Shadow of Mordor reviews contracts deal is messy
It turns out that any review that was published before September 30th may have been subject to a brand deal contract that required the reviewer to carry out specific tasks in the review if the...cinemablend.com impressions gamingeek
The Death of Reviews
"The increasing irrelevance of game reviews is a huge change in the industry, and ultimately it's for the best" gamesindustry.biz impressions gamingeek
The Evil Within Game Informer review, 9.0!
Everything from the core combat, A.I. behavior, and escalation of the enemy types feels like the RE4.gameinformer.com impressions Dvader
The Evil Within IGN review, 8.7!
"produced some of the most incredible moments I’ve experienced in any video game for years."ign.com impressions Dvader
Former Brownie Brown dev explains why the company split
Some staff wanted to deepen relation with Nintendo, and other staff, about the same number, thought that develop with any other companies was better.nintendon.it gamingeek
Performance Analysis: The Evil Within PS4 and XB1
"Unfortunately nearly every major sequence, particularly outdoors, is fraught with dips that interrupt the action, resulting in a jarring, jerky experience"eurogamer.net gamingeek
Gamesindustry.biz: Nintendo's Window is Closing
"The Wii U's marketing and PR messaging has completely failed to capitalise on the console's software success"gamesindustry.biz editorial gamingeek
Game Under Podcast Episode 57
We clean out our closets this show, casting aside Valiant Hearts, Asura's Wrath and Fable 3.gameunder.net editorial impressions media aspro
MCV: Has Nintendo's Wii U turned a corner?
There are a lot of conversations going on about what is coming next year. Splatoon is key, Captain Toad is one I’m looking forward to, and of course Zelda. mcvuk.com gamingeek
Forgot about playing them on the Upad screen, that could be good as well.
I tested it, the picture looks good on the gamepad screen, but Nintendo haven't released an update so you can actually use the Wii U pad button inputs. You have to use Wiimotes and Nunchuks. Which means you need somewhere to prop up the pad at eye level.
The only time I did that was when the kiddos were watching a show and I desperately wanted to play Metroid Prime. It was kind of funny and awkward playing like that.
First off, if you were imagining that the PlayStation TV might be a Roku or Chromecast alternative, stop right there. Though you can actually download and install the Netflix, Hulu Plus and YouTube apps for the PlayStation TV, none of them actually work. Let me repeat that again: you can download and install the apps, but they've been disabled for some reason.
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What gives? Sony didn't have a straight answer for us
Hulu is currently working with Sony on the issue, but a Netflix representative told us point-blank: "We have no current support plans for Netflix on PS TV."
And fond as I am of watching anime with Crunchyroll, the PS Vita version requires a paid membership rather than letting you watch ad-supported episodes like I can on any PC, tablet, or phone.
So I popped in my Borderlands 2 game card. The game didn't launch. I was greeted with this screen:
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I tried again with the Sly Cooper collection. Same thing.
It turns out that I'd forgotten one important thing which many would-be PlayStation TV buyers probably never learned: The PlayStation TV doesn't actually play every PlayStation Vita game. It only plays the ones on this list. And though Borderlands 2 is in fact included on the list, that meant I was spending my next 20 minutes downloading a patch to make it compatible rather than actually playing.
Expand
A small selection of the many things you can install - but not play - on PS TV
The answer is that for whatever reason, many games have to be patched to run on the PlayStation TV hardware, and though Sony's had nearly an entire year since the system came out in Japan, progress is slow. Killzone: Mercenary is one example of progress: it didn't work then, and has just recently been fixed
Velocity X2, a critically-acclaimed top-down shooter, was one of many titles that looked a bit jagged and rough around the edges. That happens when you scale up from the Vita's 5-inch, 720p resolution to a 42-inch 1080p TV. Did I mention that the PS Vita itself doesn't natively output 1080p? It's an issue for games and video content alike. Even a $35 Chromecast played back episodes of The Walking Dead sharper than my new PlayStation.
And Borderlands 2, which is a PC game scaled down for PS Vita and then back up again on my PS TV, looked ridiculously ugly and often suffered from low framerates. This is all to say nothing of how older PSP games look blown up to the big screen.
But you also shouldn't expect streaming PS3 or PS4 games to be much better. Our sister site Kotaku has already weighed in on the insane prices you'll pay to stream games via PlayStation Now, but you may also need to physically plug in a PS3 controller and/or hook up the PS TV with an ethernet cable if you want to avoid an unplayable amount of lag.
Streaming Lord of the Rings hack-n-slash Shadow of Mordor from my PS4 to another room in my house was a bit better — and arguably the coolest feature of the whole system — but it didn't look quite as good or run nearly as smoothly as it did when actually playing on the PS4. I struggled to train my bow on an orc long enough to fire a deadly arrow, and that's with both the benefit of bullet time and a rather expensive Wi-Fi router serving my two-bedroom house. Still, it's pretty cool turning on your living room PS4 from your bedroom and firing up the game.
This is the point where you're probably expecting me to step back and say the PlayStation TV has loads of potential as soon as the software issues are worked out. And I would definitely like to believe so. The idea of carrying a palmsize game console to a party, whipping out a few controllers and having a blast with local multiplayer games like Nidhogg and Spelunky is hard to resist, and there are folks who might buy it for Minecraft alone
But realistically, the PS TV is now a niche of a niche, because the PlayStation Vita itself hasn't done insanely well, and if Sony couldn't manage to get some of its greatest hits and its crucial video apps ready in time for launch — a year after the PS TV's debut in Japan — it's hard to trust that they will do so now.
The only time I did that was when the kiddos were watching a show and I desperately wanted to play Metroid Prime. It was kind of funny and awkward playing like that.
I found it both hilarious and impressive that you can use the Wii IR pointer with the gamepad sensor bar.
Ubisoft says that Microsoft and Sony are 'pressuring them' into 30FPS for PC games
Ubisoft had a few of its staff visit a school to explain their work, with some truly interesting things revealed about the company who thinks 60FPS 'looks weird'. Someone asked the Ubisoft employees "what the hell happened with Watch Dogs", to which the Ubisoft employee, who was the 'Online Programmer' said that just before they release a game, they have to send a copy to console manufacturers, who tell them what to keep in the game, and what to take out.
But it gets better: the Game Architect said that they always try to aim for 60FPS, but due to "limitations", they have been settling at 30FPS for their latest games. He continued, saying that console makers are pressuring them into doing the same thing on PC. The Game Architect continued, saying that Ubisoft reuses as much code as possible, which could explain the similarities between a few of their games.
Someone else asked if the company was "aware of the negative responses of the recent decision to lock your games into 30FPS. If so, what do you think about that?". The Game Architect said that on consoles, and especially for something like Assassin's Creed: Unity, they have to choose between graphic fidelity and smoothness. 'timois', who made the thread on Reddit, said that "he implied that MS is making them lock the framerate on PC too".
So console makers....Microsoft and Sony are making Ubishite lock framerates to 30FPS, even on PC so the console versions don't look bad vs PC and so XB1 doesn't look worse compared to PS4.
So console makers....Microsoft and Sony are making Ubishite lock framerates to 30FPS, even on PC so the console versions don't look bad vs PC and so XB1 doesn't look worse compared to PS4.
How is this even news though? This has been going on since the PS360 era. How do you think 10 year old consoles were able to keep up with PC at all?
I picked up the PS4 version of The Walking Dead also. Obviously the same game as it was 2 years ago, but the PS4 version looks really clean and vibrant. I believe The Walking Dead 2 comes out next week, which I also ordered.
Speaking of, did you guys see the new TV episode? Fucking epic. And I still wanna bone Maggie.
The only time I did that was when the kiddos were watching a show and I desperately wanted to play Metroid Prime. It was kind of funny and awkward playing like that.
Wow at the PSTV article:
First off, if you were imagining that the PlayStation TV might be a Roku or Chromecast alternative, stop right there. Though you can actually download and install the Netflix, Hulu Plus and YouTube apps for the PlayStation TV, none of them actually work. Let me repeat that again: you can download and install the apps, but they've been disabled for some reason.
What gives? Sony didn't have a straight answer for us
Hulu is currently working with Sony on the issue, but a Netflix representative told us point-blank: "We have no current support plans for Netflix on PS TV."
And fond as I am of watching anime with Crunchyroll, the PS Vita version requires a paid membership rather than letting you watch ad-supported episodes like I can on any PC, tablet, or phone.
So I popped in my Borderlands 2 game card. The game didn't launch. I was greeted with this screen:
I tried again with the Sly Cooper collection. Same thing.
It turns out that I'd forgotten one important thing which many would-be PlayStation TV buyers probably never learned: The PlayStation TV doesn't actually play every PlayStation Vita game. It only plays the ones on this list. And though Borderlands 2 is in fact included on the list, that meant I was spending my next 20 minutes downloading a patch to make it compatible rather than actually playing.
A small selection of the many things you can install - but not play - on PS TV
The answer is that for whatever reason, many games have to be patched to run on the PlayStation TV hardware, and though Sony's had nearly an entire year since the system came out in Japan, progress is slow. Killzone: Mercenary is one example of progress: it didn't work then, and has just recently been fixed
Velocity X2, a critically-acclaimed top-down shooter, was one of many titles that looked a bit jagged and rough around the edges. That happens when you scale up from the Vita's 5-inch, 720p resolution to a 42-inch 1080p TV. Did I mention that the PS Vita itself doesn't natively output 1080p? It's an issue for games and video content alike. Even a $35 Chromecast played back episodes of The Walking Dead sharper than my new PlayStation.
And Borderlands 2, which is a PC game scaled down for PS Vita and then back up again on my PS TV, looked ridiculously ugly and often suffered from low framerates. This is all to say nothing of how older PSP games look blown up to the big screen.
But you also shouldn't expect streaming PS3 or PS4 games to be much better. Our sister site Kotaku has already weighed in on the insane prices you'll pay to stream games via PlayStation Now, but you may also need to physically plug in a PS3 controller and/or hook up the PS TV with an ethernet cable if you want to avoid an unplayable amount of lag.
Streaming Lord of the Rings hack-n-slash Shadow of Mordor from my PS4 to another room in my house was a bit better — and arguably the coolest feature of the whole system — but it didn't look quite as good or run nearly as smoothly as it did when actually playing on the PS4. I struggled to train my bow on an orc long enough to fire a deadly arrow, and that's with both the benefit of bullet time and a rather expensive Wi-Fi router serving my two-bedroom house. Still, it's pretty cool turning on your living room PS4 from your bedroom and firing up the game.
This is the point where you're probably expecting me to step back and say the PlayStation TV has loads of potential as soon as the software issues are worked out. And I would definitely like to believe so. The idea of carrying a palmsize game console to a party, whipping out a few controllers and having a blast with local multiplayer games like Nidhogg and Spelunky is hard to resist, and there are folks who might buy it for Minecraft alone
But realistically, the PS TV is now a niche of a niche, because the PlayStation Vita itself hasn't done insanely well, and if Sony couldn't manage to get some of its greatest hits and its crucial video apps ready in time for launch — a year after the PS TV's debut in Japan — it's hard to trust that they will do so now.
The system doesn't come with a memory card either, a PS TV and the proprietary Sony memory card you need to download any but the smallest games
The endless power of the Triforce clearly fell short of providing a good solution for that puzzle.
I found it both hilarious and impressive that you can use the Wii IR pointer with the gamepad sensor bar.
So console makers....Microsoft and Sony are making Ubishite lock framerates to 30FPS, even on PC so the console versions don't look bad vs PC and so XB1 doesn't look worse compared to PS4.
Mario Kart 8 - behold Links' 'Master Cycle'
That pumkin!!!!!
The bayonetta voice actress article is hilarios, poor woman. Thanks GG for the update.
IT'S PUMPKIN, PUMP-KIN!!!
The Voice Of Bayonetta Admits... "I Had No Idea If I Was Fighting Demons, Dragons Or Flying Giraffes,"
This is like me playing the demo. What are they? Horses with carnival masks?
Some good stuff here, can't post it all, site wont allow hotlinks:
Gannondorf and R.O.B join the Smash Bros fray
More here^
May 2015 DLC:
2015 DLC for MK8^
That Bayonetta voice actress article was a good read. I really enjoy reading that behind the scenes kind of stuff.
I'm sick of Luigi's stare. It was fun for a while but got ran into the ground a while back.
How is this even news though? This has been going on since the PS360 era. How do you think 10 year old consoles were able to keep up with PC at all?
It's bullshit. If microsoft's console can't keep up then tough shit.
I picked up the PS4 version of The Walking Dead also. Obviously the same game as it was 2 years ago, but the PS4 version looks really clean and vibrant. I believe The Walking Dead 2 comes out next week, which I also ordered.
Speaking of, did you guys see the new TV episode? Fucking epic. And I still wanna bone Maggie.
Smash Bros. Wii U - full details on amiibo usage
... yeah I still don't get it.
Amazon has amiibo statues for pre-order: $12.96 each! I
Pfffft! That's way too steep for one or two extras in smash.