PS3 Fanboy

Those of you who enjoy your beat-em-ups will no doubt be pleased with the recent European PSN update. As well as a couple of trailers for upcoming PS3 games, Sony gave us Mortal Kombat 2. The full release list is as follows.

• Mortal Kombat 2 (£1.99)
• Colin McRae: DiRT trailer (free)
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma trailer (free)

Isn't it is nice to finally get some playable content with a name that doesn't start with "Go!"? MK2 is a worthwhile purchase, especially considering the low price. We reviewed it in May (back when the Americans got it), giving it a score of nothing-to-write-home-about out of ten. Things can only get better for the PSN though, with upcoming releases of Calling All Cars and Super Stardust HD. Will removing the spines of our friends over the internet keep us occupied until then? We hope so.

Sony has announced that tonight they are releasing the SOE remake of the arcade classic, Rampage World Tour, through the North American PLAYSTATION Store. Priced at the standard rate of a mere $4.99, the downloadable title allows you to play as any of the three classic Rampage characters as you tear down skyscapers and generally terrorize the city. The game also offers multiplayer action for up to three people, online or local - no word on if it supports voice chat though.

I'm pretty stoked about this title myself. I liked Mortal Kombat II a lot, but Gauntlet II was kind of lacking in the fun department. Rampage looks solid though, graphics held up surprisingly well and something about the simple, destructive nature of the gameplay of the original always entertained me.

[Via Press Release]

Today gives us the opportunity to look at the reviews given to the PS Store's downloadable Mortal Kombat II. Before we get into our impressions, we'll do as we always do and cite the big-name review sites. Their scores for this game were surprising. There aren't too many reviews on the game, though. Without further ado, here are some of the scores given to MKII.

• IGN: 7.3 / 10
• GameSpot: 7.9 / 10

What we noticed in these reviews is that the reviewers didn't actually review the title as what it is, rather, as what it was. "Oh, this game was great in 1993!" were slapped over both reviews, listing what the game offered back then and how it still does all those things. What our impressions were entailed how that doesn't matter two kicks of the donkey -- the game as it is now really sucks. Read on to listen to our reasoning, or just flame away for no reason now.

So it would seem the release of Mortal Kombat II on the PS Store actually contributed to helping out Midway's Q1 numbers. We'll be reviewing that title this weekend and here's a teaser -- we aren't pleased. Sales for Midway this first quarter were a reported $11.1 million, down from the previous quarter's $15.4 million. Their net loss is teetering on $19.8 million, which is better than last year and better than anticipated. Most of Midway's killer titles are due out later this year.

CEO David Zucker was pleased, saying the company's performance "exceeded our expectations during the first quarter primarily due to the continuing sales of our holiday 2006 releases and other catalog titles." Heck, those random-number-generating analysts snidely remarked that Midway would only see $8 million in sales by the end of the first quarter.

Still, Midway isn't making that many games -- they're creating a few new titles on the PSP and DS, but the Wii will be getting a remake of MK: Armageddon, the 360 will snag Hour of Victory, and continued sales of Lord of the Rings Online will probably bear the brunt of sales for the rest of the year. We'd like to see more from these guys on the PS3 -- maybe a new IP. We'll keep you posted if anyone gets talked up, but for now, we'll just continue to shrug at these numbers.

What happens when an undisclosed number of game developers stop making the same blood-drenched fighting games and start getting real? A terrible Real World special. That's what. After Armageddon, MK creator Ed Boon said the next title in the franchise will be more realistic-looking and "not going to be like jokes." Indeed. It'll be an edgier move, grittier, dirtier. Darker? Whatever they plan, they're planning from scratch. Other than the idea of it being a fighting game, anything after that is open for consideration. No kart-racing, please.

Boon added this about the upcoming (read: end of 2008) game: "We're not putting any restrictions like we HAVE to keep weapons or we HAVE to keep fighting styles and stuff like that... we're going to... try to introduce as many new characters as possible, new features, new stuff like that and take advantage of the amazing presentation, graphics that all of a sudden you can do, things that are a lot more real." New characters are always welcome, really. As far as features go, Boon and his Boonies (teehee, it's like Goonies) will try to incorporate the SIXAXIS controls in there and use the next-gen consoles as fully as possible. We look forward to seeing what gets revealed... next year.

Oh yeah! This brings back the old-school memories. Button mashing never got any better than Mortal Kombat II, and now you can experience it all over again on your PS3 this week. From the press release:

"Get ready to re-live all of the classic arcade action that made Mortal Kombat II a beloved classic. Brought back and available for download exclusively on the PS3, re-experience the classic head-to-head fighting game featuring classic characters such as Sub-Zero or Goro. Players will fight their way through the Outworld and defeat Shang Tsung or battle hidden characters including Jade and Smoke!"

Ten new levels, online multiplayer and smack-talk inducing leaderboards will likely make this the best $5 you've spent in a long, long time. Get ready to download it on the PLAYSTATION Store this Thursday. And try not to break your SIXAXIS ... that thing is not made for prolonged thumb attacks.

If you've been following the Mortal Kombat universe, you know that the latest installment, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, saw the end of many storylines and characters. It's the final battle between good and evil! That's the end of it, right? No more krazy kombat? Nah. It's just the end of this console generation and in the minds of the MK team, the end of the fighting mechanics we're used to.

On the next game, we've been told to expect "a bunch of brand new characters, a whole new fighting system, a new presentation with the new graphics for the new consoles, as well as a new control scheme to take advantage of some of the new technology available." This is coming from Ed Boon, creative director of the MK team. So it's all going to be new! Well, a few of the old character may stick around, but even so, this is great news! This intrepid blogger always enjoys new installments of a series where the slate is wiped clean, so to speak.

Over at IGN, an interview was covered between GamesIndustry.biz and Midway CEO David Zucker. Zucker stood behind Sony's ever popular pricing decision with many points given similar to the breakdown of a bargain posted the other day. He mentioned the very inclusion of a Blu-Ray player and all features that come with that makes it worth the price. If the market for Blu-Ray takes off and it becomes the norm, it helps not only the PS3 all the more, but the Blu-Ray world as well.

While PS3 does gather a lot of bad press, this is yet another very large, recognizable company name that does indeed lend support to Sony. Just a basic checklist of companies (well, person/persons in a company, but for generalization) that support Sony so far include, but aren't limited to: Square-Enix, Konami, EA, Midway and Activision. It may not seem like much, but it's better than being surrounded by flame.

[Update: Fixed a typo.]