Gabe Newell Trashes the PS3

In an interview, Gabe Newell told Next Generation that he thinks the PS3 is "a waste of everybody’s time"! Here are his words:

"Investing in the Cell, investing in the SPE, gives you no long-term benefits. There's nothing there that you're going to apply to anything else. You're not going to gain anything except a hatred of the architecture they've created. I don't think they're going to make money off their box. I don't think it's a good solution."

Ouch! Hearing this from the co-founder of Valve probably feels like a bee sting to the guys at Sony. I sure hope Sony works on its SDK to make the platform more developer-friendly, so that we don’t have delays with multi-platform games (and game packs) such as Orange Box and Stranglehold.

[Via EvilAvatar]

TimeShift Single Player Demo Out

After months of revamp and redesign, developer Saber Interactive (Will Rock) is ready to unleash its new and improved TimeShift demo to eager audiences.

The single player demo – which can be grabbed from our downloads section – will allow players to rewind, freeze and speed up time as they deem fit in a bid to save the world.

Guitar Hero II Price Mixup

On last week’s episode of the Tech 2.0 show, we covered the Guitar Hero II review for the PS2 and inadvertently said that the game was available for Rs 3500. That was a minor screw-up on our part since the game was selling – and continues to sell – for Rs 4700.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused to potential buyers or distributors.

Sony PS3 Now Cheaper By $100

Sony Corp. on Thursday cut the price of its PlayStation 3 game console in the U.S. and announced an even cheaper model that will arrive before the holiday shopping season.

The top-line PlayStation model, with an 80 gigabyte hard drive, now costs $499, down from $599. That effectively eliminates the lower-end model, which has a 60-gigabyte drive and has sold for $499.

A new low-end model with a 40-gigabyte drive will go on sale Nov. 2 for $399.

Unlike the other PlayStation 3 models, the new one won't be able to play games made for the PlayStation 2. In a statement, Sony said this was due to a more extensive lineup of games of the PlayStation 3.

The U.S. launch of the 40-gigabyte model was widely expected, since Sony has already announced it for Japan and Europe. It narrows the price gap with competing game consoles, but the PlayStation is still the most expensive.

Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 costs $350 and Nintendo Corp.'s Wii costs $250. The PlayStation 3 has been trailing them both in U.S. sales, and the Wii has been a breakout hit for Nintendo, with more than 9 million units shipped. Sony has sold 5 million PlayStation 3s since they went on sale in November last year.

Jack Thompson Not Happy With GTA IV

Just when you thought the gaming industry’s most hated person (after Uwe Boll) would let life go peacefully for Take Two, Rockstar, and the entire gaming fraternity, he comes out of nowhere, guns et al blazing, to deliver a message once again to the makers of Grand Theft Auto IV. Only this time he’s not irked by gratuitous violence or wanton sex; it’s his depiction in GTA IV that has his panties in a wad.

As usual he wants Take Two to make amends to certain parts of the game or he’ll try to block the game’s release and so on. Here’s part of the letter he sent to Take Two’s Chairman Strauss Zelnick:

The showcasing play of the game to Game Informer revealed that the first killing mission of the 'hero' of the game, Niko, is to kill a certain lawyer. When Niko comes into this lawyer’s office, having used subterfuge to do so, Niko pulls a gun on the lawyer, who says that "the firm supports the second amendment and that 'Guns don’t kill people. Video games do'.

"The fact that the lawyer, killed in Niko’s first mission, would bring up video games, makes it clearly a reference to me. This is not the first time Rockstar Games and Take Two have targeted me in this fashion. Take Two references to me as a bisexual pedophile on its corporate website.

"You have until five p.m. this Friday… to inform me that you're going to delete the above references and any other references that could reasonably be construed to be references to me in Grand Theft Auto IV and any other video games that are pending release.

"Now you have descended this low – using one of your games to threaten my physical safety – failure to comply with the deadline will result in my having to take necessary and proper means to stop release of the game which targets me personally… given the copycatting of violent games…

Seriously, this dude needs to just chill the f**k out!

Warmonger Dated

Developer NetDevil’s upcoming first person shooter, Warmonger: Operation Downtown Destruction will be released on the 16th of October, and the best part is that the game will be completely free! The game’s made using the Unreal 3 engine while its physics are powered by AGEIA’s PhysX engine.

Utilizing the AGEIA PhysX processor, Warmonger allows for dynamic game play to emerge from the results of combat. Destruction is enabled procedurally, rather than with standard pre-canned animations that are found in most games today. In Warmonger, destruction can also be used as a tactical tool or a weapon.

Safe cover is no longer a forgone conclusion. For example, a sniper can blow up the stairs behind him to block access, but a rocket blast to the floor beneath him can also hasten his own untimely end. Explosives, rockets, indirect fire, and vehicle combat can literally blow away walls, obliterate ceilings and open up new pathways to totally change the flow of the game.

For more on the game, head over to the official site now.

Crysis Demo Delayed

The Crysis single player demo that was to release on September 25 has now been pushed to October 26. In case you forgot, the Crysis demo was to coincide with the release of Halo 3. One can’t help but wonder if both EA and Crytek got cold feet at the last minute (can’t blame them if they did).

Either way, here’s what Crytek’s CEO Cevat Yerli had to say about the delay:

"Hi everyone, we have some news to announce. First, I am sorry for the bad news – the Crysis single player demo will now be available everywhere on October 26th, 2007.

"We are taking some extra time to make sure you that you have an amazing experience but also we did not want to risk the release date of Crysis at this stage. To get the game into your hands by November the 16th, we had to make this call.

"Now the good news – the big surprise. The SP demo will be released with our CryEngine 2 Sandbox 2 game editor, giving the community the opportunity to get familiar with the vast amount of tools they will have at their disposal four weeks before we ship, something we have always wanted to do.

"This is an exciting time for us at the studio as the development of Crysis comes to an end and we are only a few weeks from Gold Master. We appreciate your patience and are looking forward to getting Crysis into your hands on November 16th."

BIA: Hells Highway Delayed

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, Gearbox Software’s latest BIA game has been pushed back to early 2008. The game was to release sometime during the holiday season but due to reasons unknown it's been pushed to Ubisoft's fourth fiscal quarter – that's anytime between January and March 2008.

While it totally sucks for anyone looking forward to the game, take solace in the fact that Gearbox is planning to release a Beta – CoD4 style – very soon.

It looks as if this year may not turn out to be all that expensive after all.

Mercenaries World in Flames Delayed

I really hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but it looks as if yet another game has been delayed to next year. Mercenaries: World in Flames, the most excellent sequel to the free roaming shoot-everything-up Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, has now been pushed to early next year.

Here’s the lowdown from Pandemic Studios' President and Co-Founder Josh Resnick in an interview with ign.com:

"To answer your question: yes indeed, the retailer genies have done it again, and I can officially confirm that Mercenaries 2 is set for release early next year – Q1 2008 to be more specific."

At this rate I wonder if any of the high-profile games we were promised will release this year!

Gameloft Releases CSI:Miami for Mobiles

If you happen to be combination of TV-holic and mobile gamer, you won’t want to miss out on the latest release from Gameloft based on the very popular AXN series: CSI, the Miami version.

This game, while trying to make it as interactive and as like the TV show as possible, has incorporated all the characters from the show. Just as in the series, the game allows you to play detective and search through crime scenes for evidence, conduct autopsies, and interrogate suspects.

CSI:Miami should be on sale shortly.

Via IntoMobile.

Saint's Row 2 Announced

Even though Volition’s Saint’s Row never turned out to be the 'GTA Killer', it was still a good first attempt from Volition in the free roaming department. Now, after nearly a year, we have the works on a sequel titled Saint's Row 2.

Developed by THQ’s critically acclaimed internal studio Volition, Inc. using their proprietary open-world engine, Saints Row 2 will offer vastly expanded customization options, a totally transformed and expanded city of Stilwater, all-new vehicles, sandbox tools and toys, as well as both online co-op and competitive multiplayer.

For more on the game, do head over to the official site.

he’s turned his sights on Microsoft since he feels their latest offering, Halo 3, is a public nuisance. Here’s a small excerpt from a complaint he

After working with mobsters, hobbits, elves, and the Sims, EA’s Redwood Shores studio have turned their sights on to something a lot more sinister and dark.

No, it’s not another Sims game. It’s a brand new IP (Intellectual Property) called Dead Space.

Set in the cold blackness of deep space, the atmosphere is soaked with a feeling of tension, dread and sheer terror. In Dead Space, players step into the role of engineer Isaac Clarke – an ordinary man on a seemingly routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship. It is not long before Isaac awakes to a living nightmare when he learns that the ship’s crew has been ravaged by a vicious alien infestation. He must fight through the dead silence and darkness to stay alive...

As of now EA is really tight-lipped about the game, but you could hop on over to the game's official site for some hot forum action.

Microsoft to Replace Damaged Halo 3 Discs

Microsoft Corp is offering to replace damaged discs of its just-launched "Halo 3" game for the Xbox amid reports that special limited-edition packaging is scratching them.

On its Xbox Website, Microsoft says the disc replacement program covers the "Halo 3" limited edition game disc and essentials disc at no charge through the end of the year.

Microsoft began selling "Halo 3" on Tuesday, and the acclaimed alien shooter game is seen as the $30 billion video game industry's equivalent of a new "Harry Potter" book.

The Associated Press said that blogs were brimming with reports that special limited-edition packaging is scratching the videogame discs.

Sony Sells 250,000 New PSPs in Four Days

Sony Corp sold about 250,000 units of the new version of the PlayStation Portable in Japan in the four days since its launch, a game magazine publisher said on Wednesday, roughly matching total Japanese sales of the original PSP in the two months through August.

Sony launched the new PSP, which is cheaper and slimmer than the initial model, on Sept. 20 in Japan in a bid to compete better with Nintendo Co Ltd's hot-selling DS Lite.

Both Sony and Nintendo released their handheld consoles, the PSP and DS, respectively, late in 2004.

But sales of the PSP, which can play movies, music and games, have recently been outshone by the DS Lite, the lighter version of the DS.

Sony sold 250,702 new PSPs in the four days through Sept. 23, compared with 275,223 units of the original PSP it sold in July and August in Japan, according to data from videogame magazine publisher Enterbrain.

The new PSP sells for 19,800 yen, which is 5 percent less than the original model and compares with 16,800 yen for the DS Lite.

A Sneak Peek at Halo 3!

Microsoft unveiled its first party system seller Halo 3 to journalists and gamers alike at the Taj Land’s End Hotel in Mumbai yesterday. Our Delhi counterparts had already had a taste of the action last week.

People all over Mumbai had the chance to come in and try out the game’s single player campaign (the very first level) as well as the multiplayer component for themselves.

The cool part about this event was that it wasn’t for invitees only, so you had tons of ecstatic gamers rubbing shoulders with journalists, all vying to try the game out for themselves. Throw in some drinks to the whole equation and you have one hellova (geeky) partee!

While we can’t talk about the game because of a most aggravating NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) that we signed, I can confidently say that the game’s MP aspect was tons of fun and the game’s looking much better than it did in previous builds. Nikhil would also love to share his thoughts on the game’s single player campaign but like I said, we’re going to have to keep our mouths shut till September 24th.

As of now all we can say is that the game will be launching in India on the 25th of September itself and both the Standard (Rs. 1895) and the Limited (Rs. 2510) editions will be available in stores. Till then you can head over to 360indians.com for more on the game as well the party (pics included) and come back tomorrow which is when we kick off our Halo week here at Tech2.

FASA Studio Shuts Down

After their much hyped Shadowrun failed to live up to expectations (thank publisher Microsoft for that), there were rumors that developer FASA Studios were planning to shut shop. After months of speculation, that rumor has finally become a reality today.

Here’s the lowdown from manager Mitch Gitelman:

"It is my sad duty to announce that FASA Studio has officially closed its doors. Today was the official last day of employment for those of us who had not moved on to other positions within Microsoft Game Studios. While the rumours have been circulating forever, we chose to wait for an official announcement because we didn't want people's attention distracted from our last product, Shadowrun, a game we love.

"As a testament to the team's commitment to Shadowrun, we released three title updates to improve the product even after the team learned we were losing our studio. We have kept our Community Manager and Technical Support Manager on the job to aid and support you, and will continue to do so while people continue to play our game. I'm pleased that about half of us have found great positions elsewhere in MGS and Microsoft where they can share their experience and passion with the great people there."

Another one bites the dust...

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Dated

Lara Croft’s male counterpart will be swinging his way into your living room when Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune hits the stores on November 20. As you all know, this highly ambitious project from developer Naughty Dog plans on fusing a number of elements borrowed from different games – such as the cover system from Gears of War, the platforming element from Prince of Persia etc. so I’m pretty interested to see how it works out . Here’s a slight heads-up for the ill-informed:

A 400-year-old clue in the coffin of Sir Francis Drake sets a modern-day fortune hunter on an exploration for the fabled treasure of El Dorado, leading to the discovery of a forgotten island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The search turns deadly when Nathan Drake becomes stranded on the island and is hunted by mercenaries. Outnumbered and outgunned, Drake and his companions must fight to survive as they begin to unravel the terrible secrets hidden on the Island.

For more on the game, head over to the official site.

Orange Box's 99 Achievements Revealed

Achieve360Points.com has a list of the 99 achievements you’ll get to unlock on the Xbox 360 version of the Orange Box. The achievements stretch from something as bizarre as killing someone with a toilet seat, to killing five Barnacles with a single barrel.

If you plan on playing the game on your PC, you can Pre-Order it now to receive a 10% discount.

Heavenly Sword(review)

If epic tales could be recited using the shimmering blade of a sword, Heavenly Sword would be the outcome. The game takes epic story telling to a whole new level, breaking the zenith of production values you’ve seen in almost any modern day game and executing every cutscene, every in-game action sequence with enough finesse to rival any top Hollywood martial-art flicks.

Make no mistake; at its core, Heavenly Sword is a hack-n-slash game. What transcends it from the lot is the fact that each and every element of the game is so minutely worked upon (even the ones that most action games overlook) that it blurs the line between cinematic and interactive entertainment. The voice acting for instance is the best I’ve heard in a while – it isn’t overacted, nor is it bland; the fact that they’ve hired actual actors to play the role of the various characters really gleams through. The voice acting coupled with the extremely well done facial animation stacks up to breathe a great amount of depth into the characters, setting them apart from those paper-thin ones you’re used to seeing in most other action games.

The storyline on the other hand is your standard ‘Sword meets Girl and kills millions’ kind. Ok, that might not be too standard, but you can certainly say that it lacks depth. The game manages to immerse you nevertheless, thanks to some inspiring narration and amazing story-telling mechanics that add to the grand feel of the game. The way this works out is that between missions Nariko comes on screen reflecting on her actions and exposing the way she feels in a very believable way that’ll draw you in; it’s a lot like what we’ve seen in The Darkness’ loading screens, only emotionally charged (she is a chick after all). All this happens with a picturesque backdrop that has jagged blades ripping out of the ground, each representing a different Chapter in the game. You can use these blades to select different segments of the game that you wish to replay, which is a great feature since there are quite a few parts that you’re sure to love and will want to play again. The duality of the transition screen is truly commendable, since it manages to please you aesthetically as well as maintain its functionality. It just goes to show the amount of work developer Ninja Theory has put into something as small as the mission transition screen. Kudos to Ninja Theory for that!



Another area where the game truly shines through are its visuals. Heavenly Sword is one of the most gorgeous looking games out there, and there’s no denying that - everything from the way Nariko’s flaming red hair is animated, to the detailed texturing on everything from the armor of the enemy soldiers to the broken pieces of equipment scattered throughout the game is done so brilliantly that they feel truly lifelike. The best part of this is that in a bid to mock reality, the game doesn't lose its visual style – from the dreamy backdrops that’ll leave you breathless to the not-so-subtle far-east Asian architectural influences, the game seems to have accommodated a plethora of different styles to form a soul of its own that’ll rouse a sort of wanderlust in anyone that plays it.

The great visuals extend even to the big battles, where Nariko takes on thousands (literally) of enemies by herself, on an outrageously large battleground. This has an impact on the performance however and the framerates begin to suffer quite noticeably. This wouldn’t make such a huge difference in any other game, but with the standards Heavenly Sword has set for itself (it meets most of them almost in all areas), these framerate dips makes the team behind it look quite shabby. I really wonder if the low framerates are caused by the limit of the PS3’s power or game’s unoptimized code. Regardless, Ninja Theory should’ve made it a point to fix the dips before they shipped out the game.

Another area where the game falls blaringly short of greatness is the combat system. If you’re a seasoned combo-ist, the combos will leave a lot to be desired. Combos are basically executed in the way you normally execute them in any other hack-n-slack game, only here (unlike God of War) the combos don’t reward you with great amounts of damage or in any other way whatsoever. In fact, a button masher can do as well as a seasoned player by just punching the two attack keys – Triangle and Square in a random order. If that wasn’t bad enough, even the attack-counter system seems very counter-intuitive; to counter a blow, you’ve got to keep an eye out for the color of the trail of the enemy attacking you. A blue trail means that you can counter the enemy while you’re in Speed stance, while an orange trail indicates that the attack can only be countered in the Heavy Stance. To change stances you hold either the R1 (Heavy Stance) and L1 (Ranged) buttons, and to counter a blow you just press the Triangle button at the right time. The counter system would be way better if you could block blows and then use the counter key, rather than doing both simultaneously which feels too unnatural in battle and requires special attention. Even though the outcome of counters is brutally impressive, most players (me included) will never get quite acquainted with it.



That said, the game’s combat is really good for people new to the genre, since it isn’t very hard to master in normal difficulty. Just get a hang of the different stances via the in-game tutorial in the first mission and you’re all set to kick some butt right till the end of the game. I doubt that Ninja Theory intended for the combat system to work this way though, but it makes the game seem like it’s targeted to the really non-hardcore audience. To enhance that feeling, the game has other segments that feel a little out of place. Every now and then you get missions to blow up rolling catapults or decimate armies using a cannon. To do this, the game allows you to move into first person to shoot a cannon ball, that you can control in-flight using the SIXAXIS controls. After tinkering with the settings a little you can use the analog sticks to control the projectile; however that isn’t the way Ninja Theory wants you to play those parts.

The game even puts you in the shoes of Kai (Nariko’s best buddy) from time to time. This chick is basically an archer, and all her gameplay bits involve sniping people in first person and controlling the arrows using SIXAXIS. While these bits may seem a little out of place from time to time, they work well to add a bit of diversity into the gameplay and give you an opportunity to take a break from the button mashing.

The diversity, which would be a good thing otherwise, seems pretty unnecessary here since the game ends faster than you’d want it to. A seasoned player will be able to finish the game in about 8-9 hours flat, which is a really short time for a game that’s been in production for roughly 5 years. For what it’s worth, those few hours will have in store for you an experience that any action fan shouldn’t miss, provided he doesn’t mind spending Rs. 2,799 on a game that has limited replay value and absolutely no online play.

Free Games from FilePlanet

For the broke gamer out there, here’s an offer you can’t resist – if you make an ID (for free) on FilePlanet, they’re offering you 3 games completely free. I’m not talking about some crappy half-assed titles; you can download FarCry, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time from here! There is a catch however – the games come with ad-support. If that is the price you have to pay to play a game for free, I sure as hell don’t mind the ads.