Finaly Affordable - Thursday's Purchases

Over the last couple of weeks, Rockstar Games has been releasing their entire PSP game catalog on the PSN Store. For myself, it's been prime time catching up with the developer and experiencing a few franchises for the 1st time.

One of those franchises is Manhunt. When Manhunt 2 hit the store, it was priced at $29.99. A week later The Warriors, GTA: Liberty City Stories and GTA: Vice City Stories were released for $19.99 a pop. WTF? I had a gut feeling that Manhunt 2 was going to see a price drop. It's a fairly older PSP UMD title and already budgeted priced at retailers. So guess what? Shock! Surprise! The last PSN Store update saw a price drop for it, now at $19.99. Awesome!

There are also a few PSP titles sale priced at the moment. One I did purchase was Unbound Saga. I was looking forward to this, being a spiritual successor to Sega's awesome Comix Zone. I was disappointed. It's slow and repetitive. Thankfully I only spent $4.99 on it. Ugh...

Journey To District 9

It seems like ages ago when Director Neill Blomkamp and Producer Peter Jackson were working on a HALO feature film for Microsoft. The script was complete. Pre-production was rolling. Sadly, no studio wanted to gamble on a 1st time feature film director with a huge budget. After one watches District 9, one wishes the dynamic director/producer duo would have been given the opportunity to show us their vision of Master Chief's universe.

District 9 is throw back to classic science fiction. I'm talking about the original The Day The Earth Stood Still or Close Encounters of The Third Kind or Blade Runner. Yes, the film is that good. It is my favourite film of the summer and I can't wait to own it on Blu-Ray.

So what does this have to do with the PlayStation 3 besides the whole Blu-ray playing ability?

Included on the film's disc will be the E3 2009 demo of God of War III. Hmm... Cool yet strange at the same time. The Blu-Ray will house two of the most awesome pieces of entertainment ever. Making it a definite, worthy the purchase.

Click here to get the official word.

Who Dosen't Love Free Content?

Breaking news! Stop the press!

On November 5th, PlayStation 3 owners are receiving some FREE Brutal Legend downloadable content for 2 weeks only. After that, EA starts charging. X-BOX 360 dudes have to shell out 400 points right from the start. So get downloading and support FREE CONTENT!

GOW I Like! Trophy Related...

They are fantastic stuff! However, I own the old STANDARD DEFINITION versions of Sony's classic PlayStation franchise. Boo! Gotta go HI-DEF yo! Luckily for me, the HIGH DEFINITION GOD OF WAR COLLECTION has just been announced for a November 17th release. I can't wait to play these babies once again, alongside that sweet E3 demo for Krato's supposedly final chapter. Click here to check out the PlayStation's Blog official news release which details all the wonderful trophies that can be collected.

RAARRRRARRAR!!!! I AM THE GOD OF WAR!!!! KRATOS!!!! RARARRRRARA!!!! ^_^

What Did He Get Thursday, October 22nd?

This week, the PSP was updated with a huge catalog of content. 30 Minute Hero, Smackdown VS Raw 2010 and Fifa Soccer 2010 front line an impressive release of new goodies. The awesome, big news for myself and I'm sure for plenty of other gamers is the newly added Rockstar Games store on the PSN. Every PSP title the company has released is now available online for purchase. So what did I do? A little Rockstar love of course!

Here are my purchases this week -

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories - When it comes to 3rd party support, the PSP honestly receives huge amounts of love. One of the best is Rockstar and their titles are so satisfying and polished. This was the 1st GTA game to hit the portable and instead of remaking one of the PS2 GTA's, the company creates an original, full 3-D adventure. You get all the action and addictive radio station fun in this baby with an all new story.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories - I love this game! It's a pretty sweet nostalgic trip for me. Vice City Stories takes place in the 1980's in all it's hair metal and Phil Collins glory. Listen to the radio station V-Rock for a damn great time! Radio DJs Uncle Ed and Lazlow are hilarious and the music is sweet!

Grans Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - I absolutely adored the original Nintendo DS edition of this game. It is great stuff. So how do you make great stuff, better? Put it on the PSP of course with new content, music and kick ass graphics! All of the GTA games for Sony's handheld are ESSENTIAL PURCHASES!

Midnight Club: L.A. Remix - My 1st Midnight Club game it's fun stuff. Great graphics and music of course. Hmm... When has Rockstar never delivered in that department? High speed street racing at it's most intense with the ability to pimp your ride to the max. Sick! It'll sit nicely beside Gran Turismo on your handheld's internal storage.

The Warriors - Oh my! Oh my! Have you ever wished that a video game company would make a modern day Double Dragon brawler that doesn't suck? This is it! You must own this game! This PS2 port is perfect. It controls awesome. The graphics and audio are top notch. This is a steal for $19.99. Warriors... Come out and play!

That's it for this week. Apparently, there are rumnours floating around the net that Sony is promising a huge PSN update next week on October 29th. Exciting times indeed!

Have fun! ^_^

It's Thursday Kids and You Know What That Means!!!!

The PlayStation Network Store has been updated with a hearty helping of PSP software.

First off we have the two classic PlayStation Oddworld titles. Out of the whole Oddworld saga, the only game I played was the 1st-person shooter Stranger's Wrath which kicked ass BTW. I'm looking forward to trying out the original platformers.

Among the mega-upload of PSP games Fifa Soccer 10, Half-Minute Hero and WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2010 join the vast catalog. Sweet!

Now for my favourite part... Time to catch up with RockStar Games! The entire PSP catalogue has been uploaded from the developer. Joining GTA: Chinatown Wars this week are -

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
The Warriors

Sick! ;)

Not only are PSP fans pleased, PS3 owners are treated to Trine, alongside demos of Critter Crunch and Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time.

Enjoy! ^_^

GTA: Chinatown Wars Is Out Now!

Holy crap! Holy crap!

GTA: Chinatown Wars is out on retail UMD and the PSN RIGHT NOW! I'm at work and I can't access this baby. *sniff* :(

Rockstar producer Rich Rosado has some sweet words at The PlayStation Blog. Enjoy!

StuffsRadio Episode 07

Kelley and Tyler discuss the Metal Gear Saga, the PSP GO and customer confussion with "money bags" Nintendo. They also review Batman Arkham Asylum, Brutal Legend and Uncharted 2.

Download Episode Here

Episode Archive Here

Kratos In HD

Oh yeah! I like!

SONY... Harden The F**k Up!

Sony is pretty lenient with 3rd parties on the whole UMD and digital distribution of content. They do not encourage or demand PSN releases. The majority of new releases hit the UMD format, bypassing the network which leaves PSP GO owners in the dark. Thankfully, big studios like Rockstar see the benefit and potential profit with the release of their titles on both formats from day one. Great examples of theirs are Beaterator and GTA: Chinatown Wars.

You know what SONY? It's time to harden the f**k up!

Tell publishers to get their crap not just on UMD but on the PSN as well. Why not? Don't they like money?

I think Chopper says it best...

I'm A Rockstar!

With Beaterator, I sure as hell am! He! He! ;)

Today, not only did we see plenty of Natsume UMD Legacy titles hit the PSN but Rockstar games as well. Manhunt 2, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and L.A. Remix are a good start but next week... Oh my, next week is the stuff dreams are made of.

Drum roll please. *drum* drum* *mega drum*

GRAND THEFT AUTO: CHINATOWN WARS!
GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES!
GRAND THEFT AUTO: LIBERTY CITY STORIES!
THE WARRIORS!

Hell yeah! Especially, The Warriors! You have to own that one!

It Just Got Bigger!

Sony just officially announced the release of a 250gb PS3 for November 3rd. 50 bucks for an additional 130gb of storage is pretty sweet! Hopefully today's PSN update will have a few awesome things to fill that extra space with. ;)

On the PSP side of life, Kotaku has an updated preview for Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron. I love the Battlefront titles. I enjoyed the crap outta Renegade Squadron and I'm so looking forward to this latest chapter which apparently is official Star Wars canon. Very cool! I do miss the console titles. To bad work was halted on the next-gen title. *sniff* :(

On my personal PSP side, I've been enjoying Beaterator plenty. It really is amazing stuff. Plus, Thexdor Neo is pretty cool too. ;)

Recent PSN Purchases

My PSP Go review is SLOWWLLLYYY being written. I want it to be the "definitive" review for the product, so it is taking TIME.

In the meantime, I've been playing the system plenty. Last week I purchased a number of sweet titles for it. Here we GO!

BEATERATOR - Wow! This baby is a full featured mix studio. Very impressive stuff! Thankfully it's filled with plenty of help, including tutorial videos. Give yourself a couple of hours and you'll start mixing gold. Thank you RockStar!

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: TACTICS - Loved the movies and all of EA's video game attempts with the franchise met with success. I've never played Tactics and it appears it got some good reviews. I'm looking forward to playing it.

TOMB RAIDER LEGEND - I just completed Tomb Raider: Underworld for my PS3. A great title, that would have been fantastic if Eidos gave Crystal Dynamics more time to polish. Still, I enjoyed the experience. In celebration of my triumph, I purchased LEGEND which I still find far superior. It's only $12.99 and worth every penny!

THEXDER NEO - $9.99 of pure old-school, platforming action. This is the stuff dreams are made of. Beautiful. Brilliant. The transforming mech PC game of the mid-1980's returns in all it's triumphant glory! A must purchase!

TETRIS - EA's MINI version of the classic is awesome. It's Tetris, you want it. Get it. The $9.99 price I felt was a bit high. However again, it's friggin' Tetris and it's finally available the PSP!

Enjoy your PSP's everyone!

Commercial Potential

Sony's PlayStation 3 was off to a rocky start. Not only was their launch rough but the original ad campaign as well. Remember this one? I know you do. It's creepy stuff that neither shows the consumer what the product is nor the value of it. WTF SONY? WTF!?!



Today's ventures are much more successful. Yet, back in the day there were still are some gems. Here's a brilliant European Commercial. Enjoy!

LittleBigPlanet PSP Lookin' Sweet

Yesterday's PSN update was a non-event for PSP owners. We got a couple of NBA games and that was about it. Critter Crunch is now available for the PS3 which interests me. Compared to last week's mega-update, I'm a bit disappointed. Oh well, I guess all store updates can't be so exciting. *sniff*

LittleBigPlanet PSP is coming along nicely. Pre-order goodies for the title have just been announced from the PlayStation Blog. Looks like I'm SOL since I plan to download the title for my GO. *double sniff*

I am excited about the game. It retains all that warm love and feelin' of the PS# edition. Minus the multiplayer of course. *triple sniff*

What a bummer blog. Let's pump this up a bit! Here's how we build a car. Sweet! Enjoy! The game is on track for a November 17th launch.

Video Games | LittleBigPlanet PSP | TGS 09: Build A Car Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Chinatown Wars Trailer

I'm still waiting for the PSN to update. What will be added? What UMD-Legacy titles? What Minis? Hmmmm...

To hold over everyone's anticipation, here is Rockstar's latest trailer for GTA: Chinatown Wars for the PSP. I can't wait for this game! It's lookin' like great stuff! PLUS! Click here for a great interview with Rockstar from IGN about the upcoming title.

Video Games | Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars | PSP Debut Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Games and Games... Oh, My!

This past Thursday not only did we see the launch of the PSP GO but a HUGE UPDATE to the PSN. The complete list is HERE.

Presented in the order of purchase, are the the titles I downloaded during the launch with mini-opinions.

GRAN TURISMO - Wow! This game looks and plays beautifully. Where's the career mode? A worthy purchase, yet I still wonder if down the line an update will appear with the feature placed back in.

SEGA GENESIS COLLECTION - I had to get it. 28 Genesis titles. 5 unlockable. Sonic 1 & 2. Phantasy Star II to IV. Golden Axe 1 to 3. All on the Go for $15.99.

PRINNY: CAN I REALLY BE THE HERO? - A gorgeous looking, old school platformer that packs quite a challenge. It was on sale for $9.99.

DISGAEA: AFTERNOON OF DARKNESS - Haven't even played it sadly. It received fantastic reviews though! Another NIS game on sale from $29.99 to $14.99.

SUDOKU - Finally! I own a friggin' version of Sudoku for one of my systems. It's the addictive, classic game for $4.99. I couldn't pass it up.

SONIC RIVALS - Challenging, fast paced Sonic combat racing. Beautifully realized in 3-D, thankfully it plays like Sonic's classic 2-D action. Great stuff!

That rounds out my launch purchases for my beloved PSP GO. Now to get back to some gaming! ;)

QUICK! PSP GO Impressions. ^_^

I love the portability of the unit. It's a sleek and sexy "mobile device" rather than a "portable video game system".

Love the design, the controls feel much more comfortable even though I never had a problem with the 2000 to 3000 series. Still, the new layout is very pleasing.

Even with a screen size reduction from 4.3 inches to 3.8 inches, the GO still provides a very nice "large screen". The iTouch has a 3.5 inch display.

Bluetooth ability is awesome. I've connected a headset as well as a PlayStation 3 controller to the unit.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the latest incarnation of Sony's PSP line. I don't miss UMD. I am in the process of writing a full review which will be posted later in the week. ;)

Thunderbirds... Whoops! PSP Are Go!

It launched and the world may rest now. I spent most of time updating, charging and filling my PSP Go with awesome content. I love the unit for sure. Hopefully I'll have a review soon.