God of War 3 Update 1.01 Patch Released

Next time you play God Of War 3 you will be prompted to download patch, weighing in at 5377KB it fixes issues with wireless controllers that many users were having.

Fat Princess Patch 1.05 hits today!

Patch 1.05 adds two new maps for all to enjoy; 'Candy Mountain' and 'Frostbite'. The patchalso fixes a handful of issues, including the infamous “Warrior Shield Glitch” among others.

Playlogic Working To Develop Motion-Enabled Products For PS3

Playlogic Entertainment, an independent worldwide publisher of entertainment software, announced today that its internal development studio, Playlogic Game Factory, is already hard at work developing new motion control enabled products with Sony Computer Entertainment for the Playstation 3 and Move.

Playlogic Game Factory, located in Breda, The Netherlands has worked on a great number of SCEE licenses in the past such as EyeToy Play: PomPom Party for PlayStation 2, Aqua Vita, Tori Emaki, Mesmerise, and most recently EyePet for PlayStation 3.

Executive Vice President of Playlogic, Rogier Smit said: “We have increased the team size dedicated to these new projects to accommodate the extension of our partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. We have proved to Sony over the past 5 years that our team has the skills they require and we will continue to deliver the quality Playlogic Game Factory is known for”.

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Who Would You Choose To Play 'Kratos' In A God Of War Movie?

In a rececent interview, God of War III devs were asked who they would choose to play Kratos in a God of War movie. They suggested Ed Norton (if he could bulk up again) and Russel Crowe. Senior designer, Jonathan Hawkins, pointed out that the actor would need to understand the inner workings of the Kratos as a character.

Who do you think would be most suited to the role?

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Rumor: PS3 To Get ManHunt 3 Exclusive For Playstation MOVE

There's been a lot of speculation over the last couple days about an upcoming announcement from Sony at this year's E3 conference regarding a major exclusive. While we doubt the news others are getting from TakeTwo and Rockstar Games is the "big exclusive", it's still pretty interesting news.

There have been murmurs about ManHunt 3 since the highly controversial release of ManHunt 2 for the Wii and PS2. Now it appears the most recent rumor out of Rockstar's parent company TakeTwo is that we can expect an announcement this summer.

From what is been reported on the net, the game will be PS3 exclusive and utilize the Playstation 3's upcoming Move add-on. It definitely makes sense since the PS3 would be a perfect fit for the ManHunt sequel. And with the rumored plan to use the Move hardware, the latest version could give PS3 gamer's more functionality than was available in the Wii version of ManHunt 2.

Even though this is coming from a trusted source, we're not going to start practicing our air strangling just yet. It all makes sense, but for now we're going to file this under rumors until something more concrete comes to light.

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UK Game Industry To Get Tax Relief

The UK Government is to adopt a tax relief plan put forward by games developer association TIGA.

The plan will offer financial incentives to companies making games that fit certain cultural criteria. Developers who make profitable games will pay less tax on their profits, and the studios behind unsuccessful games will get a tax credit to reduce losses.

"Games tax relief will increase employment, investment and innovation in the UK videogames sector," said TIGA boss Richard Wilson.

"Our research shows that games tax relief over a five year period should create or protect 3550 graduate level jobs, increase or safeguard £457 million in development expenditure and encourage developers to adopt new business models and create new intellectual property".

To qualify, companies must fall within the scope of UK corporation tax. They must also pass a cultural test scoring against a criteria that looks at European heritage, languages, game locations, innovation, narrative and the location of the development and development staff.

The news was announced yesterday by Chancellor Alistair Darling. The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association welcomed the news, with chairman Andy Payne stating, "It is absolutely heartening news to hear that the Chancellor has offered support for one of the country’s leading creative digital businesses. This is a very significant day for the computer and videogames business in the UK".

"Videogames are the Hollywood of the 21st century," added Wilson. "With games tax relief in place, the UK is guaranteed a leading and successful role".

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Rumour: Michael Jackson Video Game Coming To PS3

The King Of Pop may be coming to PS3 - after Sony snapped up the rights to a Michael Jackson video game.

Video game rights were included in Sony's $200m purchase of MJ's estate last week.

According to reports, the deal gives Sony free reign to use Michael Jackson's released and unreleased material. The Independent reports it includes the right to release ten new Michael Jackson albums, video games and DVDs between now and 2017.

Of course, the most likely release is an MJ Singstar - but PS3 Move could well come into the equation.

Following the deal, Rob Stringer, chairman of the Columbia Epic division of Sony said: "There may be theatre. There may be films and movies. There may be computer games".

Jacko's no stranger to video games - with his own Moonwalker becoming a particular cult hit.

Sony released an no stranger to video gamesMJ PS3 bundle in Japan in January.

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Custom Soundtracks Confirmed For ModNation Racers

Chuck Lacson, the Associate Product Marketing Manager of SCEA, confirms that the upcoming Playstation 3 racing game 'ModNation Racers' will support custom soundtracks.

LittleBigPlanet 2 Is In Development And Supports MOVE

Sony Computer Entertainment Benelux, in person of Marketing Manager Folkert Langeveld, has confirmed that SCE has LittleBigPlanet 2 in development. On top of that, Langeveld confirms that the game will feature Move-support.

In the same interview, a few other Move-support games are mentioned, Flower and SOCOM 4 amongst them.

Rumour: New Gran Turismo 5 Demo Incoming........

According to NeoGAF poster, a new demo is on PSN but it's not available currently to the public audience.

This member has impeccable credibility and this demo is definitely available on PSN, though it may only be available for a select group of people at the current time. He later states that this demo may be used for media events only, but that is speculation on his part, as of now.

CBS And Sony Open 3D Consumer Research Center

Sony continues to evolve and further their research towards 3-D technology.Together with CBS, Sony has unveiled the Sony 3D Experience, showing the seriousness of 3D for the future of home entertainment.

The research center aims to be an educational experience not only for consumers, but Sony themselves who will get feedback from visitors.

Sony is promoting 3D not only in cinemas and home theaters, but also with BluRay, and yes, the PS3.

The future of gaming is evolving right before our eyes and Sony has shown a constant effort to lead this technological push. If you are planning to go to Las Vegas anytime soon be sure to check out this Research Center.

Infinty Ward: Double XP Weekend Confirmed For PS3 Modern Warfare 2, Date Unknown

Robert Bowling, Community Relations Manager for Infinity Ward, writes via Twitter:

"Yeah, PS3 will also get Double XP when DLC hits PSN, although that comes later. When it's dated, I'll let you know".

Final Fantasy XIII Officially Confirmed As UK's Fastest-Selling Game In 2010

Square Enix Europe has announced that Final Fantasy XIII has officially become the fastest selling UK game of 2010 so far, according to GFK Chart-track. The news comes on the heels of the announcement last week that the sell-in shipment of the game has exceeded the five million unit milestone worldwide.

Sony annouces 'God Of War Collection' For Europe

Sony’s just announced that the God Of War Collection – a single PS3 blu-ray containing remastered versions of God Of War I & II – will launch in the UK on April 30th (28th for mainland Europe).

Very strange for SCEE to release the game so late after God Of War III but, better late than never, right?

Sony also confirmed that a 'Trilogy Boxset' will launch in the same window, containing the Collection and God Of War III.

Sony: We Won't Charge For PSN Until We Can Justify It

Sony has revealed some good news. This is that it will NOT charge for PSN until it can actually justify charging for the service.

So Sony's going to have to add some more compelling features before they even bring such a plan to action.

Kratos Is God Of UK Charts

God of War III has released in the UK this past week to claim the top spot on Chart Track’s Software Sales chart for the region, crushing the likes of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Final Fantasy XIII ‘neath its boot.

It marks Sony's second top-spot victory in as many months, with Heavy Rain achieving the same in February. Kratos' latest adventure outsold God of War II's launch by a ratio of 2.65 to 1.

The Top Ten All Format UK Software Sales Chart follows below:

•1.) God of War III (SCE)
•2.) Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA)
•3.) Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix)
•4.) Just Dance (Ubisoft)
•5.) Metro 2033 (THQ)
•6.) Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
•7.) Heavy Rain (SCE)
•8.) Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
•9.) Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (SEGA)
•10.) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision Blizzard)

PS3 Central: God Of War 3 Review

The story starts off directly where God Of War 2 left off, which Kratos on Gaia, who is climbing Mount Olympus with the rest of the Titans. The goal, to destroy Zeus, quickly takes a different turn though and Kratos is forced to jump through more loops to have his vengeance. While the overall scheme of things works well, the plot can become a bit muddled during the last quarter of the game. I will state though, that the ending is a hit or miss. Some will hate it, others will love it. I personally felt it was done right, maybe not good, but proper. It was the ending the series needed I believe. Just make sure you watch all of the credits.

Character interaction is vastly improved. Kratos is developed surprisingly well in this title, and shows he still retains a piece of humanity at his core. There are also conversations and chats between him and other characters, rather than Kratos expressing his rage then blindly killing everything. Overall, the plot and characters are a huge improvement over the previous titles of the series.

The game boasts a lot of replayability, especially in comparison to God of War 1 and 2. You can now collect items in the game, which are carried over to other saves, that give you abilities. Abilities such as unlimited magic, a third of received damage not being received, and gaining 10X the amount of red orbs. For fans of hack and slashers, or just most gamers in general, between the fantastic campaign and the unlockables, there is a great amount of replayability.

-Extra Notes-
The game runs at a very smooth framerate from between 30 and 60FPS. I can safely say I’ve seen seen a framerate drop of any kind. The loading screens are also fairly minimal, and there are no loading screens when transitioning between scenes and areas of the game. There are times when the screen will fade to black for a spare moment, but it shouldn’t bother anyone.

The animations in come parts could have been polished a lot more, but overall they are fine. I also wish there were more challenge rooms and unlockables, but it’s a small complaint.

~Final Thoughts~
One of the best games of this generation, or of all games. The campaign will blow you away, and it offers good amounts of replayability. Far better than the previous GoW titles, and it pretty much prefects everything about the series. Well worth the 60$$. Go buy the game. Now.

If I was forced to give it an overall score (I detest the score system), I’d rate it a very solid 9.5.

Credit goes to Nerevar

Thank you

PlayStation MOVE Minority Report Tech Demo

Uncharted 2 Picks Up FOUR Awards At BAFTA's

So the Brits recently held the Games BAFTA's and Uncharted 2 was a big winner scoring a total of four awards. However the best game award went to Batman as well as best gameplay. The latter awards are arguably the best ones, so Naughty Dog may be a bit disappointed with their offerings.

Check out the full list below:



Best Game:
Batman: Arkham Asylum

Action:
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Family and Social:
Wii Sports Resort

Use of Online:
FIFA 10

Use of Audio:
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Handheld:
LittleBigPlanet

GAME Award of 2010:
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Strategy:
Empire: Total War

Original score:
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Multiplayer:
Left 4 Dead 2

Gameplay:
Batman: Arkham Asylum

Sports:
FIFA 10

Story:
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

BAFTA one’s to watch award, in association with Dare to Be Digital:
Shrunk

Artistic achievement:
Flower

Sony Europe Request GTA IV DLC Changes, Suffers Delay

Due to a request by Sony Europe to make some minor content changes to the PAL PS3 version of the game, Rockstar Games has moved the release dates of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City (PC/PS3) and the two downloadable episodes Grand Theft Auto: The Lost & Damned and Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (GFWL / PSN) to April 13 for North America and April 16 for all other countries.

A PR associate from Rockstar continued to tell us the following:

"Despite our best efforts to work through this quickly, the two weeks were needed to complete submission. We understand and sympathise with the fans that will be upset by this delay. We want to assure our fans that the minor changes made to the game will not affect the gamers enjoyment of the games, these will not affect any gameplay elements and were not related to any local ratings requirements".

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