Monday, January 30, 2012

2012 the Year of the Nintendo 3DS?

The 3DS has been out in the US for almost a full year. Most of that year was crap for us gamers. When the system first released there really wasn't any games worth buying. Actually the first few months there were hardly any new games released at all. A lot of publishers cancelled or postponed games do to poor hardware sales. Eventually in the summer some good games were released(Zelda and Star Fox). Plus the Nintendo eshop was finally up and running. Then the almighty Mario games came out, and the system started selling very well(thanks to a price cut).

Now 2012 is here, and it looks like it could be promising for the 3DS. With the system finally selling publishers are releasing more good games. There are actually a lot of games slated for this year, but I will only name a few.

Resident Evil Revelations (Capcom)
Kid Icarus: Uprising (Nintendo)
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (KONAMI)
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (SEGA)
PAC-MAN Party 3D (NAMCO BANDAI Games S.A.S.)
TEKKEN 3D Prime Edition (NAMCO BANDAI Games S.A.S.)
Mutant Mudds (Renegade Kid)
Mario Tennis (Nintendo)
Luigi's Mansion 2 (Nintendo)
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Square Enix)
Monster Hunter Tri (Capcom)
Plus possibly 2 mores Mario games!

Now I don't plan to play all of the games listed above, but these all have the potential to be good games and good system sellers. Keep in mind that is only a small selection of what's coming out this year. If Nintendo and publishers can spread these games out 3DS gamers could have something to buy every month. I'm hopeful that 2012 could be the year of the 3DS.

Friday, January 27, 2012

PS3 3D Display Review

The PS3 3D Display has been on the market now for a few months. It's initial price tag was $500, that's a big chunk of change for a 24" TV. However this TV has some insanely high specs.
  • 24" ultra-slim LED screen
  • Connects to PS3 system, cable TV box or PC
  • SimulView technology
  • Best-in-class HD 3D display for immersive 3D gaming experience
  • Built-in speakers and subwoofer
  • 2 x HDMI and 1 x component HD inputs
  • Full HD 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080)
  • Edge LED technology
  • 240Hz refresh rate
In the box you have the TV and stand, Motor Storm Apocalypse, a high speed HDMI cable, and 1 pair of active 3D rechargeable glasses.

The TV works great for gaming. Even when not playing in 3D my games look significantly better.  I had been playing on an LCD that refreshes at 60Hz at 1080p.  It's amazing how much better a game can look on the PlayStation 3D Display.

The coolest part is the SimulView feature. SimulView technology is unique to the PlayStation 3D Display in that it significantly enhances two-player mode in many games. Ordinarily, two-player mode is played in split-screen format. With SimulView technology, each player gets their own full (2D) HD screen while wearing the PlayStation 3D Glasses. It sounds crazy and futuristic but it works. So no more looking at your friends screen while playing(no more cheating).

Here's the best part as of yesterday Walmart has dropped the price to only $299. At that price this is one of the best TV deals I've ever seen. You get the newest technology for an extremely low price. If your looking for the ultimate way to play your PS3 this is it. If your looking for a cheap but awesome new TV for a bedroom or office you wont find a better deal.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Resident Evil Revelations

Today Nintendo released it's first demo on the Nintendo 3DS store.  Resident Evil Revelations is an extremely high profile game. This game was announced when the 3DS was announced. It was the game that made me want the system. Keep in mind demo's are an unfinished version of a game, but so far I'm impressed.

Graphics
Graphics, that's the first thing you will notice about Revelations. They look fantastic with the 3D slider on or off. I'll say it looks better than RE 4 but not quite as good as RE 5. Of course that's to be expected, but seriously the game looks like it should be running on a home console.

Controls
There is a new addition to the control for this title. If you press the R trigger it goes into a first person view. If you hold the L trigger you can now strafe. Does it bring the RE franchise completely into the modern gaming era? No it doesn't, but it's a good starting point. Besides those additions the game controls like every other RE game. The controlls feel solid, I don't for see any issues playing the full game.

BTW there is a new peripheral coming out the same day the game launches. It will add a right thumb stick and 2 more triggers. Honestly though at $20 I can't see it being worth it, since the controls work so well. It is supposed to add another control option. So only time will tell if it's a worthy purchase.

Is it scary?
It's to early to say either way. I will say that during my demo play I did jump a few times. The demo plays on a cruise ship, so it's confided much like the original mansion from the first game. The atmosphere is creepy and the monsters( I guess they are monsters?) look gross enough. I'm hoping for a mix of scary and action.

I am very impressed with RE Revelations demo. If any "hard core" gamers are on the fence about the 3DS this could be the game to convince them. If you have a 3DS go download it now and check it out for yourself. If you don't own a 3DS...stop being a loser and go buy one.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Onlive on Xperia Play

I downloaded the new Onlive App for android and it's amazing. What makes it more amazing is having the Xperia Play. Onlive uses the full controller for it's games. So it's like having a high end gaming pc in your pocket.

Onlive (in case you don't know) is a video game streaming service. It was originally made for PC but has recently been released for IOS and Android devices. There is also a micro console they sell that hooks up to a HD TV. Onlive has over a hundred games that can be streamed directly to your device as long as you have a decent internet connection. The better your connection the better your resolution.

Onlive has a few ways to play also. You can buy individual games permanently, or you can rent them for 3-5 days. They also have a service called the "playback bundle". This lets you choose from over 130 games to play as much as you want for 1 month...and it costs only $9.99 a month. That's really a hard deal to beat. These are awesome games to like Batman Arkham Asylum, Splinter Cell, Assassins Creed, Dirt 3, and that's only a hand full.

Of course I'm really discussing the Xperia Play option. Onlive has a controller they sell and the Xperia Play controller plays as if you had that. It literally uses every button on the phones slide out controller and it works. I have played a few genres of games and they are all great. I have played Batman Arkham Asylum, Splinter Cell Conviction, and Aliens VS Predator ( the new one, though the classic is on there as well) and they all play just as they would on a home console. I did notice some lagging while playing once, but I had multiple devices running on my router.

Onlive is just cool, no matter what your playing it on. BUT if you have an Xperia Play (which is already great for gaming to begin with) then you must at least give this a try. BTW almost every game has a 30 minute trial, so why not give it a shot on PC, IOS, or Android.