GG Weekly Videogame News 
Monster Games producing new game for Nintendo
Top Secret - EXITEEE?
locallygrownnorthfield.org
Iga_Bobovic
Display:
Order by:
Recently Spotted:
robio (3m)
I thought they both sucked.
I guess Bioware should just make a home console Sonic RPG/platformer. That would work for me.
i wish i could play the new Prince of Persia, it looks totally sick. i love the art-style and i think i would really like the game. ubisoft montreal should have been working on this from the beginning instead of wasting their time and ours on the beautiful garbage that was assassin's creed.
on a happy note... ii will get a hands-on with Little Big Planet today as I am visiting my friend who has a PS3. so excited
___
Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
Sorry to say but after 3 prince of persia games I am totally burnt out and wont touch another one for a good amount of time.
More screens
PSP vs DS. Yikes
The NPD Group graciously provided Gamasutra with a corresponding top 5 software list for the Nintendo DS.
Each title in the PSP top 5 is a third-party title and, moreover, not exclusive to the PSP. While the GTA titles each started out exclusively on the PSP, they were each later ported to the PlayStation 2.
Conversely, the titles on the Nintendo DS list are all published by Nintendo (i.e first party titles), and most of them are exclusive to the system.
Furthermore, the best-selling PSP title still has lesser sales than the fifth best-selling title on the Nintendo DS.
In fact, the Game Informer article elaborates on the scale of Nintendo DS software sales, explaining that 20 games have exceeded 1 million units in sales; by comparison only the three PSP titles shown above have sold over 1 million units in the United States.
Through a greater number of titles and greater per-title unit sales, the Nintendo DS has moved twice the volume of software that the PSP has in its lifetime
Good news for people with older consoles or a large dvd collection in standard definition.
Toshiba is doing something about the problem of scaling up the 480p picture to 720p or 1080p HDTVs so it wont look like crap. About time a fricking company addressed the issue and made it known. They have made a new range of products that concentrates on upscaling an SDTV signal so it doesn't add jaggies and lose sharpness and so your Xbox or Wii or Dreamcast or dvds wont look like crap on an HDTV. The new tech is called Resolution +
If you go here:
http://www.toshiba.co.uk/upscaling/
It shows an admittedly exagerated example of the difference between the scaling and no scaling. If you're playing a Wii on an HDTV I pity you. But their new range of TVs called Rezga ZV are designed to adress this (released on 1st December). If, god forbid, my big SDTV craps out and given that the stores here are phasing out CRT and SDTVs, I will be looking into this line with mucho interest.
Toshiba’s new upscaling technology enhances standard definition content to near high definition quality.
With upscaling, you’re not limited to watching only certain channels or DVDs to see the difference in picture quality. Images will be richer, sharper and clearer every time, on any channel or DVD, meaning everything you watch will be astonishing
For the Regza ZV TVs and the F50 and G50 series
of Qosmio laptops, upscaled via Resolution+ technology, images are brought to life by enhancing edges of images and increasing the sharpness and focus of the texture.
The XDE-500 DVD player, which incorporates the new XDE (eXtended Detail Enhancement) technology, upscales standard DVDs from 480i to 1080p resolution. However, what makes the player truly unique is its three additional video processes which improve detail, colour and contrast of the image.
If you go here:
http://www.toshiba.co.uk/upscaling-dvd-player-xde/
You get a video explaining XDE tech for the DVD player.
Introducing Toshiba's new groundbreaking upscaling DVD player, encompassing the new XDE (eXtended Detail Enhancement) technology. The XDE DVD player provides more than just upscaling. It takes DVD picture quality to a whole new level.
By enhancing video and detail closer to the HD (High Definition) experience, XDE technology lets you enjoy your existing DVD collection in a whole new way
Toshiba's XDE technology includes three additional video processes to deliver sharper, cleaner images with richer, more vibrant colours and contrast.
Utilising the well-oiled muscle of technology built on Sony’s powerhouse Cell processor, Toshiba has this week unveiled its new Regza ZV series, which, according to the Japanese consumer electronics giant, is imbued with upscaling capabilities pushing close to HD quality.
Specifically, the Tokyo-based manufacturer claims its new ZV series delivers near high-definition (HD) image quality from standard definition (SD) sources by scanning and upscaling through Toshiba’s Spursengine, which uses a Cell processor algorithm.
Boasting Full-HD panels with 1920x1080p resolution, the flat-screen LCD Regza ZV television line will also include 100Hz picture processing through Toshiba’s Active Vision M100 HD technology, which doubles the overall image refresh rate and provides 5:5 pulldown sequencing.
Initially rolled out at the IFA show in August of 2008, Toshiba is pushing its Regza ZV range as being able to provide improved on-screen imagery whether upscaling straight from DVD discs or from incoming TV signals.
Other contributing specifications of note include 10-Bit colour processing, dynamic contrast ratios of up to 30,000:1, an integrated digital Freeview tuner, advanced audio courtesy of NICAM Stereo and SRS WOW, three HDMI slots, Component Video, S-Video, and PC input.
An added bonus for gaming addicts is the inclusion of Game Mode technology, which apparently exists as a direct channel specifically for two-way communication between the Regza and any connected games console. Associated benefits include reduced lag, improved response times and a smoother overall gaming experience.
Set to be available at the close of November in dual sizing flavours of either 42-inch or 46-inch, the new Regza ZV comes with a glossy black finish, a swivel stand, and a price ranging from £900 GBP through to £1,200 GBP.
Fuck me, look at this statistic. This is why HD pisses me off:
"There are around 42 million high definition TVs across Europe, but only 1% of the programmes that are watched are viewed in high definition, according to a report by Toshiba." So it craps up everything SD, which is 99% but okay, the 1% you use it for which is basically an HD Console at this point, yeah that will look good. Otherwise it costs a shitload more for not just Blu-ray players or HD boxes, but paying higher prices on discs or monthly subscriptions or even over here, satellite installation etc.
i share the sentiment that HD/blu-ray etc is unnecessary and not worth the premium price. i think most people do except they're being forced to buy HD sets because everything else is being phased out. next they'll start trying to phase out DVDs and DVD players.
i hate it when new technology is shoved down people's throats by dirty tactics when there would otherwise never be the demand for it.
___
Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
I dont mind the better tech, what I don't like is the hidden cost and aspects they don't tell anyone about. All the adverts tout these resolutions and crystal clear quality etc. What they don't advertise are the extra costs to actually get HD content viewed on it, or the fact that it will make most of what you currently watch look actually worse than on a normal standard TV. Unless you are a tech head, most people buying these sets have no clue. They get an HD set then wonder why nothing looks that great.
Even with this new Freesat service launching next year, you get a handful of free channels, but you have to pay £80 for a satellite dish to be installed and then several times as much for a decoder. Literally the only thing me and my family/friends use HD for is for consoles. It's like I paid all this money for two HDTVs just to play 360 games and have everything else look like crap. And then shops just phase out CRTs because they are bulky, even though they typically have a faster response time, less laggy picture and no ghosting like some plasmas and LCDs. And you can't pick up a decent SDTV over here, it's all HD so you have no option once your set breaks down but to "upgrade" to a worse looking SDTV picture on an expensive HD set. Maybe if I had a PS3 I wouldn't be nearly as POed about it, with Blu Ray movies and gaming. But the price at launch was astronomical and it's still too expensive considering I have two consoles already. It's a sad state of affairs when I feel like I would rather have a cheap, great upscaling dvd player than a more costly BluRay player whose scaling isn't as good and where the discs cost a 3rd more in store.
Some are saying, why bother with Blu Ray when this can make some modern movies look almost as good. One guy says that there is a big compatibility problem with 4:3 aspect dvds. Interesting. This is a good value player too, only £90-100. And the Regza f50 and g50 seem to be great too on user reviews here
Dittoooo. I started playing it yesterday and played a few matches with HiResDes. Let's punch each other tonight, lol.
Unfortunately I need to renew my gold membership plus my current modem is on the fritz so I have to take it in and get it replaced. Hopefully I can get this done this weekend.
back from having played and watched about 3 hours worth of little big planet. platformers being my favourite genre i was pretty certain i would enjoy this game and sure enough i did. i played a few levels at the beginning but got bored with the tutorial nature of them (there is nothing much to the controls to take tutorial levels - you jump and you latch onto/pull item) so i asked my friend to move ahead to where he was at with the single player campaign ... so we played a few of the mexican levels (one where you have to rescue someone from prison, one with mine carts, another one with caves and rollercoaster type things etc). It was all very enjoyable, while the platforming is nowhere near as precise or tight as a dedicated platformer (like a mario game) the puzzle elements complement for it rather nicely. also the physics add quite a bit to it (everything feels heavy). also thinking about the scope of the game (with levels being made by users daily) it makes for a rather amazing prospect.
one aspect of it which was far from amazing was online multiplayer. at one point a message came up from another friend who has the game to join and play together. we tried a few levels and it was some of the most laggy online i've ever experienced (and my experience is the wii and ds which is notorious for being laggy ... this was way way worse). my sackboy would disappear and appear a couple of seconds later god knows where ... he would sink into the level, or into objects etc ... in a word it was a mess. i'm inclined to think it was the connection but it really was unplayable.
overall ... if i had a ps3, i'd jump on this game with both hands. as it is, i wouldn't buy a ps3 just to play this and MGS4 (though i previously toyed with the idea)
___
Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
If only I had some sort of blacklist I could add you to!
Most of the reviews you are comparing general Sonic Unleashed reviews with specific Wii ones. Only one place has actually reviewed both versions separately and that is GI, and they are crazy. If they thought having nearly twice as many werehog levels makes for better version than by all means agree with them. If they thought that insane amount of pointless waggling (its not like Zelda, in this you have to use two hands in rhythm, it gets extremely tiring) made combat more interesting then I cant agree with them at all. I for one think an actual hub world with exploration is better than a pointless text screen.
Another thing, your facts on the 360/PS3 versions are wrong. There is no slowdown on the HD versions, that was fixed in the final build, it runs smooth. Yes there are more enemies in the HD versions of the werehog levels but I will take that over having more werehog levels. The Wii version is horribly unbalanced in favored of the werehog. The Wii version is missing whole Sonic levels.
If you want more werehog and more boring sonic levels then the Wii version is for you. You want a more geniune Sonic Adventure (hub world, actual in game scoring system, unlockable items to discover, more levels) experience with better balance between the two charaters than the HD version is the one to get.
This, you are the man GG, I want to put you in charge of Sonic Team.
Genesis sonic was not all about speed, I dont understand where Sega gets this idea. The Sonic game were excellent platformers, with huge levels and plenty of exploration in them. We have gotten pretty damn far from that.
No you suck. *Runs and cries*
I personally loved the first two SA games and I am still hoping that Unleashed can be that long lost SA3 game I wanted.
EDIT: Bugs I responded in the LBP thread.
I seem to be on a lot of people's blacklist lately.