EL33TONLINE: News archive for author Oliver
According to a translation of an official Capcom announcement, Resident Evil fans will have a few SKU choices to make when Resident Evil 5 hits both the PS3 and Xbox 360 next year.
First of all, there are console specific bonuses that come with the standard editions of Resi 5. The PS3 version gets a behind-the-scenes making-of video (apparently created by “Hollywood staff,” whatever that means), while an Xbox 360 ‘Deluxe Edition’ will ship with a metal case and a soundtrack CD. Once the ‘Deluxe Edition’ runs out, the Xbox 360 standard edition will contain only the game, while the PS3 standard edition has the making of video on the same disc as the game.
Besides the choice between which console you’ll be buying the game for, you’ll also be faced with the option of buying the ‘Limited Edition’ of Resident Evil 5. This edition comes with a 2 GB memory stick (shaped like an in-game object), a 32-page art book as well as a waist pouch (also shaped like an in-game pouch), all contained within a fancy box.
Resident Evil 5 is coming next year March to both Xbox 360 and PS3. For previous El33tonline coverage, head on over here. Images of the Limited Edition items can be found below:
A huge update graced the PlayStation Store last week, with tons of demos, full games and the usual selection of videos, themes and add-on content, as well as Rock Band and Guitar Hero: World Tour DLC.
The pick of the bunch would have to be Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on the US PSN, while Europe got Age of Booty. On the US side, there were also a variety of temporary price drops for an assortment of games, including The Last Guy, echochrome and PixelJunk Eden. The full US and European PlayStation Store updates follow below:
Another eclectic collection of Rock Band downloadable content will be available this week on the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, with songs from bands such as Children of Bodom and Tokio Hotel.
There are nine incoming songs total, one of which (Headphones On by Miranda Cosgrove) is free, while the rest (except one) feature a lower than normal price for one month, after which the price will revert to normal (i.e. the price doubles).
The tracks will be available December 2nd on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and December 4th on the PlayStation Network. The full track listing follows below:
It was recently announced that the online service, MyPSN, has now been integrated with the European PlayStation.com website, allowing you to manage your friends list, see what games they’re playing, participate in special events and create a Portable ID, a graphic that can be embedded into websites and forums showing off your PlayStation Network stats. From the official forum:
“From November 27, 2008 all user accounts at eu.playstation have been updated with new features. By combining these with PlayStation Network accounts, you can update your email preferences, register your console and enter prize draws.”
Sign in and go to the My PSN page in the PlayStation Network section to see which of your friends are online, create an official Portable ID to show your friends your favourite games, and take part in events to suit all tastes by checking out the Events Calendar.”
Head on over to the official website to register.
After it was widely reported that the PS3 version of Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon had been cancelled, it’s been announced that that isn’t the case entirely, as the PS3 version will still be released in Europe, while the US version has been cut. The European release has been delayed, however, as a THQ spokesperson said:
“Destroy all Humans: Path of the Furon will be released on both the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3 formats on February 13th 2009 across Europe.
“Due to the game being shipped earlier in North America on December 2nd, a decision was made to proceed exclusively with the Xbox 360 format in that market.”
Destroy All Humans, if you’re new to the series, follows the misadventures of an alien named Crypto, running around an open-world, free-roaming environment, with this edition set in the “Funked Out ‘70’s” as Crypto sets out on “a journey of Destruction and Enlightenment.” The title can clue you in to what you’ll be doing in the game. Path of the Furon will be the third entry to the series.
You can watch the E3 trailer over here, or look at some newly released footage from the game, following below:
If you’ve been playing Mortal Kombat games for any amount of time, you would have heard the bass-booming sounds of the announcer reverberating through your speakers, commanding you to ‘Finish Him!’ or commending you on a ‘Flawless Victory!’
‘The Voice’ can say other things as well, as an interview with Maxim soon proves. Hernan Sanchez, the man behind the voice, has been convinced to utter sayings related to the series but of a different nature altogether, such as ‘Tickle Him!’ and ‘Obama Wins, Flawless Victory!’ Pretty funny stuff.
Click through below to hear Sanchez rumble through some other sayings, such as ‘Epic Fail!’ and ‘Forgive Him!’
Videogame peripheral and accessories manufacturer, Sunflex Europe GmbH, has today announced the successful launch of their Zero G Motion Controller, bundled with Need For Speed: Undercover.
The Zero G Motion Controller is an officially licensed PlayStation product and introduces motion sensing technology to the PlayStation 2. From the press release:
“A 3D motion sensor provides intuitive steering and movement, matching the functions of the left mini joystick. The sensor can be turned on and off, accommodating the player’s individual preferences.” Owner and Managing Director of Sunflex Europe GmbH, Mike Steup had this to say:
“Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed Undercover is destined to become one of the holiday’s biggest racing hitsWith its innovative acceleration sensor for optional motion detection, the Zero G Motion is the ultimate controller to experience Need for Speed Undercover – we are happy to offer gamers throughout the United Kingdom, a fantastic bundle at an amazing competitive price”.
The bundle coincides with the European release of Undercover and will retail for £39.99, or you can get the control on its own for £17.99. For more information you can head on over to the official website.
While there’s all the usual stuff you may have come to expect from any given Xbox LIVE Marketplace update, there’s only one bit of content that’s worth any real time.
Yep, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has hit Marketplace, and for only 1200 MS Points, it’s a bit of a deal. Receiving an excellent, high definition makeover and even a few gameplay improvements, Super Street Fighter II Turbo is back and better than ever!
Other new content on Marketplace today includes the following (Note: certain items are only available in specific regions):
It’s been revealed, via an official forum post by Guerrilla’s QA manager, Seb Downie, that there won’t be a required install for the their upcoming blockbuster first person shooter, Killzone 2:
“We are not planning to do any install.”
When further probed by a forum member on whether or not there would be an optional install, Downie replied:
“No install. Optional or otherwise.”
Well, there you have it. Just another chaotic day in the news room. This will make a welcome change, however, as more and more titles take advantage of the available PS3 hard drive. Killzone 2 is set for release in February next year, exclusively on PS3.
Bethesda Softworks have announced their intentions to release game expanding downloadable content as well as a mod construction kit for PC players.
The DLC comprises three packs each seeing individual releases in January, February and March next year. The first is entitled Operation: Anchorage following the liberation of a Chinese-occupied Alaska, while the second, The Pit, adds an industrial raiders town in the ruins of Pittsburgh. The third, Broken Steel, places you in the boots of a Brotherhood of Steel member, attempting to exterminate the pockets of Enclave supporters in and around Capital Wasteland. This DLC will be available for an unspecified price exclusively on PC and Xbox 360, through Games for Windows LIVE and Xbox LIVE Marketplace respectively.
The mod construction kit, on the other hand, called G.E.C.K (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) is a toolset allowing PC players to create and change Fallout 3 content to create their own maps, missions and items. This construction kit will be available for free in December.
You remember Bungie announced that game, Halo 3: Recon, which was to act as a kind of standalone game set in the Halo universe, following the exploits an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper in the currently-occupied city of New Mombasa, promising an all new campaign, as well as additional Halo 3 content?
Well, it’s still coming, only under a different name. Instead of the subtitle ‘Recon,’ Bungie are going with the less easy to remember (and say) ‘ODST,’ meaning the full title of the afore-explained game is Halo 3: ODST. Same game, different name, although we’re still assured we’ll get access to the Recon armour. That would only have made sense to Halo players…
In the theme of ‘same… same,’ Bungie have released an announcement trailer, which is the same trailer you may have already seen a couple dozen times before, but here it is to enjoy… again.
Halo 3: ODST will be releasing ‘next fall,’ while the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack will be hitting Xbox LIVE Marketplace early next year. To learn more than you’d ever care to know about the ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), you can head on over to Bungie’s site for an internal interview with Bungie’s fiction guru.
Quantum of Solace has no place in the current holiday line up of action games. It’s not an all out blockbuster, it’s not a focussed stealth game and there’s no pretence of strategy or thoughtful, tactical gameplay. The identity pieces it could have claimed are the inclusion of the very protagonist you control (James Bond) as well as the fact that the game spans the duration of the two most recent Bond movies, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, but these hooks are squandered on poor implementation of the stories from the movies and what seems like downright amnesia on the part of the developers, never taking advantage of Bond’s assumed access to all manner of skills and gadgets.
We need to forget these things, however, as assumed knowledge is a dangerous thing. The game presented and the content provided is the extent of the experience and thinking about what’s not in the game will always give us a poor impression of the final product. Instead, we can focus on what is included on the Quantum of Solace disc, such as the solid, visceral first-person and over-the-shoulder gunplay, reliable cover mechanics and what amounts to a pretty fun, 6 - 7 hour adventure through a diverse selection of locations. Not without its qualms, Quantum of Solace won’t be remembered beyond the end of the year, or even the end of the credits, but it’s the kind of game you could easily dip back into once you’ve finished it, with multiplayer options to add a bit of longevity.
Continue reading El33tonline’s Xbox 360 review of Quantum of Solace.
For everybody looking for a good, free time on Xbox LIVE today (and the PlayStation Network on Thursday), you’ll be able to get in on the Dead Space action by downloading the demo.
The ‘Dismemberment Demo’ apparently “showcases the critically acclaimed combat and strategic dismemberment of the epic sci-fi action game. As Engineer Isaac Clarke, strategically dismember the Necromorph hordes as you carve a bloody path to survival.”
Sounds just great! Go get it now, if you’ve got the stomach for it for that is…
To celebrate the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, here’s the Final Round trailer, featuring a small recap of the events in the story so far as well as the climactic final battle betweek Ryu and M. Bison.
Or is it the Final Round?
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix should be available later today on the US PlayStation Store seeing as how the release date is today (November 25th) and all regions of Xbox LIVE tomorrow.
Game developers Funcom (Age of Conan) and Gearbox Software (Brothers in Arms) are the latest development companies to face the difficult decision of letting valued staff members go.
Funcom have been forced to lay off a section of their US-based customer service and QA staff for the PC massively multiplayer RPG, Age of Conan, presumably due to lower-than-expected performance of the MMOG, the former part of which was confirmed in a statement by Norway-based Funcom, also revealing new hire opportunities:
“We did have some staffing cuts at Funcom this week as well as new positions opening in the organization as part of our ongoing cost based efficiency and performance initiatives that are vital to any business.”
Gearbox Software, meanwhile, have 25 to 26 staff redundancies on their hands, following the release of two of their completed games, Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway and the Wii version of Samba de Amigo. Gearbox are now focussing on consolidating their talent and moving forward as a more efficient organisation, as Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford spins:
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