PlayStation News, Articles and Information for the UK and Europe

With E3 now everything but a distant memory, it’s safe to say that this year’s event brought some huge surprises to nearly everyone, with a Gran Turismo 5 release date being announced and the Sly Cooper HD Remake also making an appearance as well as tonnes more stuff coming, I think we can be pretty sure that this year’s PS3 (and PSP) line-up could quite possibly be the best yet.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, seeing as this is where we tell you what we’ve been up to in the gaming world recently. With those May releases slowly drifting away and the relentless pace of video game releases slowly decreasing, it’s been a nice month to catch up on all of those little gems that we missed out on when they were first released.

nineinchnailed

The first half of this month was dominated by Red Dead Redemption and although I’ve finished the main storyline, there is so much else yet to do that I’m looking forward to playing it again later in the year, perhaps after I’ve finished with Demon’s Souls. Red Dead Redemption is definitely one of my favourite games of this generation so far, though there’s a long way to go yet!

I’ve also been playing the hi-def remake of The Secret of Monkey Island, one of my favourite games of all time from way back in 1990. The new hi-def remake was originally released last year on PC, iPhone and Xbox 360 and it’s been a long year waiting for it to appear on PS3 – however, it’s now here it all its HD glory with added voice-overs from most of the original cast of The Curse of Monkey Island (the 3rd game in the series but the 1st with proper voice acting), and it’s definitely been worth the wait. If you’ve played any of the first three Monkey Island games then the hi-def remake is well worth checking out – if you’ve not played any of them you definitely should! Although dated in their gameplay (they’re old-school point and click), the humour, the music and sheer fun of the Monkey Island games are unsurpassed even in modern games – alternatively, perhaps I’m showing my age! (I was 9 in 1990 so you can do the maths).

This month I’m very excited about Demon’s Souls, which I’m just about to start playing. The UK edition comes with a free guide which, if reports are to be believed, I’m going to need! I’ll report back next month and let you know if it’s as good as everyone says.

rymanb

This month I’ve finally been able to delve into the likes of Heavy Rain, a game which I’ve wanted to get my hand on for  a while now, and I can only say that it lived up to expectations. Such an incredible story and unique gameplay mechanics as well as a top-notch soundtrack really made this game for me, and although it didn’t quite wow me like I was told it would, it is still very deserving of its recognition in gaming industry. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back into it some time soon, so I can change how I play the story or collect more trophies, but for now I’m giving it a rest.

My ‘backburners’ this month – for want of a better phrase – have once again been Just Cause 2 and Final Fantasy XIII, with some added Bioshock 2 for good measure. I recently completed the story in Just Cause 2 and have been running around the world like a completionist-lunatic trying to get 100% complete in as many locations as possible. Final Fantasy XIII has been a power-levelling affair really, but I’m getting so close to fully developing all of those characters and then I should be able to get the rest of the game completely finished.

Looking ahead to the future now, and although I didn’t quite get round to getting 3D Dot Game Heroes (Heavy Rain took its place) I have got Red Dead Redemption on order, which should arrive any day now. E3 dropped many bombshells for me, and although I’m not quite sold on PlayStation Plus (losing all your free games when you stop subscribing? No thanks!) I’ve suddenly become really interested in PlayStation Move.

W3XF0RD

This month I have been hard at work playing through Modnation Racers, Split/Second and Blur even though I have not had a lot of time this month to play as I have been busy at work with my promotion. I really enjoy the continuation of the Play, Create, Share philosophy that was started with LittleBigPlanet which has been carried in to ModNation Racers. As for the other two, I love the sheer awesomeness ( if that is a word) of hardcore racing of Blur and the arcade style of racing in Split/Second.

My real reward though has been Demon’s Souls. I got this last week and haven’t been able to put it down (when I can play of course).

jaco101666

Although I have been busy this week, I still managed to put at least 10 hours this month, most of which was on Battlefield: Bad Company 2′s epic multiplayer, although it was closely followed by LittleBigPlanet, also one of the best games I own currently. The one key point of why I have been playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 as mentioned above, is because of its epic multiplayer modes and environments. I have had the game since its release date in March, and still haven’t been around all the maps properly thanks to the wide range offered as well as the size of them.

I love LittleBigPlanet too! I am not the best of creators but I have made some pretty cool levels, although I rarely publish them. Story mode is awesome and never feels repetitive, there’s always a new material, costume or sticker to find and that is what makes me keep playing the story. I love all the comunity levels as well, as most creators are really good and entertaining, and there’s rarely a dull moment in LittleBigPlanet.

One game has caught my eye this month, Naughty Bear. I have been watching numerous trailers of Naughty Bear ever since I found out it existed early last month. Its dark humour and very inventive kills are always fun to watch. Although its not visuals are not stunning, I don’t mind as I don’t buy games to admire graphics, I buy them to own every last teddy!

Pepsicoke

This month, Red Dead Redemption aside, I’ve been blasting my way through the world of destruction that is Split/Second Velocity. An arcade racer in its core but an action game with high standards, this game is more about timing, precision and defending than anything else. Driving is just a side offering of the many skills involved in Split/Second.

Basically, the game revolves around things called Power Plays. Power Plays are essentially advantages given to you: perform one and your rival could be hit by an exploding barrel from a helicopter or the more massive shunt by colliding with a landing plane at top speed. The whole environment is destruction, destruction, destruction. Oh, and some amazing graphics on top of all of that. Don’t let the Disney logo on the box art distract you. Of course, Power Plays can be performed by your rivals on you, so just because you are leading by many a second doesn’t mean you have the all clear to win the race. My review will follow shortly.

Amongst this month’s games, PlayStation Plus has only just recently launched alongside firmware update 3.40. I am now a PlayStation Plus subscriber for a year, and the £39.99 really is worth it- I got over £30 of content for free in the first 24 hours. The firmware update includes a new, slick Trophy display, updates to the Photo Gallery, Facebook support, and a Movie Editor, also allowing you to upload these to Facebook and send them to friends. Likewise with photos, the latter of which you could already do before the update. Roll on July!