Beta Working After Game Official Launch

I have been apart of dozens of beta testing.  More recently I got a hold of the LBP2 beta in late 2010.  My kids love LBP1 so getting a hold of the beta prior to launch was really cool.


Fast forward several weeks and the game officially launched on Jan 18th in North America.  So needless to say the beta of LBP2 has been sitting there unused.  Last night the kids asked if they could play LBP2 and I had told them that it didn't work anymore.  However before I said that one of them launched the application on the PS3.

When it popped up it gave us an error message.  I knew something like that was going to happen and I attempted to explain to my children that we need to buy the real game.  (On my to-do list)

While I was doing this the level launched!  WTF?  It was working!  I have NEVER heard of a beta that worked after a games official release but somehow this one did.

"They're Sooooo Angry!" Those Damn Angry Birds

"They're sooooooo angry"

Angry birds is a game I have developed a special kind of bond with.  I have had moments when I wanted to laugh, cry, adored, despised, cherished, and wanted to throw the game out the window.  It has grown into the epitome of a love/hate relationship.  During the course of the many long minless hours of playing this gave
I have learned something about this game that others might not have realized just yet.



ANGRY BIRDS IS AN EVIL EVIL GAME!!!

I am speculating somewhere out there in the world Angry Birds has been the culprit of someones loss of job, girlfriend or boyfriend, life, or other form of staus.  (Yeah life if you are so addicted you play and drive)

While millions of people are hopelessly addicted to this game I have come up with a short and to the point summary to anyone who has never been blessed/cursed to experience it.

Giving severe head injuries to kamikaze colored birds who are looking for revenge against egg stealing green pigs. 

Damn those stupid pigs, damn them.

Killzone 3 From A Guy Who Hated Killzone 2

I have been a fan of first person shooters for a while now. While I humbly admit I am not the best shooter in the world, I am in no way anywhere near to the worst. I feel my skill level is a little more than average.

I remember back in early 2010 seeing those awesome Killzone 2 TV spots that would just suck you into it.



I remember thinking to myself... "I have to own that game!" So on launch day, I went out and bought it. At first it was a tad different than the normal FPS I would normally play but I figured I would adjust to it. I did not. So much annoyed me about the game.

First and foremost were the bullets. If it is a futuristic kind of game why in the world are they shooting bullets? Seemed a little primitive to me. That was my first gripe about it. Then I realized how bulky and sluggish the characters moved. I hated that. Even with the sensitivity all the way at maximum it still feels as if they move far too slow.  Next up was the aiming system that the game had in place.  Having to manually zoom in and out without the zoom going back to normal once you let go of the button was very foolish.  Most games have it already setup like this.  It is easy.  You let go of the zoom button and it goes back to normal.  Not with KZ2, you have to manually push the zoom again to unzoom.  Having said that there is too much firing from the hip.  Next was he recoil.  The recoil in this game was just awful.  I understand that guns naturally recoil but it was taken to the extreme in KZ2.

Needless to say those annoyances plus others cheated me out of the KZ2 experience.  I had given up on it and wanted nothing to do with it after not only 2 weeks of owning it.

Fast forward to a year later and I see those awesome Killzone 3 trailers/gameplay that seem to just suck me into it.



Killzone 3 looks spectacular. So much in fact that as much as I hated KZ2, I am willing to give the series another go round.  I would be foolish to stay biased and not get it based on my KZ2 experience.  I am just hoping that my little annoyances were fixed in this next installment.

Here I am a guy who never thought he'd play another Killzone game again, publicly announcing his triumphant return.  I have pre-ordered the game and will update how I feel about it by the end of the month.

Leading up to launch I am not going to be pessimistic and assume that I will hate it like I did KZ2.  IN fact it is the opposite.  I am confident I am going to love it.  Look at it!  It looks amazing!

Would Like To Take This Time to Say Thank You EA.

I have been a huge Battlefield fan for many years.  I used to play Modern Combat on the PS2, bought Battlefield 1943, Bad Company for both the 360 and the PS3, (when I bought BC2 on 360 I paid additional $ for a VIP), I bought BC2 on the PS3 along with the Vietnam expansion… you get the idea.  Basically, I have been loyal fan and have spent quite a bit of money on Battlefield series.

Only recently I re-purchased BC2, but this time it was for the PS3.  (I had mostly played on 360)  That was because when the Vietnam expansion came out, I just had to get it.  So I had to start over on multiplayer.  No big deal.

That’s when I noticed that I wasn’t a VIP anymore.  When I bought VIP I was on the 360 and it did not carry over to the PS3.  (Even though on Battlefield.com my account clearly has my 360 gamertag along with my PS3 PSN name intertwined)

I contacted EA via live support and explained the situation and explained how I have been a loyal longtime fan and have spent boatloads of money on the series.  I wanted to attempt to get my VIP switched over to the PS3.  After all, I had purchased it before.

Normally it is EA’s policy that the VIP is not transferable, however since I am a level 7 veteran they decided that it would be okay and gave me a PSN VIP code.  All I did was be polite and explained the situation on how I did not own it for 360 any longer etc.

Now I had no idea this would actually work.  I just gave it the ol’ college try and it all worked out.  Having gone through this experience reinforced my belief that EA actually cares about its customers.  In a similar situation does anyone think the makers of any of the COD series would do the same for its customers?  In my opinion… “Never”.

Thank you EA.  

PS3 XMB Changing In The Near Future?

 

Last week Sony officially announced their Next Gen Handheld device (Called the NGP or Next Gen Portable) that is to officially replace the PSP. 

While most already knew of the existence of this device one thing took a lot of people off guard.  Apparently the NGP has a completely different XMB than the older PSP or even the current PS3.  Normally, the Sony handheld and the PS3 shared similar XMB’s to help intertwine the two devices a lot easier. 

This is not the case with the new NGP.  The new XMB for that system will be called “Live Area”.  A relatively new XMB that has been unseen in any of Sony’s electronics. 

In the near future will this “Live Area” make its way onto the PS3?  The Sony handhelds and the PS3 have a solid history of sharing XMB’s so it is certainly a possibility.  Overhauling the PS3 XMB is long overdue in my opinion.  However that is all speculation that a lot of professionals and gamers alike are already making.

Yes The PS3 CAN Play MKV Files (Without A Converter)

I already know a lot of people out there already know this but then again there are a lot of people who do not. 

YES THE PS3 CAN PLAY MKV FILES WITHOUT CONVERTING THE FILES TO ANOTHER FORMAT!

To be honest, I was never a huge fan of the MKV format since it was not as popular as a AVI or a MPEG file formats.  However the MKV file has a huge advantage over all other formats that I really like...  the video files are a lot smaller compared to others.

Here is a how to video on how you can make MKV files show up as playable media for your PS3.

PSP2 Announcement Coming Next Week

FINALLY! After hearing many rumors and waiting for what seems like forever, Sony is finally going to announce next week the news that we have all been waiting for. Yes folks, the official announcement of the PSP2! It has been no secret that Sony was in development of the PSP2, but without an official announcement gamers and fans were left to do nothing but speculate.  In recent weeks it has also been rumored to be even more powerful than the PS3 itself!

Another rumor is that soon after the official announcement, Sony will officially announce the Playstation phone. A phone that is literally going to revolutionize how we use our hand held devices.  If Sony has upgraded their remote play capability on the PSP2 and or the Playstation phone to act as a true mobile ps3, I for one will be very happy.  It would be awesome to have a mobile device that allows me to stream Netflix, Skype, or play ALL my downloaded PSN games.We are very excited!