Killzone 2’s Reviews Scores So Far…

Killzone 2 seems to be one of the most hyped up games ever, let alone on the PS3 and it also may be the most highly anticipated game in the world right now! That being said let’s take a look at some of the review scores the game has landed already…

Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

Score- 5/5

"Without a doubt Killzone fans, action and shooter fans of any stripe will instantly tag this sequel as a powerful contender for best game of 2009".

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Playstation Official Magazine Australia

Score- 10/10

"I’ll say it again: Killzone 2 is the best console first person shooter ever. It will be bested one day, and that is as it should be, but this game has set the proverbial bar so high we reckon it’ll be the king for a good long while… Hail to the king, baby".

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MEGamers

Score- 99/100

"To put it short, this game makes “Gears of War 2″ look like a high school attempt at gaming and that is a HUGE compliment!".

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Playstation Official Magazine UK

Score- 90/100

"This is a PS3 showing what it’s truly capable of and delivering a landmark piece of explosive entertainment you can’t afford to miss".

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Gameplay Magazine (Croatia)

20/20

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576KByte (Hungary)

9.7/10

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Official Playstation Magazine (Spain)

9.5/10

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So far so great! Killzone 2 may just live up to the hype yet, we still have to wait till February 3rd (the day the embargo lifts) for reviews from major gaming websites like IGN and GameTrailers but you can probably expect the same things from them. So, what do you guys think?

Report: Sony Cutting 2,000 Jobs, PlayStation Division Unaffected

According to a report from Japanese Business site Nikkei, Sony’s CEO Howard Stringer will announce an additional 2,000 job cuts on Thursday.

Sony had already announced that it would be cutting 16,000 jobs last month. With the new reductions, it would bring the number up to 18,000.

It had been rumored that Sony would be making additional job reductions, and there were a plethora of reports that raised the possibility of the PlayStation division being affected.

However, these new job cuts will only affect Sony’s television business, according to the report. It will close down one of Sony’s TV production plants that it has in Japan.

Stringer is also suspected to lower 2008’s fiscal earnings outlook, which has been rumored to be dismal.

Killzone 2 Gone Gold

We have just received confirmation that Killzone 2 has gone gold for America, UK and Europe.

This means that Killzone 2 can finally hit the presses. With the European mainland release scheduled for February 25, we along with alot of gamers are hoping that it will hit the shelves in time for the official release date.

European & US press invited to exclusive God of War 3 sneak preview

Sony has confirmed to videogaming247 this morning that European as well as American press will invited to the God of War III exclusive sneak preview.

“Yes, the GOW3 development team will be holding an exclusive sneak peak in February, for a very select number of US & European press,” a Sony representative told videogaming247 this morning.

LBP DLC resumes from January 26th: Wipeout, God of War, Valentines pack and many more!

Over at Littlebigplanetoid.com community Team Leader 'MusterBuster' has today confirmed that LittleBigPlanet DLC will resume on January 26th. New content was expected tomorrow (January 22nd), but unknown circumstances have forced a one week delay.

To make up for the delay, a whole slew of updates have been unveiled, and it's impressive!

• Chinese New Year Cosume - available 10 days only.
  

January 29th

• God of War mini pack
• Kratos Costume
• Groundhog Day Costume - available for 1 week only.
  

Feburary 5th

• Valentines Day mini pack - available for 2 weeks only.
  

Feburary 12th

• Toro Costume
  

• Ape Escape Costume
  

Feburary TBC

• Wipeout Costume Kit

Source

PS3 Firmware Update Has Gone Live

PS3 firmware V2.60 has gone live. I'll report back once I find out more on what the new features can do.

More PS3 Firmware V2.60 Details Emerge

There are some more details emerging about tomorrows PS3 Firmware Update.

According to our source, on top of the already announced Photo Gallery feature, and Divx 3.11 support, here are some more of the expected feaures of FW 2.60:

• Safe Mode
• Blu-Ray Disc Theme Support
• HDD Data can be accessed and deleted in-game
• 3-D Secure Support
• Improved System Stabilty

We are not exactly sure what these features offer, especially the Blu-Ray Disc Theme Support, and the Safe Mode, but we are looking forward to finding out.

PS3 Firmware V2.60 Update Confimed By Sony

This has now been confirmed via an official SCEA Press release. Here is a snippet of the official press release:

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced details of the next system software update (v. 2.60) for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™), which includes several new features designed to enhance the PS3 system’s entertainment functionality. The system software update 2.60 will become available on January 21and deliver a new Photo Gallery application, enabling consumers to better organize and view their photos stored on PS3 system. Other new features include DivX 3.11 video support and PlayStation®Store guest browsing.

Sony Unveils Official Killzone 2 Bundle For UK

Sony has announced the new Killzone 2 bundle for the UK.

Release date still TBC.

Sony has confirmed to VG247 that European territories are getting the bundle however no price has been set..

Official Killzone 2 Box Art Unveiled

Sony has revealed the official box art from Guerilla Game's mega-shooter, Killzone 2.

We're going Killzone 2 crazy at the moment and this packshot just feeds our addiction.

Limited Edition Final Fantasy VII PS3 Coming in April

Square-Enix has revealed the first image of the limited edition Final Fantasy VII PS3. Pictured on the below, you'll see the Final Fantasy VII style PS3. Dubbed 'Cloud Black', this PS3 will come individually numbered and packaged with a Blu-ray version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. Of course, the real appeal of getting Advent Children Complete on Blu-ray is the Final Fastasy

XIII demo. Oddly enough, Advent Children will have the option of English voices, but it'll lack the option for English subtitles if watching in Japanese. Also, the Final Fantasy XIII demo will not feature English subtitles or voice work. Too bad.

Complete package details:

• "Cloud Black" HDD 160GB PS3
  
• Final Fantasy XIII Trail Version Set (FFXIII demo)
  
• Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete Blu-ray disc

The Cloud Black PS3 will come with a 160GB HDD and release on April 16th for 49,980 yen ($550 give or take a bit). No word on an oversea release, though.

Killzone 2 PS3 Bundle Coming to Europe

It seems that all we’re posting lately is Killzone 2 releated. From hands on impressions to release dates.

Now it seems that there is some more news that needs posting.

It seems that Sony are all set to release a official PS3 bundle with the game and a PLAYSTATION 3 if this packshot is anything.

The bundle is for Europe only right now with no current plans from either SCEA or SCEJ as of now but we’ll hedge a bet that SCEA will do something similar and announce it just before launch.

No price has been given yet but we’ll assume it’ll be out with the game on Februrary 25th in Europe and February 27th in the UK

While a bundle seems to be the most obvious thing right now in the world, it’s still a good move for the game as there are alot of people who are buying a PLAYSTATION 3 just to get Killzone 2.

Anyways, pack shot below:

Future Gran Turismo Titles In 3D Vision?

Over at the 2009 CES Convention, the folks at Ars Technica got a chance to preview some of Sony’s new 3D gaming technology, which is supposed to take the visual experience to a totally new level. Some of the games on display at the booth were Wipeout HD and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, both in 3D format. For now though, the details are still tightly under wraps and how they achieved that 3D effect is still unknown to the public. The technology is still a work is progress and is not definitely confirmed for the future, but it still looks promising.

“This probably won’t be the last 3D display we see at CES, but as a proof of concept, our appetite is whetted. Sony claims that they have Gran Turismo Prologue playable on the display, but I just wanted to take one home. The company is hedging its bets about how long it will take to get this level of 3D into your home, but if this tiny taste was any indication, there is a ton of promise.”

For now, there is not really much to say about it, but if this 3D technology does become a reality, we may be lucky enough to see it in future Gran Turismo titles (not GT5 though, so don’t get over excited).

Source

Record high for videogaming sales

Sales of videogames in the UK hit an all time high of 82.8m in 2008, figures from the industry trade body show.

The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) said that consumers spent £4.03bn on video game hardware and software.

Total video game sales were in excess of £1.9bn, 23% more than the previous year and more than double the total earnings over the past five years.

Console sales accounted for another £1.422 billion.

Figures from ELSPA suggest that video games for the Nintendo Wii made up almost a quarter of all software sales, with more than 20m games sold. This was an increase of 112% on the previous year.

Software for the firm's handheld game console - the Nintendo DS - also proved popular, with more than 19.1m copies sold.

Games for Microsoft's Xbox 360 also did well, with a 51% rise in sales.

And there was some good news for Sony.

Sales of software for its PlayStation 3 console role by 145%, selling 10.4 million units - more than double the 4.2m games sold in 2007.

ELSPA's managing director, Michael Rawlinson, said the growth of games pitched at the casual user had help fuel the growth.

"Videogaming is increasingly bringing families together with the introduction of so many outstanding family-based console titles.

"These have really opened up the market to those who may never have even considered playing a videogame before," he said.

But with economic worries, and a shortage of blockbuster titles, some experts think 2009 may not be so rosy.

Speaking to the BBC, veteran game designer Peter Molyneux said he had concerns.

"While there is stuff in 2010 we can look forward to, off the top of my head, I cannot think of anything this year that really excites me."

"Everyone says games are good value for home entertainment, despite the relatively high price. I'm not so sure.

"I think we're going to see a lot of price pressure put on games," he added.

Source

Evolution and WipEout Team to merge under one roof

Two of the best PlayStation 3 racing game developers are to eventually merge under one roof.

Developer Evolution Studios were purchased by Sony Entertainment in 2007, and have since released a successful sequel to their racing classic MotorStorm.

It's well known that the team shared not only their PlayStation 3 engine but also their knowledge with Sony Studio Liverpool in the creation of WipEout HD. The collaboration resulted in a stunning full-1080p, 60 frames-per-second futuristic racer.

The studios have always been intertwined, in a similar way to the connection between Ninja Theory (the developer of Heavenly Sword) and Sony Cambridge. Evolution Studio was formed in 1999 by Martin Kenwright and Ian Hetherington. Ian had previously founded Psygnosis, which is now...Sony Studio Liverpool.

Sony's head of Worldwide Studios in Europe, Michael Denny, tells Gamesindustry.biz of the relationship between the two Northern studios;

"You may be aware that Evolution and our Liverpool Studio have now merged in terms of management structure and using combined resources. Liverpool had great success this year with Wipeout HD and they also helped on MotorStorm as well.

"Each studio has its own internal concepting group which will always be looking at new opportunities and new IPs, and we'll continue to extend and innovate within our existing franchises as well."

When asked whether the studios would merge completely in the future, Denny replies;

"Yes, it was always the intention with them being in the same geographic location and working so closely together, it would be ideal if they could be housed at some point within the same site, but it's not happening overnight."

This wouldn't necessarily mean that the teams would collaborate together to create one game. The teams would remain separate, but being under one roof would allow them to more efficiently share resources.

In our opinion this is great news for Sony's internal development studios.

Source

Killzone 2 Demo Primed for Launch

Sony has confirmed that a demo edition of Guerrilla Games’ Killzone 2 will be available on PSN before the full game officially launches.

SCEE has confirmed that the demo will be available to European PS3 owners, while Americans eager to sample the FPS will have to pre-order the full game GameStop to get access.

Commencing February 3, GameStop will hand out demo download codes to customers in return for their pre-order deposit. Access to the Killzone 2 demo will remain this way until the title's official US release on Feb 27, afterwhich it'll be free to all.

And while SCEE couldn’t provide precise details on the demo’s release date in the UK, a spokesperson told news site VideoGamer that it will be released in Europe in a “normal manner”.

Panasonic, Dolby Fight to Land 3-D Blu-ray Standard

Earlier this week, news broke that Dolby Laboratories is pushing its 3-D Blu-ray Disc technology with content providers in hopes of scoring the prized industry standard when Blu-ray in 3D debuts. Dolby's standard would utilize existing Blu-ray players, 3-D equipped TVs and glasses with specs determined by TV manufacturers.

Today, an article in The Nikkei Japanese newspaper today is reporting Panasonic will be unveiling their 3-D Blu-ray technology, that would be built into software and hardware, at CES this week. It would utilize special glasses viewing alternating left-and-right eye images at 120fps to achieve a 3-D effect on-par with what you'd find in the movie theater today.

These two proposed standards likely won't be the last. The future of home entertainment, for both movies and videogame consoles like the next iterations of Xbox 360 and PS3, is pointing more and more towards 3-D with each passing day.

The fear many, including us, don't want to face is another "format" war like HD DVD and Blu-ray where multiple 3-D standards are released to the marketplace. One war slowed the adoption of Blu-ray already. In this economy, the clearer options are to consumers, the better.

If a standard can be adopted relatively soon and manufacturing gets underway with relatively little issue, the first 3-D Blu-ray hardware, software and TVs are expected to hit the marketplace in mid-to-late 2010.

Source

Reeves: Profit is number one priority in 2009

President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, David Reeves, has said that the priority for the PlayStation business in 2009 is to finally make a profit.

Speaking on the official PlayStation website, the exec noted that the company must reduce the pressure to turn a profit before concentrating on pushing games and services.

"The most important thing for us as a company in the very short term is for us to start making money," he said.

"This is a pledge that was made last March and is something that we are still very much on target to achieve. Once we have achieved this, I think it will be a very exciting time for PlayStation.

"Once we have alleviated that specific pressure, we can move forward at a rate of knots," added Reeves.

As well as previously announced titles on the horizon, Reeves also highlighted the launch of music and video download service Vidzone, for the PlayStation Network, as key to the console's offering in the coming year.

Vidzone was previously announced to go live in Q1 2009, but Reeves mentioned the service will not go live until later in the year.

"2009 promises to be a very exciting year for PS3, with blockbuster titles such as Heavy Rain and Killzone 2 coming out, whilst we have the music and video download service becoming available towards the end of the year."

"We have built our reputation over the years on great entertainment, and innovation and 2009 will be a prime example of PlayStation at its very best," added Reeves.

Source

European PSN releases for December 24th

Merry Christmas from SCEE. Today's update brings three full games, three demos, the normal extreme amounts of music-based DLC and, of course, the LittleBigPlanet Metal Gear Solid pack. There are also a bunch of price drops on some excellent PSN games (though, is it just us or has WipEout HD always been that price..?). Savage Moon is good fun, particularly if you're a tower defense fan. Here's the full release list:

Playable Content

• Savage Moon full game (£6.29/€7.99)
• Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom full game (£7.99/€9.99)
• Street Fighter Alpha Warriors' Dreams PS1 game (£4.79/€??)
• WipEout HD demo
• Metal Gear Online demo
• Sonic Unleashed demo

Seasonal Offers

• WipEout HD (£11.99/€14.99)
• Super Stardust HD (£3.99/€4.99)
• PAIN (£3.99/€4.99)
• The Last Guy (£3.99/€4.99)
• Toy Home (£3.99/€4.99)
• echochrome (£4.79/€5.99)
• Toy Home: Second Gear expansion (£1.59/€1.99)
• Snakeball Team Mode add-on (£1.59/€1.99)
• Eye of Judgment Set 2 & 3 combo pack (£8.39/€11.99)
• flOw (£3.99/€4.99)

Add-on Content

• Shaun White Snowboarding "Glamour" pack (£3.99/€4.99)
• Buzz! Quiz TV "National Geographic: Undersea" pack (£6.29/€7.99)
• Everybody's Golf: World Tour "Mainichi Issho Lobby Character Headwear" (free)
• Everybody's Golf: World Tour "Toro" character pack (free)

LittleBigPlanet DLC

• Metal Gear Solid costume kit (£4.79/€5.99)
• Metal Gear Solid level kit (£4.79/€5.99)
• Metal Gear Solid "Raiden" costume (£1.59/€1.99)
• Metal Gear Solid "Screaming Mantis" costume (£1.59/€1.99)
• Metal Gear Solid "Meryl" costume (£1.59/€1.99)
• Metal Gear Solid "Solid Snake" costume (£1.59/€1.99)

Rock Band DLC

Foo Fighters Pack 1 (£2.49/€3.99)

• "DOA" - Foo Fighters (£0.99/€1.49)
• "This is a Call" - Foo Fighters (£0.99/€1.49)
• "Times Like These" - Foo Fighters (£0.99/€1.49)

Rockin' the Holidays 2008 Pack (£1.69/€2.29)

• "Blue Christmas" - The Pretenders (£0.59/€0.79)
• "Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You" - Billy Squier(£0.59/€0.79)
• "Hanukkah Blessings" - Barenaked Ladies (£0.59/€0.79)

Guitar Hero World Tour DLC

• "Because of You" by Nickelback (£4.39/€5.49)
• "Light It Up" by Rev Theory (£1.59/€1.99)
• "Use Me" by Hinder (£1.59/€1.99)
• Hard Rock Track Pack (£1.59/€1.99)

Videos

• 2x Mirror's Edge trailers
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift "Water Zone" trailer
• Shoot! episode 6 -- "The Dreaming"
  

Enjoy.

List of Spike video game award 08 nominees and winners

Game of the Year

Gears of War 2
Grand Theft Auto IV
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Fallout 3
LittleBigPlanet

Best Independent Game

World of Goo
PixelJunk Eden
Braid
Audiosurf

Studio of the Year

Media Molecule
Rockstar North
Harmonix
Bethesda Game Studios

Big Name in the Game Female

Dame Judi Dench as “M”
Eliza Dushku As “Shaundi”
Liv Tyler As “Betty Ross”
Jenny McCarthy As “Tanya”

Big Name in the Game Male

Liam Neeson As “Father”
Kiefer Sutherland As “Sgt. Roebuck”
Ricky Gervais As “Himself”
Daniel Craig As “James Bond”

Best Performance by a Human Female

Debi Mae West As “Meryl Silverburgh”
Keeley Hawes As “Lara Croft”
Paula Tiso As “Silvia Christel”
Nathalie Cox As “Juno Eclipse”

Best Performance by a Human Male

Stephen Fry As “The Narrator”
David Hayter As “Old Snake”
Jason Zumwalt As “Roman Bellic”
Michael Hollick As “Niko Bellic”

Best Multi-Player Game

Call of Duty: World at War
Resistance 2
Left 4 Dead
Gears of War 2

Best Original Score

LittleBigPlanet
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Spore
Fallout 3

Best PC Game

Left 4 Dead
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Crysis Warhead
Spore

Best PS3 Game

Grand Theft Auto IV
LittleBigPlanet
Resistance 2
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Best Wii Game

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
No More Heroes
Wii Fit
Boom Blox

Best Xbox 360 Game

Fallout 3
Grand Theft Auto IV
Gears of War 2
Fable II

Best Soundtrack

Guitar Hero World Tour
Rock Band 2
Grand Theft Auto IV
LittleBigPlanet

Best Action Adventure Game

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Mirror’s Edge
Grand Theft Auto IV
Dead Space

Best Driving Game

Mario Kart Wii
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
PURE
Burnout Paradise

Best Music Game

SingStar
Wii Music
Guitar Hero World Tour
Rock Band 2

Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show

Naruto: The Broken Bond
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Quantum of Solace
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

Best Graphics

LittleBigPlanet
Gears of War 2
Fallout 3
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Best Original Score

Fallout 3
Spore
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
LittleBigPlanet

Best Handheld Game

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Patapon
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
God of War: Chains of Olympus

Best Individual Sport Game

Skate It
Wii Fit
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
Shaun White Snowboarding

Best Fighting Game

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Soul Calibur IV

Best RPG

Fallout 3
The World Ends With You
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Fable II

Best Shooter

Gears of War 2
Left 4 Dead
Resistance 2
Far Cry 2

Gamer God award given to Will Wright