Now That's More Like It

Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code was a mega blockbuster worldwide. It's hype was incredible. The final result, I felt was so-so. It wasn't an epic classic but then again it wasn't a huge turd. It was okay. I like the story and ideas. Tom Hanks rocks and Han Zimmer's score was bitchin'. Plus, Audrey Tautou was hot in the flick. Coming off the success of Howard's A beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code felt bloated and disappointing.

3 Years later, we have Howard's adaptation of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons. Everyone appears to be in top form in this flick. Watching the behind the scenes on the Blu-Ray's bonus disc reveals the key to success. We have the characters always in constant motion, dealing with a ticking time bomb plot. It's awesome stuff. Tom Hank's is great. Ayelet Zurer is lookin' good. Howard does a great job dealing with a heavy, handed plot dealing with religion and politics. It's good stuff.

When I purchased it, I picked it up at Best Buy as a sweet gift set which included, a very nice journal for keeping journal stuff. An MP3 CD with the original novel read. This is handy for people like me who can't read. Plus, included was a PSP version of the extended edition of the film ripped at a very competent 800kbps. Yeah, it looks pretty sweet on my PSP GO.

I watched the film's extended edition. Next time, I'll check out the original theatrical cut. Then I can compare the two, take notes and destroy a few archives like Hank's does in the flick.

BTW, the Blu-Ray looks stunning. It sounds incredible. Oh yeah, Hans Zimmer has another kick ass score.

Latest PSN Update

Everybody, including myself can relax now. LittleBigPlanet PSP is finally on the friggin' PSN Store. Not only did Sony release the gem but a crap load of new content.

Included is a very sweet PS3 game sale. Awesome stuff such as Sony's The Last Guy, Pixeljunk's Flower and Ubisoft's Prince of Persia Classic are selling for $4.99. Sick!

A crap load of PS1 classics hit the store. Two favourites of mine are Dino Crisis and Command & Conquer. Dino Crisis if you will, is like JURASSIC PARK meets ALIENS meets RESIDENT EVIL. In one word... Bitchin'!

Plenty of new Minis hit the PSP alongside Bandai Namco's Tekken 6 PSP.

Okay, Sony. You are now forgiven for the LittleBigPlanet PSP BS with this killer update. BTW, LBP for the PSP is phenomenal. Games like God of War: Chains of Olympus, Gran Turismo, Resistance: Retribution and LittleBigPlanet can't be done on the iPhone/iTouch. These are killer games every PSP gamer should own and brag about.

James "The Man" Cameron's Avatar

When I was a wee lad in the 1980's, I'll always remeber watching Aliens for the first time with my folks on VHS. Wow! What a kick ass flick! Soon after wards, I'd be watching The Terminator as well with the family. One again, another kick ass flick!

Looking at the credits I recognized the director's name... James Cameron. He directed the two films which of course, rocked the world. Soon in theatres would be his next adventure, The Abyss. My father and I would goto that film together and we were blown away. The "special edition" cut of the film was superior but I enjoyed the "theatrical cut", especially going to see it with my dad. It's still one of our favourite films of all time.

Today, Avatar is wrapping up for Cameron. I read his scriptment for it ages ago. What I love about Cameron is that his written word and completed films have that classic science fiction feel to them. Avatar's read is exciting, emotional and greatly dramatic. He writes technically impressive possibilities and allows the audience to connect with the narrative's human drama with great characters. I'm so excited to see this flick in a month and you should be too.

A couple of recent videos have hit the net that will help pump you up. What's amazing is all the stuff with the Navi home world including the alien race, is ALL CGI and it's impressive stuff.

AWESOME! ENJOY!

Avatar at IGN.com

More Avatar Videos

Holy Christmas! LBP PSP Is Gonna Be On The PSN!

Holy Christmas! Sweet Baby Jesus! Sackboy is out on the PSN Store tommorrow for the PSP. Only a week late. I hope Sony learned a lot from the mishap.

Nuff said. ^_^

Recent PSN Store Purchases - November 19, 2009 Edition

SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 - An awesome collection of arcade classics from Metal Slug to King of Fighters. For $19.99, you can't go wrong. I've never played a Metal Slug title in my life and now I can.

Echoes - Now this is more like it. A fast, paced arcade puzzler priced at $2.99. Great stuff. Pick it up to send a message to Sony that we support great value priced reasonably.

Resident Evil 2 - I love this game, it's one of my favourites of all time. Now I can play it on the go. Classic stuff.

Sackboy MIA III - PR Nightmare

The Sackboy Missing In Action trilogy is now complete! Thanks Sony. It got my creative juices flowing with all this shitty Photoshop madness.

Expect LittleBigPlanet PSP to be on the PSN Store this coming Thursday, a good week and a half after it's UMD retail launch. Everyone is pissed. Just check out Sony's own LittleBigWorkshop forums. Ouch! For some crazy reason, the title is on the European PSN Store(crap!). Thanks Sony! Yet, it appears that there might actually be some technical reasons why the title isn't out on the North American store yet(double crap!).

I could rant some more and I will! I was looking so forward to playing this on my PSP GO. I bought into the whole "PSP GO is gonna kick ass" mentality. The hardware is awesome. I love it's sexy, sleek design. The system is more portable than ever.

Yet, we can blame Sony themselves for all that appears to be going wrong. The back catalog is crawling onto the network store. I still haven't seen any NAMCO or SQUARE ENIX UMD legacy titles. A good chunk of what is available is overly priced. I don't understand what is going on.

Good thing I kept my PSP-3000. Honestly, if I'm to recommend a PSP portable to somebody I'd tell them to pick up one of the Gran Turismo or Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines PSP-3000 bundles. They're cheaper and you get a hell of a lot more value thrown in them. Plus, you don't have to deal with the PSN Store which is ridiculous.

The Best Damn Version of Pac-Man You Can Purchase

Look at him, all happy sitting beside his brand new, awesome TV Game!

Next year the little yellow guy turns 30. Holy crap! Where has the time gone by?

I still remember being a little kid running to the arcade to play Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-man until I dropped. Waking up Saturday morning with a bowl of Pac-Man cereal with my Coleco tabletop beside me as I watched the cartoon series. Oh the glorious memories of being a kid in the 1980's.

To bad we still can't play a game of Pac-Man on the PSP GO. Namco has no interest in the PSP. They released a bunch of fantastic UMD titles from a full fledged Namco Musem, Ridge Racer and Pac-Man World 3. I have no idea why these aren't on the PSN Store to download. What's wrong Namco? Don't you like money? I mean the games are complete, just throw them on the damn store already.

Argh! Rage... Decreasing... Back to the topic.

If you don't have a console or portable video game system and even if you do, the best way to play the arcade classic is with Jakks TV Games Retro Arcade Featuring Pac-Man.

I picked this sweet baby up for 25 bucks at one of my local Canadian Tire's. You get 12 Namco arcade classics. Here's the list -

* Pac-Man
* Galaga
* Pole Position
* Dig-Dug
* Galaxian
* Super Pac-Man
* Xevious
* New Rally X
* Mappy
* Pac-Man Plus
* Bosconian
* Pac & Pal



Sweet, eh? The best part is that awesome arcade stick. You can finally play Pac-Man perfectly, just like the arcade game. Isn't it an adorable little unit? It reminds me of the arcade cabinet.

Yeah, it's pretty cool to write and read about all these great arcade classics. Hell, what's better is actually playing them! Run out and get this kick ass toy! It's the perfect gift for yourself or that special someone who can't get enough of the Pac.

Highly recommended, YO!

Sackboy MIA II

The PSN Store was updated last night and guess what? LittleBigPlanet is still MIA. You know what that means? Another Missing In Action Sackboy picture!

ENJOY!

P.S. At least we got a friggin' demo...

Update Them Units

The PS3 and PSP have just been handed some firmware updates with some new functionality. Hooray! A PSP update that isn't a security update. WOOT!

For the PSP , firwmare 6.20 provides users with -

Digital Comics Reader – PlayStation Network Digital Comics is a new service launching in December. It will allow you to download hundreds of classic and new comics from the PlayStation Store and read them page by page or frame by frame on your PSP system. Firmware update (v6.20) includes the Digital Comics reader application, which you’ll find under a new section called “Extras” on the XMB. Please note, the comic reader is an additional download; once you’ve loaded (v6.20) onto your system, simply click on the comic reader icon under “Extras” to download it to your PSP. In addition, you’ll be able to try out a free digital comic sample from the service soon. Visit www.playstationcomics.com for more information.

For the PS3, firmware 3.10 contains -

* The Photo category on the XMB has been revamped to make it easier to see more of your photos stored on the PS3.

* The PSN Friends List has been modified based on feedback we received after update 3.00. Additionally, you can now choose a color for your PSN ID on the XMB.

Awesome! Fist Bump! SHAZAAM!

Get the official word below.

Official PlayStation Blog PSP Firmware Details

Official PlayStation Blog PS3 Firmware Details

Sackboy Still MIA!

Even though they said they were working on it, Sony still hasn't put Sackboy on the PSN for PSP GO owners worldwide. Thanks Sony.

Below I have an actual transcribed conversation between some higher ups within the company during LBPs PSP launch on Tuesday...


SONY DUDE 1: Sup Dawg? LBP PSP is out in stores... ight?!?

SONY DUDE 2: Word!

SONY DUDE 1: All stores includin' da PSN?!?

SONY DUDE 2: Ohhhhh... Shit dawg! I's forgot dat one YO!

So there we have it. The truth is revealed. I have a feeling that...

A) They just screwed up and forgot to put it on the PSN on launch day. Hell, Ubisoft got that one right with Assassin's Creed when it was launched in stores and on the PSN.

B) They wanted to make retailers happy by letting them have the title exclusive for a short period.

I think it's all the above. In any case it's late but coming. It should be out on tonight's PSN store update.

Where Is It?

Not only was ASSASSIN'S CREED: BLOODLINES released yesterday for the PSP, but LITTLEBIGPLANET as well. UbiSoft's much anticipated Assassin's Creed PSP debut was released on both UMD and on the PSN. Sony's Sackboy was released on UMD and appears to be MIA on their own PSN.

What up SONY? What up indeed?

Happy 3rd Anniversary PS3!

Note: The picture of Elisha Cuthbert is posted in celebration of my favourite next-gen console. It's visually more appealing than a picture of a bunch of fat dudes celebrating the console's birthday.

I have to admit, the PlayStation 3 was the last of the 3 next-gen consoles released that I purchased. The Wii had that controller, Zelda: The Twilight Princess and the Virtual Console. The X-Box 360 had Halo, Gears of War and Arcade Live. The PlayStation 3 launched with a bunch of new IPS from Resistance to Motorstorm. The PS3 didn't win the battle, but in the long run it will win the war.

Today, the console has several fantastic exclusive titles from Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, the Uncharted and PixelJunk franchises. The console was also redesigned, got sexier, dropped in price and gained storage space. Today, is a far cry from it's launch in the cool November weather of 2006.

The greatest compliment. Everyone and I mean "EVERYONE" I know who owns a Wii and PS3... Play and utilize their PlayStation console a hell of a lot more than their Wii's.

Hears to another 3 years Sony! Oh hell... Let's aim for that 10 year system cycle!

Silent and Deadly

Last night, Altaïr snuck outta nowhere and delivered his latest adventure on the PSN, silently and deadly. The Official PlayStation Blog didn't even mention it. Interesting. The game is awesome BTW. I've played a good hour of it and I'm amazed at the work UbiSoft and Giptonite did. It really is a kick ass portable Assassin's Creed experience, without the 2nd analog stick. Great stuff!

The Making of An Online Epic - Everquest

Everquest is one of the very first MMOs. It is created by Sony Online Entertainment who are responsible for the recent Untold Legend series which I enjoy very much. I sadly never played Everquest back in the day. I was a Phantasy Star Online dude on my Dreamcast, that's about as far as I got on the whole online RPG adventuring. Below is a fantastic and entertaining video detailing everything Everquest. Enjoy!

More Videos at IGN.com

Now Every Single adhoc PSP Title Can Go ONLINE!

Not all PSP titles have Wi-Fi Infrastructure Gameplay aka ONLINE GAMEPLAY. The vast majority do in fact have Wi-Fi Ad Hoc Gameplay aka PSP to PSP Gameplay with dudes in the same room communicating locally. That all changes very soon!

The PlayStation Blog has just announced that adhocParty will be released for the PS3 very soon. This function will allow your PS3 to be a server for your PSP and allow such titles as PHANTASY STAR ONLINE and GRAN TURISMO to go ONLINE.

Awesome! I love the future... TODAY! ;) ^_^

Updating The Store With Recent Purchases

The big news of the latest PSN updated is that BRAID has arrived. The critically acclaimed action platformer has been an anticipated PSN release for many gamers including myself. I can't wait to fire it up!

My recent PSP purchases include the following -

GOD OF WAR: CHAINS OF OLYMPUS - I have to admit on the PSP side, it was a sad update. Next week will be more pleasurable with LittleBigPlanet and Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines hitting the store. :) Yes, I already own GOW on UMD. Yes, it won't be a problem selling that copy for a little compensation for the download. Look this game is a masterpiece. I want it on my PSP GO and I'll replay this baby again and again. With the arrival of the HD GOW Collection arriving next week, everybody owes it to themselves to play this. Every PSP owner should own this.

COMMAND & CONQUER: RED ALERT - DUNE 2000 was my introduction to the RTS genre. I have very fond memories of that game and played it for hours and hours. I'd love to see that classic hit the PSN as well. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Westwood's superior Command & Conquer franchise was always the better game. I've never played the original PlayStation 1 classic and now I have the opportunity for $5.99. Awesome! I'm looking forward to mastering it.

5 Million

The wizards at Kotaku have revealed that "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide in one day. Released on Tuesday, November 9th, 2009 the sequel to one of the biggest video game franchises ever exceeded everyone's expectations. Reviews, gamers and sales numbers have justified Infinity Ward as one of the top FPS developers of all time.

Wow! What can I say but WOW! I personally loved the first Modern Warfare. Like most people, experiencing the original title was mind blowing. It was challenging, engaging, hugely dramatic and relevant.

I can't wait to play the sequel!

What's In Colour For The Future?

Destructoid has some sick information about some potential future PSP GO colours. They have Sonic The Hedgehog Blue. That's awesome! Other colours, hmmm... I can't think of a better way to celebrate Pac-Man's 30th Anniversary than with a yellow PSP GO.

Now that I think about it... YO NAMCO! WHERE'S THE PSP's NAMCO MUSEUM ON THE PSN? GET ON THAT WOULD YA! I WANNA PLAY PAC-MAN ON MY PSP GO!

Last Weeks Update... TODAY!

If you haven't heard, even the video game industry isn't immune to bad times. EA is laying off 1,500 jobs across North America. I am laid off myself, not from EA or the game industry mind. However, it provides myself with plenty of free time to pursue different career opportunities and a heck of a lot of time to work on the blog. So here we go!

Last Thursday the PSN was updated with some sweet stuff, especially for PSP owners. Here are my latest purchases with commentary. Enjoy!

GHOSTBUSTERS: THE VIDEO GAME - Featuring the talents of the original films, Ghostbusters: The Video Game was a huge success across all platforms. The PSP edition is a port of the Wii/PS2 versions and guess what the PSP lacks? *DING!* A second analog stick. The developer gets the job done with the analog nub/action buttons method. Still, we all can agree the PSP2 will have a 2nd analog nub for these types of games. Still, the game plays great and its presentation is impressive.

STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT: ELITE SQUADRON - I love the Battlefront series and sorely miss it on consoles. Where the heck is the next generation edition of this franchise? Oh yeah! It was scrapped. *sniff* Luckily, developer Rebellion have some pretty sweet PSP editions of the franchise. Their latest is Elite Squadron. Like GB: The Video Game, it relies on the analog nub/action buttons control method with a couple of different control schemes to help you out. It plays very well and is built from the ground up especially for the portable. If you love Star Wars or just love blowing crap up... You must own this! I can't think of another game where I was doing an entire ground campaign taking down Storm Troopers and tanks. Next, you'd take off in a space ship, blow up a few bad guys on the planet's surface and then fly off into space. We aren't done yet. In space you have some dog fights while landing into a Star Destroyer. Inside, you run along corridors, taking down more Troopers and head to the ship's generator and blow it up. Finally, you run back to your space ship, take off and watch the Star Destroyer explode behind you. Who doesn't wanna play that?