy involved with weapons selection. Rather, its just about collecting as many power-ups as possible. There's no thought behind which power-ups should be used, simply because it isn't possible.

Repetitive and constricting level design makes the experience that much more painful. Certain levels simply go on for too long, forcing players to go through the same narrow corridors over and over again. The game works best when the player is given space to move around, and can actually, y'know, dodge bullets.

Thankfully, there's only ten levels to get through. Admittedly, multiplayer is much more fun than the single player adventure. However, at the end of the day, it's hard to pay $10 for what feels like an incomplete amateur school project. With so many other dual analog shooters on the PSN, that money could be better used on a much better game.

PS3 Fanboy score: 2.5

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PS3 Fanboy review: Lost: Via Domus

Majed Athab — 2008-03-03T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

When we think about games based off movies and television shows, we tend to believe that they're going to turn out bad. It's not unusual to think this way because more often than not these games really do turn out to be a disappointment; however, we had high hopes for Lost: Via Domus as it was a videogame adaptation of television's most brilliantly engaging show. With Lost TV series writer and producer, Damon Lindelof, guest-supervising the content and themes for the game, we thought Lost: Via Domus was going to be a sure-fired hit. Regrettably, that line of thinking couldn't be any more farther from the truth.

As a game, Lost: Via Domus has nothing unique to offer. It's a below average effort, and feels like a watered-down Uncharted clone with puzzles -- minus all the action. Even so, this game wasn't meant for the hardcore gamers, it was meant for Lost fans; in this regard, it only gets worse as the game fails to perform its duty. At first, it felt exciting to be inside the world of Lost; however, by game's end, we realized just how much potential was "lost" in translation from television to videogame that we'd recommend fans just stick to their show.

Lost: Via Domus puts players in the shoes of Oceanic 815 survivor and photojournalist, Elliot Maslow. After the plane crashes on the island, Elliot is struck with amnesia; on the first night, he is attacked by a man looking for Elliot's camera. The camera, an important plot device, contains incriminating evidence that's crucial to unlocking Elliot's past and is the reason why he was on the plane. Elliot's story is a non-canon gaiden, so the game won't have any direct influence on the show itself, and reversely, does little to propel the Lost experience forward.

While Elliot has never appeared on the show, his story runs parallel with the time line and milestones of the television series. His new perspective of previously seen events actually makes reenacting them feel fresh; however, the writers don't take full advantage of the creative liberties that this re-telling allows, and fail to bring out a gripping narrative that intertwines with the overarching Lost storyline. Elliot's story is told through seven short episodes that thankfully include the authentic "previously on Lost" recap and the iconic Lost title screen -- just like on TV. Despite these authenticities, they are superficial additions compared to what should have been incorporated -- a deeper involvement with the show's characters, more episodes, and some better hints on the show's mysteries.

Now about that last gripe, Damon Lindelof stated in an interview that he didn't want gamers to have to "pay for answers," hence, the reason why you won't be solving any of the show's secrets. That reason is fine, but it's no excuse not to deliver a compelling emulation of Lost. On the flip side, what Via Domus does well is that it takes the island and transforms it into a 3D playground, albeit a limited one. It's fun to explore locales that are no longer seen in the show: the Swan (hatch) and Flame stations, or places like the Black Rock pirate ship, the beach camp, and Hydra station. Little Easter eggs like Locke's wheelchair or Driveshaft CDs dot the game environment, though these little inclusions are just another superfluous addition. Via Domus feels more like a collection of character cameos, Easter eggs, and locales that resemble Lost, but Lost with its very soul zapped out of it.

Story isn't the only letdown, gameplay is also equally disappointing; it's pretty much a run-around fetch quest game with some puzzles in between. To move things along, you'll be following the advice of the Lost cast and their straight-forward one-liner quips; the problem with this is that characters basically spell out what you need to do next -- there is no challenge. After finding out what you need to do, you'll eventually run into one of two puzzle types. The first type revolves around placing fuses onto an electrical panel where the objective is to send the right amount of volt current to power indicators at the other end of the panel. This is actually a nice puzzle that makes you think, and is also used in appropriate areas in the game. The second type is less attractive, as they're IQ tests on a computer; these tests do make you think, but it's nothing beyond what you've taken before in school.

Combat is lackluster and under-used. The only method of attack is available through a bartered gun from Sawyer. The major flaw is that enemies stay stationary on treetop platforms and can snipe you before you ever know they're there. The idea is not that they can easily kill you, in fact they're horrible marksmen; the problem lies, again, in the lack of challenge -- once they fire at you, they give away their position and don't even bother to avoid your return fire. Among all the negativity, one fun moment is the sequence where you have to run from the infamous smoke monster. It's not a concept that hasn't been done before, but it's worth mentioning because it's one of the few high points in the game.

However, the best part of the game has to do with Elliot's flashback sequences. In order to remember his past, Elliot must take a photograph with proper framing and focus. His only clue to getting the right shot is a ripped up version of the photo he must take. The controls can be a little uncomfortable at first as the trigger-like R2 and L2 buttons are a bit sensitive and you can overshoot your target focus or framing. One hidden little trick is that the PS3 version supports the SIXAXIS motion sensing for weapon aiming and camera control. Although this is supported, it's utterly pointless as it's uncomfortable and the right analog stick is a better choice.

The game's graphics are top notch, there's not too much to complain on that front. There are only two problems that show up later in the game, but are minor. One odd graphical glitch makes Elliot reflect light off himself making him look a bit like he is shining and the other is some odd texturing in a hallway leading up to the Flame station. Other than that, flawless. The smoke monster looks fantastic and really seems like it's alive. The character models are also a big thumbs up to the artists for a great job.

Some aspects like the voice acting, however, break the realism of the game. It's quite obvious that many characters are not voiced by their real-life counterparts; however, the voice actors do a good enough job and sound as close to their respective characters as possible. It's also nice to know that the actors for Ben, Desmond, Claire, and Sun lent their voices for the in-game models. Michael Giacchino, the series music composer, has also lent his compositions to the game though we don't think we've heard anything in Via Domus that hasn't been heard from the show previously.

Probably one of the biggest disappointments of Lost: Via Domus is the meager unlockable extras. There's no making-of or behind-the-scenes videos; the only thing we get are a handful of concept paintings. Worse yet, if you're a perfectionist and missed getting one of these unlockables after having finished the game, there's no way of unlocking it without having to erase your old save and restart from the very beginning.

For an extremely short game, Lost: Via Domus has a surprisingly huge 3.7GB mandatory install (despite the back cover reading 3GB). With all it's flaws, Lost: Via Domus is a title hard to recommend -- even to fans. If you're a real Lost fan, save yourself some trouble and rent first. Use those sixty bucks for a better investment: season 3 of Lost on Blu-ray.

PS3 Fanboy score: 5.5

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PS3 Fanboy review: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

Majed Athab — 2008-02-29T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

Before gamers got the chance to play Lost Planet: Extreme Condition on the PS3, they had the option of picking it up for either the Xbox 360 or the PC. Being a port of a year old Xbox 360 game, the PS3 version of Lost Planet had been under the skeptical eyes of patient PlayStation fans awaiting to see if the game was going to be better or worse than the original exclusive. The long-short of it, sadly, the game plays far worse on the PS3.

Despite all its advantages, such as receiving all bonus downloadable content from both PC and 360 versions, getting its own exclusive: Luka as a playable character, and a budget release price, there are some severe problems that weigh the game down. Also, the five gig mandatory install does little in defense of the PS3 version, even though the load times have drastically been sped up. For what it's worth, Lost Planet was a decent game the first time around, but this PS3 port ... not so much.

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The setting for Lost Planet takes place on a frozen alien planet called E.D.N. III. The planet, despite being a subzero wasteland unsuitable for human life, has been inhabited by people in an attempt to populate and colonize. The problem with this is that the planet's native creatures, the Akrid, are a menacing hostile bunch that clearly wants to destroy their new neighbors. The main character, Wayne Holden, struggles to defeat these creatures; at the same time, he fights off snow pirates and a mysterious organization known as NEVEC.

While Lost Planet plays around with many great ideas in terms of plot, its execution and presentation of its narrative and of its characters is something that feels contrived and awkward. The story pacing is too quick, often only showing us quick snippets of the game's characters interacting with one another; hence, the portrayal of their relationships and motives are hindered. Seeing these characters through momentary trysts in a story that spans a couple years makes it very difficult to care for or develop a deep understanding of these characters and their story -- simply because it isn't there. The writing could've used some touch ups, especially when overly melodramatic, squint-eyed, one-word sentences are frequently used to reveal a foreboding ominous presence.

Despite the horrible execution of an otherwise intriguing plot, Lost Planet at least implements its battle system as a well-done, practical tie-in with the game's story. Since the world is extremely cold, Wayne needs to collect thermal energy to keep him warm, and therefore alive. The inclusion of thermal energy puts a satisfying amount of pressure on a player as it acts as a "time limit" for missions; if you run out of thermal energy, Wayne's life will slowly deplete ending in a game over. This adds a different air of strategy to an otherwise familiar third-person shooter experience.

Wayne's grappling hook is a nice little feature which lets him get to higher ground that he can't normally get to by jumping. However, there is a slight problem with this. Players are going to use the grappling hook to ascend to higher ground, but one major flaw that was never addressed in previous games, and disappointingly in the PS3 version as well, is that you can never look straight up. This means that aiming for a sweet spot to latch on to becomes an annoyance because you must move around and find the right position -- often finding out that you've gone too far away and out of reach, or too close that you can't hit a high enough mark to properly land on the platform above. This is also a nuisance for aiming as well since flying enemies and colossal sized Akrid require an upward aiming scheme.

The game allows you to carry up to two gun-type weapons and one grenade-type weapon at any given time. While this may seem to be a loss of weapon choices, it really makes combat more strategic as it forces you to plan out your equipment. Another combat element, the "vital suits" (aka VS) are mecha inventions used to combat the Akrid; Wayne can pilot these hunks of metal, and they really do a great job at changing the combat atmosphere.

However, where there is praise, there is criticism. One problem that leaves the battle system feeling broken is that recuperating from an attack takes too long. For example, if you're knocked to the ground by a rocket, then chances are that a follow up rocket (and possibly successive ones after that) will surely hit you; this is particularly frustrating in VS battles as many enemies will fire multiple rounds of heavy-damage shots; get hit by one, then you can kiss your life points good-bye.

Even worse than this, the PS3 version suffers from abhorrent framerate issues. These problems are most notable in areas with a large number of enemies, and in critical boss fights. This problem can make a huge difference in gameplay if you factor in the issues in the previous paragraph. Cut scenes are sometimes affected by framerate issues, but for the most part they're actually quite good. They look gorgeous too. Graphically, the PS3 and 360 versions generally look identical; however, the PS3 version's particle effects for smoke and explosions look like flat walls rather than cloud-like formations.

The mission levels are well-designed and make good use of the different gameplay elements: VS, grappling hook, etc. Most missions have different environments and unique objectives, though some areas are reused and slightly tweaked to "look new". One nice thing is that some huge boss-like Akrid can be skipped over if you're in the mood to just move on. There's always the option to replay a mission in case you want to go back and defeat these optional foes. Only problem is that these missions are very short, usually ending anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour. Also, there are only eleven missions in all which, like the story, is in need of a little more meat packed in to help flesh out the experience.

As for the online mode, we unfortunately could not get connected online with our review copy; instead, the following impression is of the online multi-player demo available now on the PSN. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong other than a slight, miniscule lag. After several games, we did notice a persevering problem with the framerate that is comparatively as bad as the regular in-game issue.

All in all, the PS3 version of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition had the chance to redeem itself and rectify some of the issues that plagued the game originally. Unfortunately, it didn't address its problems, but only made things worse. If there was one line in the game that sums up the feeling of playing this iteration of Lost Planet, it would be a line from a character named Isenberg. He said at one point, "I grow tired of this game," and we couldn't help but think the same.

PS3 Fanboy score: 6.0

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PS3 Fanboy review: Dynasty Warriors 6

Nick Doerr — 2008-02-25T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Reviews

As soon as you read the subject line, you probably reacted one of two ways: you snorted/coughed/rolled your eyes and may fast-forward to the score, or you thought "oh, cool, they're reviewing Dynasty Warriors 6" and will read this review with interest. That's sort of how the audience is segmented in the Koei universe -- you either enjoy their games or abhor them to the point where you won't even give them a chance (whether or not you ever did is your personal secret). Dynasty Warriors 6 is no exception to this rule.

Koei brought their DW franchise onto the PS3 at long last, boasting several improvements over the previous titles in the series. But can a new level-up system, the ability to swim, climb ladders, and more change the formula up enough to merit calling the game fresh?

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Our answer to that question is what this review will help you decide for yourself. We're torn, honestly. The game is still just as simple as it always has been and should receive a simple review, but we need to go over what's changed and how it stands up to the other Dynasty and Samurai Warriors games. Because when you pretty much own the button-mashy-battlefield genre (let's not talk about Ninety-Nine Nights, please), it's only proper to grade the game based off of how it performs compared to its brethren as well as the usual criteria.

Let's start with the obvious things. New character designs are in and guess what? They're a sight for sore eyes. We applaud Koei for changing up weapon choices and character models for many, many of the characters. However, this comes at a price and any fan of the franchise will notice it right away when they start up the game -- you have 9 characters to choose from at the outset of the game. Most characters you unlock don't have a Musou Mode; they're only usable in Free and Challenge modes. What does this mean? It removes a lot of the drive to level up a character when they have no story or stage progression to dive into -- Free Mode sort of acts as a place to power up characters if you run into a snag during Musou Mode. So, a lot of characters are limited in availability in that respect, but are still available if you don't mind only using them in Free Mode.

The Renbu system replaces the old button-mashing system. It's still button-mashing, though, but this one features a more simplistic, evolving attack pattern that is meant to chain incredibly large combos. The more times you successfully attack enemies, the more your Renbu gauge rises and as it rises, your attack lengthens. For a lot of the game, you will mash the square button for the standard attack relentlessly, but your charged attack (the triangle button) is still effective with certain characters. It breaks the enemy's guard and is slightly more powerful. In addition to those two attacks, you can dodge with one shoulder button and block with the other. While blocking, you can unleash a powerful move against a single opponent if you are near them. It's hardly ever mentioned, but it's there and it's cool.

These fighting mechanics come into play during battle in a few ways: first, standard attacks get you through pretty much any wave of warriors that foolishly jaunt your way. Second, the charge attack is great against powerful officers who tend to guard against all your attacks. Third, and most interesting, the guard attacks are useful when you get trapped in a circle duel with a powerful enemy officer. See, randomly, if your army and an enemy's army are clashing while you try to take out their leader, they'll stop fighting amongst each other and trap you in a circle where they force you to duel the officer one-on-one. It's really interesting to watch but even more fun to take part in. If you try to leave the circle, you'll get pushed back in. It's entertaining, but rare.

Several new additions were put into this game. The skill tree, which is similar to the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X and the system from Xenosaga, is a very good improvement over old styles of leveling up. Now you can choose your growth path with any character -- each character has a different skill tree. It's probably the best addition they made, next to climbing ladders. Why is ladder climbing such a big deal? Because with it, a whole new concept was born: castle sieges. Most gates you can break open with conventional weaponry, but some require a major effort on your part. You need to defeat guard captains and defend your engineers so they can run up to the castle wall and place ladders for you to climb. Then, you ascend the castle wall and eliminate the enemy catapults and ballistas that impede the construction of your army's gate ram. Finally, you return to the ground and defend the ram until construction is complete and it successfully destroys the enemy gate. It's a very cool experience that definitely freshens up the formula a bit.

Oh, and you can swim. It doesn't have much implementation outside of an alternate path through a battlefield or wading through a flooded castle, but it's still a cool addition we're glad to see finally put into place. A couple more additions worth mentioning: you can slide down the side of cliffs. This is really convenient if you need to descend a mountain quickly to assist someone at the base, and it looks cool. Every battle has "Targets" now, which are like sub-objectives to keep you on your toes and give you some direction in the battle other than "kill everything". A few of these targets are very challenging to achieve and a worthwhile addition to the game.

One major gripe on my part, personally: no Officer Edit mode. You can't create your own character to wreak havoc with. The opportunity is there -- craft a character with any kind of weapon and assign them a skill tree that flows in a certain way. For example, if you build an officer with a heavy sword, you could assign him a skill tree that emphasizes attack strength, but sacrifices defense and speed. Or you could force that character to balance out by adopting a tree with less attack growth, but more speed and special skills.

Some more gripes: the disappearing soldiers are still around. It's not as apparent in single-player, but as soon as you get a friend to play, you will have enemies vanishing pretty often. Slowdown is a problem in co-op mode, too. A quick fix is to jam your cameras into an overhead position, but it shouldn't be like that in the first place. I said it once before, but the lack of Musou Mode characters is depressing, but not the end of the world. The gameplay remains the same as always which for some is just fine, but for others is another reason to avoid the series again. You're missing out on some casual fun, though.

This brings me to my final point and please, Koei, I hope you can take this to heart. This game could benefit greatly by microtransactions and downloadable content. Adding characters to Musou Mode doesn't require the release of an Xtreme Legends; just a dollar or two. Patching in a fix for the aforementioned slowdown or disappearing enemies is possible instead of letting it go. Adding an Officer Edit mode is possible down the line -- heck, the entire reason for Xtreme Legends is nullified. If Koei wanted, they could unleash an Xtreme Legends expansion for a low price on the PlayStation Store that addresses these issues and adds even more good stuff.

The bottom line is that this is Dynasty Warriors for the PS3. The graphics are decent but nothing special, the gameplay is mindless for the most part, but satisfying, and the story is the same as ever. Luckily, the narrator and voice actors got a few lessons in how to pronounce Chinese names, but their acting abilities are mediocre at best. The new additions are great, but when weighed against the sacrifice of characters and the Officer Edit mode, it's just like adding weight to both sides of the scale -- there's more, but no change. Hopefully downloadable content is on Koei's itinerary and we'll have the definitive Dynasty Warriors game over time. But for now, it's just a polished up and decent version of something we're familiar with.

PS3 Fanboy Score: 7.5

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