PS3 Fanboy

How much do you like Time Crisis 4? Is it the kind of game you'd spend $180 on? Well, that's what Namco Bandai is asking from players that want to play the game with two players. The Guncon 3 peripheral does not come separately, and will not come separately from the game, effectively forcing fans to purchase two copies of the game. The Consumerist contacted Namco Bandai's live support and got this response: "I'm sorry, but the Guncon 3 is not sold separately. It is only sold bundled with Time Crisis 4 ... If you wish to play two players using two Guncon 3s then you will need another copy of Time Crisis 4."

Strangely, Namco Bandai won't sell extra controllers directly either. "We do not sell replacement Guncon 3s. If the Guncon 4 [sic] is defective, then we can provide an RMA exchange where we'll inspect and repair or replace your Guncon 3."

Much of the appeal of games like Time Crisis 4 comes from the ability to play with friends. Why is Namco Bandai making it so difficult (and expensive) for PS3 fans to make Time Crisis 4 a better game? "At least it's cheaper than the arcade version," must be thought going through their heads.

[Thanks, Alkaiser!]

Yeah, we left you on a sort of cliffhanger last time we talked about the creation of the new Guncon for Time Crisis 4, but as promised, we're back to follow up with the final steps of its creation. First and foremost (and important to this blogger on a personal level), we have been assured that the new Guncon 3 design works equally well for left-handed players, so fear not if you think the design favors one handedness over another.

A second humorous point is the fact that outside of Japan, the Guncon 3 has a really cheesy (literally) bright orange color. Japan gets a cool black one. Why? Government regulations in the US and certain parts of Europe -- anything modeled after a gun needs to look significantly different than a real gun.

It helps that the gun is accurate. The hardware side of the gun sounds impressive: "the lens of the gun was designed by a company that makes precision lenses used in cameras and scanners that can minimize distortion at the 90mm level. In the Guncon 3 itself, there are chips dedicated to computing the location of the sensors, which can detect their position within 1/60th of a second and transmit the data to the PS3. These chips also contain the functionality to detect movement and tilt" like a Sixaxis -- might be handy for reloading? Anyway, check out the post on the PlayStation Blog to see all the prototypes and the final result.

It's about time we saw another trailer for Time Crisis 4, the baddest mother of all arcade shooters. Debatable, but we'll say it under the condition you guys offer your favorite arcade shooters in your comments. A personal favorite, for example, is Crypt Killer. It was rad. So is this trailer. Not only does it seem like you get a large array of weapon possibilities, but you get to control helicopters, have standard-looking missions a la previous Time Crisis games as well as the new fully controllable "FPS Stages". Lookin' good!

Ever wondered what kind of work goes into creating those GunCon devices? The one you'll use for Time Crisis 4 is different from its predecessors, as it dictates all on-screen movement as well as aiming/shooting. This is something the franchise has wanted to do for a while, but with the GunCon 2 and older consoles, it just didn't seem feasible. As you can see from the picture, early renderings put an analog stick where the gun's hammer would be. It doesn't look that comfortable for moving around a level, honestly, but that's why it's an early rendering and not the final product.

After a month, a prototype was created where two people could move around in a room and try to shoot one another. It only had algorithms for horizontal aiming, which obviously had vertical aiming to add later, but for the gun itself, testing it this way was necessary. We're left wondering about the final stages of the process, as it has yet to be written. It seems a lot of work was put into the GunCon 3, so much so that the game itself seems like an add-on, though it's the reason for the redesign.

How can an $80 game ever be a deal? Well, when it includes the Guncon 3. Namco Bandai's upcoming Time Crisis 4 is a pricey purchase thanks to the bundled peripheral. However, it promises to be the most advanced light gun on the market. Hopefully, we'll see other games support the Guncon -- it would be a total waste to just make a single game for it. The PSN is a perfect place for Namco Bandai (or any other publisher) to release small new light gun games. (Of course, we hope Sega realizes how perfect it would be to bring Let's Go Jungle! to the system ... )

Amazon.com is offering the game and gun peripheral for $80. Yes, it's a bit much, but it's probably the cheapest pre-order you'll find right now.

[Via CAG]