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Episode 253 – Midnight Bucks Fan

Glenn Percival — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:42:43 +0000

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#PS3 New Releases (week of 2/7)
-The Darkness II $59.99 USD
-Jak and Daxter Collection $39.99 USD
-Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning $59.99 USD
-Fallout New Vegas: Ultimate Edition $49.99 USD
-Combat Wings: The Great Battles WWII $39.99 USD

#News
- Launch day Vita bundle announced (w/8gb card) – http://amzn.to/wtqA2V
- Heavy THQ layoffs begin = http://www.psnation.org/2012/01/31/thq-update/

#What We’re Playing
#Review of NFL Blitz?
#Review of Scary Girl
#Midwest Gaming Classic PSNation Friday Meet/Greet Lunch

#Emails
#Comedian is Mindy Kaling
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New Story Details Revealed for Sumioni: Demon Arts on the Vita

Glenn Percival — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:44:39 +0000

New story details have hit for the uniquely beautiful Action Platformer for the Vita, Sumioni: Demon Arts. The art style is called “sumi-e” style, which is Ink on Canvas. You’ve seen the style in a couple of other games in past years, such as a little game called ‘Okami.’

In Sumioni, players are given control of Agura on his quest to destroy Seimei and save Japan. Along the way platforms, strings of fire and jets of water can be drawn into existence at will on the PS Vita’s touchscreen, and Agura’s two Inkgod companions can each be summoned to perform massive, screen-filling attacks.

Controls look pretty easy to master, and from the trailer, it seems as if the game will give the player some help with casting spells on the luscious OLED touchscreen. Check the trailer out right here:

Now onto the new story elements that were revealed:
The world of Sumioni: Demon Arts is one of melancholy and anguish. Years prior to the game’s opening, two evil men named Seimei and Fukujou successfully conspired to overthrow the Chancellor of Japan, Michisada, and his loyal aide, Tengan. But after this successful coup, Fukujou betrayed Seimei, attempting to steal all the glory for himself. Furious, Seimei invoked a forbidden incantation to unleash an ancient demonic energy, which he then used to do away with the traitor Fukujou and rule the land through intimidation, violence and fear. He kidnapped Michisada and his daughter to use in his twisted rituals, and threw the aide Tengan in prison on false charges. It seemed as if no one could stand in his way.

As time went on the land was driven further into despair by Seimei’s relentless oppression. Tengan, now old and frail, decided something needed to be done. Having heard rumors of an ancient Inkdemon named Agura sealed away within the borders of his prison long ago, Tengan began to toy with the idea of releasing this creature into the world and sending it off to put an end to Seimei’s tyranny. Despite the objections of his Inkgod companion, Shidou, Tengan gave his life to do this very thing, awakening a very confused and irritated Agura.

After a bit of coaxing, Agura finally agreed to help their cause and, along with another phoenix-like Inkgod named Yomihi, these unlikely heroes took off towards the capital to stop Seimei and the growing evil presence he had summoned years before.

In Sumioni: Demon Arts, players are given control of Agura on his quest to destroy Seimei and save Japan. Along the way platforms, strings of fire and jets of water can be drawn into existence at will on the PS Vita’s touchscreen, and Agura’s two Inkgod companions can each be summoned to perform massive, screen-filling attacks.

I for one, am very excited for this game. The visuals are mesmerizing, and the game looks like it could be quite fun. Keep your eyes righthere for more updates as they become available.

Episode 252 – 2011 Golden Minecart Awards

Glenn Percival — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:23:28 +0000

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2011 Golden Minecart Awards!
Categories:

PS3 Best RPG
PS3 Best Sports
Newcomer of the Year
Blast from the Past
TWO!
Third Time’s The Charm
Best HD Remake
Best Co-op
Best Multiplayer
PSP Best Overall
PSN Best Overall
PS3 Best Overall

#It Is Written
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MLB 12 The Show Hands On – Day 3 – PS Move and PSVita

Glenn Percival — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:11:45 +0000

MLB 12 The Show: Day 3 – PlayStation Move Controls and PlayStation Vita

This year the team has decided to make The Show completely playable by using only the Move controllers, and what they have come up with is surprisingly well done. Check out this video of Lead Designer Eddy Cramm explaining how these controls work.

Honestly, the controls work very well, and the fact that this series has always been about “choice” this is a perfect opportunity to play The Show with your kids. While you may have your controls set to Pulse Pitching, Analog Zone Hitting, and Classic Fielding, the simplified Move controls can be set for the other player. The Move controls are quite intuitive and are very easy to pick-up and play with. There’s a bit of a hesitation in the hitting at first, but once you get used to the timing, it works very well.

PlayStation Vita:
When they say the the Vita version is feature-identical to the PS3 version, they’re not kidding. The only exclusions from the PlayStation Vita version of MLB 12 The Show are Diamond Dynasty (full details coming in February) and that some of the Presentation elements like the lengthier cutscenes etc have been removed or cut-down. The removal of these Presentation elements was a decision they made in the interest of timeliness on a handheld. They believe that on a portable system, the player isn’t interested in playing a full game that lasts 3 hours because every player movement, hold-up at the plate, and pitcher scratching himself, and to me, that decision makes total sense.

The game itself looks virtually identical to the PS3 version, but “only” at 30FPS instead of 60. During development, any change to the PS3 version was automatically included in the Vita build. So when we saw that the strikeout K’s in Miller Park weren’t correct, the changes to correct them were in both versions the next day, which was pretty sweet to see. All of the control options from the PS3 version (barring the Move controls of course) are present in the Vita game, and even with the smaller buttons and sticks, all work very well on the handheld. Honestly, I’m surprised at how well the game plays, and I was quickly hooked.

The touchscreen is used in interesting ways if you so choose. The back touchpad can be used for picking runners off as the pitcher, and can be used for throwing the ball as a fielder. The front touchscreen can also be used in ways such as choosing which pitch to use and to aim where you’d like that pitch to go. Again, you can play the game exactly s you would on the PS3 if you choose to do so.

In terms of transferring your Franchise or Road to the Show between the Vita and PS3, the process is incredibly simple, and as we’ve said before, this “cloud save” does NOT require PlayStation Plus and is available to anyone that owns the game. The “cloud” in this case is on the MLB 12 The Show servers, and not on the main PSN environment. We couldn’t verify if you can transfer any save files via the PSN PS+ cloud, but I will try to find out as soon as they activate Vita PSN services here in the US. Multiplayer is available both online and in Ad-Hoc mode. We didn’t get to try any multiplayer though, so I can’t really speak to it.

I’m definitely getting both versions this year, as the opportunity to take my Road to the Show actualy ON the road is too good to pass-up. The Vita version is quite impressive, especially how close it s to the PS3 game. This will make trips out f town a lot easier from now on.

MLB 12 The Show Hands On – Day 2 – Road to the Show

Glenn Percival — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:28:49 +0000

I’d say that about 90% of what I do in The Show every year is within the “Road to the Show” mode. While many changes were implemented last year, this year is all about polish. All of the great changes last year are still here, but if you’re a veteran of this mode, you’ll notice that many items have been tweaked, making it even more enjoyable while also being a bit more accessible to newcomers.

First-off is the “good hit” and “bad hit” choices the AI makes for each of your at-bats. The system is still very flexible and takes the situation into account more than “did you get a hit or not” as in previous years. Also, for those that may have missed it last year, in situations like an ordered hit and run, you aren’t penalized anymore, and instead the challenge is cancelled. This was really frustrating in previous years, as you’d be penalized for missing a Hit & Run by no fault of your own, because the pitcher threw an unhittable ball into the dirt. Now, the system takes factors like that into account, which means you may even be awarded some training points even if you don’t fully succeed in the task.

The big changes this year are that now, when you start out you’re the top prospect for the organization in whichever position you start, so you don’t have to grind so much from starting as a substitution up to a part-time starter and so-on. We figure that I played around 18-20 hours of RTTS during this week, in which I built my first player and used him for about 6 hours, then created a new player for the remainder of the time. My first player was pretty solid, but lacked consistency, and with him I didn’t get past June before we had a new build to try (which in this instance meant that I had to create a new player, as this one wouldn’t work on the new build.) The 2nd player had great pop right away, but not much in terms of Home Run power (I ended the first season with 14.) With the help of the new Baseball physics (seriously, it changes the entire landscape of the series) I racked-up an impressive set of numbers, with a slugging percentage of around .560 and a batting average at around .320 to .340 for most of the summer.

You start out in AA as usual, and within about 3 months I was called-up to Triple-A, then was traded to the Colorado Rockies association, where I ended my first season in AAA. Along the way, I was chosen for the Double-A All Star Game, but I tanked that game at 0-4, which was pretty disheartening. I played about a month into my 2nd season, but before I got there, I have to say that simming the off-season has been sped-up significantly, which was noticeable immediately to anyone that was paying attention. It may not sound like a big deal, but in years past, when I simulated the offseason, I could leave to make a sandwich and still have time to eat it before it would finish. This year the process takes mere minutes, which is awesome.

Additionally, training has now been rounded-out with fielding, so now all 4 key aspects of the game of Baseball are represented in training (Running, Fielding, Hitting, and Pitching.) The training has definitely been tightened up as well, but can still become very challenging at higher levels. I will admit that I do tend to skip training, but my player did well enough that I earned enough training points to compensate.

Options are still there to only run the bases when you’re the lead runner, all of the time, or not at all. These types of choices extend to frequency of fielding etc, and really move your season along.

Keep your eyes right here for my next report which will cover the PlayStation Move controls and the PlayStation Vita version.

MLB 12 The Show Hands On – Day 1

Glenn Percival — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:47:11 +0000

Day 1

I figure that I’ve been awake for 35 of the last 38 hours, from slogging-through my Packers tanking against the Giants, to restlessness in anticipation of making this journey, and finally making it to San Diego and beginning a week-long marathon of gaming and collaboration. But 34 hours is nothing when compared to what the development team for MLB 12 The Show are currently enduring. The team is in “crunch-mode” right now, attempting to crush as many bugs as possible, and make as many tweaks that time will allow. Many sleep at the office during this period, and those that don’t aren’t gone for long when they go home.

For the past few years, the group here at SCEA San Diego Studios has gone above and beyond in the pursuit to utilize the vast community that has built-up around the MLB The Show franchise. Instead of merely conversing via the official forums or communities like Operation Sports, they take an extra step and actually invite a chosen few members of the community over at Operation Sports to fly-in for a week, pound on every aspect of the game, and work directly with the development team on aspects of the game of Baseball that only the most die-hard fans would recognize. Oh yeah, I got invited too (I have no idea why, and this is my 2nd year.)

Everyone invited specializes in a specific area of the game, from Road to the Show, Uniforms and Stadiums, to Franchise management and new this year, the PlayStation Vita version. I myself am a Road to the Show junkie, but I also help with Uniforms and Stadiums amongst other aspects. After leaving for the airport at 3 a.m., flying about 5 hours, and gaining 2 hours in time zone changes, we all met-up at the San Diego airport. We quickly rented a shuttle, got to our hotel, took 15 minutes to drop our stuff in our respective rooms, then met back up to take the quick walk across the street to the studio.

It took about 10 minutes to sign paperwork and get our bearings, then the latest development build of MLB 12 The Show for PS3 was ready to go on a series of stations setup in a conference room. My first stop was Miller Park, as it always is. Within an hour, we were working directly with the artists on a couple of flaws that we found, including a fence that didn’t belong in front of the scoreboard, and the fact that the Strikeout K’s were still missing from the font of the Dew Deck in Right Field. I have over 600 reference photos on my laptop, so I copied those to a thumb drive for them, which allowed them to attempt to correct the flaws. This year, we’re here a bit later than past years, so the opportunity to make thees kind of changes is rare, and honestly, I still don’t know if they’ll make the game when it hits or not.

Today, many of us used the time to simply dig-in to the game and experience the new features and changes. Visually, it’s pretty similar, but the list of fixes, changes, redesigns, and other features is pages long. One of the first changes we noticed right away is the all new physics engine applied to the Baseball. The old system was completely ripped-out and replaced with an all-new system, and the change is immediately noticeable. The ball reacts to everything in the environment as it actually should. When you see the ball jump off of the bat, the path and trajectory that the ball takes feels incredibly natural. I actually hope to talk to the brains behind this new engine, and obviously, if I do I’ll post anything I find out. For now, let’s just say, if you’ve ever actually played the game of Baseball, you know, on a field and stuff, that the Baseball in MLB 12 The Show actually reacts to everything like it did when you were playing. It’s damned impressive and really impacts the game and how you play it. Hits don’t seem “formulaic” or “canned” as in years past, and even on this first “half-day” that consisted of about 10 hours, we’ve already heard many instances when someone yells “did you just see that?!?!” Of course, there are many more changes and fixes, and trust me, I’ll cover as much as I can (there’s so much, and also, some things I still am not allowed to talk about.)

By the way, yes, I have also played the Vita version quite a bit already. I will definitely dedicate quite a bit of space to it later this week, but rest assured that it’s fantastic. Pitching with the Broadcast camera can be kinda bad when using Pulse Pitching (another item I’ll speak to later this week,) but the Vita version is truly spectacular. I just can’t wait to be able to take my RTTS actually ON the road. We’re actually testing moving the save games between the PS3 and Vita tomorrow, so I’ll report on that as well.

I sincerely applaud the efforts of this team. There is a true passion here, and it’s infectious. The community members that attend this event are true fans, and are incredibly passionate about helping the developers as much as possible. Also, and I know this is hard to believe, but we actually have some fun n the process as well. Keep your eyes here for more reports.

Time to head back to the hotel for about 5 hours of sleep, then another 16+ hours tomorrow! I love it!

ps No videos yet, they asked that we wait until we get a more stable build. I’ll get video posted as soon as I can though.

Episode 250 – Maps on the Wall

Glenn Percival — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:18:24 +0000

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#New Release
PS3: Gran Turismo 5 XL – $39.99

#News
-House of the Dead 3 & 4 exclusive to PSN http://bit.ly/y48nJF
-Kaz Hirai is Sony’s next president http://bit.ly/yxRIzA
-Spec II coming to US http://bit.ly/z0iSGc
-XCOM Enemy Unknown http://bit.ly/zzcsvg
-Vita wireless data plans for 3G/WiFi PS Vita: $14.99 for 250MB, $25 for 2GB

#What We’re Playing
#Review of The Marbians
#Review of All Zombies Must Die
#Emails

#It Is Written
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PlayStation Vita – The Videos So Far

Glenn Percival — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:28:42 +0000

I’ll slowly be adding more videos to the site, including a first-look at the Vita version of MLB 12 The Show next week. Enjoy!

Unboxing (at a TGI Fridays!)

Initial Setup (I removed the spots that held personal info)

Gameplay from the demo for Power Smash 4 (Virtua Tennis 4 in the US)

Episode 249 – Everything is DOOMED!

Glenn Percival — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:24:40 +0000

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#News
-Twisted Metal Black free with new Twisted Metal http://bit.ly/u3S0Yp
-Composer confirms work on “God of War IV” via Joystiq http://aol.it/tTa5xq

#What We’re Playing (Glenn’s Vita impressions) (Is it DOOMED?)
#MGC Saturday, March 24, 2012, from 10:00am to 8:00pm and Family Day Sunday, March 25, 2012, from 10:00am to 5:00pm – http://midwestgamingclassic.com

#Golden Minecarts http://bit.ly/utleJz
#Emails and Voicemails
#Comedian is Mike Birbiglia

#It Is Written
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Episode 248 – Future Portability

Glenn Percival — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:53:29 +0000

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#PSP New Releases
- Patapon & Loco Roco 2 Pack $14.99
- Motorstorm: Arctic Edge & Twisted Metal: Head On 2 Pack $14.99
- Hot Shots Golf & Hot Shots Tennis 2 Pack $14.99

#News
- Extravaganza of Vita Launch News http://bit.ly/tkiPKf
- Viacom ordered to pay Harmonix several trucks-full of money http://aol.it/vsilrn
- PS1 Classic Klonoa: Door to Phantomile released on the NA PSN today http://bit.ly/sLqBnT

#What We’re Playing
#PlayStation Vitaganza

Golden Minecarts: Nominate your GOTY http://www.psnation.org/2011/12/22/ps-nomi-nation/
Voting begins in January

#It Is Written
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