The Recycle Bin

The real question is going to be if I want to spring for $90-100 for a copy of MLB for the PS3 + Vita. The integration between the two versions looks very promising.

I know there’s a lot of interest out there about our PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita integration this year so I wanted to make sure I touched on our Cross-Platform Saves functionality. This feature allows you to take your Franchise, Season, and Road to The Show save files up to the cloud where you can then access those files from either your PS3 or PS Vita. You are limited to one file per mode per PSN user account, which can be overwritten as many times as you’d like.

Now I just have to commit to getting a Vita; I have three different Amazon pre-orders on file, but have yet to order a game. MLB 12: The Show for the Vita looks like the perfect way to waste away time on a portable system, and a 3G Vita, coupled with PS+ auto save updates, sure would come in handy for anytime, anywhere MLB Cloud retrievals.

WTF is wrong with EA? I’m sure there is a very valid and reasonable explanation for EA not offering Vita-PS3-Vita game save transfer capabilities. EA is not rushing FIFA 12 to market quickly, delivering a sub-par handheld FIFA outing in order to capitalize on early Vita release opportunities.

EA must really care about their core target audience, and are showing a willingness to do anything to get the Vita version of FIFA 12 in the hands of demanding FIFA fans – because EA cares.

It would be a terrible precedent if all the first generation Vita sports franchises (looking at MLB: The Show, FIFA, and Madden) do not offer the ability to switch from console to portable gaming via game save transfers just to make an early release date. Thankfully MLB: The Show gets it and allows gamers to do just that:

Then there’s the hotly anticipated PS Vita version, which will mirror virtually every game feature, mode, and mechanic from the PS3 version and displays graphics that sparkle on the system’s 5’’ OLED screen. You’ll also be able to share your PS3 save files to the cloud, then pull them down on PS Vita and pick up your progress seamlessly.

Of course the San Diego (SCE) team behind the MLB: The Show franchise continues to push the boundaries on sports franchises. Following the same link from above, we learn:

… ultimately thought it made the most sense to recreate the entire PS3 experience on PS Vita. The Vita’s powerful enough to do that. So every single feature this year, from MLB 09, 10, 11, and 12 are all in the PS Vita version.

… research shows that handheld players play for 15 to 30 minutes, tops. We give you the ability to fast-play through a game by cutting out a lot of the presentation, the camera cuts, to shorten the length of games.

Unlike EA, Sony is going balls out with its franchise. I understand that time to market is important, but color me very disappointed with EA’s approach to FIFA 12 for the Vita.

I have a smorgasbord of games in my current rotation, which is really unusually because I almost always sick to 2-3 games at the most. In no particular order:

Joe Danger – What a fun little game. It is going to be really hard for me to get 100% (from a Trophy consideration) on this one because some of the Time trials are really tough. This has to be one of the best games I have purchased from the PSN (got it when it was 50% off).

FIFA 11 – I play this one a few times a week when I want to get my soccer/football jones satisfied. I love the Virtual Pro feature.

Marvel Superhero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet – I picked up this one to play with my 4-year old, as he is really into superheroes right now. One of our favorites is Captain America (for me) and Bucky (for my son), so it was really cool that the version of the game I purchased had a good for this DLC.

Dead Nation – Only when the kids are in bed. To be fair, I have not played it in a while, but would play it more if I could play when I was not such a sleepyhead!

Gran Turismo 5 – Need I say more? It is really the only racer I am playing right now, but at some point I have plans to jump back to a couple of forgotten titles.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene – I got this one a couple of weeks ago for the low, low price of $4.99. What a great pickup. As a fan of shooters, I have to say that this game provides a lot of nice shooter pleasure. The music mode is incredible; nothing like putting in some Cure Disintegration and just sort of zoning out.

LittleBigPlanet – Mostly the Game of the Year Edition right now, but I plan to jump right back into LBP2 Collector’s Edition soon enough. Actually waiting for a patch to make sure all my goodies from LBP1 correctly import. I wrote about my love for all things LBP a couple of weeks ago. Not sure how I made it this long without discovering the pure pleasure of LBP. Collectively, these two titles are easily in my Top 5 favorite PS3 gaming experiences (that is another article!)

PS+ Gets Some Love
I wanted to do a quick link to this article, which pretty much sums up how I feel right now about PS+. Subscribing to the PS+ service has been one of the best uses of $50 gaming bucks that I have made in the last calendar year. I am going to stack my subscripting in the new few weeks to take advantage of the continued opening gambit of 3 free months. If you have not subscribed to PS+, you should really check out the last 90 days of content and discounts, which have been incredible.

Looking Forward To …
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection, MLB 11: The Show, the next NASCAR game, Journey, and Catherine (as of right now, Atlus has not announced a US release date).

Now Watching
Spartacus: Blood and Sand. OMG (wanted an excuse to talk like the cool kids) is this one over the top, but from a story standpoint, it is actually really good. I am just starting disk 3, so I am about 8-9 episodes in, and I have to admit that I anticipate see what happens next. Some of the characters are really fascinating; I want to see how their story lines progress and see how certain political motivations will screw over various targets.

I could do without all the meat just flapping around; I have never seen so many dongs just out in front of my face. I guess turnabout is fair play for the fairer sex, but still, I am glad that the developers toned it down a little after the first couple of episodes.

On Blu-ray some of the scenes such as “… have your way with the girl’s ass a bit while I watch …” are nice, if not a little bit excessive. I could never get my wife to watch this with me; not because of the gratuitous sex. The blood and gore is so over the top that at times I find myself turning my head or at least cringing in a “I really didn’t want to see that” sort of way.

Good stuff. Picked up the Season 1 Blu-ray in the low $30s from Amazon; hopefully the rest of the shows are equally as appealing.

Now Reading
Bloom County Volume 3. Sometimes I have to have some light reading before heading off to la-la land.

Yesterday, Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal (I love Amazon Prime two-day shipping) showed up on my front porch. I decided to order immediately after see Ms. McGonigal on Attack of the Show earlier this week. I am looking forward to a book that actually advocates gaming. What a great tag line – Why games make us better and how they can change the world. Seriously; hope this one is as good as the tag line.

As a kid I always looked forward to getting new videogames in December (birthday and Christmas). I always held out hope that I was going to get a few new games, and they just had to be better than decent because I knew that my gaming library was not going to increase during the upcoming year.

These days I just buy what I want, usually via pre-order, or I watch a game, waiting for the inevitable price drop before finally indulging myself. Either way, my gaming comes to me when I want, and if I happen to get a dud, I can flip it on eBay. No worries, no fuss.

This year, thanks to Santa (and of course my family), I have enough games to keep me occupied until December 2011, or until I decide to pick up the next great, have to play it now spectacular, super special gaming extravaganza. Something along those lines; call me a sucker for pre-release build up hype.

The Gaming Treasure Trove:

• Batman Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Greatest Hits. I have always wanted to give this game a go, but for whatever reason, I never did.
• FIFA 11 (Under $30 during Amazon Thanksgiving sales). I wrote a few weeks ago that I have been playing the shit out of FIFA 10. I love the FIFA 10 experience; the virtual pro is a very immersive experience. I am going to stay with FIFA 10 for the rest of 2010 to see how many Trophies I can pick up before flipping FIFA 10 on eBay, and then I will start my FIFA 11 journey. I can only hope that FIFA 11 is as fun and entertaining as FIFA 10 has been over the last six weeks.
• God of War 3 (Under $35 during Amazon Thanksgiving sales). Because one cannot have enough God of War.
• God of War Collection Greatest Hits ($10 during Amazon Thanksgiving sales). Are you kidding me? $10 for high-def updates of two highly rated PS2 game? Complete with a gaggle of Trophies for my gaming pleasure. I never played the PS2 versions, but thanks to the PSP God of War games, I am a converted fan.
• Gran Turismo 5 Prima Essential Track Guide*
• Rapala Pro Bass Fishing 2010. Some different. Something for the Move.

* OK, so this little spiral bound book is not game, but I figured I would include it in the overall haul. It is getting a lot of flack in the Amazon review listings, however it is exactly what it states – a track guide. If you are looking for a traditional cheat (er, strategy guide) book, then the Prima guide is not your cup of tea.

Maybe all these new games will have an added bonus; getting my PlayStation Rewards status to nudge a little for the first time since the week after Thanksgiving!

Looking Forward To …
With all these new gaming Christmas experiences, plus the current backlog of goodies, is there anything left on my radar?

• Little Big Planet 2. Of course I never played the first one, but everyone says LBP is a must have experience, which is fun for the whole family.
• MLB 11: The Show. See FIFA 10 + FIFA 11; I have until March to get my money’s worth from MLB 10.
• Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. I want to try the newest NFS title, but I am going to wait for a lower price. Plus I still have GT5 to keep me occupied, and F1 2010 is not getting any love.
• Madden and NCAA Football. Yeah, I know, let’s don’t go there yet.

There are probably other gems lurking out there, but right now I actually do not have anything on pre-order or a “watch list.” OK, just kidding. I have the HD update of the ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection on pre-order. But other than that one …

Tomorrow I should receive a new bundle of joy, hope, and expense from Amazon (via Prime Release Day Delivery). Yes, I decided to Move. I picked up the Move Starter Bundle (Move controller, Eye Toy, Sports Champion), Move Navigation controller, an extra Move controller, and a Sony branded Charging Station.

Will this be worth the money? No idea, but I figured just for shits and giggles I would give the Move a go and see where things land.

I decided not to pick up any additional games for now. Something like NBA 2K11 or even Tiger Woods, just to see how this puppy will handle a “serious” sports game, may be worth a flyer in the future. I wonder how that John Daly game is going to end up; garbage quick cash in, or actually decent?

I would love to try something like Cabela’s North American Adventures 2011 with the Move, but for some inexplicable reason, it does not look like the Move is supported. In fact, reviews, info, opinions, or anything else for that matter are hard to come by on the newest Cabela release. I guess it is just “shoot the animals; you know the drill, but this time in HD.”

I know that Heavy Rain will get an update; same for HVB, which should invigorate this PSN classic. I am not sure if any of my other titles will receive Move patches, but MLB 10: The Show would make for interesting Move support.

I will try to post a few updates over the weekend.

Yesterday my 250GB PS3 Slim arrived safely from Walmart.com via FedEx. Compared to Amazon, I did have to pay more for shipping and sales tax, but Amazon did not have a 250GB Slim in stock, so this was something I decided to absorb. Besides the two game bundle will allow me to dump something on eBay to make up for this modest amount that I would not have paid via Amazon.

Before setting up the new Slim, I used my USB HDD to back up my save data files and media. While I could have setup up both systems and tried to do a system transfer, the USB backup process was a fairly quick and not too painless of a process. Besides, I have been backing up regularly because I figure my original PS3 will die sooner or later. I have the process down; as I said, quick and painless.

My HVB and Heavy Rain save data were locked, and would not copy. I am not sure why these games are setup this way. In the case of HVB it sucks because I have to spend several hours re-unlocking content that I had previously unlocked. I like the game, but I am going to have to decide if I like it enough to unlock some of the decent content again. I am not as concerned about Heavy Rain because I did not get too far into the game before getting distracted with something else (and my PS3 suffering YLoD). With that said, I really do not want to play the opening chapters again; tedious and as a father, not something that I consider very fun.

I also decided to take a few minutes to write down some of my settings. It took me a long time to get wireless working correctly for Remote Play, so I figured it was worth a few extra minutes of effort. Probably wasted effort; I bet the Slim does not have any of the Remote Play issues (PS3 randomly turning on) I ran into with my original system.

Setup of the new Slim was straight forward, as was to be expected. I was quickly in the PlayStation Store looking at my previous downloads to re-download all my paid content and games. I am not sure why, but downloads are noticeably quicker with the Slim. While I was watching Game 4 of the Celtics/Lakers Finals, I quickly downloaded a slew of games and add-on content.

I did not see an option to re-download my MLB 10: The Show classic stadiums content, which was a pre-order bonus. I was surprised to see that this DLC sells for $9.99. Ouch! Talk about price gouging. For that price I would expect to see a whole slew of extras, not just classic stadiums, but I digress. I figured I was out of luck because the Heavy Rain Taxidermist preorder bonus chapter did show up in my cart as being previous downloaded. Since they were both entered via DLC codes, I am not sure why these are considered different.

I decided to put in MLB 10 to see if there was some sort of in-game option to reapply the coded. After the long update and install process, I jumped into an exhibition game and saw the classic stadiums listed as unlocked. Not sure how the game knew, but I am thankful it did realize that I had previously applied this DLC code. Now that the Braves are rolling, I hope the new roster updates have the “improved” first place in the NL East Braves, and not the sorry start of the season Braves. Sorry; another digression.

My kids seemed somewhat concerned that the Slim does not play PS2 games, however these days PS2 games rarely if ever get played. The PS2 has a great library, and I own plenty of classics, but there are just not enough hours in the day. When I am PS3 gaming, it is almost always with a PSN or PS3 title. I have been dumping a few PS2 titles on eBay in anticipation of getting a Slim, so I think I am “over” this major difference in the new Slim, which obviously does not “do everything” as the ads would imply. My personality may drive me to really miss PS2 compatibility (“want what I cannot have”), but in a pinch, I do still have my original PS3; if it comes to that extreme.

I’ll also probably miss the front loading memory slots; plugging in a camera memory card or PSP memory stick was a nice convenience on the original PS3. I can see why Sony removed these to save money; the Slim has two USB slots (original system has four) and of course the Slim can connect to a media server.

I will not miss the extra noise, heat, and constant worry about when my original PS3 is going to blow up. The PS3 is mouse fart quiet, and after several hours of being on, there was very little noticeable heat. My original PS3 would have been blazing hot and annoyingly loud. So that is a worthwhile improvement.

As they say, Slim is in. It’s Friday! Happy Gaming!

Today I will be brief. First, I am not sold on the new PlayStation Move or Social Gaming. It’s probably an unfair comparison, however if I wanted motion control in my games the kids’ Wii would be in the living-room. I have never been a huge fan of online gaming, so I doubt that I will just dive into new social gaming communities.

Over the weekend I spent some time with MLB10; what a fantastic game of baseball! I am very much still on the back half of the learning curve; cannot hit a lick … mostly because on timed hitting I swing way too early or chase too many pitches. It was a satisfying feeling when I won my first game after dropping the first six!

A huge plus with the game for me is that the CPU batters actually strike out; including getting called out looking. As much as I like all the real time broadcast angles, clips, and whatnots that help MLB10 provide an immersive experience, I equally appreciate the fast play options.

I decided to jump back into Ferrari Challenge to go trophy whoring. I had a great time running hot laps, but it took my something like 25+ times to get the Hot Shot trophy (Bronze – Tutorial mode). I kept missing on apex accuracy, or racing line; I guess after all these years of racing games I still do not know how to corner!

Happy Monday!

For some random reason I was looking at the MLB 10: The Show (MLB10) review scores this morning and noticed this review from GamesDaily (8/10).

For the past couple of years, The Show has dominated with a superb presentation, in-depth options and unmatched gameplay. There’s still plenty of that to go around this year, although Sony’s grip on baseball superiority has loosened, as this game is about on the same level as 2K’s. That’s good news for baseball aficionados (with two quality products to choose from), but not-so-good news for Sony’s San Diego team.

My first thought was “hmmm, I did not realize that Major League Baseball 2K10 (MLB2K10) had made such major strides.”

The reviewer offers a few MLB10 critiques: The pick off system is a nice addition, but difficult. The catchers’ inability to throw out some runners is also mentioned, along with some minor issues with the AI in franchise mode. Finally the reviewer wraps things up by complains about the install process using 5GB of storage space, along with the menu load times, and the commentary that can often be grating.

To each their own; after all opinions are opinions, so I have no real quarrel with the reviewer’s criticisms. I agree with the reviewer’s comments on the menus, especially when navigating online.

I decided to check out the scores: MLB10 vs. MLB2K10. While there may not be enough of a sampling to make any final conclusions, it is obvious that the majority of critics consider MLB10 the superior game; the fans are clearly attracted to Sony’s product. MLB10 currently has an 88% (12 critic reviews) with a 9.7 user rating (51 votes), while MLB2K10 has a 74% (12 critic reviews) with a 5.0 user rating (2 votes).

While I have not played MLB2K10, much less one of their baseball games in recent years, the majority of reviews indicate that this year’s version has made significant strides; great visuals with solid gameplay. The good news is that gamers have two choices, but are both created equally as the GamesDaily reviewer claims?

I did not get nearly enough time with MLB 10: The Show (MLB10) over the weekend. There was just too much other stuff to do and catch up on after being out of the country for a week. Besides, the weather was spectacular and it was opening weekend for youth soccer, so we spent as much time outside as possible.

I did get to activate my code of the six classic stadiums. I guess this was a nice enough extra from the folks at Amazon, but it was not as if I grew up watching baseball at the Polo Grounds. Of course these stadiums are better than the cement circles that were popular when I was growing up – Fulton County, I call you out. Still; gift horse, so I will not complain.

My first thoughts are that MLB10 has an overwhelming assortment of options. With my thirty minute gaming sessions, it will take me a while to figure which options best suit my style of play.

MLB10 looks like it has superb presentation; the game looks real, the announcers seem to do a good job, and the game appears to have all the other intangibles that go into making an immersive baseball experience. One of the things I noticed right off was the ability to speed up the time it takes in-between pitches. When I actually spent a lot of time playing console baseball games, my favorite experiences where those that I could actually wrap up in 30 minutes; 45 minutes tops. I am not sure if a quick game is possible with MLB10, but any options to speed up the game are always appreciated. I almost feel guilty for attempting to bypass some of the wiz-bang side effects that the development team put into the game to make it appear as a realistic baseball experience.

I played a couple of three inning games; both times as the Braves. I lost 1-0 to Seattle and 2-0 to the Dodgers. I managed a single hit. I suck.

Thankfully there is a practice mode, so I can get some much needed practice in the batting catch. I am not sure if I should keep at it on the default batting Veteran level, move down to Rookie, or maybe change from the Catcher view. I will have to experiment and see if I improve; cannot stand seeing a .105 average. Ouch.

I am sure more impressions will be forthcoming throughout the week. I am cautiously optimistic because I actually have a console baseball that I want to play. It has been a while.

I am far, far away from my home, so hopefully my wife will make sure MLB 10: The Show (MLB10) does not sit neglected on the porch too long.

It has been a couple of years since I embraced a console baseball title; I want it back – MLB10 will pave the way. MLB 10 looks to do everything right. From online leagues, to a more realistic gaming experience, MLB10 looks to set the stage for the greatest game of console baseball ever produced.

Sony’s boys and girls in San Diego have been incredibly busy this year, refining the game, and making little adjustments that put the game into a whole different ballpark from what we have experienced with past titles. This 30 minute gamer [I need to TM this quickly] will appreciate the warm up features.

Among other options to note, we brought back the classic L1/R1 baserunning controls for you old-schoolers. The RTTS Baserunning option will default to New, but if you prefer the single button press style controls, be sure to change it to Classic. We’ve also added in the ability to take pregame batting practice when you’re in the starting lineup for that game. You can step into the cage and take ten swings to help get your timing down before game-time. You won’t receive any training points or attribute improvements, but this will definitely help get you into a nice rhythm. To ensure you participate in batting practice, set the Pre-Game Batting Practice option to On. Lastly, we’ve added a new Mound Warm-Up feature that will give relievers a chance to throw eight warm-up pitches on the mound, after coming out of the bullpen. Just like pregame batting practice, you won’t receive any training points for this, but it does give you the chance to get a good rhythm before facing live hitters.

Hopefully the statistics engine will be spot on. While I have OOTP for statistical simulations, it would be pretty damn impressive if MLB10 could satisfy my twitch urge, and keep the stat-head in my happy.

Cannot wait until I get to get my hands on this puppy!

As we draw ever closer to the March 2nd release of MLB 10: The Show, I read every new article with anticipation and excitement. Yesterday, pastapadre revealed the MLB 10 team rankings. I was happy to see my beloved Braves garnered an overall ranking of sixth (22nd Defense; 4th Pitching; 9th Batting). I’ll be tickled pink if the Braves can carry that over into real life; back in the playoffs again?

After skipping a year [really seems like I skipped the last 2-3 years of gaming entirely] I am really excited about this year’s game, which is set to arrive while I am out of country for work!

The “official” PlayStation Blog site, like any good official mouth-piece runs some great articles pimping their first party offerings. MLB 10 is not an exception.

This year, we have added “calling pitch selection” and “calling pitch location” to your RttS catcher’s responsibilities. When you are in the game defensively as a catcher, you will be responsible to select the pitch that you want thrown. The system works just like it does for selecting pitches as the pitcher does. The pitcher might shake you off, or he might accept that pitch. If he does shake you off, you choose a pitch again. If you choose the same pitch, he will figure it’s really what you want and will accept it, at this point. Once you have selected the pitch, you will be responsible to select where you want the ball thrown. You can choose any of the nine zones within the strike zone, or you can choose eight areas outside of the zone if you want the ball off the plate (four outside edges and four outside corners). Now just like in real life, this doesn’t mean the pitcher will hit his spot. It just means this is where he is aiming. The better the pitcher you have throwing to you, the more effective your location calling will be.

MLB 10: The Show is going to be the real deal and will be a system seller for console baseball fans. I cannot wait to get my hands on this one!

Speaking of not having enough time to play games, I just pre-ordered FFXIII from amazon, which has a nice $10 off a future video game purchase promotion.

Get a $10 Video Games Credit
Order Final Fantasy XIII and get $10 off a future video game purchase. The promotional code will be placed directly into your Amazon.com account within 2 business days after the product ships. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com. Promotion valid on all existing orders. Limit one per household. Amazon reserves the right to change or terminate this promotion at any time.

It is about to be a crazy-stupid time for videogames. Besides being loaded up on current games, an unbelievable amount of gaming goodness is headed my way over the next few weeks.

Upcoming – Preorder and “Watch List” Games:

• White Knight Chronicles International (will arrive today)
• MLB 10: The Show (March 2)
• Heavy Rain (February 23) – Interesting title; will probably wait for a sale, price drop, or other buying incentive.
• FFXIII (March 9)
• God of War III (March 16) – I should really play God of War Collection before jumping on the GoW bandwagon.
• 2010 FIFA World Cup (April 27) – Probably do not need this and FIFA 10.

Good grief! It looks like I am all set for gaming for a long time except for a new quality racer. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue just never did it for me. I guess F1: Championship Edition and Ferrari Challenge can hold me over until the next great racing title lands in my laps.

I decided to pre-order MLB 10: The Show earlier tonight. Of course I used Amazon, which gives me release day delivery for a total of $56.99. No shipping, no tax, same day service, what a deal.

As part of the pre-order special, a bonus code will be made available, which will unlock six classic stadiums.

Pre-order MLB 10 The Show, for PS3, and gain access to six classic stadiums (Shibe Park, Forbes Field, Polo Grounds, Crosley Field, Sportsman’s Park and Griffith Stadium). Access code will be e-mailed within ten business days after the game releases. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com, while supplies last. Limit one per customer.

With the newest installment of MLB on the way, plenty of FIFA action to be had (in the form of FIFA 10, the upcoming DLC Ultimate Mode, or 2010 FIFA World Cup), and of course Madden Ultimate Team action, I think I have sports games covered for the immediate future!

After skipping out on last year’s MLB 09:  The Show, I am considering a return to PS3 baseball. As much as I enjoyed MLB 07 and MLB 08, I was just not convinced that I got my money’s worth.

It is highly entertaining (in an ironic sort of way) reading the fanboy fervor over a preorder deal that includes instant access to DLC for several classic ballparks. Why such a negative reaction? Apparently The Show fanboys expected instant access to the classic stadiums based on some press release propaganda that indicates the stadiums are included in the game.

The kicker is that while the stadiums are included, you actually have to unlock a whole heaping helping of trophies and stuff in order to actually “earn” the use of said stadiums. Imagine that; an incentive based unlocking system.

The developers realized that unlocking the stadiums may be an intricate task, involving many hours of gameplay, so they decided to offer up this “bonus” content as an incentive to preorder MLB 10: The Show.

You would think that would be a win-win for everyone; Sony gets better preorder numbers and gamers get quick access to some content that would typically not be available until after hours and hours are consumed trying to unlock certain trophies.