It's Thursday again and lots of stuff to cover.
Let's start with Firmware v2.40. I have it, but from the looks at the post over at the PlayStation.Blog a lot of people do not or had problems with it when they got it. From what's been reported those who were able to download and install the update like myself have had no problems. Some people had their PS3's lock up on them during the install and ended up bricking their unit. Forcing them to pop out the HDD, put it back in and format the drive. Losing everything they had on it. Game saves, downloaded games, music transfered, etc; That would prove to be quite annoying, and to prevent it any more Sony has pulled the firmware. So if you didn't already have it, you can't currently download it. Good move on their part but people don't seem to see it that way.
Along with the complaints about the firmware's availability there are the complains about what was and wasn't included. "In-game XMB is slow." "MP3 playback has to be supported by the game so it's not available everywhere." "Why can't I voice chat with anybody as I play a game." The list goes on. Proves that you can't please everybody all the time, and some people just don't want to be pleased.
For me the firmware is pretty much what I wanted. The games I want to play and listen to my own music I can - PJM, Super Stardust HD, and soon Burnout Paradise City. I can now access my friends list mid game and not exit the game entirely. I used to think Achievements in XBL was a stupid way to create replay value but now I'm hooked! (One more Trophy and I reach Lv.2!!) I have no desire for cross game voice chat honestly. Last thing I want is somebody distracting my enjoyment while playing another game. While playing the same game though, it's great!
But enough about all the griping, time to get to work. Link up!
PlayStation.Blog
ThreeSpeech - European Store Update
QJNet - European Store Update
Add-Ons
Qore released month with luke warm reception. Seemed like a solid possible foundation, but we were all left wondering if this year subscription was really worth it. Yeah I got a free game that's not great but not bad either, an exclusive theme, and a spot in the upcoming SOCOM Confrontation beta. Well round two releases today to see how they build upon the system. As with last month you can purchase the single episode for $2.99 or buy the remaining year for $24.99.
One thing I wondered about last month was how was the second episode going to be released? Was I just going to start up Qore and it give me an option for episodes 002 alongside 001? Was I going to have to download it separately from the PS Store? Well I opened Qore today and it started up just like it did last month, so I guess that answers that question. I jump into the store and it shows Qore - already having been downloaded - and no extra episodes. I had to check my downloaded list and there it sat. Qore 02 - July just above Qore 01 - June. Not very user friendly to get to, but O.K. I add it to my download list and get on to others.
Qore Episode 02 is nearly 1.8Gb, took forever to download, and the first install froze. After restarting my PS3 it installed pretty quick.
This month's episodes opens up with a pretty good trailer for Hellboy II. Surprised Ron Perlman can still move, but then again the special effects look great for this movie. After a quick intro from our lovely host Veronica Belmont we get into to see the Resistance themed main menu. This month we have lots of news about Resistance 2, SIlent Hill Homecoming, Madden 09, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm and of course Hellboy II. Pretty good amount of content, not nearly as much advertising it seems but it's still there. Under the download section we have an exclusive Naruto demo, and a Resistance 2 theme. I was hoping for a promise of Resistance 2 beta, but that's a no go. Looks like Qore is slowly on the way to being worth the $24.99 I spent on it.
In honor of the US holiday GH3 lays down some free goodness. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock July 4th 2008 Holiday Single is now available for your 4th of July rock out session. Only person I know who has GH3 is for the Wii... I'll have to ask if it's available to him and what he thinks about it.
Rock Band makes it's weekly show with 4 songs and the corresponding pack of the same 4 songs. $.99 each or $2.99 for the lot.
Demos & Games
No games or demos today. Part of me wonders if these were pulled because of the firmware problems, but I'm sure nobody will say for sure. I guess if we have 8 demos next week we will know for sure!
Videos
GamesThemes
Battlefield: Bad Company Bad World Trailer - LOL 'Nuff said.
Battlefield: Bad Company Rainbow Sprinkles Trailer - So many parts about this game remind me of the movie Stripes. Can't deny that it has some great voice acting in it but the game still looks like it's missing a lot of polish.
Battlefield: Bad Company Snake Eyes Trailer - As much as this game can't compare to any Metal Gear Solid game, this video is pretty funny as it pokes some fun at Solid Snake.
Dead Space Animated Comic Issue #2 - Truly enjoyed the first comic and was bummed another one didn't release last week or the week before that. Great tie leading up to the game.
Dead Space Animated Comic Issue #3
Killzone 2 Trailer - Looks like pre-E3 hype. Goodness I hope this game lives up.
Valkyria Chronicles Teaser Trailer - Interesting art direction. RPG set to release this fall but this trailer doesn't show anything that may be a battle system. Really only shows off the style.
Vampire Rain Altered Species #1 - First I've heard of this, but the mix of cut scene and in game footage looks amazing. If nothing else graphically it's amazing.
Vampire Rain STuAltered Species #2 - Mixture of live action footage and game play. Not sure if the game will use, but it looks great in the trailer.
Tiger Woods '09 Course Video - Shows the difference between this year's upcoming game and last years watered down port of the XB360 version. Noticeable improvements.
Movies
John Mayer Live In Los Angeles - Promo for the release of performance in LA. Have hard time appreciating his music any more after comments he's made, but this will appeal to fans who didn't hear his comments or didn't care.
Lakeview Terrace - Interesting. Sam Jackson, the hardest working man in Hollywood. I guess I'd call it a suspense movie, maybe a thriller, but interesting trailer.
Persepolis - Great art direction. Black & white simple animation. Appears to be about an Iranian girl who goes to France for school. Cultural differences abound, strong pop music overtones.
Vantage Point - Trailer for the Blu-Ray release of the movie. Never saw it in the movie theater but I'll make sure to add it to my Netflix queue. Interesting premise.
Not sure who Woodward is, but they have what appears to be a skate themed Theme available for the PS3 and PSP today. Half pipe in the backgrounds, skate/graffeti themed icons, and the basic default sounds. Something I was curious about was the Trophy icon. Previous themes just show a question mark for the Trophy icon, but the two new themes released today show the default icon instead of anything special.
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution Theme looks great from a distance. I am with out my usual tools for posting tonight so I'm a good 25 to 30 feet from the TV. From my current vantage point it shows Abe Lincoln in the foreground with a massive global battle going on in the background. The icons all show various world leaders through out history that are available in the game, and that's about it. Well I just went to turn up the volume to see if there were any sounds in use and the battle in the background looks horrible. Like a bad YouTube video paused bad. Abe looks great and so do the icons, but the wallpaper is pretty bad and no sounds either.
Just one wallpaper for the PS3 today helping with continued promotion of Top Spin 3. Wallpaper looks nice and sharp but the white background will blind you! Perhaps on my old TV it wouldn't be much of a problem, but on my current 47" TV it lights my entire apartment. I seriously need sunglasses to look straight at it.
As I stated, with out my usual tools for posting I can't download anything from the PC store for the PSP. Since the PC store is still Windows ONLY, and the laptop is on the road (Imagine that! A traveling laptop.) I have no way to download anything to the PSP. No demos, just 2 themes. One of which is probably identical to the Woodward Theme at the PS3, and the PSN theme released for the PS3 last week.
