The Recycle Bin

thatgamingsite.com [found via n4g.com] has compiled a list of Trophy support; plans for upcoming games and currently released games (updates via a patch). Too bad there are no plans for Oblivion support; would add new life to the game. Same for 1942.

On a positive note, Uncharted should get Trophy support on August 22, which gives me plenty of time to get it on with some of my other games before turning my attention back to Drake.

I love me some stuffs, so here we go!

Brett Favre – Big game of chicken. I don’t care how much of a icon he is; for sure future Hall of Fame material. No way Green Bay should give in and release him because Favre “deserves” to be released. This would set a horrible precedent.

“I am done; retired. [several months later] Oops; I change my mind. Because I am such an all around good guy, and because I have done so much for you, I should be released.”

Screw that noise.

Legend tarnished? Sad songs say so much …

High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition – This game is unbelievably fun. How did I miss out on this gem? $4.99 is a sweet spot for me; hope Everyday Shooter goes on sale at some point.

Qore – I am overly disappointed with Qore. Hopefully Episode 3 in August does something to justify my purchase of the yearly subscription. First, Qore should be Remote Play enabled. I thought Sony wanted to push PS3-PSP connectivity. Second, Episode 1 has a SOCOM beta download, but it the beta offer is never available. I am not a SOCOM fan, but free is free, and I would like to give the game a go. Finally, Calling All Cars was free to subscribers, but on one is ever online. That is almost like someone saying they are giving us free garbage. It is free; get it before it stinks too much!

Pixel Junk Eden Demo – Very interesting game. Surreal. Plus it will have trophies

“PixelJunk Eden is a short-form PSN title so there are fewer trophies when compared to, say, a Blu-ray title (which can have the esteemed platinum trophy), but we still managed to pack in quite a few. To begin with, you can get a bronze trophy for opening every “seed” in a stage. This is quite a challenge on some of the stages as the gardens are large and expansive. Then there are trophies for a load of other things, such as destroying 500 of the “prowlers,” or collecting 15 “crystals” in one jump. My personal favorite is a trophy that you can only achieve in 3P mode, where you have to “volley” a player between you back and forth five times without him/her landing on a plant, a bit like tennis.”

The full game should be available next week; instant purchase for me.

Metal Gear Solid 4 – Still have not opened the game, but I had to get me some of that. I get distracted too easily and start chasing butterflies, so I am going to hold off on playing this one for now. Maybe. I do need to finish up Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and maybe put in some more time with Oblivion. I take that back on Uncharted; I want to see if trophies get added in the near future before I jump back into that one. And then there is the money I wasted on Resistance. Too many good games; never enough time. The consolation prize is that I do have a $10 Circuit City gift card.

That is enough stuffs for now. Happy Saturday!

As part of the recent PlayStation Store Summer 08 Sale, I picked up High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition for $4.99.

Have to know when to fold ’em …

I am not a big time poker player; or a small time player for that matter. I do not have a poker night out with the boys, watch the tournaments on TV, understand what the flop, turn, and river stand for, or play in some illicit offshore debauchery. But I really enjoy High Stakes. What a gem.

The game has several free ad-ons available, including some AV support options to allow players to see (and hear) each other in all their unassuming glory. I do not have a headset or Eye Toy (or similar camera), and I am not sure that I want to experience others coming into my living room. If I want that sort of experience … well, let’s just say we have some younger readers here so I am not going to digress too far.

I guess Texas Hold ‘Em does not need a lot of explanation, and you are not going to get it from me. I have never played the game until I downloaded High Stakes. I quickly played a few offline rounds, before heading online to see what sort of damage I could do against real life players. The game (High Stakes and Texas Hold ‘Em) is fun, addicting, and very rewarding. I cannot describe how excited I was the first time I had to go “all in” pulled off the winning hand. Good stuff!

If you are a Texas Hold ‘Em fan, High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition is a tremendous value for $4.99. See you in the casino!

It’s kind of hard to post Calling All Cars multiplayer impressions when no one is online to play the game. I checked the lobby multiple times last night from 7PM to around 1AM and only once did I find another game brewing. So I got in one five minute game, which is not enough for me to get a great feel for online play.

As most of you know, I am not really a huge online fan, but this game sees like it could be a pretty good experience. A first glance Calling All Cars has plenty of variety (multiple vehicles, multiple weapons, multiple levels, and multiple ways to score). Maybe that is not really the case? Easy to cheese and cheat? I am not sure why no one was around to play the game. Maybe the game is just old news and has run its course.

In my one brief online game, there was a lot of mayhem trying to pickup and carry a criminal to jail. Do you go for the 1 pt, 2 pt, or 3 pt option? If someone is in hot pursuit as you are heading towards the jail, you have to decide quickly. More than once I went for the 2 pt ramp, but was out of turbo boost (or whatever this game calls it) and did not score.

If no one is online this weekend, I will know why Calling All Cars was given away free in Qore Episode 2 to Qore subscribers.

George Brett is my all time favorite baseball player. Ever. Period. End of story.

I grew up playing 3B in little league, and it was natural that I had to pick between Brett, Mike Schmidt, and (as a Braves fan) Bob Horner. The choice was easy for me. Not sure why, but I gravitated towards Brett and those early 80’s KC teams. What a great pick! I think Brett is the only player to win a battle title in three different decades – 1976 (.333), 1980 (.390), and 1990 (.329). Amazing!

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Pine Tar Game

It was the famed Pine Tar Game — Royals against the Yankees — and Thursday marks its 25th anniversary. Brett says he can’t count the number of times that he has seen the famous clip, but says “I have the game on tape, I watch it once a year with my boys. They don’t want to watch the whole game, they just like to watch the aftermath when the umpire calls me out. When I first saw the replay, I had no idea what I had done. I said, ‘You’ve got to be s——- me. I did that in public?’ [Former manager] Earl Weaver said he didn’t know what he was doing when he went out to argue a call. I had no idea what I was doing. When I looked at the replay, I was pretty amazed that I’d gotten that angry.”

Great memories!

If you are looking for some cheap PS3 games, check out the Summer 08 Sale

For one week, the following titles will be offered for $4.99 (regularly priced at $9.99)

* PAIN
* PixelJunk Monsters
* High Velocity Bowling
* High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition
* Rocketmen: Axis of Evil

I am not sure about PAIN or Rocketman, but PixelJunk Monsters is well worth $4.99. I am going to take up the offer on High Velocity Bowling and High Stakes; seems to be a great deal.

I am also going to pick up 1942: Joint Strike for $9.99, which is a little high, but should be a cool game.

Based on the popular arcade series, 1942: Joint Strike combines classic top-down shooting with amazing 3D HD graphics. Maneuver aircraft carriers to take on waves of enemy fire and face off with huge enemy bosses. Recruit a wing man locally or online to employ Joint Strike attacks, combining firepower into one explosive barrage. With a whole new arsenal, prepare to rejoin the battle!

I wish Everyday Shooter was part of this deal; that is one game that I want to try, but have not picked up yet.

The PixelJunk Eden demo is also being downloaded. This is one game that looks very cool; very different sort of game.

Finally, I pulled down the Calling All Cars game (free for Qore subscribers), but have not given it a whirl yet. Too many games … not enough time.

The Braves may have beaten the Marlines 9-4 last night, but at what cost? Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson both left the game due to injuries

Will Chipper have to park his NL leading .369 average?

Jones, the major league’s batting leader at .369, was hurt running out a grounder in the fourth inning and immediately left the game. He said he hopes to avoid the disabled list but may miss the start of a series against division co-leader Philadelphia beginning Friday.

Hudson (11-7) said he felt tightness on the inside of his upper forearm at the elbow, but he doesn’t expect to miss a start.

I wonder if Cox still thinks the Braves are buyers? At 48-53, the Braves are only 5 games under .500, but 6 games back of the NL East lead. The Braves need to realize that it is not going to happen this year.

I just noticed that Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm was available on the PlayStation store. I am shocked that it did not happen sooner.  A couple of weeks ago I said

“In other news Qore episode 2 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm is still exclusive to Qore. Over/under is the Qore episode 3 release. I doubt I will pick it up, but it gives me something to fuss about if Naruto becomes un-exclusive.”

Nice. By “exclusive” to Qore, Sony means a limited time exclusive. 2-3 weeks. I could care less, but like I said, it gives me something to bitch about. Further devalues Qore.

My kids think it is funny that I put a parental control pin lock on their Wii, but there is no way I could leave them to their own devices with Nintendo’s online store.

Until last weekend I had not taken advantage of any of the virtual console games, but as a reward for the kids, I purchased Super Mario Bros. and Kirby. It is funny how much the kids love the classic NES games; Mario games have to be among their favorites.

I have stayed away from virtual console games because of their limitless possibilities, and addictive qualities. It is easy to start burning money on Nintendo’s back catalog of games. I may have to get my wife to change the parental control pin.

One of writers for sarcasticgamer.com just picked up a PSP

How about some Loco Roco?

“So, even before you get any games for the system, the PSP gives you a lot to do with your media. When I got home, I immediately started filling my memory stick with all kinds of goodies. Buying the system has basically made my old iRiver mp3 player obsolete, and it’s amazingly easier to move all your media onto the memory stick than it is trying to sync playlists to your mp3 player. So, needless to say, I love the media features. Some of the most boring stretches at work the past couple days were made much more bearable while watching old episodes of Family Guy.”

The writer makes some good points. In general the games are cheap, they get discounted fairly quickly, and the little system that could has a lot to offer besides games.

My concerns with the PSP are the lack of games quality on the horizon and PS3 connectivity. Not sure what is out there next for the PSP, but as it stands right now, my PSP gets 90% of its use on business travel. More quality games could lower that ratio. PS3 connectivity is also a concern. Where are the Remote Play games? When is Sony going to make Remote Play a smooth experience?

When E3 was in Atlanta (1998 ish), I had a great time walking the show floor, trying the demos, getting free beer from Sony, picking up all the free crap, and then some. All for free as a member of the gaming press. Those days are long gone.

gamesindustry.biz makes a case that something has to change or E3 will cease to exist

“The solitude of this year’s E3 made patently obvious to us that the ESA membership made a mistake in downsizing the show last year,” said Pachter.

“Prior to last year, publishers and console manufacturers used E3 to address the needs of their core constituents: media, retail, investors, and consumers. By choosing to eliminate any potential for a consumer element to the show, the ESA chased away much of the television media.

“By scheduling the show two months later than in the past, retailers stayed away. By scheduling the show during the calendar quarter financial quiet period, only limited access was provided for buy and sell side analysts. ESA leadership appears to agree that the timing and scope of the show is a mistake, but is hamstrung by some of its more influential members, who appear to be pettily reluctant to spend money in order to showcase the industry,” he added.

Pachter said that the ESA must strike a balance between the huge 60,000 attendees of the old E3, and the relatively small 5,000 person shows of the of the past two years.

I think most publishers and of course the Big Three hold something back for other shows – Tokyo Game Show and specific publisher days. It is obvious that something has to change when the biggest announcement is that Final Fantasy XIII is going multiplatform. It will be interesting to watch E3 evolve because the show is almost irrelevant.

We know that Sony has lost exclusive titles left and right. Why? There has been lots of theories and conjectures, but until now it was just that; speculation. Thanks to gizmodo we know that Sony is not in business to write checks for exclusives

This, as we learned from Sony’s Jack Tretton, is because they’re “not in the business of writing checks for exclusives.” Jack goes on to explain quite logically that in this day and age, it’s just much more profitable for game publishers to put their titles on as many consoles as possible, and companies would have to throw out some big chunks of money to convince them otherwise. The kind of money Microsoft has been doling out.

That may explain why Metal Gear Solid 4 is the last standing (for now) exclusive, and it explains why Sony keeps harping on its first party exclusives.

For my money, I have assumed a couple of things have happened. First, games are just so damn expensive that third party developers (and publishers) have to go multiplatform in order to recover development costs and to reach the largest possible audience. Second, Microsoft is throwing dump trucks of money at developers, which is something that I can only assume that Sony did in the past with third party exclusive titles on the PlayStation and PS2.

I typically stay away from all things NBC related (typically way too liberal minded for this card carrying conservative to the point of being marginalized), but this story caught my eye

Then he watched the Sony press conference, and the world as we know it changed. After hearing about “Metal Gear Solid 4”, as well as other PlayStation exclusives in the pipeline and the awesomeness of Blu-ray, he promptly packed up his Xbox 360 and all his games and went down to Game Stop to trade them in. He bought a PS3 and “Metal Gear Solid 4.” [source for link: n4g]

I am really not sure how this article justifies that Sony is “winning.” Seriously. What sort of teenage hears about Metal Gear Solid 4 (and other PlayStation exclusives) for the first time at Sony’s E3 press conference?

I was expecting ultimate proof that Sony is winning, but the only thing I learned is that some kid sold his 360. At least we learned that Sony is putting special scratch resistant coating on Blu-rays. I suppose that is something.

Not really, but I think there is a feeling that Sony told their fan base to f’off. So, here is the final word (at least for me … for now) on the announcement that shocked the world; Sony responds to Final Fantasy XIII going multi-platform

1UP: You’re not too upset about the announcement? You don’t think it’s very pressing?

RE: Again, you’ve got 23 exclusives already on the PS3 from a first-party perspective. If Microsoft wants to back up the dump truck full of money, there’s not a whole lot that can be done there. Certainly, Final Fantasy XIII is still coming on PS3, so it’s not like it’s not on your system anymore. It’s being developed first for the PS3, so your experience is probably going to be better on the PS3 than it will be on the 360. I haven’t seen it or played it; [this is] just based on what I’ve been told. It’s definitely a win for the 360 owner, and Microsoft should be applauded for that, but it’s not a loss for us. It’s not like the title is not coming out on the PlayStation 3. It is.

I’d also stand by for Tokyo Game Show. There are still other products that need time to incubate before they’re announced. [Source: This has been referenced by so many sites that there is no point in me quoting a source.]

I love the “dump truck full of money” quote.

By the time Final Fantasy XIII is actually released in the US, I bet that most folks that wanted the game will already own a PS3 or 360. Of course I could be wrong because FF VII helped drive PSX systems, but that was many moons ago.

Sony’s recent E3 press conference was focused on exclusives; first party exclusives. Same for the July Official PlayStation Magazine, but it is obvious from message board rantings that long time Sony RPG fans are concerned. For years, PlayStation has been the platform of choice for RPGs, and the only place to get Final Fantasy. Does Sony have some bone to throw their faithful?