Tagged: sce
Killzone 2 Delayed by Sony Administration
The delay for Killzone 2 came out of nowhere at the PlayStation Day in Europe. However, the game apparently doesn’t need the extra time, as Sony has admitted that the game was delayed due to management decisions instead of technical issues.
Sony has quite a few games coming out this Holiday season, including two top-tier first-person shooters – SOCOM and Resistance 2, both of which are guaranteed best-sellers. The company did not want three titles fighting for “retail dollars” during the holiday season so they shifted Killzone 2 to February 2009.
Personally I think that’s a good move by Sony. This will allow gamers to experience the other two deserving titles, and the more polish Killzone 2 gets, the better it will be.
Sony Condemns Uncharted Gun
Sony Computer Entertainment is furious about the Uncharted-branded air guns being sold on the Internet, and plans to do something about it. The gun is being offered on KingofSwords.com for $170, with real wood grips and whatnot.
In fact, the gun may seem endorsed by Sony itself as it is being advertised using artwork from the game. “The Drake’s gun is not licensed or in any way sanctioned by SCE, and one we certainly do not condone,” said a Sony spokesperson to Gamesindustry.biz. “We are investigating the source of this product and will proceed with the most appropriate action.”
If you’re interested in purchasing that thing, do so before the company gets taken down by Sony’s elite team of lawyers.
Rule of Rose, Steambot Chronicles Hitting UK
September will the release of Steambot Chronicles by 505 Gamestreet in the UK. A non-linear RPG from legendary Japanese developer IREM, the game has players taking control of a young adventurer named Vanilla Beans (yes, that’s the name), who awakes on a beach with no memory of where he is or how he got there. It will be released for the PS2, priced £30.
The world of Steambot Chronicles presents the player with a uniquely open-ended role-playing experience. It’s up to the player to explore the world and talk to the locals to piece together their own story. By playing mini-games and completing missions and subquests players can choose to become a fighter or an explorer, a chef or a bandit – or a mixture of all these and more besides. In every interaction with the game’s colourful inhabitants, players also have multiple options to respond and communicate. These include kindly, meanly or even with a joke. Every decision has an impact in the world of Steambot Chronicles.
Lovers of combat are also well catered for. The game feature enormous steam-powered craft called Trotmobiles, or Trots, for short. These can be used in organised battles, to pummel rivals and assimilate their parts, or they can be used for the greater good, by ferrying stranded locals from place to place for instance. Steambot Chronicles is the ultimate in “sandbox”-style gaming and is bursting with activities, quests and mini-games.
The following month of October will see the release of Rule of Rose, a psychological suspense adventure, developed by SCE.
Prepare to join the strangest and most dangerous secret society you’ve ever seen in Rule of Rose, for PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. In 1930’s England, a group of little girls form a club called the “Red Crayon Aristocrats”. They devise a series of rules, known as “Rule of Rose”, which governs the society, its hierarchy, and the games its members play. After a surreal and frightening encounter with a young boy on a public bus, Jennifer, an unhappy and fragile young girl, begins her descent into the nightmarish world of Rule of Rose and has no choice but to obey the cruel and disturbing codes of her giggling tormentors.
Players will be able to join the cult by purchasing the PS2 game for £35.
Heavy Rain on PS3
Quantic Dream, the studio behind the awesomely-excellent Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, has revealed its next-gen project through private viewings at E3. Dubbed “Heavy Rain,” the video shown was a tech demo run on the PS3 which showed off “The Casting” of a young actress for the lead role of the game. It features the virtual actor expressing emotions and crying in real-time 3D; Aurelie Brancilhon was the chosen actress.
“Our objective was to recreate not only the likeness of a living actor, but its complete acting performance, in particular in its emotional dimension” says David Cage, the founder of Quantic Dream and director of Heavy Rain. “At Quantic Dream, we believe that emotion will be a key component of Next Gen games and we are heavily investing in technologies to create Virtual Actors since several years. By expanding the range of emotions video games have to offer, they will be able to reach a far wider audience. This demo is just the beginning of what can be achieved, but I hope it already shows the fascinating new possibilities this media will offer in the coming years”.
“The Casting” featured full body and facial motion capture, including eyes, pupils, fingers and tongue; real-time tears, wrinkles on the face; advanced skin shades; and advanced rendering features.
Heavy Rain is being developed as a new franchise for the PC and next-gen consoles, and will make use of emotion and innovative gameplay mechanics.
The tech demo shown at the event was created in collaboration with AGEIA (physics engine), VICON PEAK (motion capture) and with the support of SCE. A high-resolution 720p video can be downloaded here (direct link).
Quazal Software on PS3
In its latest press release, Quazal announced that they have been approved by SCE’s Tools and Middleware program for PlayStation 3, letting developers make use of their Net-Z and Rendez-Vous online multiplayer middleware technologies, as well as the Spark! Lobby technology, in their games.
Quazal’s tools are also available for the PS2 and PSP, among other platforms.
BDGamers 